Page 86 of Escape Velocity
They stay up on that library roof, away from everything. Safe from it all. In their own world.
Safe from the treachery of their life back home.
26
MASON
“This is a bad idea.”
“I have to come to these things.”
“There’s just something in the air. I don’t know.”
Jenna huffs as she sits down next to Mason in the stands, with their hot dogs, fries, and diet colas in hand.
Mason took extra precautions to not get cold and brought three layers. His shirt, one of Callum’s sweaters, and a jacket over top. Jenna did the same, and they look like penguins waddling around the bleachers in their huge jackets.
“What makes you say that?” Mason asks as he takes a sip from his straw.
“There is sinister energy here,” she says, waving her hand in a circle around the crowd, getting a few confused looks from the people just below her as they look behind them at her.
Mason snorts. He isn’t sure if she’s joking, but he’s not feeling what she’s feeling, but maybe he has blinders on because of getting to see Callum play again for the first timein a while.
Commercials for the campus store and restaurants play on the Jumbotron, and Mason looks through his notebook for notes he had taken during previous games, trying to get back in the headspace of how he writes about Callum and the team.
Having to write more about the team than Callum himself will likely prove itself to be a more difficult job than he anticipates sheerly due to his bias towards him, and especially since Joel is breathing down his neck, he’ll have to be as impartial as possible if he doesn’t want to get even more snark from Joel or suspicious eyes on him.
His heart begins to swell as he reads his words about Callum from previous issues.
Electrifying. Fearless. Agile. Swift.
His heart soars as he imagines Callum’s eyes all over him, staring and smiling at him like he’s the only person who understands.
“Wait—is that… No. They’re coming up here—oh my God.”
The vision sours and fades as Mason immediately lifts his gaze at Jenna’s panicked voice.
His heart drops as he sees Mr. Brown, Callum’s dad, and stepmom making their way up the bleacher steps.
Mason immediately closes his notebook and sits up straight, turning his head away in hopes that they don’t notice him and that they’re going to see his gushing prose about Callum and immediately notice.
Anxiety is a twisted, funny thing.
The Browns pass by them, without giving Mason much of a glance but sit in the row above them, almost directly behind him and Jenna.
Jenna leans in to whisper in Mason’s ear. “You would think they’d want better seats down up front.”
Mason knows why they probably don’t. It would make them seem like they care about Callum, and they don’t. Mason can’t necessarily speak for Tammy, but he knows Mr. Brown clearly just attends to brag about the Brown’s being unbeatable or getting to clearly see how bad Callum screws up.
The only good thing about it being that Mr. Brown can’t touch him in a setting like this.
Montgomery is a safe haven for Callum, at least until Thanksgiving.
The commercials stop and they play booming, thumping music that gets the crowd going, trying to motivate the spectators just as much as the players.
Callum appears on the screen as the players run onto the field and the crowd goes wild. Mason stands up and cheers for Callum, not caring if anyone sees, and especially not Mr. Brown. Jenna does the same, but only claps.
Callum appears on the Jumbotron in a pre-recorded video in his football outfit, putting a hand up to his ear and motioning his hand up and down, trying to get the crowd to cheer louder.
