Pink Paradise

Mira stretched across her enormous pink velvet couch, her jeweled dress sparkling in the afternoon sunlight streaming through the mansion's floor-to-ceiling windows. The marble floors gleamed like mirrors, and crystal chandeliers cast rainbows on the pristine white walls.

"Finally," she said, adjusting her perfectly curled blonde hair. "Three whole months without Mother's boring charity events or Father's stuffy business dinners."

Her parents had left for their European vacation that morning, leaving her with the entire mansion to herself. Well, almost to herself. The housekeepers would still come daily, but they knew better than to bother her.

Mira's blue eyes surveyed her kingdom of luxury. The kitchen pantry overflowed with gourmet chocolates, imported cookies, and every imaginable treat. The entertainment room boasted the largest television screen money could buy.

She smiled smugly. This summer would be perfect. No rules, no schedules, just her and endless indulgence.

"Time for some real fun," she declared to the empty room.

The Great Indoors

Mira woke up three weeks later feeling oddly tight in her pink silk pajamas. She stretched and noticed her jeweled bracelet felt snug around her wrist.

"Must be the humidity," she muttered, padding to the kitchen in her fuzzy slippers.

The pantry beckoned with its towers of imported chocolates and gourmet cookies. She'd been sampling everything daily—Belgian truffles for breakfast, French macarons for lunch, Italian gelato for dinner. Why not? Her parents weren't there to stop her.

After demolishing a box of Swiss bonbons, Mira decided to visit the music shop downtown. She'd order the diamond-encrusted headphones she'd been wanting.

But when she reached the front door, something impossible happened.

She got stuck.

Mira pushed against the doorframe, her shoulders wedging tight. She turned sideways, sucked in her breath, even tried backing out and approaching from a different angle.

Nothing worked.

"This is ridiculous!" she huffed, her face turning red from exertion.

The beautiful crystal doorknob mocked her from the other side. She was trapped in her own mansion, and for the first time in her privileged life, money couldn't solve her problem.