AUGUST
“August!” Rachel suddenly showed up at the door. She appeared to be concerned about my current state. I can’t think of any possible reason as to why she’s acting this way. Although it’s nice to have some stranger show a bit of unwarranted concern to me, still it’s bizarre for that person to be Rachel Curtis out of all people. Everyone adores this girl. She’s every guy’s dream to date and every girl wants to be.
“Hey,” I smiled at her as she inched her way closer to me.
“Thank goodness you’re okay!” She let out and hugged me tight as if we’ve known each other for so long. It isn’t the case but it puzzles me to think that she’s into me or something. She smelled like vanilla and daffodil though.
“Woah, Woah!” I spat as a surprising reaction. Mary and I exchanged some looks.
I’m to going to g
AMBROSE HAYLOCKA three-day suspension. A fu**cking three-day suspension on the first week of the school semester. That’s the only consequence that I’ve earned from beating the shit out of that newcomer. If I only knew I would just be suspended, then I would have bashed his head like a watermelon just like that guitar that I used yesterday. He made me look like shit even though he ain’t the real shit. I know he wasn’t the one who uploaded that clip on Mary Heights Files but he was the reason why I entered school this morning and some people are laughing at me. Phil even said he might just steal my high spot for being the most feared person in all of Mary Heights High. I don’t give a single fuck about being the most feared person here but I just want to keep that spot if I want to survive this hell. Being feared provides me with a lot of benefits that I needed. Money. Food. Protection. And the fact that no one wants to
AMBROSEI’m pretty much aware of the blatant disrespect that I’ve done to my brother’s grave but wherever he is right now, I don’t think he’s aware of the hell that he has been bringing to my life. I never truly met him in the flesh. All I know is he died when I was still a baby, at least that’s what my mother had told me. I blessed his grave with one last spit before eventually trudging away.I fished the house key from my pocket and entered at the backdoor instead of wasting what’s left of my energy by walking around the house. I turned the lights on and the hollowness of the house welcomed me with open arms. I immediately walked towards the fridge still hoping to see anything to snack on but there’s basically nothing left. There are five eggs, a few stalks of celery, three carrots, fruit juices and the rest are just sauces and condiments. I just poured myself a glass of cold water before dec
AUGUSTThe first Friday of the school semester came quicker than I thought. I woke up this morning and I feel ten million times better than how I felt during the first and second day. It is wild to ponder about how things have escalated so quickly in such a short period of time. I had to make some snappy adjustments to myself. I was just a simple nobody a few days earlier and now everyone at school knows who I am and what I did. Some are even calling me ‘The Usurper’ just because I made Ambrose’s suspension possible. I don’t think I’ve done so much to be called the usurper, to be perfectly frank, I just poked the bear.I was riding my way to school when suddenly, Rachel’s invitation flashed at the back of my head. I remember saying yes to her but deep down, I’m still skeptical about actually hanging out with them. First of all, I know Rachel is the only person that Ambrose cares for, an
AUGUSTNothing much happened during lunch except for the reality that my name was still hot and fresh on everybody’s lips. I’m pretty much aware of the underlying fact that this kind of attention will eventually cool down anytime soon. That’s definitely another reason why I need to hang out with the popular kids. Mary and the gang are obviously okay with me making some connections with the popular kids that they loathed and envied at the same time. I sat right beside Mary, and as usual, her mouth kept spitting sentence after sentence. She kept on making some allusions about our secret plan, however, I was consistent at shrugging it off of my shoulder. I pretended as if I don't have a single idea about what she was saying. I guess she’s just thrilled that I’m going to hang out with her crush. I secretly wanted to have a simple conversation about her having a crush on Rachel but the existence of Rock and Gustav prevented
AUGUSTRachel’s private karaoke bar is located at the top of this apartment building at the center of town and we have to take an elevator towards the twelfth floor. The place isn’t as big as I expected it to be, it is just as big as our living room and kitchen area, however, everything else met my expectations perfectly. The walls are painted with the usual cream hue while the frames are painted with black. I let my eyes roam around the place, taking a quick look at every angle as if I was this young boy lost in the jungle. The couch and most of the furniture are all made of lamé and they are glistening. Mary is really telling the truth when she said everything looks expensive, the paintings, the mini sculptures that are displayed throughout the place, and even the rugs and curtains. There’s an empty minibar beside a mini kitchen but most of the space is taken up by the karaoke area.“Welcome to
AUGUST“So did you kiss her or not?!” Mary sounded agitated over the phone and there’s only one reason why she’s acting like that. It was only eight-thirty in the morning when she called me just to gather some updates about what happened last night.I feel like I need more sleep but Mary can’t seem to wait until the afternoon to reach out to me. My head is banging and I’m pretty sure this is caused by the vodka that we had last night. We only had one bottle of vodka and that was enough to make us tipsy and frenzy. That’s the only second time that I’ve had alcohol but it’s the first time that I really felt the numbing sensation that people loved about it. I tried moving a little and I already feel like I’m going to die out of dehydration.“Hold on, Mary. Cut me some slack and let me get something to drink first.” I spat over the phone.“O
AUGUSTThe sun was just climbing its way above the Sunday horizon when I found myself sitting at our front porch while staring at my phone screen. Apparently, I’ve done something that’s worth regretting. I cannot freaking believe that I just sent all of these corny messages to the one and only Rachel Curtis, the most popular girl at school. Who am I kidding? She’s basically a goddess and I’m just a nobody dead hungry for this thing called popularity. I know I made a big mistake when I landed my fist on Ambrose but now I’m starting to think that playing with Rachel Curtis is the biggest mistake that I’ve made to top that. I really think I’m going somewhere for this small act of manipulation. I was well encapsulated in a conscious state of mind when I sent all of these text messages but now I’m starting to reap the feeling of regret. Every single word that I’ve said most definitely meant something
AUGUSTOur first break finally came and the first thing I did was to go to the usual spot where I found Mary, Rock, and Gustav all huddled up. They were all wearing their Monday faces which isn’t that much of a surprise. I would describe it as grumpy and tired. I’m getting confused as to why they look like they are so over this thing called high school life when they clearly don’t have anything to worry about. I am the one who has a lot of things to worry about. I guess I should be the one wearing those long and saggy expressions.“Hey guys,” I put on my cheerful face as I sat down right beside Gustav who was busy having his snack. “How was….” I was about to ask how did their weekends went but Rock cut me off.“So how was it?” Rock asked eagerly, his saggy expression changed to a better one.“How was what?” I asked just having a hint of what
AUGUSTI was already growing impatiently excited for Monday to come so I’d have to see Ambrose again and it really came faster than I would’ve even realized. Ambrose and I just shared sweet and thoughtful messages to each other throughout the rest of the weekend and it was giving me everything that I wanted. I can’t stop thinking about him and just everything that happened right between us. I’m pretty much confident that Ambrose can’t stop thinking about me too. He was telling me everything that’s happening inside their house throughout the weekend and I’m not even asking for it. He told me that he had a deep heart to heart conversation with his father about a lot of things and that his dad finally began growing closer to him. I was so happy for him that he’s finally getting what he truly deserves in this timeline and I know he deserves a lot of good things and a classic redemption. I
AUGUST“I didn’t know you brought a friend of yours home?!” The older man wearing this fancy royal blue suit mouthed when I brought myself into the picture basically referring to my sudden appearance. He seemed quite startled to see me emerge from the stairs. Just as the man was startled, I was stunned as well the moment that I heard him speak. The tone of his voice sounded professional and commanding at the very same time and it reminded me of the school’s headmistress.“Oh, yeah.” Ambrose trailed and it was pretty obvious in his tone of voice that he was faltering as he turned his head to look at me. “His name’s August. He’s one of my teammates.” He introduced me and while he said my correct name, I was confused when he said I was one of his teammates.I know he used to play basketball and used to be the captain of the team but this exchange m
AUGUSTThe bright sunlight just pierced right through my eyes when I opened them the next morning. I was facing the window and Ambrose was hugging me from behind and just being the bigger spoon. It took some time for my eyes to adjust from the brightness of daylight but after I got the hang of it, I instantly moved my head and I accidentally hit my head on Ambrose’s chin. The collision was quite hard enough that it woke him up as well.“Hmmmm.” Ambrose groaned from the pain and had to pull one of his hand to adjust from it.“Sorry about that.” I spat out and the words came out pretty hoarsely.“Good morning,” He greeted me with his guttural morning voice as he rubbed both of his eyes to adjust from the brightness of the daylight.“How was your night, Ambrose?” I asked as I stared at his messy just woke up face. He still looked pretty hot
AUGUSTMy heart just melted like a butter dropped on a hot steaming pan. Hearing Ambrose spill some of the truth that has been bottled up inside of him was completely heart wrenching in the most pitiful way. I know that his mother hated him because he already told me that a few weeks ago, but the things that came out after that was really a twist that I wasn’t expecting at all. I’m still trying to let the things that I’ve heard from Ambrose sink inside of my head. It was hard to hear him spit the words out and I didn’t think it was this hard to let it settle down too.I have never met anyone from Ambrose’s family before. I only saw the few members on the painting but that painting was a decade old. Still, I was actually looking forward to seeing them in person. I have yet to meet his famous father who have donated a lot of things at this town. I have yet to meet his mother who hate
AMBROSEDid I hear August enunciate the words right? I asked myself. I’m pretty sure I heard him say the words perfectly clear. I’m not going to hide anything. I was truly astonished by this secret even though it’s really nothing to be astonished about. We are both dudes who likes each other and has kissed more times than I could even remember. How gay could that possibly be?I was dead ass correct when I felt like August was about to drop some sort of a bomb. He really did drop the secret bomb and suddenly this telling of secrets while turned against each other’s back felt beneficial for both of us. I have never realized that he was actually gay until now that he has spilled the truth. All this time I thought he was really this straight guy that willing to explore all of the possibilities of things and I was just the gay one who’s afraid to admit the reality of things.It w
AMBROSEAugust doesn’t seem to be quite impressed by my mediocre dancing skills and to be quite honest with myself, if I was watching that shit go down too, I’d be disappointed. With that being said, I felt alright and I’m pretty much certain that he was entertained. And I’m entertained too. The smile on his face was just something that I’m gunning to see and I made him smile. I’m sure he’s feeling some type of way after just breaking up with his girlfriend a while ago.“What are you doing?” I deliberately asked the moment I noticed he was watching something on his phone. I leaned my head a bit towards him to get a sneak peek of what he was watching and it was just a video of some recognizable people from school at a random house party. “Where is that?” I followed up and casually snaked my arms around his shoulder. I’m becoming more and mor
AMBROSEThe night was pretty much moving slowly but it was everything that I wanted. I checked the clock hanging on the wall and it’s just nine pm. For a normal night, nine pm seemed like the right time to head to bed but for a Friday night, nine pm was agreeably too early.I was a bit shocked that the night’s still very much young. I’m not rushing or anything but then I realized maybe fate was making this moment just for me and August. Maybe fate wanted us to have more time to hang out and be with each other to compensate for the time that we had lost. Part of that was because I chose to ignore August for the entire week and if I had chosen to reply or even answer his calls then things would’ve been different. We haven’t seen each other this whole week and I don’t even want to admit it but I really do miss him in so many levels. I missed his smile that seemed to bring tranqu
AMBROSEI was instantly engulfed with the feeling of guilt and regret. I didn’t mean to shove August like that. I swear to whoever’s watching over us above the clouds. I might be the most violent person in this building but I’m pretty much honest that I didn’t want that to happen. I didn’t even think I put force into that. I completely thought I was just trying to keep him at bay from his attempt at preventing me from drinking the full glass of whiskey. It was never in my intention to hurt him. I had already reached the point where I was about to punch the wall brought about by the anger that I have for myself. And then it turns out that August was just playing with me. He was laughing hysterically that I was just confused at first. He was in pain, writhing like I’ve wrestled him hard on the ground. I saw it in his face that he was really feeling the agony from the supposed impact.
AMBROSEI have never imagined the day that I would hang out like this with August ever again. The last time August was here felt so much like a century ago. At least that’s all because I’m too distracted this past week that thinking about him was totally lost in the equation. I was on the verge of believing that I’ll never survive this hell of a week but here I am pouring whiskey on my glass with August sitting at the far corner of the couch.Things just went fast in a matter of hours that I’m still thinking about what happened back at the river. I had an extremely rough week that I just went to find solace at my favorite spot at the river not knowing that someone’s going to show up uninvited. I had never ever expected that August would show up at the river right at the moment where I didn’t know I needed his presence. I may have acted violent a few hours ago and that’s