© to their respected owners. Short chapter.

I stifle a laugh. How could one tiny black box with a horse on it cause so much fear in Otto? This is all too much fun. Dad strides in and throws his keys on the table knocking the box onto the floor.
"What was that?" he asks flatly. I get up and walk around the square table to pick it up. With a mischievous smile I hand it to Dad. He looks me square in the eye and asks, "Are these yours?" I shake my head and stick my finger out at Otto. Raymundo looks relieved. He sits down and laughs from his heart in which there is no place more me.
"Otto, I'm glad you're using protection," I look around me with fear in my eyes.
"Yeah," Otto admits awkwardly as he looks at his feet. I can't suppress my anger.
"RAYMUNDO! Is this a double standard or what? You look mortified when you think they're mine! But you're soooo relieved when you know its Otto's" I scream. He looks surprised at my outburst.
"Reggie," he says calmly, "you're sixteen and Otto is seventeen." I can't believe my ears. It is no more than a second before my eyes well up with tears.
"I'm seventeen. Otto is sixteen. Get it through your head!" He was stunned. I didn't blame him, I am too. He tries to calm me down, but Otto interrupts. "Raymundo, she's right, you know."
"No Otto is seventeen; his birthday was May 11, 1986. Reggie's is.is." he snaps his fingers looking for the answer. I don't know what happened next. The only thing I know is I was flying up the stairs, three at a time. I must have yelled to Otto to give me his sports bag, because it ended up in my hands. I shut the door, and stuff everything I own in the bag. By the time I was done, I realized that it wouldn't close. So I had to unpack and re-fold everything.
A thought struck me. I would have to finish the 'Zine. I have obligations, you know? I hastily finish it and print out n issue and save it on a disk. I write a note to Sammy to tell him to make any chances that were needed and that he was the guest editor of next week's issue. After making sure I had everything, I leave in the middle of the night.