Amanda Lester and the Pink Sugar Conspiracy by Paula Berinstein
Chapter 16
Gluppy Things
About a week later, Amanda and Nick were walking down the first-floor hall, which was now decorated with massive crystal chandeliers that splashed bits of light all over the walls. Amanda stopped so suddenly that Nick was thrown off his stride.
“Wait a minute,” she said.
“What?” said Nick.
“I see something out there.” She was looking out the Police Procedures classroom window, which faced the back of the school.
“What?” he said again.
“I think I see the cook.”
“What’s she doing?” he said, trying to get a good look, which Amanda’s hair seemed to be blocking. He bobbed this way and that, jockeying for position.
She moved out of the way. “Look, she’s walking. She’s not carrying or pushing anything. See her?” She pointed.
“I don’t see anything. Where’s she going?”
“I don’t know. Toward the north wing,” she said, making a visor out of her hand and standing on tiptoe.
“Do you see Simon?” he said.
“No. Let’s follow her.”
“Okay. Come on.”
They slipped out the nearest door, where icicles were hanging from the frame, and keeping back far enough to avoid the cook noticing them, followed her as she walked northward and turned the corner to the west. But when they rounded the corner she had vanished.
Amanda shrugged. Nick shrugged back. There were several places she could have gone: into one of the three doors on that side of the school or the gardening annex.
“You try the first door,” whispered Amanda. “I’ll look at the far one.”
“What about the outbuilding?” said Nick, jerking his head toward it.
“Too dangerous. She could come out and see us.”
“Not a problem,” he said. “I’ll make up an excuse for being there.” There was the grin again. It was magical and he knew it, and she knew he knew it but didn’t care.
“You’re good at that, aren’t you?” She smiled at him in a way she figured wasn’t at all magical, but oh well.
“I’m an actor,” he smiled back.
“Okay, Mr. Cumberbatch, you take the outbuilding,” she said, glancing over at the crumbling building. It definitely needed repair. “Let’s meet back here.”
“Yup,” he said, moving cautiously toward the outbuilding.
Amanda crept toward the far door. Suddenly she saw something so repulsive she thought she might hurl again. A large, gelatinous, vomity-looking blob was practically blocking the door. What is that? Ugh.
Whatever it was, it didn’t have anything to do with the class project, the cook, or any pink substances. Of that Amanda was certain. Could she brave it to look for the cook, though? Not that it could do anything to her, probably, but it gave her the creeps. The cook was undoubtedly long gone anyway. Better to try one of the other doors.
Amanda approached the second door and turned the handle. It was locked. The cook couldn’t have gone there. That left the outbuilding, the first door, and the yucky door.
Nick came back shaking his head. “She’s not there.”
“Well, one of the doors is locked, which leaves either the first one down there or—”
“What is that?” he said pointing toward the last door to the west.
“Down there?” said Amanda, looking in the direction of the blob.
“Yes. I see a patch of yellow over there. It’s too early in the year for flowers. Let’s go look.” He started toward the thing.
“I already did,” said Amanda. “It’s some awful-looking gluppy thing.”
“Gluppy thing?” said Nick, turning around to look at her. “Is that the scientific name for it?”
“Stop teasing me,” said Amanda. “You know what I mean.”
“I don’t, actually,” he said. “Come on.” He grinned and pointed to the yellow spot with one hand while making a sweeping motion with the other, as if to introduce her formally.
“You go.” She turned away.
“Now, Amanda, a detective must go wherever the case takes her.” He kept ushering her toward whatever it was.
“All right. I’ll look for a second,” she said, hoping she wasn’t going to repeat past indignities.
“Good girl.”
He crept toward the thing, moving so stealthily that Amanda said, “Would you cut it out? You’re still teasing me.”
“All right. I’m being mean. You’re just so much fun to play with, but I’ll try to be good.” He giggled.
“Stop laughing,” she said. “What if the cook hears us?”
“What if she does?” said Nick. “We’re allowed to be here.”
“Right. Of course. I’m being paranoid.”
“Say, would you look at that thing?” he said. “It’s gigantic.” They were nearly on top of it now and it was huge.
“That’s a lotta vomit,” she said, trying to stifle her gag reflex.
“Now who’s teasing?”
“Sorry,” she said, swallowing a chuckle. Bad idea. It made her feel as sick as looking at the nauseating creature, plant, whatever it was.
“I wonder what it is,” he said.
“Some space alien, I’d say.”
“From the planet Detecto.”
Amanda started laughing again. “Stop. We’re supposed to be stealthy.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said. “Stealthy we are. Hold on.” He peered down at the spot. “Yuck. It stinks.”
It definitely was smelly. Smelly and ugly. What a combination. “Told you,” she said in a stage whisper.
“There’s a pink substance next to the gluppy thing.” He squatted and stared at it.
“No,” said Amanda. “You’re making that up.” She got as close as she dared. She wished she had some 7 Up or something to settle her stomach.
“Nope,” said Nick. “Take a look.” Sure enough there were traces of pink between the door and the blob.
“This has to mean something,” said Amanda. “It looks like the stuff that was in the pantry.”
“Yes. Let’s go in that door the thing is heading for and see what we can see.”
“Step over it?” She hesitated. What if she tripped and fell right into it?
“Sure. You’re not going to tell me you’re afraid of a little gluppy thing, are you?”
Amanda was laughing so hard her stomach hurt. “When you put it that way…”
“I do. Come on.”
She very carefully and tentatively got as close as she could to the blob, then took a large step, planting her left foot on the other side. For a moment she thought she would lose her balance and fall right into it, but luck was on her side. She leaned forward, moved the other foot over, and turned around with a ta-da gesture.
“Now you,” she said.
Nick stepped over the blob as if it weren’t there and joined her on the other side, annoying her no end. Fortunately, this door wasn’t locked. They pushed it open and saw a darkish corridor with a set of stone stairs leading downward on the right.
“Hoo hoo,” said Amanda, looking into the dark. “This is creepy.”
“It sure is,” said Nick. “This looks nothing like the rest of the school.” It didn’t. It looked more like an ancient Roman fortress, or maybe something out of one of Professor Stegelmeyer’s horror stories. It was even colder and danker than the part of the school they were familiar with and Amanda thought that was pretty bad.
“Do you suppose it was added on?” she said.
“I don’t think so. It looks older than the other parts. I’d say it’s original.”
“Maybe the school was built over a ruin and this is what’s left of that.”
“Could be. Got your phone?”
“Always.” She pulled out her phone. “I wonder if I can use my light at the same time I’m recording.” She pressed the icon for the light. It worked.
“You’ll have to. You won’t be able to record anyth
“Do you have your phone with you?” Maybe with two lights it would be less scary and they could see more.
“No. I forgot it.”
“Some detective you are.”
“Right. Thirty lashes with a wet noodle.”
Amanda laughed. “I guess I’ll see if I can record with the light on.”
She pressed the camera icon. Her screen displayed the message “Uploading camera firmware.” She pressed the back button so she could go to her main screen and turn the light off while she waited, but it wouldn’t work. She got a message that told her to wait.
“My phone is stuck. It’s uploading some firmware and I can’t go back and turn the light off,” she said.
“At least you know that you can run the light and the camera at the same time.”
“Yes, and look, the upload has finished. We can record. Let’s go.”