Chapter 4 #2
He wonders what his life would be like if he stops the fear-based studying and goes out to a party for once.
He wonders if he would still have ended up at Montgomery, sitting on the picnic blankets and conversing with “like-minded individuals” if he hadn’t felt like he had to achieve anything and everything academic.
He clears his throat and blinks rapidly, looking away from the group and makes his way into the dining hall, where he notices Jenna sitting at one of the tables, phone in her hand, scrolling.
Mason smirks and stands behind her.
“Doom scrolling?” he says, and she jumps and throws her phone down on the table as she yelps. A few heads look over at them, and Mason giggles as they give Jenna odd looks.
Mason sits down next to her primly, smiling to himself while Jenna’s face reddens.
“I hate you. I hate you. I hate you,” she says in rapid succession.
Mason shrugs innocently. “I was just trying to make myself known.”
“Well maybe you should try a little less next time,” Jenna says through gritted teeth.
“Anyway, did you get a look at the food yet?” Mason asks, craning his neck to look over at the menu. He’s excited to see what they have, since his parents had paid for a semester pass, so he can eat whatever and however much he wants.
“No, I was waiting for you because I was being considerate,” she says mockingly.
“Alright well, let’s not waste any more time then,” Mason says, putting his hands on her shoulders and shaking her.
It’s so easy to rile Jenna up, and whenever he has the chance, he takes it. She pretends she hates it, but deep down Mason knows she loves it.
They wait in line for what feels like an hour, get their food, and sit down.
“You know, I’m really excited for tomorrow, actually,” Jenna says in between forking fries into her mouth.
Mason takes a sip of his soda. “I’m not.”
Jenna eyes him suspiciously. “You really hate football that much?”
Mason nods, but he’s lying. There’s a much worse reason why he doesn’t want to go.
“Or maybe you just hate Callum Brown that much.”
Mason freezes.
“I do not.”
“You do too.”
He stares daggers at her. She loves to push him, and most of the time it’s fine, but anything beginning and ending with the subject of Callum is too far with her.
“Sorry I don’t want to cheer on my former best friend who abandoned me.”
Jenna sighs. “Mason, come on—”
“Jenna? Jenna Winston?” a deep, unfortunately familiar voice calls from behind them.
He knows that voice. He knows that stupid, low timbre voice. It’s the second time he’s heard it in the past hour.
He checks his watch. It’s only been half an hour since he was in the library. Was their team meeting that quick?
Mason sighs and turns around to see Callum leaning onto the table, his forearm veins bulging. Mason knows he’s doing it on purpose.
“Yeah. You go here too?” she answers, her voice even.
“Yeah. Guess that’s why Fanning’s here too? You guys have been inseparable since—”
“Since ninth grade,” Mason interrupts, crossing his arms.
Callum shifts uncomfortably on his feet, clearly noticing Mason’s instant displeasure with him.
“You really think I would only come to the school I’ve been gunning for since I was a kid so that I could follow my best friend?” Mason asks, his cheeks hot from the implication.
Callum furrows his eyebrows. “No, I was just thinking that—”
“Bull. You’ve been finding any possible way to discredit me since we started high school.”
They’re off to the races already. Mason is sick and tired of having his week derailed by Callum and the football team, and he needs to make a counter-attack.
Callum scoffs, his mouth opening and closing but saying nothing. Mason knows he’s right.
Callum closes his eyes.
“Fanning—”
Mason sighs. “Stop calling me by my last name.”
Callum opens his eyes and raises his eyebrows. “Mace?”
“I’m not a toxic aerosol spray.”
“Mace-face?”
“Worse.”
“Mason Jar?”
“Maybe.”
“Macey-Basey?”
“No!”
“Fine. Mason.”
Jenna’s head is going back and forth between Mason and Callum like she’s watching a tennis match. She chomps on her fries as she watches.
“I was just trying to say hi to Jenna. As far as I know, you’re the only two people other than Joel from Northwood that goes to Montgomery.
So, we may as well get used to seeing each other.
I was just trying to be friendly,” Callum says, holding his hands up like he’s an innocent victim and Mason instigated a whole fight.
Maybe he did. But that’s all he knows how to do with Callum.
His throat still stings from the comment Callum’s teammate made before, so maybe he’s still on the defense. Sue him.
“Because you changed so much over the past year, right?” Mason asks, tilting his head.
“Fanning—”
“Mason.”
Callum sighs. “Mason. I’m just trying to be friendly, alright?”
Mason crosses his arms. “Fine. Just don’t do it around me.”
For the briefest of moments, there’s a sad look in Callum’s eyes, like he’s maybe gunning on being friends with Mason.
Like a year away from him made Callum change his ways and want to make nice and be buddy-buddy with Mason again just like in elementary school.
But Mason isn’t one to forgive and forget, especially not after being abandoned.
Callum used to defend and protect him. But when they got into high school, Callum became the exact person that he would defend Mason against.
Mason doesn’t think he can ever forgive Callum for that. No matter how many run-ins he has with him, it still stings.
“Don’t mind him, Callum. Every rose has its thorn,” Jenna says, getting up and putting her hand on Callum’s shoulder.
Mason tenses at the affection for Callum from Jenna. He tenses at any affection that girls gave to Callum.
Callum laughs at this.
“It was nice to see you, Jenna. See you around,” Callum says, a sheepish smile on his face. He skirts his gaze over to Mason, who’s still crossing his arms and has his lips tightened.
“Mason,” Callum says, nodding his head once in acknowledgement. Then he turns and walks back out of the dining hall, like he wasn’t planning on going in it in the first place until he saw Jenna.
“You’re a real piece of work,” Jenna says, then takes a sip of her water.
Mason rolls his eyes. “You know how he was. He always looked down on me and what I liked in high school. It’s gonna take a lot more than some fake niceties before he can thaw this icy heart,” Mason says, thumping on his chest.
Jenna chuckles. “I know. I just hope that maybe he has changed. Maybe he’s learned the error of his ways,” she says hopefully. Mason looks at her with an apprehensive eyebrow raised. She closes her mouth and looks down at the ground.
“Well, remember—you have to write about him. So maybe… just pretend for a little bit of time that he’s your friend. Maybe it’ll make it easier to write about,” she says.
Mason sighs.
Maybe Jenna is right. He has so many dams and barricades in the way of his writing.
He needs to get on The Goldberg, and if he keeps acting like a scorned lover, then it will likely never happen.
He has to get into the school spirit, go to the Hornets game, and pretend like he wants to be there.
It will go against everything he’s felt for the past four years. And it will take a huge blow to his ego, but it has to be done.
He has to hope to see Callum win.