Page 26 of Escape Velocity
What if he has to write about a loss? Or a good game? His pen is his to use, and he can cut Callum down or draw him with a halo, and he has all the power.
It’s all he wants—to finally have something over Callum, but for some reason, it’s only making something blossom inside him that makes him wish he had never been given the power in the first place.
8
MASON
“Alright everyone,let’s get down to business.”
Fiona stalks around the office like she’s a predator hunting their prey. Her eyes are fierce and serious, and everyone stands completely still like they’re in the army, awaiting directions.
Mason gulps and plays with the strings of his hoodie as he watches Fiona walk around the room, eyeing everyone suspiciously.
“The Goldberg’sreadership has been on a steady decline for the past three years. It means that whatever we’re writing about is clearly not riveting enough. So we need to change. I need ideas. And I need to make sure we’re all on the same page.”
Fiona whirls around and stares down someone a few people down from him.
She squints and focuses on one person. “Fields! What do you have for me?”
Mason cranes his neck to see a guy from his journalism class swallow hard.
“I—uh—I’m trying to—to do an article on the secret clubs at Montgomery…”
Fiona purses her lips and squints harder at him. Mason’s terrified that she might just fire him on the spot by the way she’s looking at him.
Fiona turns around to look at the whiteboard which has all the sections of the paper. “And tell me, Fields. Do you have any leads?”
“My name’s Alex…” the guy mumbles, likely expressing his displeasure in being called by his last name, Fields, just like Mason.
“What’s that?” Fiona asks, her tone seeping with displeasure.
Alex gulps. “Nothing. I—of course I have leads. I’ve already talked to a couple of people that are a part of one club.”
Fiona turns back to Alex and nods. “Good. Keep going. Should increase readership since freshmen love that kind of stuff.”
She pivots to face Mason.
“Fanning. What do you got?” Fiona asks, crossing her arms at him.
Mason freezes. He rubs the back of his neck. “I, uh—I didn’t know I was supposed to come up with something; I thought you would assign me what to do. Like reporting on the games…”
He winces as he realizes he just made a grave mistake. How was he supposed to know there was more to sports than just reporting on the games?
Fiona pinches the bridge of her nose and mumbles something under her breath.
Fiona opens her mouth, surely about to say somethingterrible, but Mason cuts her off as the worst idea in the world comes to him.
“I could do a player profile on Callum Brown?” he asks, his voice high-pitched and frantic.
He wants to immediately silence himself forever for offering such a vile option for an article.
He just offered to intentionally spendmoretime with Callum, and not only that, but to have a conversation with him, which will inevitably tie he and Callum together even more than they are already becoming like a sailor’s knot.
Fiona smiles and points at him. “Now that’s agreatidea, Fanning. Thank you for coming up withsomething. Go with that.”
Mason smiles weakly at her and closes his eyes as he realizes he’s made a grave mistake.
It’s one thing to go to the games and report on them, and now he just offered himself up to kiss Callum’s ring.
