Page 171 of Pride High 3: Yellow

“I have a rare genetic condition,” he joked. He finally found his wallet, which was next to his sunglasses. “Two birds, one stone,” he said, holding them up. “I’m ready.”

“Hey!” Mindy said, grabbing his arm once they were in the hall. “Did you hear about Ricky? He’s missing! His mom called me this morning. I don’t know how she got my number.”

“I gave it to her,” Cameron admitted sheepishly. “She called me too, although it was last night. And she started crying, so I felt like I had to give her something. Sorry about that.”

“I don’t mind,” Mindy said. “I just hope he’s okay.” She eyed him intently, as if trying to read his mind. “Doyouknow where he is?”

“Uhh…” Cameron said.

“Because I already asked Anthony, and he wouldn’t say either way. So I figure he must know, or he would have simply said that he didn’t. And ifheknows, then so does his boyfriend, and that’s you.”

Cameron scratched the back of his head. “Err…”

“You do know!” Mindy said in excitement. “What’s going on? I won’t tell anyone.”

“I promised I wouldn’t say anything,” Cameron replied. “But he’s okay.”

“Good!” Mindy said with transparent relief. “I felt so guilty after talking to her.”

“How come?”

“Because it was all my idea! Diego asked me what I would do, if I wanted to get into trouble. Which sounds weird out of context, but it made sense in the moment.” She shook her head. “Anyway, I was the one who suggested TPing Graham’s house. Although it was supposed to be Faith’s house, for obvious reasons. Diego bought a bunch of toilet paper and had it in the trunk of his car the night of the play. For me.”

“Wow,” Cameron said. “That’s wild. What about the fire?”

“That definitelywasn’tmy idea,” Mindy said. “Not even as a joke. But I still wish I’d kept my big mouth shut. If I had, none of this would have happened.”

“Maybe something worse would’ve,” Cameron said. “Without a trunk full of toilet paper, Diego might have come up with a different idea, like strangling Troy right there on stage in front of everyone.”

“I wish,” Mindy said before clamping both hands over her mouth, as if it speaking the thought aloud was enough to make it happen.

“Hmm,” Cameron said, flexing his fingers murderously while putting on a sinister tone. “You just gavemean idea.”

Mindy shrieked and rushed down the stairs. They were still laughing on their way out, which is probably what attracted his mother’s attention.

“Who’s this?” Brenda asked when joining them in the entryway.

“You don’t recognize her from the play? The most famous girl in all of Kansas from stage and screen?”

“Oh stop,” Mindy said before introducing herself.

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” Brenda said, seeming to size her up. “I know you’re still young, but have you ever considered becoming a surrogate mother? I love my gay son, but I want grandbabies.”

“Mom!” Cameron complained.

Mindy laughed. “I can see where he gets his sense of humor.”

“I wasn’t kidding!” Brenda said before smiling. “You really would make beautiful babies. Hey, I know straight people experiment in college. Is the same true for gay men?”

“I’ll let you know when I get there,” Cameron said, rolling his eyes. “We have to get going. My barren boyfriend is waiting outside.”

Brenda laughed and kissed him on the cheek. Cameron stiffened, but not because of the gesture. He smelled alcohol on her breath. And it wasn’t even lunch time yet. He’d thought she was doing better! Then again, his father hadn’t come home this weekend. He wasn’t sure why. Cameron hadn’t wanted to mention it in fear of setting her off.

They said goodbye and went outside before he hesitated. “Just one more thing,” he said. “Tell the others I’ll be right there.”

“Sure!” Mindy replied.

He returned indoors and found his mother in the kitchen. He didn’t see any bottles, which meant that she was hiding her drinking.