#21
Claudia and the Recipe for Danger
by Ann M. Martin

When a big baking contest comes to Stoneybrook, Claudia can't wait to enter.

It happened pretty soon after we had started baking that day. Grace and Mari must have whipped up their recipe in no time flat and shoved it into the oven. I nudged Mary Anne when I noticed Grace setting the timer. "They're in a hurry, aren't they?" I whispered. "I think Mari rushes things, know what I mean?"

Mary Anne nodded, and both of us turned back to measuring and sifting. We had gotten to our station early that day, although we hadn't beaten Marty, Julie, Rachel, or Anna to the gym. (All of them must have showed up super early.) We set up our ingredients carefully again, and agreed that we would do our best not to leave our work station unwatched. Nobody was going to sabotage our recipe that day. We needed to make a good impression on the judges, and time was running out.

Anyway, there we were, following each step carefully. Shea had just turned on the oven to preheat it, when I first smelled smoke. "Shea!" I said, "is that our oven smoking?"

He opened the oven door, bent down, and gave a big sniff. "Nope," he said, shaking his head. "At least, I don't think so."

"Well, something's burning!" said Mary Anne. She put down the eggbeater she had been using and looked around. A few other heads popped up over nearby dividers, and I heard people asking each other what was burning. We were all sniffing and peering around, when suddenly, I heard Grace shriek.

"Fire!" she screamed. "Oh! Oh! Oh! Fire!" She was hopping around, waving her hands helplessly. "Help!" she yelled.

Claudia and the Recipe for Danger
Published by Scholastic Inc. 1996
ISBN: 0590483102