Cotton Candy Sky

Bella wants to leave her family of origin for a better life, so at age fifteen, she gets a professional involved to hear her story. A judge will decide through the therapist’s recommendation Bella’s custody.

Roxanne, Bella’s Mama, proves to be a horrible mother - leaving Bella alone in the blistering hot trailer, forgetting Bella’s birthday, starving her, and making her sleep outside where snakes and coyotes could get her.

Bella wants to live with the nurse who regularly checks in on them - Alice. When Bella lets it slip that she stays in the car while Roxanne frequents a bar (where she meets homeless man Kevin), Alice demands that Roxanne give up the bar scene. Unfortunately, Roxanne won’t do that, but she has an idea - Bella will live with Alice. They have a contract to detail the arrangement, and Bella is ecstatic.

Puzzle competitions are Bella’s only escape into the real world, where she shines, winning all but one contest. But Alice has a fit when Roxanne’s newest boyfriend (Carl) steals her winnings by putting the money into a stock portfolio in his own name. Tired of listening to Alice complain, Roxanne makes Bella return to the trailer with orders never to speak to Alice again.

A competition in New Orleans leads to Bella’s second loss. Carl ends up angry when there is no money and leaves them. Soon afterward, it is discovered that the winner has cheated, and Bella wins. The money is put into a bank account that Bella owns.

Like a cockroach crawling out of hiding, Carl returns. He lies about the stock account and manipulates Bella into taking the money out of her savings. Bella does that because she thinks Roxanne will be happy.

Bella’s life is a wreck. She has nothing to show for her hard work, talent, and practice. She takes her nervous energy out by cleaning the trailer and removing the clutter. She flexes her muscles by standing up to Roxanne, then has an anxiety attack. Her frustration leads her to seek out Alice; she arrives very late.

Something triggers Bella, and she runs to her best friend’s house and stands there crying, wondering what to do next. Finally, she goes home, confused and broken.

The national tournament in NYC will be her last if she has a say. She’s only fifteen but competes with seventeen and eighteen-year-olds for $100,000. Carl thinks he will get the money, but when Bella wins, the money is put into a trust fund and will be available to the winner when they turn eighteen.

Drunken Roxanne sees a snake about to be eaten by a cat in the clouds, but all Bella can see are puzzle pieces. Roxanne has two surprises for Bella – good and bad news. The good news is that she and Carl got married, and they will work on the adoption paperwork later, but Bella sees that as bad news. The even worse information is that Carl’s investments have failed, and the portfolio is worthless.

Finally putting her foot down, Bella tells Roxanne she’s done with puzzle competitions.
At the bar, Carl and Roxanne get into an argument and leave. At the same time, Bella and Alice go shopping. When Bella returns home, she is told by the police that her Mama was hit by a train and died.

The psychologist has to reconsider the new information. Roxanne’s lack of mothering skills no longer matters, and since Carl officially adopted her, she has to go by the law. The judge declares that Bella must stay with Carl.

But Bella is suspicious. She knows that Carl is terrified of zombies. So with pale skin already, she uses makeup and a wig to look like dead Roxanne and draws on Carl’s fear. But when that fails, Bella gets the doctor, Katrina, involved.

When Carl is severely drunk, they try the zombie trick again. This time Katrina flirts with Carl, claiming she can’t see what he’s talking about, and with a hidden recorder, she gets him to admit to the murder.

Bella finally gets to live the life she wants. As Roxanne foresaw in the clouds: the kat ate the snake.