No Ordinary Exchange

and this, kids, is what we call conflict

1. Xenophobia is "the fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange/foreign to what one perceives as normal". Xenophobia is often connected to nationalism (e.g. believing one's nation is superior to others) and has been linked to discrimination/hate crimes, increased implicit bias, anti-immigration laws, and even war and genocide (e.g. the Holocaust). Today, Covid-19 has fueled anti-Asian xenophobia (ever heard someone call it the "China virus"?). Islamophobia - while it existed before the 9/11 attacks - has increased since that incident, and disproportionately impacts people who "look" Muslim (e.g. women who wear scarves). To combat internalized/implicit xenophobia, there are many things a person can do! Travel to different places (after the pandemic ends, please), actively interact with people of different cultures/religions/etc., and make a conscious effort to identify xenophobia in day-to-day life (be it one's own xenophobic thoughts or xenophobic actions committed/words said by someone else - and call them out on it!). (This information is condensed from a post on xenophobia by @ soyouwanttotalkabout on Instagram!)

I am about to start college... I do not like thinking about this. It's very nerve-wracking. And my classes are basically all online, so I'm worried I'm going to struggle learning virtually, too. But I'll get through it! It's definitely better than dying from the virus, lol. (If y'all wanna give me some tips to survive college, I would not be opposed.) Anyways! Idk if you guys noticed, but my chapter titles degrade in quality with each new chapter lmao. But I hope you enjoy this update nonetheless! :)

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Callum: are you sure you don't want me to pick you up?? I'll be passing by your dorm anyways on the way there

Rayla: nah it's really fine. nbd. see you soon!

Rayla: (if i'm late tell Sonya i'm sorry lol)

She wouldn't be late if she caught a ride with him, Callum wanted to point out, but he refrained. Being snippy would get him nowhere.

Callum: of course. see you there

He sighed as he put his phone away. He and Rayla were meeting Sonya at a local halal restaurant for an early dinner to discuss their project for Renaissance History, with mid-afternoon chosen as the time so it wouldn't clash with Sonya's daily prayers. That morning, he and his girlfriend had made plans to drive there together, but less than five minutes ago - completely out of the blue - she'd informed him she was getting a ride from Claudia instead. He didn't understand what part her schedule had changed, but he also didn't want to start an argument with her, so he let it be, even though the real reason he'd wanted to drive her was so he could show her his finished work he was submitting for the fall art showcase.

He supposed he could always show her some other time.

'Show her some other time.' That was the only thing he was telling himself these days, wasn't it? The same excuse, the same dull reassurance.

Regardless, it was disappointing. To say the least.

Rayla had been acting... distant the past few days. If he really tried to put a date to it, probably ever since she'd sprained her finger. At first he thought her distance was just a result of residual embarrassment about her injury and not wanting to continue being so vulnerable around him and their friends, which was understandable and he didn't blame her for that. But now... he wasn't so sure. She'd brushed him off several times since then and had even cancelled a movie date they'd had planned for Monday evening as a way to distract her from the football practice she would be missing. That had really caught his attention, because she'd both picked out the movie and bought the tickets for it.

Callum was just... worried about her.

Obviously he didn't think she was cheating or something asinine like that. In fact, he was all but certain that her distance and secretive behavior was related to her injury. He just didn't know how.