Page 156 of Pride High 3: Yellow

He got up from the table and went down the hall to the nurse’s office but kept walking past it. The bell rang just as he reached the exit. Ricky hoped the increasingly crowded hallways would mask his departure, because even going out to the parking lot during school hours felt like cutting class.

He waited by Frankenstein, experiencing more pangs of guilt when remembering how they had peeled out as the fire began to spread. Theoretically, it was possible that someone had looked out their window at that moment and wrote down Diego’s license plate number. He could call it in himself anonymously. Which would only replace one type of guilt with another. Ricky couldn’t do that to the man he loved.

“Hey,” a familiar voice said. “If lunch wasn’t enough to fill you up, I’ve got something that will.”

He turned toward Diego, wanting nothing more than to get inside his car and mess around, which would be so much easier than what needed to be done. “We’re in trouble,” he said before launching into an explanation.

Diego leaned against his car and listened, but as the details unfolded, he seemed more and more relaxed. Enough to eat the sandwich he’d brought from home. At the end of the story, he merely laughed.

“Sounds like we’re in the clear,” he said, brushing crumbs off his shirt. “As long as nobody finds out it was us.”

Ricky shook his head in disbelief. “What about Anthony’s dad?”

“Hey, I didn’t set Omar’s garage on fire, but I still got in trouble for it. My family had to pay out the nose. Now his does too.”

“Anthony didn’t start the fire either,” Ricky said.

“How do you know?”

“Because I’ve talked to all of you about it!” Ricky shot back. “Multiple times. And I know you guys. I don’t thinkanyonestarted the fire. Not on purpose. It’s the only explanation.”

Diego scowled at this. “The garage definitely burned down.”

“Right, but maybe it was one of the bombs you guys were making. Or a stray spark on the wind. Who knows? None of you do, which to me, means that it was an honest mistake.” He let this sink in before adding, “Which is more than we can say. Right?”

Diego shifted his weight to the other foot. Then he swore. “So did Graham’s entire house burn down or what?”

“I’m not sure,” Ricky admitted. “How come?”

“Just wondering how much trouble I’d be in if I confessed.”

“Are you going to?”

Diego thought about it. Then he shook his head. “Nah. I’m not gonna sacrifice myself to save Anthony. Not after he bailed on me. I don’t care how long it’s been. That’s my biggest fucking pet peeve.”

“I’m not asking you to do it for him,” Ricky said, his throat tight. “I’m asking you to do it for me.”

Diego rolled his eyes. Then he sighed. “Let me think about it.”

“I’ll go with you,” Ricky said. “I’m guilty too. We’ll explain why we did it and admit that it got out of hand. I’m sure the police will understand."

"You don't have much experience with law enforcement,” Diego said dryly.

“No,” Ricky admitted. “I don’t. So what do you think?”

“Let me come up with a plan,” Diego said. “Then we’ll see.”

“Okay. I better get to the nurse.”

“How come?”

“Because that’s where I told my friends I was going, and I don’t want to lie to them. And it’ll give me an excuse for being late to class.”

“That’swhat I’m talking about,” Diego said, nodding in approval. “A plan. Don’t go blabbing to anyone until we have one. Okay?”

“Okay,” Ricky said. “See you later.”

He returned to the school with a heavy heart, not realizing until he was already inside that he didn’t think to kiss Diego goodbye. But at the moment, he didn’t feel like he deserved anything so nice.