Chapter 11 #2
Mason smiles to himself as he turns and makes his way to his next class. Did Callum tell Craig that he wanted to see Mason at the next game?
And now Mason is “the man”? Maybe he should have been going to those games sooner. Who cares what Joel says about him? He hates everyone except his own teammates, but even then, Joel barely seems to tolerate Craig.
Mason walks between buildings with his cheeks red, and bumping into a couple people as he walks down the hallways, his mind elsewhere. Despite how much he hates jocks and the football team, Mason is starting to realize that he wants their validation, and he’s never gotten it before.
The same type of kids that bullied him in elementary school became those that were on sports teams, and he’s worked his whole life trying to get their approval or their attention instead of insults hurled his way.
Craig is usually all right, but it’s by Callum’s account that Craig even speaks to him in the first place.
Mason is starting to think his “approval seeking” is really “Callum approval seeking” by the judge of his beating heart and his rosy cheeks.
For the next game, Mason decides to have some team spirit and gets a Hornet’s sweatshirt.
He feels like he’ll fit in better with the crowd and he wants to feel proud of his school.
Montgomery is his dream school after all, and he should act like it if he really feels that way. Jenna’s wearing her hair in a ponytail, with a maroon sweater and black leggings.
He’s happy she’s with him; he wants her to see what a football game is really like. Like Mason, she’s spent most of her high school studying and reading literature, never having the time or interest to watch a football game.
The crowd buzzes with the same electricity again, but it’s more of a dull hum than it had been the first game. Mason chalks it up to first-game jitters and excitement. Now, people have seen Callum in action, and they know what to expect.
It’s October and the Hornets still haven’t lost a single game yet. Mason figures it will make his blurb much easier to write, and that he’ll have a lot of eyes on his writing since so many people are interested in college football.
Mason is beginning to feel the excitement himself. He feels like his writing could actually make an impact on others.
It doesn’t matter if writing is his passion, thousands of eyes could possibly be reading his words, and that’s fulfilling enough on its own. It means prestige and success, and something he can take home to his mom as proof of his college degree being “worth it.”
Maybe it’ll lessen the blow if he has to tell her about his major.
It might have been sad to think that it’s his only way of convincing his parents that he can make it by doing physics as his major, but prestige is their currency. Without anything to back it up, they’ll never listen.
“I still can’t believe this many people come to a college football game,” Jenna says, her eyes scanning the crowd, shaking her head.
“Just wait until the game starts. The energy is contagious. You’ll see what the hype is about.”
Jenna shakes her head with a playful smile on her lips.
“There’s no way you, Mason Fanning, just supported not just watching any sport, but football of all of them,” Jenna says, whipping her head to look back at Mason, a single eyebrow raised.
“I am a changed man. What can I say?”
“And I’m sure there’s nothing or no one that caused this change, right? All just an opportunity to impress your parents?” she asks, her eyes narrowing. Her eyes narrow a lot recently whenever football as a subject comes up.
“It’s fun to watch,” Mason says as he digs his hand into his popcorn bag and munches on some kernels.
“Hmm,” Jenna hums once again. There’s so much she’s not saying, and Mason’s waiting for when she lets it loose.
To be truthful, Mason knows he overreacted to him and Callum’s last interaction on the bleachers.
Callum was trying to apologize, and Mason didn’t even let him. Maybe he still holds a grudge and a truckload of resentment, but the least he can do is hear the guy out, and maybe he can start listening by watching the games.
The crowd starts to cheer, and Mason snaps out of his own head, immediately putting his popcorn bag down and stands up. The familiar boom of the commentator fills his ears, and he gets this rush of excitement flowing through him, like he’s been struck by lightning.
Jenna also gets up slowly, and starts to clap, craning her neck to try and see where the players are.
The team bursts onto the field, and Mason joins in with the crowd’s cheers. The team all run past the bleachers, raising their arms into the air to get them to cheer louder and they do.
The team has the whole stadium in the palm of their hands.
Callum goes closer to the bleachers and does his own arm waving, and he gets even more cheers back.
The stadium is Callum’s alone.
Callum’s smile is wide, and he’s enjoying every single drop of attention he’s getting. In all honesty, Mason can’t blame him.
If Mason was down on that field and showboating for the crowd, he’d love the attention just as much. He wonders if Callum would do the same showboating if he felt confident in himself without the crowd.
Callum walks over to the far left of the benches, where Mason and Jenna are cheering and he looks up at them.
His smile lessens from its initial brilliance, but a sheepish grin creeps onto his mouth, like their scrutiny makes him shy.
Callum gives them a single wave. They wave back and Mason expects Callum to run off, but he stays still. His body is already on its way to the field, but he decides to turn back to the pair, and his gaze is focused on Mason.
Callum pats his chest with his fist while staring at Mason.
Heat pools in Mason’s stomach and face. Shivers run up his arm as he realizes what just happened.
Mason’s eyes widen and he clears his throat, doing a two-fingered salute awkwardly back to Callum, not knowing what to do under Callum’s gaze.
Callum chuckles and runs back to the field, his usual confident stature and run back in business.
Spectators from the rows in front of him turn around to look in their general direction, wondering who Callum was making gestures to, and Mason looks around too, pretending like it wasn’t him.
Jenna gasps. “Was that for you?”
Mason’s cheeks flush even more. He doesn’t blush. Not ever. “No. I don’t—”
She clenches his shoulder with a vice-like grip. “Oh my God it totally was, wasn’t it? You still have it so bad for him, you little liar.”
“I do not,” Mason says, gritting his teeth.
“So, it wouldn’t change anything if I said I think he has something for you too?” she asks innocently.
The teams assemble into their positions and Mason sits down as the rest of the crowd does.
He shovels another handful of his popcorn. “No, it would not.”
Jenna scoffs. “Would.”
“Wouldn’t.”
“Would too.”
“Okay, are you twelve or something?”
Jenna purses her lips and smiles slyly to herself as she sits back down.
Mason regrets confessing his high school crush on Callum to Jenna. He shouldn’t have said anything about liking Callum at some point in his life. Now she’ll never let it go.
The Hornets line up on the 35-yard line, with Callum behind them, managing the other players and pointing in different areas and someone on the Hornets kicks the ball to the other team.
As the first quarter ends, they’ve already scored two touchdowns.
The Hornets are an unstoppable, immovable force.
“They’re completely dominating them,” Mason says in amazement.
“How can you tell that they’re doing well?” Jenna asks.
“I watched some football videos recently. The team only has a certain number of plays before they can get a touchdown. If they have four plays, or ‘downs,’ and haven’t crossed that line…” Mason points to a part of the field where a flag has been placed. “Then it’s the other team’s ball.”
“So, if they don’t cross that line with the ball after four tries, they have to give it up?” Jenna asks.
“Yup.”
“And why are they randomly kicking it sometimes?” Jenna asks, her eyes focused on the field.
“On their last ‘down,’ if the team is close enough to get a touchdown, they can decide to try and get a touchdown or they can kick the ball and get it through the goal, and they can score three points with that. Either they risk it and get a touchdown to get six points, or they can pretty much ensure three points with a kick,” Mason responds matter-of-factly.
“Callum’s making all good decisions then,” Jenna says, raising her eyebrows as she looks at the scoreboard. It’s twenty-two to three.
“He is, but I think the coach decides that kind of stuff,” Mason says with a small smile.
The game ends as Mason expects, with the Ravens barely able to get any points on the Hornets, keeping them first in the standings of their division.
Mason barely recognizes himself with his newly acquired knowledge and passion for men throwing a ball around. Instead of physics and books, he’s watching football and judging the plays.
After witnessing the excitement and entertainment a football game can bring, covering the playoff games doesn’t seem like a terrible idea. The Hornets will surely get through to the play-offs, and probably the championship game with how they’re still playing undefeated.
Jenna and Mason walk down the bleachers, getting to the first landing. They’re stopped by a yell.
“Mason!”
Mason spins around and sees Callum running over to him.
Mason’s pulse races, unsure why Callum feels the need to call out to him. Doesn’t he have to go back to the locker room?
“So, Craig wasn’t lying about you being on the paper, then? You decided to stay,” Callum says with a smirk as he looks up at Mason from the sidelines.
Mason knows he’s referring to their spat about the player profile. Callum likely thought that would be the straw that broke the camel’s back, and Mason would stop doing the sports beat, but he didn’t.
“Nope. I’m doing the sports section indefinitely. They liked my player profile on you so much that they asked me to keep covering the football games from now on.”
Callum runs a hand through his sweaty hair, his face glistening under the flooding fluorescent lights. “So, I can expect you at the next games then?” Callum asks. He almost sounds hopeful.
Mason’s eyes dart to Callum’s lips which almost curl into a smile, then back to his familiar eyes. He inhales sharply and shrugs, averting his eyes to look elsewhere. “Maybe, we’ll see if they want to keep me on them.”
Callum smirks. “If you write anything like you did the first time then they’ll have to keep you.”
Mason’s cheeks burn.
It’s cold. His cheeks are flushing because it’s cold. That’s what it has to be.
“Maybe he’s some kind of lucky charm,” Jenna says. Mason whips his head to her, and she returns his gaze with a proud smile.
Callum shrugs as he stares at Mason. “Maybe he is.”
Suddenly, a larger man with a maroon windbreaker and a red face storms over to Callum.
“I need to have a word with you,” he says heatedly to Callum, his eyes quickly darting over to Mason.
Callum’s shoulders sag as he sighs and turns to the man who’s probably Callum’s coach. Mason has seen him wildly gesticulating his arms and his neck veins popping as he yelled at the team throughout the games.
“There’s a party at the Kappa Psi Alpha frat soon. You guys should come,” Callum says as he walks backwards away from them.
Mason opens his mouth to decline, but Jenna interrupts him with, “We’ll definitely be there.”
“I don’t even know where that is,” Mason growls at Jenna.
His phone starts buzzing. He takes it out of his pocket and sees that his mom is calling him.
“Can I have your pen?” Callum asks Mason, looking at the pen clinging to his clipboard.
Before Mason can even answer, Callum steals it from him.
“Hey! What are you—”
“What’s his number?” Callum asks Jenna.
Jenna, without hesitation, starts listing off the numbers.
Mason silences his phone, trying to refocus himself. “Jenna—”
“Oh hush, it’s not like I’m giving away your address and social security number.”
“Brown…” Callum’s coach growls.
“Give me a second,” Callum says in annoyance, shooing his arm in his coach’s direction as he writes Mason’s number down on his hand.
Mason gulps and looks at Jenna, who looks like she might explode into a billion pieces of maroon and gold confetti.
Callum hands the pen back to Mason. “There. I’ll text the details about the party soon.”
Callum grins at Mason and walks away like it’s nothing. His coach walks with him, a grimace on his face.
Mason widens his eyes heatedly as he turns to Jenna.
“I am not going to that party.”
Jenna looks at him like he’s just uttered sacrilege. “Mason. He just got your number. The quarterback of the school’s insanely talented football team wanted your—”
“I don’t care. I’m not going to that party! Why did you say yes? And why did you give him my number?” Mason says through gritted teeth, trying to hide that budding feeling in his stomach with anger and frustration instead.
“You needed a little push,” Jenna says, smirking as she shrugs her shoulders.
“I won’t know a single soul there other than you!”
“You’ll know him,” Jenna says slyly, her eyes looking to the side in playful innocence.
“And he’ll know everyone else. It’s not like he’s gonna be making a beeline to me when I get there.”
“Well, he invited you. He wrote your number on his big, strong, sweaty man hands. He wants to see you there.”
Jenna isn’t exactly wrong. But he can’t entertain the thought that Callum wants anything to do with Mason other than him singing his praises in the paper.
If Mason was his normal, physics loving self, would Callum want anything to do with him if it doesn’t involve stroking his already gargantuan ego?
“Whatever. I’ll just drink a bit and forget about it the next morning hopefully.”
“Now that’s the spirit,” Jenna says, interlocking her arm with Mason’s and walking down to the exit of the stadium with him.
“Now, let’s get some fries at Davey’s,” Jenna says as she starts pulling Mason in another direction.
“The first thing of the night that’s come out of your mouth that I’ve liked,” Mason says. Jenna sticks out her tongue at him before pulling him to the nearby campus diner.
He chuckles as he runs with her to the diner.
As the night ends on a high note with a huge basket of crispy fries, Mason can’t get Callum off his mind. What if all of this “playing nice” is just a ploy so Mason doesn’t write anything bad about him?
What if all of this is fake and Callum knows how to play Mason like a fiddle?
Are his efforts to become friends with Mason genuine or all just smoke and mirrors?