Page 172 of Pride High 3: Yellow

“Oh!” she said when noticing him. “Did you forget something?”

“Yeah,” he said, grabbing a couple cans of pop from the fridge. Someone might want them. All he needed was the excuse. “Hey,” he said casually. “When is dad in town again? There’s something I need to ask him. Computer stuff.”

Brenda’s expression hardened. “I don’t when he’s coming back.”

“But he’ll be here sometime next weekend, right?”

“I don’t know, Cameron. It might be a while.”

He noticed the hurt in her eyes before she smiled it away. “You shouldn’t keep your friends waiting. Go have fun!”

“Okay,” he said, worried that she planned to do the same. “I love you, Mom.”

“I love you too, honey.”

Before he left the house to join the others, he hugged her, hoping she could feel how much he cared. And that it would somehow be enough.

— — —

Omar was flipping through cable stations on the living room TV, hoping to find a good movie, when he heard the whirring motor of his grandmother’s stair lift. He waited until the sound reached the top before muting the TV and calling, “Need any help?”

“Not today,” he heard Mamani reply. She walked into the living room not long after, with the assistance of her cane. “This weather is good for my bones,” she said. “I barely need this at all.” She leaned the cane against the couch before sitting next to him. “What does my favorite grandson have planned today?”

“Just hanging out here,” he replied glumly.

“With your favorite grandmother?”

“That’s right,” he said.

“You’re a good boy.” She patted his knee affectionately before watching the ever-changing screen. “Stop if you see anything with Clark Gable. He reminds me of your grandfather.”

“Oh yeah?” he asked. “That dude is cool.”

“Very dashing, yes. And where is your beautiful girlfriend? I haven’t seen her here for quite some time.”

“She’s hanging out with Anthony and some of our other friends.”

Mamani was scandalized by this news. “And they did not invite you?”

“They did. I just…” He shrugged. “I dunno.”

“Then ‘I dunno’ either,” Mamani said. “But I would like you to explain it to me. Do you not like her anymore?”

“I’m not sure.” He sighed and lowered the volume on the TV. “She’s not the person I thought she was.”

“Then things haven’t changed so much since my day,” Mamani replied with a chuckle. “Love comes first. Getting to know each other happens later.”

“So it’s normal?” Omar said, shifting to face her.

“At your age, yes. Hopefully you will learn from this lesson and be more cautious. Not that we have much choice in such matters. But the next time you fall in love, part of you will remember. Silvia always seemed like a very nice girl to me. What happened? Did she kiss another boy?”

“Another girl, actually,” he said.

Mamani seemed taken aback by this news. “So she is like Anthony.”

“Not exactly. She likes both.”

“Ah, a bisexual! I’ve seen them on my talk shows. And that is the reason you feel you do not know her?”