Sensual Politics

twelve

picture: august slipped away

12

twelve

"It'll be nineteen point eight-nine."

She hurriedly placed a twenty dollar bill on the counter, nodding at the cashier to keep the change and ran out. Betty's heart was beating frantically and she loathed this reaction out of her. But she couldn't help it, no matter how hard she tried. She clutched her grocery bag, scanning left and right at the almost-empty hallways of the mall, desperate to get a glimpse of what she thought was James' shadow.

She saw a silhouette in her periphery, that she thought walked a little like him, moved a little like him. She was lost amongst the tangled threads of her mind to really pay attention. But her eyes had widened once she realized. And to her dismay, the cashier took her sweet time packing up the grocery. Now, standing here abandoned with the ghosts of her visions, she started to doubt herself.

It had been two weeks since James crashed her party, and she hadn't seen or heard from him since. That was unexpected. She wanted him to keep trying. She wanted him to learn to apologize better. She knew she was worth at least that much. But it was starting to seem that James had given up on her completely. For better or worse, Betty didn't dare find out.

With her sunken heart, she proceeded to walk back to her car when she saw someone else, stopping in her tracks. Betty blinked twice this time, just in case she started hallucinating like a crazy person, but sure enough, the girl still remained seated in the mall café.

Frozen to her spot, Betty took a moment to observe August. She was sketching, her hand moving back and forth in neat, confident strikes. Her eyes were focused on the paper, her posture relaxed and welcoming, a hint of a smile on her lips. Betty realized she looked professional and casual at the same time, which was hell of a trait. She caught herself being transfixed to her, unable to take her eyes off her.

Betty fisted her hand slowly and released the tension building up inside her. She mentally debated her next move for precisely seven seconds, but her legs automatically moved towards the small café, the strong scent of caffeine hitting her instantly. She didn't know what she planned on doing once she reached her table, but guessed she was about to find out.

August heard the slow footsteps before she saw her. To say she was taken by surprise would be an understatement. Standing next to her table in a fashionably cute top and skirt, was Betty. And from the looks of it, she was surprised by her own gesture as well. August's hand immediately stopped sketching. Closing the book, she tightened the grip on her charcoal pencil. Her eyes looked at Betty questioningly, who made no attempts to talk to her. They stared at each other for an uncomfortable amount of time when Betty cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Cute chain," Betty gestured to the small sun pendant around August's neck.

August was terrified, of course. The whole situation was bizarre. "Um, thanks."

Betty was visibly choosing what to do next. She had two options: turn away and run as fast as she can to the ends of the world and never think of this embarrassing moment, or sit down with her and talk like she was dying to. Taking a deep breath, she pushed a curl behind her shoulder, walking the two dreadful steps to the chair across her.

"You're expecting company?"

"Oh, no." August chuckled, as if the idea of company was amusing. "Definitely not."

"Mind if I..?" Betty made sure she conveyed the underlying message. For them to talk about what had happened.

"Um, no." August shrugged her shoulders slightly.