From August to Mae | an August Alsina Fanfic

XIV. A Not so "Thanks"- giving

"Love, so many people use your name in vain."
- Musiq Soulchild
______________________________

August sat on the balcony with his MacBook in lap as he worked on putting his half of he and Whitley's project in the PowerPoint. Thanksgiving break was approaching which meant the project would be due for presentation the following week. Whitley wanted the break to be enjoyable, so she pushed to get everything finalized before the end of the week. Although, it made no difference to August because the chances of his break being enjoyable were slim to none. August stroked his goatee in concentration as he contemplated changing his wording on one of the slides, when his thoughts were interrupted by the balcony door opening. August looked up to see Twon toting a jar of marijuana in the crook of his arm and rolling papers in his hand.

"Oh, shit! My bad, Yung. I ain't know you was out here," said Twon as he turned around to head back inside.

"You good, man. I ain't doin' nothin' impo'tant," August replied, scooting his chair over to give Twon room.

"Oh, bet."

Twon placed his materials down and began rolling as August returned to the project. The balcony fell silent as both men went into deep concentration with their respective tasks. The only sounds that could be heard were a few birds chirping and cars passing by on the main road below.

"Aye," Twon said breaking the silence as he lit his pearled blunt, "I ain't know you could sing, bruh."

"I'm aight."

"Shittin' me," Twon replied before blowing smoke from his nose, "better than what I can do."

August simply chuckled and continued to type away on his laptop.

"Nah, but fa' real though, if you ever tryna take it serious let me know. My nigga Quez in the A got his own studio n' shit. He be producin' for Gunna n' Baby. He did my last shit, too. I can put you on."

Although August saw no future in music and naturally tuned out anyone's suggestions to pursue it, something caused his mind to stop and ponder the offer. He cocked his head to the side as he thought about it, but he ultimately convinced himself he still wasn't interested in taking music seriously. However, he was interested enough to make a mental note of what Twon told him.

"Preciate it, man. I'll keep that in mind," August said reverting his attention back to the project.

"Fa' sho', Yung," Twon replied before taking another drag from his blunt.

August would indeed keep that in mind; however, it would be pushed to the furthest end of it.

~ ☽ ~

That following Thursday was Thanksgiving. August planned on skipping out this year to avoid family drama (specifically Rodney) and take advantage of having the apartment to himself; however, with consistent begging from his mother and the promise that Rodney was not invited to Thanksgiving dinner, August made a spur of the moment decision that morning to attend. It was a five hour drive that most would consider grueling, but August found it peaceful. The last few trips back home were made in silence, so he used that as his time to meditate. This time around, August figured he needed something extra to lift his spirits in preparation for his visit with family. Although he was promised everything would be perfect, his family didn't know "perfect" and he knew not to have high expectations.

August sang along to Musiq Soulchild's Love as he began to drive past familiar landmarks, letting him know he was getting close to home. The closer he got, the more he regretted making this trip. He tried to free his mind of any negativity, but the scenery and the song only reminded him of Melvin and Chandra, and the three little girls they left behind. He thought of how grateful he was to have witnessed the love Melvin and Chandra shared, but angry it never got to grow. He was grateful they passed this same love down to their children, but hated to think it could get taken for granted. Most of all, with Mel and Chandra being the embodiment of love, he was happy to know true love exists. On the flip side, he felt he wasn't one of those people who would get lucky enough to experience it. Part of him felt like true love died along with them. Despite such pessimistic thoughts, August loved love. He just wasn't someone who longed for it.