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The doctor looked briefly at Anthony before answering, drawing the wrong conclusion about his presence there. Although to be fair, he wasn’t sure what Omar was getting at either.

“STDs don’t discriminate by sexual orientation and neither do our tests. It all goes to the same lab.”

“Cool,” Omar said. “I’m not gay though.”

The doctor smiled patiently, as if she didn’t care either way.

“You still have to answer the question,” Anthony prompted.

“Oh! It was a woman. That I had sex with, I mean.” Omar finished by grinning proudly.

Anthony sank lower in his seat while shaking his head.

“Okay,” the doctor said, sounding exasperated. “Unless you are having any difficulty or experiencing unusual symptoms, I don’t see the need to do a physical exam.”

Too bad, Anthony thought.

“We’ll draw some blood and you should have the results in a few days.”

Anthony waited until they were outside the clinic before asking, “What was that all about?”

Omar yanked on his bike to get it untangled from where it leaned against his own. “Huh?”

“When you gave her a hard time about the gay stuff.”

“You have no idea what it’s like to be interrogated about private stuff,” Omar said defensively. “She was asking me all these sexual questions and it threw me off. I started getting a boner at one point!”

“Dude, she was like fifty!”

“Forty at the most,” Omar said. “If you weren’t there, she totally would’ve made a move. I’m sure of it.”

“Because nothing’s hotter than a guy who thinks he has an STD.”

Omar shrugged and grinned. “Istill managed to get turned on.”

Anthony wasn’t judging. He’d had a rager this morning that wouldn’t quit. If he could get a love boner, then there was nothing wrong with Omar getting one while at the clinic. Besides, he was starting to realize just how messed up and confusing these things could be. Movies always made love seem simple and straightforward. Real life was way more twisted, and maybe he was still riding a high from accepting himself, but he was pretty sure he preferred it that way.

CHAPTER 9

September 16th, 1992

Silvia began her shift at work, as always, by going through the new arrivals. Not theactualnew stuff, as in the latest releases which came once a week from the record companies. That was exciting too, but she was more into what people brought to sell, since it could be anything. And it was her job to get it all “out on the floor” as her boss Lester always put it. Silvia was sorting the cassettes by genre, stopping to play a sample of any she was unsure of, when a familiar face walked in the door.

Omar had been stopping by almost every day since school began. She was always struck by his dark wavy hair and caramel-colored skin. And his white teeth, which were often on display, since he smiled so much. Today was no exception.

“Hey,” he said with an upward nod before leaning his skateboard next to the door. “Long time no see.”

They had of course shared a class less than an hour ago, but she peered at him as if confused. “Omar? Is that you? I can’t believe it! You were only this high when I saw you last.” Instead of putting her hand down low, like people did with kids, she held it up to his current height. Omar hurried over and leaned across the counter, the tip of his bangs touching her hand.

“I thought I felt taller after class,” he said before withdrawing, his grin contagious.

“We just got in some new music that I think you’ll like,” she said, sliding a cassette tape across the counter to him.

“Wilson Phillips,” he said with revulsion, before pretending to be thrilled. “Perfect for a guy like me who loves ballads! Hate to break it to you, but I picked this up at a concert of theirs. I was in the front row. They were so impressed with how I sang along that they brought me backstage after the show to hear more.”

“I so wish I could have been there,” Silvia said, feigning envy.

“No problem.” Omar grabbed the ballpoint pen that customers used to write checks. He held it in front of his mouth like a microphone and began singing in a whiny voice. “Just hoooold on to your butt, okay? And that shit will be so greeeeeat!”