Page 32 of Escape Velocity
Mason nods slowly. “Historical stuff…”
Callum’s shoulders tense. “I just—like history, okay? I think it’s—it’s… cool.”
Mason squints and nods. Callum’s panicking, but seems to be telling the truth. He probably just accidentally let something slip. Something he hasn’t told anyone else before, especially not his football friends.
“So you want me to put that you’re a history buff?” Mason asks.
“No—uh—I uh… I just think it’s a cool subject, I—I don’t knowthatmuch about it really…”
Mason smiles at Callum. He likes watching Callum squirm. Maybe there’s more to this than getting answers out of him. The fact that Mason can make Callum squirm was giving him a power trip, but he doesn’t want to make him feel embarrassed.
“Thinks history is cool…” Mason says as he writes in his notebook.
Callum winces and rubs the back of his neck.
Mason watches Callum for a beat longer than he should, his eyes raking over Callum’s bare arms and how his t-shirt clings tightly onto the contours of his biceps.
He remembers that rubbing the back of his neck was his nervous tic when they were kids.
Callum is nervous, and Mason has no idea why.
“What’s your favorite song?”
Mason holds his pen up, expecting Callum to give him an answer that every football player uses.
“About You.”
Mason swallows, as his heart skips a beat.
“This is supposed to be aboutyourfavorite songs, not mine.”
Callum stares at him, his brow relaxing, a small smile forming on his lips. “I know.”
Mason clears his throat and swallows, nodding as he writes the song down.
For the longest time, it had been Mason’s favorite song. It still was.
But how could Callum have known that? It came out after they had stopped being friends. As far as he knew, only Jenna knew it was his favorite song.
“I love the band, and I love the song, that’s all,” Callum says.
Mason looks at Callum, whose placidness has gone back to the unaffectedness that he had before. Maybe Callum and him just happened to have the same favorite song. They did grow up together after all, and they had the same taste in music.
Mrs. Brown would play songs on her record player for them, and they would jump and dance around the living room together, singing their hearts out as she would join along with them.
Mason remembers that time fondly. Mrs. Brown was like a second mother to him. His parents didn’t expect too much of him yet, and he was just able to have fun. He misses when times were that simple.
Mason clears his throat. “What other sports do you play?”
“I swim sometimes,” Callum says.
Mason twists his mouth. He needs to get the most interesting ones out of the way first, and he wants to stay away from the personal questions as much as he can.
“Do you like to be challenged, and if so, how?”
Callum chuckles. “This game always comes with challenge.”
Mason beckons Callum to continue.
