Page 7 of Escape Velocity
“What climbed up your ass?” Joel asks.
Callum sighs, a longer, and wearier one than before. He should have actually started cleaning before Joel steppedinto his room. Joel always has something to say. As shitty as he can be, he is observant, and he can tell the topic of Mason sets Callum on edge.
“I’m just tired of talking about high school. We go toMontgomerynow, Whitlock,” Callum says, pointing at the maroon and gold flag on the wall behind his bed.
Joel rolls his eyes. “Obviously. I just know Fanning gets under your skin. It’s fun to watch you squirm.”
Callum scoffs. “No, he doesn’t. You just said yourself he pissesyouoff; stop projecting onto me,” Callum says.
Joel shakes his head and whips the bag open. “Whatever, man.”
Callum opens his bedside drawer and takes out another picture frame. He caresses it in his hand like it’s a delicate small animal that he can crush with his grip if he holds it too hard. Pain sears through his chest at the picture.
It’s of him and his mom on the first day of elementary school, hugging and smiling wide. She stands in the middle, with Mason on the left of her, hugging her like she’s his mother, too.
He’s wearing glasses much too big for his face and has a maroon baseball cap and a backpack that makes it seem like he’ll topple down from its weight at any second.
Life is so different now.
He wishes he could jump into that picture and be back to how things used to be. His real mom is alive. He doesn’t have a stepmom. He doesn’t have the pressure of being a star football player. Having a best friend who truly cares about him. But he knows he ruined everything. Saying “hi” won’t change what happened. He can’t go back now.
He sniffs and carefully puts the frame into his bedside table.
A knock comes at the door.
“Can you get that?” Callum says as he puts the frame away.
Joel gets up and opens the door. “Enter if you dare, Craig.”
Callum perks up and sees Craig’s clumsy and burly frame make it into their dorm.
“Yo, your guys’ room is so much bigger than mine!” Craig says, his usual dumb smile on his face and full of surprise.
Joel smacks Craig’s back. “Sorry, buddy, guess we lucked out.”
Craig nods. “I was hoping to room with Callum like last year, but I guess you lucked out with having him too,” Craig says to Joel.
Callum snorts. Craig wasn’t the perfect roommate. He was often messy and loud in the mornings, but he had a heart of gold, and Callum was lucky to have someone to confide in during his first year of college.
Craig never judged and didn’t snoop, much unlike Joel.
Joel goes back to unpacking Callum’s stuff, and Craig sits on his bed. “So, Cal, who was that guy you were talking to at practice?”
Joel whips his head up to look at Craig, glancing between Craig and Callum.
Callum silently curses Craig. He had spoken to Mason while Joel was still in the locker room. Joel wouldn’t have known.
“Oh, just someone from one of my classes last year.”
Craig snorts. “He seemed kinda standoff-ish with you, man. Are you guys good?”
Joel stares expectantly at Callum. Callum keeps his eyes focused on Craig.
Callum bats his hand with a smile. “There was just a misunderstanding. It’s fine.”
Callum goes back to putting the rest of his posters up.
“You think we have a good chance of winning the championship this year?” Joel asks.
