Squeeze my hand three times in the back of the taxi...

I can tell that it's gonna be a long road.

I'll be there for the toast of the town babe...

Or if you strike out and you're crawling home.

Rayla's POV

Laughing, Rayla ducked under her classmate's arm and skidded into the safe zone, catching herself on her hands.

She spotted Callum watching her over the border. She held up the flag triumphantly and he mouthed, "Get it back here."

Simple enough. There were several kids between her and the line, but most of them were pretty slow...

She jumped into action. Dart around that kid, race past that poor kid who'd probably rather be reading, drop to the ground, roll...safe.

She stood and held up the flag. Her team erupted in cheers.

So it was a few minutes before the other team's complaints reached her ears.

"It's not fair!" cried the boy who she'd rolled past. "She's a Moonshadow elf−that's a huge advantage!"

"Not really!" Rayla shot back, pushing through the crowd. "The moon's not even up!"

"Still! Magic is cheating!"
"I wasn't using magic!" Rayla exclaimed. "You're just mad 'cause you got beat by a girl."

"No, I'm mad because you cheated!"

"I did not!"

Callum stood beside her. "Coach, she didn't!" he insisted. "She won, fair and square."

"Thank you, Callum, for that...interesting insight. Rayla, I do think you might have the advantage here, so I'm going to ask you to sit out for the next round, okay? Good girl." He walked away, leaving Rayla dumbfounded.

"That's not fair!" Callum called after him. He turned to Rayla. "You good?"

She growled and turned around, heading for the bleachers. "Fine."

"Are you sure? Because─"

"Callum, I'm fine!"

Callum fell silent.

Rayla sat down on the hard metal bench and pulled her knees to her chest, staring out at the field, where the flag had been reset. Callum sat beside her, wincing visibly at the sunbaked metal.

Rayla swallowed. She could not cry. Not here.

Callum turned to her and spoke tentatively. "He's a jerk."

"Yeah."

"You don't want to talk?"

Rayla shook her head, so Callum pulled out his sketchbook. After a few seconds, he reached over and took her hand in his, squeezed three times, and let go.