Page 126 of Pride High

“Innocent?” Ricky said, reaching for the button.

He glanced up and saw Anthony move even closer to Cameron. They were practically nuzzling each other’s noses! Anthony tilted his head, brought their lips close together, and then laughed when pulling back.

“You’d be surprised how often that happens,” the judge said from next to him. “Wait, is that two guys?”

“Uh…” Ricky responded as he continued to stare.

Anthony slowly peeled off Cameron’s mustache. Then he smiled and leaned forward for a kiss. And it was so much more than a simple peck.

“Oh, they’redefinitelyguilty,” said the judge before he slammed the red button.

A few things happened at once. The room Anthony and Cameron were in flashed and crackled with blinding light. They began to jump around, as if the floor was electrified. The one-way mirror swung open during this.

“And so are you!” the judge said, pushing him inside.

Ricky felt the floor buzzing beneath his feet, but he barely reacted. The room began to fill with smoke, another door opening out into the night. They stumbled through it as a group and found the other three already waiting there.

“That was awesome!” Omar said. “You should have heard them scream!”

“I wish they’d let us do it again,” Whitney guffawed.

They turned as a group and saw two bouncers dressed as guards. The only way they’d get in again was through the front door.

“Did you choose guilty or innocent?” Omar asked as they began to walk away.

“Guilty,” Ricky said, even though it hadn’t been his choice.

“That’s hilarious! I chose innocent and they still got fried.”

“What are you talking about?” Mindy asked. “We were shown to a room and told to await our sentence.”

Omar gleefully explained the setup. Ricky watched Anthony during this and saw the look of panic when he heard about the one-way mirror.

“You were watching them?” Anthony asked, directing the question at Omar, even though his eyes kept darting over to Ricky.

“Yup! They were trembling, even before I hit the button. It was glorious!”

“It really was fun,” Mindy said. “Should we try getting into another?”

“Maybe,” Omar said. “Let’s see if the lines are any shorter.”

Ricky stayed a few paces behind as everyone walked away, his attention on Cameron and Anthony. Now that he no longer feared for his life, he was beginning to make a few connections. And he wasn’t sure if he liked them.

— — —

Cameron brought the station wagon to a halt outside of Ricky’s house, putting the car in park and shutting off the engine, since he figured they were about to have a lengthy talk. They were alone now, having just dropped off Anthony, who had shot him a concerned expression before getting out. There was very little chance they hadn’t been seen. Ricky’s silence on the drive here was especially damning.

“Did you have fun tonight?” Cameron asked.

Ricky made a little noise and nodded.

“Which haunted house was your favorite?” Cameron tried next.

“The Edge of Hell,” Ricky said. “I liked the slide. Although the other one was… interesting. The end especially.”

There it was. “How so?”

Ricky finally looked at him. “Was that the first time you kissed Anthony?”

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