Amanda Gilbert had a garden most kids only dreamed of.
There were marble fountains shaped like swans, flower beds that spelled her name in roses, and a treehouse with a golden bell that rang whenever she wanted lemonade.
Yes—lemonade.
That's how pampered she was.
But Amanda didn't ring the bell today. She was busy doing something better.
Laughing. With Daniel.
Since they became friends, Amanda had been showing him her world: the bubble machine in her backyard, her collection of fairy wings, and her favorite spot under the peach tree where the sun made everything glow like gold.
But today, Daniel said, "Let's not play your games. Let's find something new."
Amanda blinked. "New? My house has everything."
Daniel just grinned and pointed to the very back of the garden, where Amanda wasn't allowed to go without permission.
"That bush," he said, "looks like it's hiding something."
Amanda hesitated. Her parents always told her not to mess her dress, or climb, or crawl. "It's dirty there," she said.
"Scared?" Daniel teased.
That was it.
Amanda huffed, pulled off her sparkly sandals, and marched to the bush like a warrior princess. "Watch me."
Together, they pushed through the leaves—and there it was.
A little door. Tiny. Wooden. Covered in vines.
Amanda gasped. "No way. Is that a fairy door?"
"Only one way to find out," Daniel said.
They didn't open it—yet. First, they drew a big circle in the dirt and named it Secret Club of the Garden Explorers. They even made up a password and shook on it.
Amanda had never felt so… free. So messy. So normal.
She didn't need shiny toys or silver spoons today.
All she needed was dirt on her hands, leaves in her hair, and a friend who didn't care that her lunchbox was designer.
That night, Amanda looked out her window at the garden.
She was still the pampered only child…
But now, she was also the wild one.
The explorer.
The girl with a secret—and someone to share it with