"Mmm…" I smiled dreamily as I scooped another spoonful of smooth and creamy mint chocolate chip and orange sherbet, my two great tastes that taste great together. Besides, they were my favorite and always readily available here at Chocó Coco. J. J. laughed at the expression on my face.

"You look like a lovesick girl dreaming about her crush," she teased. Nudge, my sisters, Ella and Angel, my brother, Gazzy, and my dad burst out into laughter while I glared menacingly at them.

"I do not," I protested.

"You're right, you don't," said Ella comfortingly. Gazzy just snorted and Angel had no idea what was going on.

"See? Ella believes me." Nudge smirked.

"You should really get a boyfriend, Max. You've got to have a crush on someone." I rolled my eyes.

"Max? What's a crush? Is it when you break something?" asked Angel innocently.

"No, Angie, it's when you li –"

"Nudge!" Ella and I yelled at the same time. Nudge blushed.

"Oops, sorry," she said sheepishly.

"Besides," I said once Angel and Gazzy got up with dad to go pay the bill, "I don't really need a guy in my life to make it perfect." J. J. and Nudge gawked openly; even Ella looked surprised.

"Are you sure?" asked J. J. in disbelief.

"I'm positive, Jennifer Joy." She wrinkled her nose.

"You're not supposed to call me by my real name!" she complained. I smirked.

"Oh well. Too bad." We got up and walked over to the door. Then we paused, as usual. "3…2…1…go!" We tore through the parking lot, heading to the very back corner of it furthest away from the door. I, as usual, got there first.

"No fair!" whined Nudge. "You always get there first! One of these times, you've got to let me or J. J. win or we're going to get discouraged and depressed because we're not good enough and then we're going to get all slow during track meets because we're all sad and stuff and–"

"Are you three coming or not?" asked my dad, sticking his head out the car window and laughing. He always parks as close to the door as possible for Ella, Gazzy, and Angel's benefit and then drive over to this far end just to pick us up after we finish our race.

"Coming, Mr. Ride," said J. J. cheerfully, hopping into the car. Nudge turned around in her seat and started talking to Ella. Nudge and Ella are actually in the same grade and they're best friends and do EVERYTHING together. Except for track. That's her thing with me and J. J.

"So how's that art project coming along? You know, the one I really like with all the angels?" Ella smiled.

"How many times do I have to tell you? They're not angels. They're just normal people with wings."

"Well they look like angels to me so that' what I'm going to call them. So how's that angel art project coming along?"

"If you must know," said Ella in fake exasperation, "I'm almost done. I just need to add one more winged person to fill in the empty space and I'm done." Nudge smiled.

"That's great! It'll look amazing! It already does at any rate and then you could put it online and then maybe you'll get FAMOUS." Ella laughed.

"I think you're getting a bit ahead of yourself."

"Ooh, is it good to be famous?" asked Angel.

"Of course," said me, dad, J. J. and Nudge.

"Absolutely not," said Ella at the same time. The three of us (dad was driving) looked at Ella strangely. "Can you imagine having no privacy? If you're famous, everyone is going to want to know what you're up to every second of the day! That'd be awful!" I rolled my eyes.

"Ellie, wouldn't you love it if everyone saw your works of art for what they are, works of art?" I asked, calling her by her pet name. She nodded slowly.

"But what about paparazzi and all those crazy people who are all obsessed and stuff?" she asked worriedly. Nudge smirked.

"They always bother athletes, actors, and singers. Artists? Everyone loves them, but they're not much for who you're dating and stuff like that. It's sad, really."

"Hey, are you and J. J. coming over?" Gazzy asked brightly. Gazzy loved Nudge and J. J. because when they were around, Ella and I were obliged to let them play with us. Nudge shrugged.

"I don't know. I'll have to call. How about you, J. J.?"

"I can come. My mum's out of town so it's just me and Donnie at home." Donnie is what she calls her older brother, Donald. He's really nice but he's a real geek so he spends most of his life on the computer and doesn't really care what J. J. does as long as she doesn't get him into trouble.

"You can borrow my phone," said dad. He rummaged through the many compartments of our car deftly until he found his ancient Blackberry and handed it to me who handed it to Nudge. After a quick phone call to her mom, Nudge grinned.

"I can stay for dinner." Angel and Gazzy cheered.