Page 121 of Pride High 2: Orange

Omar looked surprised. Then he grinned with wild abandon. “Really?”

Jesus, don’t make her say it again! “Most of the time,” she said, hoping to lighten the mood.

Omar laughed. Then he let go of her, walked a few paces away, and leapt into the air with a cry of victory. He rushed back over to pick Silvia up and spin her around before setting her down again, still grinning as he came in for another kiss.

And she felt like she had done the right thing, because it was good to see him so happy. At least until she realized what she’d unleashed.

“This changes everything,” Omar said.

“It does?” Silvia asked.

“Yes! This isouryear. Nineteen-ninety-three is all about you and me, babe! Nothing is going to be the same. I’m going to switch all my classes so we have the same ones. And you know that sandwich place next to the record store? I noticed that they’re hiring. We’ll practically be working together! I can bring you lunch or dinner or whatever. Think about it. Won’t that be great?”

“Yes,” she said, forcing her grimace into a smile. “Super great.”

CHAPTER 26

January 2nd, 1993

“Mom and Dad want to see you.”

Omar tensed at these words. He’d be crazy not to. If his mom felt like hugging him, she would have come to his bedroom door instead of sending his little sister. And if his dad wanted to show him something cool, he would have shouted for Omar from elsewhere in the house. That he was beingsent forsuggested that he was in a world of trouble. He could tell from Yasmin’s expression that she had reached the same conclusion.

“What did you do?” she asked.

The stolen booze. That was the first thing that sprang to mind, but not the last, because his list of sins didn’t end there. Not by far. When he thought about the obligations nipping at his heels, he almost hoped they’d found out about the missing vodka.

“They want me to help them make a big decision,” Omar said as he pushed past his sister.

“About what?” Yasmin asked while following him down the hall.

“We’re thinking about putting you up for adoption.”

“Ha ha.”

“I’m serious. The family business is struggling, so we’re going to rent out your room to drifters. For what it’s worth, I’ll vote to let you stay. As long as you’re willing to share your bed with twitchy strangers. I figure you can sleep beneath it. Actually, that would make a great sketch!”

“Assuming they let you use your camcorder while you’re grounded,” his sister shot back.

Ugh. It wouldn’t be the first time they had taken it away. Like toward the end of freshman year, when they’d said he needed to focus on his grades. He’d only gotten it back when he passed his classes. By the skin of his teeth. That was still on his mind as he walked into the dining room and found his parents sitting at the table wearing somber expressions.

“Take a seat,” his father said.

“What’s going on?” Omar asked while complying.

His parents didn’t answer, but he did notice a report card on the table, which made his stomach sink.

“Thank you, Yasmin,” his mother said pointedly.

His sister huffed before leaving the room, but she was kind enough to shoot him a sympathetic wince as she went. Which meant a lot, because he was definitely in hot water. His father was the first to speak.

“There are going to be some changes around here,” Yousef said. “Starting on Monday when you go back to school.”

“We want the best for you,” Anja added quickly. His mother always tried to soften the blow in these situations. Not that she was a pushover. She slid the report card toward him. “But this isn’t good for you.”

He didn’t need to be reminded of his grades. The A in journalism didn’t count for much when the rest of his grades were Ds, with a single solitary C in business finances. “This just proves that I’m on the right track,” he said, taking the report card and holding it up so they could see. “I get to film stuff in journalism. Mr. Finnegan says that he’s really impressed with the footage I’ve shot so far. He’s trying to get the school to buy a video editing controller. That’ll be a game changer because—"

“Omar,” Yousef said wearily. “A dream isn’t enough to pay the bills. Or to get you into a good school.”