Page 7 of Laying Low

“Yeah,” Reg said and sighed.“But that meant that I had to leave my apartment early to find her.There’s sort of a hiding place that only I know about—and sure enough, she was there.But Marcus and I had to figure out how to fix the enclosure so she didn’t slip the lock again.And then….”He sighed.

“What?”

“Well, we’re pretty sure sheatewhile she was out, and my folks would never use rodent poison.They have, like, six cats, and if those little ass—erm, reprobates—aren’t doing their jobs, my mom keeps threatening to fire them.”She was also the one who called them assholes.Reg’s mother did not mince words.“But we have to—well, Marcus is sort of stuck, watching to make sure that whatever she ate, uhm, moves down.You know.Past her throat, where she might hork it up, and into her digestive tract, where hopefully it will be, you know, dissolved.We’re pretty sure it’s a mouse or a small rat, or even a bird, but what if it’s a rock or something?She coulddie, and then, well, Marcus wouldreallybe depressed.”

“Thatwouldbe bad,” Adelle agreed, although her mouth was still compressed with humor.

“So, Anthony agreed to stay for an hour while I came to set up, to make sure, you know, Muffin didn’t, well, choke and die on a rock instead of digesting a rat.”

Adelle was obviously struggling with laughter.

“It’s not funny!”he argued, and she gave up the struggle.

“No, it’s not,” she said, “but oh my God, Reg, itso is!”And then she lapsed into another peal of laughter, one that kept going even as the final bell rang and the art club kids began to flood the cafeteria to finish up the preparations.

AN HOURlater, Reg was busy taping a butcher-paper banner over the bake-sale table, with clever cartoons of cookies on it and the words Back Sale emblazoned on the front when Anthony McCauley’s unfairly rumbly voice interrupted his wincing over the spelling gaffe.

“Whose back are you selling?Is it just the spine or the entire backside?I’m curious here—solve the mystery for me.”

Reg turned toward him with a smile, and then winced again when he turned back to the sign.

“Reynaldo…,” he said unhappily, and Adelle’s nephew, who had transferred to this high school from somewhere down south, sighed.

“I’m sorry, Mr.Royal,” he said.

“It’s an easy mistake to make,” he said.“And I hate to lose the decorations.Maybe we can just… you know….”

“Patch it?”Reynaldo suggested, and oh boy, did that sound better than redoing the entire thing a half hour before they started.

“Yeah, that,” Reg said with relief.“The art room is still open.Go make a patch and we’ll tape it up over the word.But hurry—no time to make it pretty.”

“Back in ten!”Reynaldo wasn’t big or athletic, but boy was he cute.A thing that fellow student Ilia Kirov had noticed, because how did you not notice dark, glossy curls framing enormous brown eyes, even if neither boy realized they were gay.

“I’ll come help you!”Ilia said, and he left so fast Reg had to take his place holding the butcher-paper table skirt in place for Renee Clemmons, the purple-haired upperclassman who had spearheaded much of the fundraiser.

“Oh my God,” she muttered, wielding the tape with superb competence.“Why can’t they just kiss and come out and stop making our lives miserable!”

“It’s not that easy,” Reg chided gently, although for him it had been almost a given.His parents had sheltered enough kids in their basement, though, for the whole family to know how lucky they were.

“I know it’s not,” she said.“But for heaven’s sake, it’s theart club.I mean… you know.If any club is rainbow friendly it’s theart club.”

Reg chuckled.“Well, you know, for some of us it really isthe art.”

Renee cocked her head and raised her eyebrows, reminding Reg disconcertingly of Adelle.“Are yousure, Mr.Royal?Really?”

Anthony’s rumbly, unapologetic laugh elicited an impudent smile from Renee, and she waved him off.“Go talk to your boyfriend—let me work!”

Still chuckling, he turned to Anthony.

“Wow,” Anthony said, shaking his head.“She’s something.”

“Yeah, that kid is gonna rule the world,” Reg agreed.“As soon as she teaches Reynaldo to spell.”

Anthony laughed again and then looped his muscular arm over Reg’s shoulders, casually, like a friend would, and Reg’s vision went dark as he forgot how to breathe.

Anthony’s voice purred pleasantly in Reg’s ear, and Reg had to consciously pull air into his lungs to track what he was saying.

“What a fun event!Now come on—show me your art!”