Page 86 of Pride High

“How many tickets do you have?” said the little boy ahead of them in line.

“I don’t remember,” said a girl who looked like his sister.

They kept trying to count out loud at the same time, which of course was confusing and forced them to start over again. Anthony and Cameron were doing their best not to laugh, but it only got harder the longer this went on. And when it turned out that the woman behind the prize counter had a machine that counted the tickets for them, Anthony just about lost it.

“I want the brown bunny rabbit!” said the girl.

“Can I have the water gun?” the boy asked.

“You don’t have enough tickets,” the woman said apologetically.

“What if we just get one?” the little girl asked.

“Get the gun!” the boy said in excitement.

“We can share the bunny,” said his sister.

Anthony leaned closer to Cameron. “See what I mean? Being an only child has its advantages.”

“I’m afraid you don’t have enough for either of them,” the woman explained. “Have you seen the stickers? Or the candy?”

The siblings began arguing. The brother wanted to search the arcade floor for tickets or tokens. His sister wanted to save their tickets and come back some other time.

Cameron looked as if he was in pain. “How bad do you want that pig?” he asked.

“I think I can live without,” Anthony said, already feeling a rush of affection toward him.

He watched as Cameron added his massive pile of tickets to the meager amount the kids had managed to accumulate. From the way they squealed and giggled, they acted like he’d handed them a stack of cash.

“Thanks, mister!

“Thanks a lot!”

Anthony and Cameron were soon forgotten as the kids claimed their prizes and rushed out of the arcade. The woman behind the counter was nice enough to let them choose some candy as a consolation prize.

“Very sweet,” Anthony said as he worked on a Blow Pop.

“Yeah,” Cameron said while staring at him. Then he blinked. “I mean, no problem.”

Anthony made sure to suck extra hard when pulling the sucker from his mouth so it made a loud POP! “Not as good as the real thing,” he said with a wink. Then he laughed. “Who am I kidding? I’m a complete virgin. You would have made a great big brother though. That was really nice. But you still owe me a pig.”

Cameron grinned. “Then we’ll have to do this again sometime. Feeling hungry yet?”

“Yeah!”

He seemed to have a destination in mind as they walked down Main Street and turned a corner. Cameron stopped in front of a small café that had a limited number of tables. “Welcome to the Garden of Eden,” he said. “I wonder if the dress code is what it used to be. We might need to take off our clothes and grab some crotch leaves.”

The restaurant was actually called The Garden of Eatin’ and only served vegetarian food. “I’ve always wanted to try this place,” Anthony said, unable to hide his enthusiasm. “My friends never want to. The same with my family.”

“I’m up for it!”

“Are you sure? You’re on this date too. I want you to have a good time.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Cameron said. “I’m having the time of my life. We better hurry. There’s only one table left.”

They rushed inside, Anthony worried that the table was already reserved, but they were in luck. He couldn’t stop smiling as he looked around the place. Potted plants and trees filled the interior, feeding into the name and theme. The tables were wooden, Cameron running his hand along the surface of the one they were seated at. The booths and chair cushions were covered in bottle-green fabric. Some sort of Roman or Greek music was playing along with the sound of chirping birds. In one corner, a fountain burbled.

“This is how I want my bedroom to look,” Anthony said.

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