Tales Of Folklore

Mirrorball

Beginning of August calls out the beginning of everything and beginning of something marks the ending of another.

At least it is the start for Augustine.

The salts in the air, the sound of the sea, James's back faces the sun and Augustine isn't watching from a distance anymore. James is holding her hips as he sleeps on her lap. His legs are so long that they surpass the carpet into the sand. She wished to write her name on him with sunscreen but he already belongs to her now right? He wears all the vintage tee she buys for him. He takes her shopping and drives her to mall in the morning. All the shopping districts wherever she wishes. He belonged to her now.

When the days turns into nights, she drives to his place waiting for James's parents to fall asleep. Then James carries her upstairs, where his room locates. Augustine stands midway, glazing over at him. She isn’t the same girl that left the party, she changed everything about her- apart from her vintage collection, just her colour palette changed a bit. She replaced her soft summer tones with bright winter tones. She let's go of pastels and wears black lipstick with high heels. She wonders how will people react at school after summer end? Will James call her back at school and they will walk in hand in hand? Will Betty's confident face shrink into nothing? Augustine takes her straps off as she further wonders about her future with him.

James watches her undress and reveal every part of her. She made him do things he'd never imagine of doing and the thrill got him through every bottle of wine he chugged. He needs to be drunk to forget Betty and Augustine needs him to be drunk to remember her. She dances around the edges of his staircase, the moonlight from in between the curtains shinned on her like a mirrorball.

That's what he called her. His mirrorball.

Augustine shows him the versions of himself that he never knew existed and when she shines just for him, spins on her highest heels, reflecting everything he wants to see and hear, she knows she has his full attention.

She fell harder for him with every night that passed by. She is reinventing herself to shimmer and shine like Betty did in in Augustine's eyes that very night of the party. She feels noticed, something she always wanted. He isn't just looking at her, he looks mesmerised by her. The look in his eyes makes her think she almost has him.

Whenever James stops by Augustine's cabin to sleep in with her. She remembers their first time.

They drove right by the beach and James didn't say a word until she asked, "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"I don't know. I just don't want to go home"

So Augustine took him to her forest cabin, it wasn't big like James's house but it was cozy. They could hear the low-key sound of nature and the waves of ocean. They didn't talk much and James looked a little drunk. He only murmured "how could you" over and over again. She layed him down on her bed and he grabs her before she could leave.

"Don't go" clutching onto her wrist, he closed his eyes while covering his face with the other arm. That's when he felt a warmth on his freezing lips.

He opens his eyes only to find Augustine's completely red face over his. She rolls and buries her face in a pillow next to his. She let's out a small cry in frustration, wondering if he is gonna leave now but the room is suddenly filled with his laughter.

"Oh gosh, you are so cute"

Augustine feels at ease after hearing this. It felt beautiful to be lying next to him. She'd have never thought this can ever happen. She was sure he will reject her and call her names. The rumours will spread at school and everyone will laugh at her pity attempt to impress someone so out of her league. How could she think so little of such a kind person like James? The way he is looking at her, she sure heard him say under his breath, "haven't laughed like this in ages".

She unclasped her bra and climbs over him. There's just one year of difference in them, yet he looked so much older than her as he slides his hands under her dress and places them on her thighs. He looks at her dead in the eyes, which were in utter confusion and curiosity. Waiting for him to make the next move.

"You have never done this before, have you?" He chuckles.

She nods in denial. He glides him hands up to her waist and grabs it. Sits right up still latching onto her on his lap. The more he glides his hands up, the dress glides up with it. She closes her eyes when his hands reaches upto her shoulders and slowly takes it off.

"Are you sure?" James whispers into her ears.

"Never have I ever before"

What he did in the heat of the moment that night, he thought he'd feel guilty about it when he was running to the train station. Betty was going to go away for a vacation with her mother in New york. She'd be gone for 3 weeks and she had told him that before but it slipped his mind after that night. He thought "what if she is still standing there?" because if she waits, he will not be able to forgive himself for what he just did. In his heart, he wanted her to be gone. He couldn't face her, not after that night. Not after what she did. He needed her to be gone to feel better about him cheating. He didn't wanted to look like the villain of the story.

When he found the station empty, he was relieved. He recked of alcohol and sweat and didnt even know wha tto say to Betty. It was for the best cause now he had a lot of time to think. Augustine wasn't expecting a call from James, not after how he ran away. The moment he saw his cellphone in the morning with several calls from Betty and one SMS 'I am waiting at the station' he took off.

Augustine was okay with it. There was nothing between them anyways. There was no "us". She met up with her classmates in the mall which was the only place which wasn't burning with heat.

He calls her, "Meet me behind the mall" and she always wondered how he knew she was at the mall but never asked. How could she? Especially after he came back to her.