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Ricky seemed a little too pleased with this. He couldn’t stop smiling as he sat again, even though it seemed like he was trying. He focused on flipping through the magazines and soon handed one to Omar. “There! Is that the movie you were thinking about?”

“And the boobs, yes,” Omar confirmed.Metropoliswas one of the first full-length science-fiction movies ever, way back when there wasn’t even sound yet. The robot herself was kind of hot, but not when compared to a real girl. He thought of Silvia and how perfect her boobs were by comparison. Not too big and nottoo small. Although he wasn’t picky. Access to any boobs at all would make him exceedingly happy.

They set to work on outlining the paper, but it was too hard to concentrate with thoughts of Silvia filling his mind. Which was crazy considering how little he had to go on. So far he’d stared at the back of her head for two days in class and had a short conversation with her at a store. Although that was already enough to fantasize about what else could happen. Not just the sexual stuff, but how cool it would be to have a girlfriend. He imagined them walking down the hall together and how jealous the other guys would get.

“There are bomb disposal robots already,” Ricky was saying, “and they use robots at factories too. Like when assembling cars.”

“Yeah, but I wanted to write about killer robots.”

“That would be fun,” Ricky said diplomatically, “but they can’t even walk yet.”

“Huh?”

“I just told you about that. Engineers can’t get robots to balance on two legs, remember?”

“Okay, but they could have tank treads instead, like the one fromShort Circuit.”

“I read something about that,” Ricky said, grabbing another book.

While his study partner flipped through the pages, Omar let his mind wander back to his favorite subject. When that wasn’t enough, he decided to talk about it. “Right before I came over here,” he said in a dreamy haze, “I was hanging out with this gorgeous girl who’s in my sixth period class. Silvia Diaz. Ever heard of her? I guess not. Believe me when I say that she’s…” He trailed off and shook his head, unable to find the words.

“Is that your girlfriend?” Ricky asked.

“No. God, I wish! We’ve barely even talked, but I swear we have this connection, you know?”

Ricky, to his surprise, nodded instantly. “Yes.”

Omar found this intimidating. “Don’t tell me you’re dating someone! Not that you couldn’t, but uh, most freshmen aren’t that lucky.”

“I’m single,” Ricky confirmed.

That was a relief. Omar felt lame sometimes for not having much experience with girls. Learning that awkward Rickywas ahead of him in the game of love would’ve been seriously demoralizing.

“Are you going to sleep with her?”

The question caught him off guard. “We just met. But I mean, if she’s interested, then yeah!”

“Well,” Ricky replied, “if you get that far, just remember to play with her clit.”

Omar’s mouth fell open. “What?!”

“Her clit,” Ricky said unabashed. “That’s short for clitoris, which is a little area on her—”

“I know what it is,” Omar grumbled. “I only wonder how you do!”

“My mom is a gynecologist,” Ricky said with a shrug. “Oh, and I’ve seen lots of porn.”

“Magazines?” Omar asked. Like the coveted copies ofPlayboyorHustler,stolen from parents or older brothers and hidden away, to be shared with only the most trusted of friends.

“Some,” Ricky said with a nod, “but I like the movies better.”

Yeah, right. This had to be an attempt to impress him by sounding more mature than he really was. “Let me guess, you rode on a friend’s shoulders while wearing a trench coat and snuck into a dirty movie.”

Ricky laughed. “No. My parents have a small collection.”

Acollection? That was some claim. Like casually mentioning a bag of diamonds used as a paperweight. If nudie magazines were rare, actual pornos were legendary treasures. Aside from adult cinemas, which Pride certainly didn’t have, such movies could only be rented or bought by adults. There was no other way to see them. At all. Unless your parents happened to own a few.

“What are we talking here,” Omar said with guarded interest, “VHS tapes?”