Jane And Austin

Chapter 25 - Cheat

[Recap- Austin invited Jane to his performance during a beautiful night for them.]

The Graceby Auditorium was showing off its grandeur. It wasn't as humongous as I had heard about it, but it was still pretty big for a school festival. The Lansville High School's founder's day. I didn't know that I was heading to a festival by a school in which I hadn't stepped for years (unless and until there were exams) as Austin hadn't told it to me before, but had I known about it, I probably wouldn't have been there and maybe, that was his reason for not informing me.

Mom and I had taken the seats at the end, but she was sorry for not being able to get me seats where I could watch Austin more clearly and closely. I was carrying a letter for him. When I told mom that I wanted to attend a school festival, she was happy. The smile on her face was as priceless as Messi. On the other hand, I was quite happy about getting a place at the end since that meant no one was getting disturbed due to my wheelchair and I didn't have to go through facing someone who might have remembered me. There were simple recliner seats in front of us, a plenty of them. The auditorium had embroidered red curtains, red recliners, a void behind us and the stage was grand. The floor was given a hint of wooden texture. There was also a projecting screen on our left and I wished fervently that they would use them.
Not to forget, there was a lot of chaos. A band was arranging itself on the stage while a person kept checking the mike. The students were in hurdles, some were just talking with each other, some younger ones were running around, pictures were getting clicked and everyone seemed happy. I couldn't help but wonder if I would fit in if I was there. Luckily enough, I didn't have to face Susan till then and I was sure I didn't want to. I just wasn't ready for it. 'Why wasn't she here?' Still knocked my senses again and again.

Mom probably noticed how uneasy I was and hence, she tried to strike up a conversation several times, but I just wasn't interested until she said, "How did it go on the other night with Austin?" She had a smirk on her face and also, it was the first time she had brought that up since the night.

"It was the best night ever." I blushed.

"What did you do?" She asked.

"We had dinner first," and then I continued to describe the night briefly. I told her about Steve and she replied that she knew. "And after we were finished with talking and stargazing, I slept beside him while he was awake, apparently 'witnessing' how beautiful I was."

"And nothing else?" Crooked smile crept on her face.

I was frank with mom, but how was I supposed to tell her how deeply Austin loved me? I wondered if there were perfect words to describe how innocently he kissed my forehead and held my hand when he had the key to my whole body? How was I supposed to tell her that such boys still exist?
"Nothing else, mom," I decided it was the best thing to let it die with me. I stared in the middle of nowhere, smiling, rewinding everything past the screen of my brain. I felt happy. After years, I was aware how happiness felt like and I knew the key to my happiness was kept safely with him.
Mom nudged me when Austin came around.

Someone on the mike ordered everyone to take their place while Austin fiddled with his guitar in the background. The screen was still white, while the chaos calmed down like the hurricane rapidly disappearing on its own. Suddenly there was anticipation and there were whispers. From the place we sat, it was evident that Austin was popular and it made me feel a lot happier than I already was.

As Austin proceeded towards the centre of the stage, there were girls rising on their seats and vehemently shouted to cheer him. I wanted to do the same, but later I realised I had no legs so I just shouted, "Vamos Austin." The girls sat down in their seats and the silence which followed could make anyone feel deaf. Anticipation surged. There was a guy behind him arranging his Casio and he was fixing his guitar. He strummed past it slowly and suddenly the screen was on. It was clearly showing his handsome and well built body. He was wearing black shoes, blue pant and a red sweatshirt saying 'J'. Before I could make my opinion on it, mom said, "Is that J for you?"
And I asked life, why was it giving me so much happiness and I also asked it not to take a big price for it. I smiled and asked her to make the video from the front, and she left in a flurry.