Page 51 of Escape Velocity
Callum goes higher than Mason did, using his legs to carry him even further.
“Wow, you’re going so high!” Mason cries, as he watches Callum soar.
“Callum! Where are you?” A deep, formidable voice booms and the birds stop singing, the crickets stop chirping, and the babbling brook seems to stop its chatter.
Callum’s smile falls and fear paints his face as his eyebrows draw together, and his mouth opens.
“Mason? Are you here?” his mother’s voice calls from not too far off.
“Get down!” Mason whispers to Callum, who skids his feet on the gravel and slows himself down from the swing.
Callum hops off the swing.
His heart starts beating faster. He’s scared of Mr. Brown.
Mason goes to grab Callum’s hand to calm him down, but Callum throws his hand away, shaking his head at Mason, his eyes bulging.
Twigs snap and the towering figure of Callum’s dad makes its way into the clearing, his eyebrows furrowed, and nostrils flared.
“Where the hell have you been,Callum?”
“I told Mom I was just going into the forest!” Callum said, his voice shaking.
“You’re supposed to stay on the outside, not in the thick brush! And you’re supposed to tellme too. I’ve been searching for you both with Mrs. Fanning for the past fifteen minutes!”
Callum gulps and nods his head.
“You’re right, Dad, I—I’m sorry?—”
“Mason!”
Mason sees his mother come into the clearing. “Where were you? I was looking everywhere for you!”
“I told you I was going to Callum’s!” Mason says. He knows he’s in trouble, but he’s not sure why.
“Next time, tell me if you’re going into the forest, honey,” his mom says, resting a hand on his shoulder.
“What were you doing here with Mason?” Mr. Brown asks Callum.
“He wanted to come over and play and?—”
“I told you he’s not allowed over here anymore!” Mr. Brown bellows, his voice booming and seemingly shaking the trees, making the birds fly off into the distance.
Mason jumps at Mr. Brown’s sudden outburst, and Callum does too, his eyes becoming misty.
“But Mom said he’s allowed?—”
Mr. Brown clenches his fists and his voice wavers. “I don’t care what she says. She’s sick. She—she can’t make sound decisions. She?—”
Mason’s mom walks over and tugs on Mr. Brown’s sleeve. “Daniel, let’s just go back?—”
“She wanted to see me, Mr. Brown,” Mason says, trying to calm him down. He doesn’t know why Mr. Brown is so angry. He’s always so upset about everything, especially about Callum. Mason wishes he could be happy.
“Well, she’s not going to anymore. You’re not allowed here anymore. Especially not with how you make Callum into some kind of sissy. He’s going to be a football player. He doesn’t need some kind of sissy boy to distract him pushing him on swings and playing in leaves,” Mr. Brown practically spits at Mason and takes Callum’s hand and starts dragging him out of the clearing.
Mason’s heart sinks and his eyes sting as Mr. Brown’s comment sears through him. Why did everyone think that about him? Just because he likes math and thinks the world is beautiful and writes poems about it?
Maybe he’s a bit sensitive, but he doesn’t care. Why did everyone say that about him?
