Amanda Lester and the Pink Sugar Conspiracy by Paula Berinstein

  Chapter 12

  Cutting Class

  Amanda couldn’t believe her ears. The textual analysis teacher was missing? How could Professor Pickle have disappeared so fast? Surely Nick had misheard or mis-seen something.

  “That’s impossible,” she said, stopping her hopping. “I just saw him. He was right there, screaming and carrying on.” She looked toward the garage. It was still bright outside. The yard lights were lit and the firemen had brought their own to supplement them. The glare penetrated the hall and lit up Amanda and Nick’s faces. She was so freaked out that for once she didn’t think about what kind of scene the light would be good for.

  “I just heard Thrillkill say he’s missing,” Nick said, following her glance.

  “I don’t see how. It’s not easy to prove a negative. Just because no one sees him doesn’t mean he’s missing. He must have gone back to his room or something.”

  “Listen to you! You’re really doing well with your logic,” Nick said.

  “Shut up. This is serious,” said Amanda, hopping again.

  “I’m being serious. You cold?” He seemed completely unconcerned about the temperature, as if it were a balmy day at the beach.

  “You see my point, right? And yes, I’m cold. How do you guys stand it?” Her teeth were chattering and her ears felt like they were going to fall off.

  “I’m used to it. And yes, I see your point.”

  “Are you sure Thrillkill said that Pickle is missing?”

  “I’m sure. You want to ask him?” He grinned.

  “Nooooooo. I don’t think that would be a good idea at all.” That was all she needed. Discovered AWOL in some dumb disguise. She’d be suspended for sure. So would Nick, for that matter.

  He moved to the extreme left of the window and turned his head so he could see as far to the right as possible. “What do you think is happening?”

  “I’m not sure. It looks like no one was hurt,” she said, standing on tiptoe for a better view.

  “Because there’s no ambulance?”

  He was right. She hadn’t noticed.

  “Good point.” She sidled up next to him. Now she could see around the fire trucks. The men were still shooting water at the structure. Their hoses looked like boa constrictors. “It looks like there might have been some sort of explosion,” she said. “A fire by itself wouldn’t make such a big noise.”

  “No. Not unless there were combustibles inside the garage. Like the gas tanks, for example.”

  Combustibles. Now there was a word. It sounded so much fancier than its meaning, which gave her the creeps. “Good point. Maybe the explosion was a by-product.”

  “Of course, it could have been a bomb,” said Nick, voicing her fears.

  “I was hoping you wouldn’t say that.” She shuddered. Suddenly the hall seemed deathly quiet, despite what was going on outside.

  “Sorry. I had to. We have to consider every possibility.”

  The orange light from outside seemed ghastly now. It made Nick look ghoulish. She wondered how she looked in it. “I know, but that’s just too awful to think about.”

  “It is scary,” he said. “It means that someone is after us.” He looked her straight in the eye.

  “What?” said Amanda too loudly.

  “Think about it. If it was a bomb, someone had to set it. And why would they do that? To get to the school, or to someone in the school.”

  “You mean criminals?”

  “Yes, of course. Who else?”

  “No one, I guess. I just don’t like the idea of criminals.”

  Nick burst out laughing. “You’re a detective and you don’t like the idea of criminals?”

  “Stop teasing me,” said Amanda. “This isn’t funny.”

  “I’m sorry, but you have no idea how ridiculous that sounds,” he said, shaking his head and trying not to laugh.

  “I know, I know. No one ever said we weren’t allowed to sound ridiculous,” she said, trying to get a good look at his expression.

  “No,” he laughed openly. “No one ever did.”