Page 58 of Pride High 2: Orange

Mindy felt her cheeks flush again. She pushed on Diego’s chest so he would lean back, noticing how warm and firm it felt. “Hold still now or I’ll accidentally poke you in the eye. Then you won’t be able to see anything at all.”

He remained motionless while she applied eyeliner. Mindy got so caught up in her work that she flinched when Ricky piped up from over her shoulder.

“Wow! What a difference!”

“Yeah,” Cameron chimed in. “That’s way better than the mask.”

“You think so?” Mindy asked. She’d been inspired by memories of the family dog and had used black grease paint to create a canine nose over Diego’s own. Then she’d used a makeup pencil to cleft his lip and round out his cheeks. She had stroked the rest of his face with an applicator brush loaded up with brown paint to create the illusion that his face was covered in hair.

“I better not look stupid,” Diego grumbled.

“You don’t,” Ricky assured him. “It’s perfect.”

“Grab the camera for me?” Mindy asked while scrutinizing her work.

Cameron walked off and returned with a Polaroid camera. Which was neat, because after you looked through the viewfinder and pushed a button, the camera would spit out a square photo that finished developing when exposed to air. And it only took minutes instead of having to drop off your film somewhere.

“Say cheese,” she said while pointing the camera at Diego.

He scowled at the suggestion, which helped sell the entire look.

Mindy pushed the button. The photo shot out with a whir, which she used to fan herself. Not because she was hot. It simply helped the picture develop faster. A mirror would have worked for now, but she wanted the reference in case she had to recreate the look again. “Here you go. I hope you like it.”

Diego took the photo. She half expected him to crumple it up in one of his big hands. Instead he grunted and handed the photo back. “You do good work,” he said.

“Thanks! Maybe you should run some lines under the lights of the stage. Just in case the makeup melts and gets in your eyes. Better to find out now.”

“I’ll help!” Ricky said, grabbing Diego’s hands and attempting to pull him to his feet, not managing to budge him until he turned and twisted his shoulder in a certain way that seemed to rely on leverage. Or maybe Diego took pity on him and stood on his own. Soon they were at the front of the stage, practicing lines. Mindy watched them as Whitney went to take Ricky’s place, her attention remaining on Diego.

“What do you think?” Cameron asked when he came to join her. “Think he’ll do okay?”

“It’s my fuckin’ castle!” Diego boomed.

Mindy shook her head. “I think we’ll all end up in detention and that Ms. Deville will get fired. But he looks the part, doesn’t he?”

“You definitely rose to the occasion,” Cameron said. “Now you only have to make him look like a prince.”

“That won’t be difficult,” she murmured, glad that Cameron didn’t seem to hear her. She was done with foolish crushes. There were plenty of cute boys at school, but she wanted someone with substance.

Although at the end of the evening, after she had helped Diego remove the makeup, she couldn’t help admiring the way his brown skin glowed when freshly washed. They were alone now. Cameron had already left with Ricky to give him a ride home. A few other students were talking to Ms. Deville, but the auditorium had grown unusually quiet.

“You’re all done,” Mindy said, wiping her hands on a towel before setting it next to the bowl of water.

“Do you mind?” Diego asked, reaching for the Polaroid camera.

Mindy shook her head, thinking that he wanted to examine it. She was too surprised to protest when he pointed it at her, only managing to smile at the last second.

“Thanks,” Diego said, taking the photo that came out and fanning himself with a strange sort of grin. “Now we both have one.”

And with that he stood and walked away. Mindy watched him leave. Then she picked up the photo of Diego that she had taken earlier, wishing she had thought to do the same thing, but before makeup had transformed him into a monster.

* * December 15th, 1992 * *

Silvia chewed and swallowed, digesting the sandwich along with what her best friend had just told her. The weather was too cold to eat lunch outside in the courtyard, so they were seated in the school cafeteria at the table farthest from the kitchen and serving line with the other nerds and outcasts. Which is exactly how she liked it.

“So he just took a photo of you without your permission?” she asked.

“He asked permission,” Mindy replied while peeling the crust off a Swiss cheese sandwich. “But then he took a photo before I understood what he meant."