Betty, August, and Me

Chapter 6

"Get in," James ordered Betty after he rolled down the slightly tinted windows.

Betty did not say a word, and just got in in the passenger seat.

"Where is your house?" Betty asks, eyeing him after putting on the seatbelt.

"Just down block 8," James said.

Betty studied his figure. The more she studies him, the more she got curious about him. She got curious about the way why he does not put on the seatbelt; what is the particular reason why had he given her the expensive pen; why does almost every minute he will lick his lips; all those kinds of things. Betty did not study a figure so cautiously since she dissected a frog during ninth grade.

Betty, what are you thinking? How come you compared him to a frog? You opened the frog and studied it, you can't open this one, and secondly, that's an animal and he's a human being, how come you compared them together?

"Is there something on my face?" James asked, looking at her with furrowed eyebrows.

She snapped out of it and opened her mouth in a silent gasp. How come she did not notice that she was staring for so long already? It is very embarrassing if you are caught staring at someone curiously, more than that, you are staring at a person with the opposite sex, you are in his car, and you like him.

"Nothing much," Betty replied, "I thought you have some dirt on your face."

James smirked. "Excuses," he said slowly, "I'm handsome, aren't I?"

Betty made a face like she was about to throw up. "You're so full of yourself," she says, with a surprised expression.

"I'm just stating the truth," he says with a shrug and eyes the road carefully. There were no cars behind or in front of them, he's just afraid that he will hit a cat or a dog or any living thing.

"Is your house farther away?" Betty asks, eyeing the road also.

"Just a few more blocks," James said. It was quiet after that. Betty was lost in her own thoughts.

What had seemed to be the driving force that made them be together right now? When did that force occur? Did that force occur when she went to Homeroom? The day they were both born? When? Betty made a promise not to have a crush on guys until she's successful, and she really wants to strangle herself for breaking that promise.

"Hey," James suddenly said, making her startled, "how about you draw and measure things, while I do all the wood work and we'll paint together?"

"Okay, that seems to be alright," Betty replied with a slight smile.

After two minutes, they pulled up infront of a very warm looking house, it seems like this is James's house.

"This is your house?" Betty says, stepping out of the car.

"Yes, we moved here when I was five," James replied, "let's go inside first and drink a little water, I'm parched."

Betty pursed her lips. She's turning very anxious, because this is her first time meeting parents that she's not very close with, let alone that they're the parents of the guy she likes.

"Mom," James calls as he steps into the house, a plump woman wearing a red checkered apron come out from the kitchen, holding a spatula.

"Oh, you're home," she says with a smile and looks behind him, "you brought a friend over?"

"Yes, her name's Betty," James replied, "and we'll be doing wood work at the backyard."

"Hello Betty," the woman says with a warm smile and looked at James, "why don't you grab a little snack first before you go?"

"Okay mom," James responded like a filial child will do. Betty smiled slightly and quickly hid it, afraid that someone will see. She thought, this guy is really good. He's a good son. James turned to her, making her turn her face into an expressionless stone again.

"Let's munch on something first before we go," he says, leading her to the dining room. The dining room has a cozy feeling to it, making it seem very home-like and family oriented. James poured her some water and said to sit wherever she wants to.

She sat motionlessly at the table, looking at him sitting at the other side. It seemed awkward for her, so she began wondering things while looking at her hands.

What is this guy like? Is he usually very close to his parents? Is he like those dudes who are pretentious when there are guests? 

Betty really wanted to know him. She never wanted to know a person so anxiously before. She wanted to know what are his dislikes and likes, what are his hobbies, what are his thoughts about some current issues in the world. In short, Betty really wanna talk to him so deeply.

"Will your mom be angry if you go home late?" he suddenly asks, startling her.

She waved her hands and shook her head. "She knows I'm doing a project, so she will not mind."

"Your mom is not harsh or strict on you?"

She shook her head again. "She doesn't want me to carry an emotional burden again." 

She subconsciously and accidentally said the word again, now she want to slap herself. 

"Again?" James asked with an arched eyebrow.

Betty mentally sighed and showed him her left forearm. He looked at it with furrowed eyebrows. Her fair forearm contain a short white scar, it isn't very visible from afar, but if you look at it closely, you'll see it.

"I tried to do self harm when I was thirteen because of heavy emotional baggage," she explains with a sigh and misty eyes, "now I need to live with the scar for the rest of my life."

She withdrew her arm and flashed him a cute smile. "How about you? Your mom ever hard on you?"

He shook his head, "only when I do stupid things."

As if on cue, his mom entered the room with a plate of homemade cookies. She smiled at Betty as she put it down.

"Why don't you have dinner here, Betty?" she says warmly, "after all, this is the first time he brought someone home."

Betty smiled, focusing on the first sentence, "thank you so much, but I'm afraid my mom will be worried if I don't come home for dinner."

James's mother smiled and nodded knowingly, she is a mother herself, so she understands fully. She went out of the room. The two teenagers ate the cookies first before going to the backyard to work, Betty holding a pen and a notebook, making calculations. 

"I think 2.5 meters in height and 2 meters in width is enough," she says, "after all, it's a puppet play. We will just put a feet and a half or two feet as the cut part, and two margin the top with only three inches."

James nodded as he put the needed things outside, which was the plywood, a saw, a pencil, and a tape measure. They both started measuring right away and James started cutting the wood after.

Betty looked at him while sitting at a stool, but was not in a mood to be confused by her feelings, so she looked at her forearm instead. She put the pen at her ear and think. As she looked at the little scar, she recalled the horror she came in contact with when she was thirteen. She smiled bitterly. Only if she wasn't naive, she would not do that. She was only thirteen back then, and sometimes you could only blame the hormones and the emotional baggage sent to you.

"Betty," James was suddenly at her front, making her look up at him, with eyes full of anticipation. He was so close, if Betty stretch her arm, she'll touch him right away.

James took the pen from her ear and held her left forearm. Betty froze. He was holding her while looking at her forearm, Betty felt really helpless and could not do anything. So she let him do what he wants to do. He drew something on her arm, she pulled back to look at it, and she saw that it was an unfinished star. James gave her a look and took back her arm, continuing to draw the stars that cover her scars.

Betty silently looked at him with admiration in her eyes. The sun was ready to set, and Betty could not think of anything else, but him, and that moment, as he drew stars around her scars.