Page 181 of Pride High 3: Yellow
“Yes,” Omar said, bracing for the axe to fall.
“We’ll figure it out next year,” Yousef said. “A tutor isn’t the worst idea.”
“But not during the summer,” Omar pleaded.
His father cracked a smile. “Not during the summer, no. How many of those video yearbooks did you sell?”
“Over five hundred,” Omar said. “Not that I get any of the money.”
“The least your school can do is bump up some of these grades. Haven’t they ever heard of extra credit? I’ll give your principal a call tomorrow. For now…” Yousef leaned forward and topped off Anja’s glass before refilling his own. Then he swirled the bottle. “There’s still some left. Would you like to try?”
“For real?”
Yousef looked to his wife.
“One glass wouldn’t hurt,” Anja said.
Yousef leaned back and smiled. “You heard her, son!”
Omar raced to the kitchen. They laughed when he came back with an old drinking glass from Archie’s, but it was one of his favorites.
“Can we watch the video again?” Anja asked.
Omar grinned at them while shaking his head in disbelief. “I love you guys so much!”
“We love you too,” Anja replied.
“Even though your sister got straight As,” Yousef added.
“Yeah, but didsheget any wine?” Omar clinked glasses with his parents, then settled back with them to watch his greatest achievement so far, but by no means his last. He’d make sure of that.
CHAPTER 30
May 29th, 1993
When the doorbell rang at Ricky’s house, there was no longer anything to fear. The detective had gotten what he wanted. Nor was there anything to hope for, because Diego’s fate had already been decided. Ricky watched his mother cross the living room to answer the front door before his eyes returned apathetically to the television. His stupor was broken when he heard Cameron’s voice.
“Hello, Mrs. Nishikawa. How are you today?”
Ricky hopped to his feet and went to investigate. His mother stood aside and turned toward him with a puzzled expression. Beyond her was just about everyone he could hope to see. Cameron, Anthony, and Omar. Mindy, Keisha, and even Silvia… which only confused him more.
“We heard that Ricky was leaving for Seattle tomorrow,” Cameron continued, “and wanted to say goodbye to him in person.”
“You probably think we’re bad kids,” Omar said, “since he’s gotten into some trouble lately, but we really care about the little guy. In fact…” He nudged Silvia, who stepped forward.
“I’m the one who found him passed out in the street,” she said, her eyes meeting his. He saw a hint of apology there. “And drove him to the urgent care center.”
“Is that true?” Ami asked, looking to him for confirmation.
“Yeah,” he said, managing a smile.
Mindy waved cheerfully. “And I’ve worried about him ever since.”
“Your son has helped us too,” Anthony said. “I was seriously lacking perspective before he came along.”
“Andhe helped us get over a really dumb grudge,” Omar added.
“For the most part,” Anthony murmured.
