1. Today, let's talk about some alternatives to Amazon! (Note: I understand that some individuals have no choice but to shop from Amazon because of their financial situation. Please know that this is only directed to those who are financially able to consider other options!) As you may know, Amazon has a history of exploiting workers, avoiding taxes, creating excessive waste with their packaging, invading privacy with their Alexa devices, and much more. So seeking alternatives is understandable! The primary alternative is of course shopping from small, local businesses, as that allows money to stay within one's community. But there are plenty of alternative online resources, too! For buying books, consider thriftbooks dot com and BetterWorldBooks (every time you buy a book from BWB, they donate a book to someone in need). For clothing, consider Etsy and Patagonia (Patagonia donates 1% of all profits to environmental nonprofits). For home supplies, even companies like Ikea and Target are preferable to Amazon. Lastly, for pet supplies, consider Chewy dot com and PetFlow dot com (with every purchase from PetFlow, they donate a bowl of food to an animal in need). It's not easy to break away from the monopoly Amazon has over online shopping, but hopefully these provide a few ways for you to start! (Information condensed from soyouwanttotalkabout on Instagram.)
Bonjour vous-autres! Can you believe this is the penultimate chapter? (Excluding the epilogue, that is.) I am reeling from this revelation. Honestly, I don't know what I'll do with my life once this story is finished. There will be a void inside me that I am uncertain how I shall fill.
Anyways. Disregard my theatrics, lmao. I hope you enjoy the chapter!
xXxXxXx
"So your dad and Ez are driving here tomorrow before the game starts?" Soren asked as he dropped his duffel bag onto the floor.
"Yep," Callum said, leaning his own suitcase against the dresser between their two beds. "Dad didn't want to pay last-minute for a cheap overnight motel, and he also didn't want Ezran to miss school, so they're hitting the road as soon as he picks Ez up from carpool. Aunt Amaya and Gren are coming down later today, though." He smiled at Soren. "Once Aunt Amaya found out that KSU was pretty much guaranteed to be championship-bound, she made sure to reserve rooms at a decent hotel for her and Gren that was close to the stadium."
Soren grinned. "Your aunt is the best." An odd expression crossed his face, something akin to sadness and yet simultaneously… emptier. He sat down on the edge of his bed. "I know it's stupid, but I kind of wish my dad was coming to the game. At least if he was here, I could…" He shrugged. "I don't know. Pretend he cared?"
Ergh, Callum did not know what to do in these sorts of situations. Even though Harrow wasn't his birth father, he'd always been his dad. Also, Callum was not a fan of Viren. On one level he understood Soren's desire for his father's approval. On the other, he wanted to smack that desire out of his friend.
"Yeah," he finally said, sitting down next to Soren. "You're right. It sucks that he's not here." He hesitated, then shrugged. "I know it's not much consolation, but… The people who do care are the ones who are going to be at the game. My dad and Ezran. Aunt Amaya. Me and Claudia are already here, obviously." Well, duh. He could've sworn he had a point to his rambling?
Oh, crap - it should have been 'Claudia and I', hadn't it? Good thing Rayla wasn't there.
"And Dominic plans to have Sonya and Emilé go to his place so they can all watch the game live together," Callum continued, lightly elbowing Soren's arm. "They've even made a group chat that all of us are in."
Soren snorted. "Yeah, I already muted it."
"And you're of course going to have your entire team out there with you. Felix and Rayla, plus Lucas cheering all of you on with the rest of the cheerleaders - you guys have worked so hard to get here." Callum paused. "I know Viren's… absence leaves a hole that you can't really fill, but…" He hesitated, then placed a hand on Soren's shoulder. "There's still so many other people here that do care about you. And we're all proud of you and what you've accomplished this year."
A smile crept onto Soren's lips. "I heard Amaya wrote a whole paragraph about my success as quarterback this year in a letter to her pen pal."
Callum chuckled. "I heard about that, too." At this rate, his aunt and her pen pal would probably try to adopt Soren the second he left Viren's residence for good.
Soren blew air out his lips. "You're right. I've already got the best people in the world in my corner. Why should I let one little thing put a damper on the biggest game of my life?"
"Exactly!" Callum agreed, hoping he didn't sound weirdly enthusiastic. "You're the best quarterback in college football history. And tomorrow, you're going to lead KSU to its first win at the national championship in - in an entire decade!" He wasn't sure if it had actually been ten years, but that wasn't the point.
Soren seemed to lean into his encouragement. "Yeah," he said, nodding. "Yeah, I got this!" He jumped to his feet, grinning. "KSU is going to win tomorrow. And - And the people who actually care…" His grin turned into a soft, bittersweet smile. "They're the ones who will be watching."
"Darn right we will," Callum agreed. "Although I swear I know less about football now than I did at the beginning of the year." Maybe that wasn't entirely true. But most of the penalties in the game still baffled him. 'Offsides'? The players were always on the field, though, not off to the sidelines, so what were the refs talking about? Callum had no idea, and he wasn't sure he ever would.
Soren clapped him on the shoulder. "I appreciate your effort, Callum. Even if you fail, you keep trying, and that's what counts."
Callum snorted, patting the top of Soren's hand as he stood up. "Thanks, Soren. How kind of you to say."
"Anyways!" Soren glanced at his watch before patting his pockets to make sure his phone was there. Or so Callum hypothesized. "We should head to the lobby. The others are probably waiting for us already."
"Right," Callum agreed. He made sure he had his own phone as well as a key to their hotel room, which he ended up sticking inside his phone case. He briefly debated whether or not to bring his sketchbook, but decided against it. This was supposed to be an afternoon of celebrating their friends and making sure no one got too stressed about the upcoming game, not a time to hide in a corner with his head buried in his artwork. "Let's go?"
He wasn't sure why it came out as a question, but before he knew it Soren was dragging him out of their room and down the stairs to the lobby.
He made a mental note to take the elevator when he was coming back up.
They were planning to meet with Rayla and Claudia - who were rooming together because Rayla was the only girl on the team and because there were already even amounts of girl cheerleaders - as well as Lucas and Felix. Callum had ended up rooming with Soren after a screw-up on the hotel's end where they'd forgotten to set aside a room for him entirely. He'd been willing to sleep on Felix's couch, no big deal, but he couldn't deny that it had been an immense relief when Soren had pointed out that he didn't have a roommate at all and was perfectly okay with taking Callum in. Like a buff, blonde superhero, swooping down out of the sky to snatch Callum out from the path of… a speeding car?
Eh. Not the greatest analogy. He'd leave the literary devices to Rayla.
"Oh, there they are," Soren said, pointing at two familiar figures standing near a plant at the hotel's entrance before tugging Callum in that direction. Not that Callum minded Soren's prodding. It meant he didn't have to navigate the crowded lobby of his own accord.
"Heyo!" Claudia called when she caught sight of them. "It looks like it's just going to be us today. The original quartet!"
"I suggested the 'Best Friend Squad,' but she didn't understand the reference," Rayla said, dramatically rolling her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest. "Uncultured."
"I told you, I'll watch She-Ra once we've won the championship," Claudia insisted. It was clear they'd had this conversation before. "My brain can't handle anything that requires significant emotional investment right now because my emotions are too busy being invested in football."
Rayla sighed, rolling her eyes again but holding her hands up in mock-defeat. "Sounds like an excuse to me, but fine."
"Anyways… Why is it just us four today?" Callum asked in an effort to steer the conversation back to its original subject.
"Oh. Felix is video chatting with Dominic, so we know that's gonna last at least an hour, and Lucas is having to re-negotiate some stuff with his dad to get his younger sister to the game tomorrow," Claudia explained. "So it's just us!"
Callum didn't know Lucas had a younger sister.
Soren grinned. "Nice. A reunion of the OGs."
Callum rolled his eyes. "I'm hurt by your exclusion of Ezran."
Soren frowned. "Right." He paused. "An… almost reunion of the OGs."
That was probably the best he could hope for from Soren.
"Callum, can I talk to you for a second?" Claudia didn't wait for him to answer before grabbing his arm and pulling him off to the side, just out of earshot of their two friends. "Okay, we need to initiate Operation Keep-Them-Distracted," she whispered, glancing furtively back at Rayla and Soren.
Callum frowned. "What?"
"When we were up in our hotel room, Rayla was completely stressing about the game," Claudia said. "I'd bet money Soren was, too, right?"
"Er…" Callum thought back to Soren's grappling with who was and who wasn't coming to watch him play in the championship. "You could say that?"
"Exactly. So we need to keep them distracted this afternoon. Too much stress is not healthy! They'll be stressed enough tomorrow before the game, and we need them in tip-top condition to win." She paused. "And, you know, because we care about them. We want them to be healthy in general."
Callum snorted. "It's okay, Claudia. You don't have to pretend in front of me."
"God I want to win so badly!" she said in one exhale, her shoulders visibly slumping. "But I also really do want them to enjoy this experience. Being stressed the entire time wouldn't be fun for anybody."
Callum nodded. "Agreed." He bit his bottom lip. "Uh… Do you have any ideas for what we can do to distract them?"
She shrugged. "There's a lot of clubs open."
"Claudia."
"What?! Don't tell me you would mind seeing Rayla dressed in a cute-ass crop top and skirt."
Callum flushed. He was not opposed to that, no, but he wasn't going to give Claudia the satisfaction of admitting to it. "Not the point. For one, are we even legally allowed to go into clubs?" He shook his head. "And two, them getting alcohol in their systems the day before the game can end only one way. Disaster."
Claudia grimaced. "Yeah, yeah. I know. You don't have to spell it out for me." She shrugged. "Do you have any ideas?"
Callum chewed his bottom lip, wracking his brain for something, for - for anything, really. "Uh… coffee shop?"
"Hm… No, that won't work. Too much of a risk for silent contemplation that could send them spiraling."
"Right. Didn't think about that." He sighed. "Okay. I got nothing."
Claudia tapped her chin. "Well, maybe we could -"
"Guys! Come check this out!"
They turned around to see Soren and Rayla poring over a guidebook for the city. The two held the magazine up and exclaimed in unison, "Laser tag!"
Callum exchanged a glance with Claudia, who shrugged and said, "That'll work."
They ended up taking the bus, which typically wouldn't have been a notable occurrence if it weren't for the greasiest man in the world who kept hitting on Claudia. Callum found himself having to physically restrain her from decking the guy - with Rayla's assistance - while Soren threatened him in a way that was technically legal but still horrifying to witness. Well, horrifying and yet also impressive. What was it with creeps and public transport, anyway?
One of life's unsolvable mysteries.
The laser tag place wasn't crowded. In fact, the only other people there were a small group celebrating a little girl's birthday. Instead of their gang getting a separate turn, the manager simply asked the girl's parents if they'd be okay with allowing the four college students to join their games, two on each team. Funnily enough, before the parents could get a word out, the birthday girl shouted, "YES!" at the top of her lungs and claimed Soren for her team.
Soren, of course, was incredibly smug about this selection.
The parents didn't have the heart to turn her down, though whether or not they'd actually planned to Callum didn't know. Thus, they were all split off onto the two teams. Claudia had immediately snagged Rayla, which left Callum with Soren. He was not complaining about this, of course, because he figured Soren could play well enough for the both of them and he could get away with his mediocre aim. And Soren would definitely provide a good distraction for Callum to hide and shoot the secret boxes without anyone else noticing.
Then again, having Rayla and Soren on opposite teams - while the most fair option - was probably going to end in disaster. They had immediately established a competition of who could score the most points by the end of three games, and Claudia had to patiently remind them that this was a child's birthday party and if they got too wild, there would be consequences.
She didn't specify the consequences, either, which somehow made her threat twice as terrifying.
The games that followed ended up being considerably more fun than Callum had expected. The kids they played with - although scarily aggressive - were not obnoxious and didn't follow people around once someone was out of 'ammunition.' They were also good sports, both when they won and when they lost. Really, they were as model of players as a group of elementary school students could be.
Callum hadn't expected his tactic of 'hide in a corner and shoot the secret boxes' to work as well as it did, but apparently he was the only one on either team who even knew about the boxes. Or at least the only one who bothered to go after them. Needless to say, it was incredibly satisfying to see the surprise on his friends' faces when he was the highest-scoring player multiple games in a row. The birthday girl was ecstatic about this fact, as his points also allowed her team several back-to-back victories.
Still, he was fairly certain Soren and Rayla were the best at actually playing the game. Although whenever he crossed paths with his girlfriend he could tell she was frustrated about the rules that restricted her from running.
After two rounds - aka six games - Callum decided to drop out. He felt a little bad about leaving the teams uneven, but he made sure to tell the birthday girl about the hidden boxes worth all the extra points. That quickly earned him her forgiveness.
One of the employees showed him to a room where he could wait before they went back to moderate the games, leaving Callum to sit by himself on one of the blue benches that lined the neon walls of the room. Just as he was starting to regret not bringing his sketchbook, his thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice.
"Quitting so soon? Where's your team spirit?"
Callum rolled his eyes but smiled at Rayla, who was smirking at him from the doorway. "Considering that you've obviously left the game, too, I don't think you're in any place to criticize," he teased before patting the empty space next to him. "Care to join me?"
Rayla crossed the room, dropping down by his side and resting her head on his right shoulder. She took a slow breath, her chest rising and falling with the motion. "I can't believe an entire semester has passed already," she murmured after a pause, her voice almost too low to be heard. "In four months, I'll be on a plane back to Xadia."
"Well, in six months I might be on a plane to Xadia," he said with a chuckle, trying to lighten the mood. "Don't know how I'll manage an entire summer without seeing you, though."
Rayla snorted. "Tell me about it." A beat passed, and she frowned. "They're releasing the information about who got accepted into the program in a few days, aren't they?"
"Mhm." And Callum was absolutely terrified.
"You nervous?"
Sometimes he swore she could read his mind. "A little," Callum admitted. "But I just keep telling myself that there's nothing I can do about it now. That helps keep me from getting too stressed." The application was entirely out of his hands. There was no going back in time to change it.
"Huh," Rayla mused. "That's… a really good tactic."
Callum chuckled. Maybe she was able to read his mind, but oftentimes he could read hers, too. "You're thinking about the game tomorrow, aren't you?"
"Well… Maybe a teeny bit." She sighed as she sat up, lifting her head from his shoulder and turning so she faced him directly. "You know I'm perpetually having a nice crisis about not letting anyone down, of course. And this game has such massive stakes." An amused smile flickered onto her lips. "Even Felix is anxious, and he's the most happy-go-lucky person on the planet. Not to mention there's the new pressure of Ethari and Runaan being there to watch, and - ugh." Rayla shook her head. "My brain is going to explode."
"Well, getting nervous is a normal part of life," Callum pointed out, similarly positioning himself so he could look his girlfriend in the eyes. "And it'd be weirder if you weren't nervous, all things considered." At least in his opinion. "They'd probably investigate you for drug use or something."
"Don't remind me," Rayla said with a grimace. "They already test me once a month for steroids and narcotics and all that shit. I'm not stupid. I know that's way more often than they test the rest of the team."
Callum blinked. "Oh." His jaw clenched. "Well, as much as I wish we could delve into that subject so I can convince you to file a formal complaint… That would not be the point of this conversation." He placed a hand on tops of hers. "Of course you're nervous, Rayla. There's no shame in that. But like I said - there's nothing more you can do right now. Tomorrow, you're going to give it your all. What else matters?" He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "I promise. You'll be fine."
Rayla snorted. "I really don't think that's something you can promise."
Callum rolled his eyes. "Rayla, KSU wouldn't have made it to the national-freaking-championship if you guys weren't a capable, competent team. Besides." He raised an eyebrow. "Since I know you're going to play your hardest, why wouldn't you be fine?"
She hesitated, then nodded begrudgingly.
"There you go. There's nothing more you can do than your best."
Rayla sighed. "I hate it when you're right."
"Then you must hate me a lot."
She sent him a dubious look, though he was pleased to note that amusement now danced in her violet eyes instead of anxiety. Satisfaction blossomed in his stomach when he also noticed she was wearing the Moonshadow earrings he'd gotten her for their anniversary. "Alright, sad prince. No need to get cocky."
Callum snickered. "So you admit hate me a lot -"
Rayla silenced him with a slow, lingering kiss that left Callum breathless, but when she pulled away he noticed that doubt was again flickering on her face.
He frowned. "Is something else wrong?"
Rayla sighed, moving her hand that was beneath his so their fingers were intertwined. "What are we going to do?" she finally asked. "After everything? When I'm back in Xadia and you're still here in Katolis? What do we do then?"
Ah. A question he… couldn't answer.
"I don't know," he admitted. "But…" He squeezed her hand. "We'll figure it out."
Rayla sighed. "Yeah. I just - I hate not knowing." She ran her free hand through her hair. "Uncertainty. That's what I hate. I mean, we'll have to spend at least a year apart, when I'm a senior and you're a junior. And after that - what then? Do I go to KSU for grad school? Will you come to Xadia? Are we going to be in different countries for another two years?"
Callum hesitated, desperately wishing he knew how to reassure her. Reassure her without having to lie or pretend the problem didn't exist.
"I don't know," he said again, his voice quiet. "The only thing I do know is that... I want to try. Long distance, visiting during breaks and over the summer, whatever." He laughed, though it wasn't quite as cheerful as he intended. "I don't think - I mean, I can't imagine my life without you, Rayla. So I don't want us to break up just because we won't physically be in the same place." He smiled at her. Soft. Hesitant. Hopeful. "I love you, Rayla. I really do."
"I love you, too," she whispered in response, reaching forward to push his bangs out of his face. She chuckled. "How do you always know what to say?"
He shrugged. "I don't. It's only with you."
"Then you know me too well." Rayla squeezed his hand. "Well… I'm willing to try, too." She grimaced. "As much as I wish that I could see into the future and learn exactly how our lives will play out… I'll take it one step at a time."
"One step at a time, together," Callum affirmed.
Rayla chuckled. "Right. Together."
Callum leaned forward to kiss her again, humming in contentment at her eager reciprocation. They hadn't had proper alone time since before the playoffs, so he didn't blame Rayla for taking advantage of the fleeting privacy of the present. But when his girlfriend ended up halfway in his lap, their chests pressed so close together he could feel how quickly her heart was beating, he forced himself to pull away.
"We probably shouldn't be making out at a Laser Tag," he said, though his tone didn't come off nearly as admonishing as he'd intended. "Someone could walk by any second and see us."
Rayla rolled her eyes. "As if. They're going to be busy playing for the next half hour." She tried to press another fervent kiss to his lips, but he turned his head so it caught his cheek. "Callum."
"Rayla," he mimicked, biting his tongue to stop himself from laughing. "Look, we can't guarantee an employee won't come check in here. Or even just other people… other people - people who want to…" It was really hard to think when Rayla was so close to him, giving him a lazy smirk that never failed to short-circuit his brain. "Want to play laser tag."
"Mm… I think you're just a worrywart."
"One of us has to be."
Rayla sighed dramatically. "Okay, fine." But before he could say anything in response, she leaned in to capture his mouth with hers a final time, leaving him mildly regretful that he'd told her they needed to stop after she pulled away. "Now I'm good," she said, moving so their shoulders were pressed together rather than her all but sitting on him.
Callum allowed himself a minute to clear his mind before he took his turn to rest his head on his girlfriend's shoulder. "Yeah, I'll definitely miss that when we're stuck in different countries."
Rayla snickered. "Wow. What a 'guy' thing to say."
"What, you're saying you won't?"
"Touché."
Callum laughed. But now that he had Xadia on the brain once more, he found himself asking, "If I do get accepted into the exchange program, what's the first thing you'll show me in Xadia?"
"The first thing?" Rayla blew air out her lips. "Huh. I have a massive list in my head of everything I want you to see, but… I never really thought about would be the very first."
"That's okay," Callum hastily reassured her. "I didn't mean to put you on the spot."
"No, you're good." She hummed. "The first thing…" Rayla snapped her fingers. "Oh, duh! I'd take you to get a moonberry surprise."
Fascinating. Callum was so in love with her. "Why would that be first?"
"Because I can prove to you for a fact that it's the most delicious thing in the world, obviously."
Yep, that sounded very Rayla. "Well, I'm going to Xadia eventually, exchange program or no, so I will be holding you to that promise."
Rayla laughed. "As you should." There was a pause. Then she added, "You know, we could go back to the hotel and pick up where we left off a few minutes ago -"
"Oh my God, Rayla."
"What?! I'm just saying that it's an option."
Callum burst into laughter at her defensive response, shaking his head. This girl was going to be the death of him - but damn if it wasn't a hell of a way to go out.
xXxXxXx
I'm sure Callum and Rayla have a bright future in store for them. But right now, they have other things on their plate - namely, the national championship. Will KSU finish undefeated, or will they suffer from a heartbreaking loss? Find out next week ;) I hope y'all enjoyed the chapter and thank you for reading!
