Page 134 of Pride High 3: Yellow

“Definitely not! I can be sure about that, because everyone knows what happened now. It’s embarrassing.” He used his queen to take one of her knights.

“Was that a risk you considered previously?”

“No,” he admitted.

“Checkmate.”

He glanced down at the board. “I keep messing up because I’m only thinking of my next move.”

Dr. Sharma nodded encouragingly. “That’s the key, not only to this game, but to navigating life successfully. We can’t always predict what will happen. Circumstances are often unforeseen. Which is all the more reason to imagine what obstacles might lie ahead so we can avoid them.” She righted his fallen king. “Would you like to try again?”

“Yeah.” Ricky leaned forward and began returning his pieces to their starting positions. “Teach me how to play like you do.”

CHAPTER 22

April 30th, 1993

Omar’s stomach lurched as he paused the VCR. On the TV screen, Silvia was tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, gaze downward cast and her mouth half-open, like she was about to say something. His heart ached ceaselessly as he stared at her. If only he could retreat into the past, or better yet, into some other reality where his assumptions about who she was had turned out to be real.

A knock on the door made him aware of his surroundings. Omar blinked in the dim light of the security office at Archie’s Pizza Pi. When he turned around, his boss was standing in the doorway.

“I’m surprised you’re still here,” Mr. Dandy said. “We closed nearly an hour ago.”

“Wow,” he murmured. “Time sure flies.”

“Still working on that school project?” Mr. Dandy asked, nodding at the editing equipment. “Your teachers must love you.”

“Ha! If only.” Omar glanced at one of the TV screens again. “I wish this project went toward all my grades, because I need every bit of help I can get.”

“I know the feeling,” Mr. Dandy said with a sigh as he leaned against the edge of the security guard’s desk. “My grades were never good.”

“Really?”

“Yes. In fact…” His boss appeared somewhat embarrassed. “I lost patience halfway through high school and dropped out.”

“No way!” Omar exclaimed. “I always figured you went to Yale or some fancy school like that.”

Mr. Dandy laughed manically. “No! Going to college was never my goal. I was too eager to get out there and work.”

“And look at where it got you,” Omar said, not hiding his awe. He didn’t have to. Mr. Dandy knew he was a fan. “Maybe I should drop out too.”

His boss held up his hands. “Now just a moment! I wasn’t suggesting you do anything drastic. The world is a different place than it was thirty years ago. You can’t get into the door of most companies without a college degree, and I’d hate for you to limit your opportunities. I only want you to know that it isn’t the end of the world. Someday, when you look back on high school, all you’ll think about is the people. Your grades won’t mean a thing. And for the record, Idoregret dropping out. I mostly floundered for the years that I would have been enrolled, and I lost touch with a lot of people I still care about.” He glanced at the freeze-framed screen. “And it certainly didn’t do my love life any favors.”

“You found someone though,” Omar said. “Is your wife cool? I’ve never met her.”

“And you aren’t likely to. She rarely visits me here.”

“What?” Omar cried in dismay. “How can that be? If I was married to you, I’d be here day and night.”

They both made faces before laughing at the idea.

“Believe it or not,” Mr. Dandy said, “she doesn’t even like pizza.”

Omar peered at him. “Is it a happy marriage? Because I bet the ladies are lining up around the block to get at a guy like you.”

His boss’s face turned even pinker than it usually was. “Ihavebeen propositioned by other women, it’s true. Most of them had dollar signs in their eyes, but my wife lovesme. And did so long before this place started turning a profit. She might not share my passions, but she cares about my happiness and wellbeing, and I feel the same way toward her.”

Omar glanced at the screen and swallowed. “That sounds nice.”