No Ordinary Exchange

an unexpected guest

1. With early voting for the 2020 US Presidential Election having already started, let's break down voter suppression. Since 2010, half the states in the nation have placed new burdens on people's right to vote, aided by the Supreme Court striking down part of the Voting Rights Act in 2013. Forms of voter suppression include: voter ID laws (without a meaningful backup if someone fails to produce an ID), polling location closures/moves (without informing constituents), voter purges ("updates" to registration lists that may remove someone if they missed even one election), and voter registration restrictions (e.g. strict ID requirements, early voting cutbacks, etc.). Felony disenfranchisement is also a major issue; over 6.1 million Americans are ineligible to vote because of felonies. Furthermore, in 2017, Georgia created an "exact match" law that mandated voters' names on registration records had to perfectly match their names on their approved IDs. 80% of people affected were people of color. This is not a coincidence. Voter suppression must be fought. Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act must be restored. Polling place closures must be limited, and if they occur, voters must be informed in advance. Felony disenfranchisement, unfairly strict ID laws, and voter purges must be stopped. Demand action from your elected officials. And in this upcoming election? Vote blue, straight down the ticket. (Condensed from @ soyouwanttotalkabout on Instagram.)

Bonjour vous-autres! I finally finished my first round of midterms (I have another in like,, two weeks,, but let's not think about that lmao). I really don't have much to say today other than that I hope you enjoy the chapter!

xXxXxXx

The incident with Runaan and Ethari had been... disheartening, to say the least. Arguably unnerving. Definitely painful. Callum had remained on the floor with Rayla for close to ten minutes, and afterwards he had cleaned and wrapped his girlfriend's bloodied knuckles with bandages he'd found in a cabinet beneath his bathroom sink. They didn't talk about Runaan or Ethari for the rest of the night.

Rayla had informed him two days later that she'd nearly given Soren and Coach Zhou a heart attack when she'd shown up at the first football practice of the week with a bandaged hand. She'd also told him their reactions had been hilarious, even if she'd felt a little bad in the moment. Apparently Soren had passed the news on to Claudia - they were both staying with their dad over fall break - which had resulted in Claudia promptly texting Rayla in a panic to make sure she was okay. But her scratches and bruises were fully healed within a few days, much to the relief of everyone concerned about football. Including Rayla, who perhaps wanted KSU to make it to the championship most of all.

Now Callum was on his way to pick up his girlfriend from her dorm, as his dad had arranged reservations for the three of them - plus Ezran - at a nice restaurant. Harrow's excuse was that Rayla had not undergone the formal 'be introduced to her partner's parents at dinner' scenario. Which was true, sure, but Callum was well aware that the real reason was his stepdad simply wanting to check in on all of them. Ezran had a big presentation coming up in school after the break, Rayla was obviously nearing the end of the regular football season, and Callum himself had the art showcase Friday. Also known as... tomorrow.

He was not at all freaking out about the fact. Of course not! He was super chill. Completely unstressed.

Yeah, no. He'd never been great at convincing himself.

He knew, deep down, that the art showcase wasn't really a big deal. It was just an opportunity for people - mostly parents - to wander through different rooms filled with all the works selected for presentation. Artists would stand by their pieces and explain their inspiration or provide interesting facts about their art if so requested by attendees. Callum loathed the idea of having to interact with strangers, but at the very least he'd be talking about his art. He was grateful that he wasn't a senior, because some of the seniors whose pieces had been accepted were required by their professors to give speeches at the opening of the showcase.