From August to Mae | an August Alsina Fanfic

XXIV

Jayda excitedly cheesed at the phone waiting for her FaceTime call to connect. She was eager to share the good news with her friends with whom she'd been distant from in efforts to raise her grades. Shalice and Whitley answered almost simultaneously, and before they could even greet her she shoved the exam score into the camera and shrieked. 87%.

"Ah! I'm so proud of you!" Whitley gushed, getting up to do a celebratory dance.

"Eighty-seven? Bitch, that tutor out here turning water into wine with the test scores!" Shalice exclaimed.

"Y'all, I'm so happy. My professor even stopped me before I left and told me how proud she was," Jayda said, staring at the test packet before placing it in the passengers seat to wipe a tear from her eye, "this is the highest grade I've ever gotten in a science subject EVER."

"We're so proud of you, Wayda! You worked hard for this!" Whitley encouraged.

Shalice nodded her head, "yeah we need to celebrate tonight! Bottles on me!"

Jayda vigorously shook her head.

"Uhn uhn, it's Monday. I'm not drinking on a school night. Plus, I have to study for my finance class tonight."

Whitley and Shalice sucked their teeth.

"Please, Wayda," Whitley pouted, "we don't have to go out. It could just be us and Crown Royal."

"And maybe that tutor too, cause I'm sure they had a time teaching yo' ass," Shalice butted in.

"Girl, fuck you!" Jayda said sticking up her middle finger at Shalice, causing her to laugh.

"I'm for real, though. I think we should celebrate and I think you should invite your tutor. Ya know, to share the good news and thank them."

It wasn't until this moment that Shalice's words fully sunk in. Her heart dropped and her breath got caught in her throat. It had been nearly a month and she still hadn't told either of them she'd been getting tutored by August. Although Whitley had already given her the OK, it's always easy to say you're ok with something until the situation actually presents itself. With that being said, Shalice had no idea who was tutoring Jayda and Whitley was still under the impression whoever was went by the name A. Alston. Jayda didn't like being deceptive or withholding information from her friends, but she was still under the impression that Whitley was hypersensitive to all things pertaining to August and didn't want to trigger her. She had successfully concealed their academic rendezvouses up until this point and projected she could continue to do so until the end of the semester, or until she didn't need his help anymore. She was hoping it was the latter.

"That won't be necessary," Jayda answered plainly, "but I gotta head to my appointment, so I'll catch y'all in the student center and maybe we can go get dinner together later."

She noticed Shalice furrow her eyebrows and question her appointment at the same time Whitley answered with a simple "ok". She decided to ignore Shalice and hastily say goodbye before ending the call. This was yet another act of deception that would make her feel disgusted with herself, but the benefits she was receiving from it far outweighed that.

_____________________

Jayda anxiously stood in the parking lot of a nearby apartment complex, anxiously checking her surroundings. Despite trying to be discreet and avoid looking suspicious, one would probably assume it was obviously her first time making a weed transaction upon looking at her. However, that wasn't the case. Jayda's anxiety relaxed when she saw a familiar vibrant colored car enter the parking lot, parking a few spots down from where she was. She began walking toward the car to meet them where they were. She walked right up to the driver side door and awaited their exit.

"Oh, shit. What you doin' hea'?" August said, startled by Jayda's spontaneous visit, "n' why you lookin' like Ray Charles?"

August began to chuckle at his own comment as he gathered his belongings from the car, making his way toward his apartment.

"Corny, lame, boo! Tomato, tomato, tomato," Jayda stated sarcastically.

"My bad," August chuckled, "you just look real sus outchea' wit' those big ass shades on. Like it's ya first time slangin' a' sum'n."

Jayda followed closely behind him as he began making his way up the creaky apartment stairs.

"But you wear shades all the time."

"Cause I'm Aug, ya heard me? You ain't," he smirked, pulling his keys out of his pocket, "but whatchu doin' here, Jayda?"

"I wanted to show you something," Jayda said, positioning herself beside him and smiling brightly.

He rose an eyebrow at her, although she couldn't see it. He and Jayda still weren't the most cordial of pairs and were far from being acquaintances, even. He couldn't process why she'd want to show him something, as if they were friends. Nevertheless, August unlocked his apartment door and stepped aside to let Jayda in. She had been to his apartment before (and also forgotten which one was his, hence her looking lost in the parking lot) so her eyes didn't wander around like they had previously. She simply sat her backpack down on the couch and began rummaging through it while August made his way into the kitchen to wash his hands and get himself a glass of sweet tea.

"Look," Jayda insisted as she practically shoved some stapled pages of paper into his face.

August took it from her, flipping it over as his look of confusion curved into a smile.

"Eighty-seven," he said as he began flipping through the test, "that's good, love. I'm proud of you. We just gotta work mo' with the math component n' that sco' should go up ta' at least a ninety-five."

Jayda smiled pridefully. She would never admit it, but seeing August proud of her made her even more proud of herself. Although she viewed him as a narcissistic asshole, there was something about his energy that commanded respect and attention. Like he was someone who's opinion actually mattered.

"I know you ain't come all the way hea' just ta' show me a test sco', though," August asked taking a sip from his glass.

Jayda furrowed her eyebrows and nervously bit the inside of her lip. She was so excited about her score that she hadn't thought about how irrational it was for her to just pop at his apartment. She actually had come over just to show him her score. Luckily for her, August changed the subject before she could come up with a two-cent excuse.

"But since you here," August said passing her a water bottle, intuitively knowing she was thirsty, "I need ya' help wit' somethin'."

Jayda rose an eyebrow as she opened the bottle and took a sip.

"I wanna take Whitley on a date."

Jayda's eyes bulged out of her head as she choked on the water she was sipping. Water traveled up through her nose, forcefully pushing itself out and making her nose burn before she found herself in a coughing fit.

"You what?!" She exclaimed, hoarsely.