Amanda Lester and the Pink Sugar Conspiracy Read online

  Chapter 4

  Mysterious Shapes

  When she returned to her room in the evening, Amanda was beat. She was still jetlagged, and the day had been so full that all she wanted to do was fall into bed. Of course there had been no time to consider her brilliant idea, the one she’d lit upon outside the ice cream shop. At this rate there never would be but she was too tired to fret.

  The other girls hadn’t returned yet, so tired as she was she decided to check her email. She grabbed her phone and scanned her inbox. There it was, another message from Darius Plover. She’d forgotten all about him! This wasn’t good. She was losing her skills and now she was losing her passion. Sure, Ivy and Amphora were nice, the goofy boy was kind of funny, and Nick was cool, but she still didn’t want to be here. The school was derailing her from her plans and OMG, the festival! She’d forgotten about that too.

  She couldn’t let this happen. She had to enter that competition. She absolutely could not wait until next year, and oh no again, the film program she’d applied to! The letter had probably gotten lost in the move and now she’d never be admitted. Competition to get in was fierce, and she’d probably lost her one chance.

  But she couldn’t think about that now. She read the email greedily.

  Dear Miss Lester,

  What a pleasure it is to hear from you again.

  I sense a note of frustration in your email, and I want to put your mind at rest. Some of the most creative and respected filmmakers come from difficult backgrounds. Do not worry. Keep working on your ideas and your techniques, practice with the most rudimentary equipment and supplies if you must, but persevere. It may not seem like it now, but you will get through whatever bumps you’re having with your parents and you will succeed.

  As always, I’m happy to hear from you anytime.

  Sincerely,

  Darius Plover.

  Amanda put her phone away and stared out the icy window. Could the director be right? She hadn’t thought of her problem quite that way before. Up to now it had been all or nothing. But maybe she could slip in enough filmmaking to keep her career on track. Tomorrow she’d make a list of priorities. But before she could think about that or anything else, she had fallen asleep on top of her covers.