Page 36 of Pride High 2: Orange

Mindy laughed. “I wasn’t serious. But we could stop by to visit him and ditch it there when he isn’t looking.”

“Wouldn’t that be weird on a Saturday night? We don’t know himthatwell.”

Mindy shrugged. “I stopped by unannounced on Thanksgiving. Although that was with Cameron.”

“I have a simpler idea,” Silvia said. “We’ll leave the tape somewhere in his yard. Ricky was on drugs. He doesn’t remember much or he would have recognized me by now. So if he finds it in the grass, he’ll assume he dropped it.”

“Easy peasy,” Mindy said with a nod of approval. “Let’s sneak out though, okay?”

“I thought your curfew wasn’t until eleven? It’s not even ten yet.”

Mindy smiled, showing off two rows of silver braces. “I know, but this will make it more fun. And it’s good practice. Someday a boy is going toinsistthat I sneak out to meet him, and I don’t want to let him down.”

She was so weird. Silvia adored her. More than just about anyone. Especially when they parked down the street from Ricky’s house so they could trespass through the neighbors’ yards. Who else would go along with a scheme like this? Except for Omar maybe. Sometimes it felt like he’d do anything for her, which only increased the guilt caused by her wandering eye. Even if it wasn’t a choice.

“That’s his house,” Mindy whispered as they made their way down the sidewalk. “How are we going to do this? Just toss the tape in his yard as we go by?”

“I’m not sure,” Silvia admitted. “It can’t be too obvious, or Ricky will wonder why he didn’t notice before. But we don’t want to hide it too well or he won’t find it at all.”

“Got it,” Mindy said. “Somewhere obvious that isn’t obvious.”

They giggled before hushing each other so they could assess their options. Evergreen bushes nestled up against the front of the house in a long row, interrupted in the middle by a short set of wooden steps that led to the porch and front door. That might work. Ricky could have dropped the tape on his way out and maybe it fell into the bushes. Silvia nudged Mindy and pointed. Her friend nodded with grim determination. It felt like they were going to perform some complicated secret mission, when really, all they had to do was walk over there and deposit the tape.

They stuck to the shadows anyway, Mindy darting behind a spindly tree that couldn’t possibly hide her from anyone. Silvia squat-walked right past her, both of them struggling to hold back laughter.

“Leave it in one of the branches,” Mindy whispered when they reached the bushes.

“I was thinking underneath it,” Silvia replied, “where it wouldn’t be seen as easily.”

“Yeah, but how would it have gotten under there if it fell from—”

They went rigid as the porch light switched off. When they heard the front door open, Mindy grabbed Silvia’s wrist and yanked her into the narrow empty space where the row of bushes ended and the steps began. Silvia could see an old hose beneath the porch. Lord only knew how many bugs were under there too, but it was the safest place. Especially if the person they could hear above them went to the street and looked back. They would be seen unless they were hidden beneath the steps. She took Mindy’s hand, her friend grimacing and shaking her head rapidly as Silvia pulled her into the darkness.

Once there, they both listened intently. They heard the flicking of a lighter and a long exhalation before a man began humming to himself. The song was periodically interrupted by another puff of the cigarette they could now smell. Silvia began to obsess over the tune. It was so familiar! She just couldn’t figure out who it was by, or remember the lyrics. Neither could the man, judging from how few words he actually sang.

“Ricky’s dad?” Mindy mouthed silently.

Silvia nodded. The voice was too deep for it to be Ricky. She was tuning into the humming again when the man became bolder and sang, “I touch myself!”

Mindy snorted before covering her mouth. The song ended just as suddenly.

“Ricky?” they heard the man say. “Is that you?” After a pause, he tried again. “Honey? I thought you were asleep.”

Silvia was trying to peer up through the boards of the porch when she lost her balance. Her palms hit the ground as she toppled over, the sound minimal, but the man must have been listening intently.

“Shit shit shit!” he hissed under his breath. They heard a grinding noise as sparks drifted down from above. And then, in a scolding tone, he said, “You better not be sneaking around out here, son!”

Silvia remained perfectly still, resisting the urge to shiver in the cold night air. By some miracle, Mindy didn’t budge either They listened to the door open and close before the porch light switched on again. They didn’t dare leave their hiding place. Even when Mindy pointed at a spider in its web and looked like she wanted to bolt.

“Okay,” Silvia said after she felt enough time had gone by. She left the VHS tape just in front of the bushes, not beneath or in the branches. Then she turned to her friend and whispered, “Ready?”

Mindy nodded.

They burst forth from their hiding place and ran like mad toward the neighbor’s yard, cutting across it and the next until they reached the end of the block. Then they alternated between laughing and panting while circling back around to the truck.

“Ricky’s dad has a secret,” Silvia said.

“Yeah,” Mindy replied. “He likes to touch himself at night. While on the porch!”