Page 20 of Pride High 2: Orange

“Yup.”

“What happened?”

“I flunked out. Haven’t you heard? I’m an idiot.”

“I don’t think you are,” Ricky said.

“Then you haven’t gotten to know me.” Diego slammed his shoulder against the door to the gymnasium, where the other guys were about to begin warm-up exercises. Ricky went to the back row, not wanting the coach to single him out. Diego usually jostled his way to the front. Not this time. He fell in line beside Ricky, robbing him of the usual view of his butt, which was a shame since they were about to do jumping jacks. But that didn’t matter much. He kept thinking about what Diego had just said, wishing he’d had time to respond with the truth: Rickywantedto get to know him.

The guys around them murmured in excitement when, at the other side of the gym, a door opened and girls began to file in. They were playing co-ed volleyball for the remainder of the year. Ricky ignored the girls until their warm-up was complete and everyone gathered around the net to choose teams. That’s when he recognized a familiar face. Silvia!

Ricky waited until she noticed him before waving. She waved back, but not before he saw panic flash across her face. Probably because he was a lowly freshman and she was a sophomore. She’d get used to him. The others had. Ricky realized with delight that all of his friends were older than him. Silvia seemed apprehensive when their eyes met a second time. But that only made him more determined to win her over.

* * * * *

Silvia sometimes felt bad for getting paid to work at Right Round Records. Ringing up the occasional purchase wasn’t difficult, and she never minded interacting with customers. Organizing the inventory could be fun too. Aside from those responsibilities, she mostly listened to music or watched movies on the television mounted in one corner. In fact, she often looked forward to clocking in, since work was the most carefree portion of her day. While here, she couldn’t do much about the uncertain future. Silvia had to avoid bad checks and chase off shoplifters, but such things were rare. Which is why she now felt free to make her popstar debut.

“Lay all your love on me!” Silvia crooned into the microphone she was sharing with Anthony.

A customer had brought in a used karaoke machine, and for whatever reason, her boss Lester had decided to buy it. Silvia told herself that she was only testing it to make sure everything worked, even though he had surely done so himself.

Anthony cackled as the song ended. His voice was just as terrible as her own, which made it that much more fun to sing with him. Otherwise she would’ve felt intimidated. But with him… Everything was easy. There was no pressure to meet his needs, or to be a good girlfriend, like she felt with Omar. She could relax around Anthony and let down her guard.

“One more?” he asked.

Silvia shook her head. “I need a drink.”

“Bartender!” Anthony shouted. “Another round for me and my lady friend!”

She laughed, despite being reminded of her recent confusion. Did shewantto be his lady friend?

“I wouldn’t have guessed that you like ABBA,” Silvia said when leading him to the employee break area, which was just a corner in the backroom with a minifridge and coffee machine. She handed him a cola and took one for herself. “You know the lyrics better than I do!”

Anthony’s grin was sheepish after he took a sip. “My dad used to play their music in the car.”

Silvia made a face. “Didn’t you say that he’s a fireman?”

“Yup! But apparently, back in the day, he used to love listening to ABBA at the discotheque. That’s what he calls a nightclub. He says it with a straight face, like he doesn’t realize how cheesy it sounds.”

Silvia laughed. “My parents like listening to them too. ABBA was huge in Mexico. That’s why they recorded so many Spanish versions of their songs.”

Anthony looked surprised. “I didn’t realize that your parents are from there. I mean, I’m aware of your heritage. I’m notthatdense. But your parents actually lived in Mexico? When did they come to the United States?”

“Ages ago,” Silvia said, hoping that made them sound more established than they really were. “Before I was born. Hey, have you heard the ABBA-themed EP that Erasure released earlier this year?”

Anthony shook his head. “Is it any good?”

“Better than you might expect. Come on. I’ll play it for you.”

She braced herself for follow-up questions about her parents, but Anthony had already moved on. Maybe she felt a little too comfortable around him. They listened to a couple of songs before a customer came in and she had to tend to his needs. Once he was gone, Silvia and Anthony parked themselves behind the counter.

“This is a rare treat,” Anthony said. “You know I love Omar, but it’s not often that you and I get to be alone like this.”

If he wasn’t gay, she would have found hidden meaning in that statement. “Although it might happen more often,” she replied. “Depending on what sort of job he finds.”

“He’ll be a banker.” Anthony sounded certain. “Qualifications don’t matter. They’ll smell money on him and welcome him into their exclusive club.”

Silvia laughed. “Omar wants to work here. He asked me three different times today if Lester was hiring, as if I would keep that a secret from him.”