Haircut (Beth Harmon X Benny Watts)

Chapter 13

The blankets around me felt so good that I knocked the ringing alarm clock of the sidetable. Even though the bed underneath me made a sound everytime I moved, it was still pretty comfortable.

I didn't want to get up. I had lots of these days, that I didn't want to get up, but this time it was different. It wasn't because I didn't want to face my consequences or my headache. It was because the happenings of yesterday were still floating through my head. The warm place, where you could feel the mutual love for chess in every corner. The games against Benny. His slighty annoyed face everytime he lost. His stupid knife and the way he held my hand...

I felt so stupid for feeling the way I did. That's why I didn't want to get out of bed, because I was scared it would all have been a dream.

But apparently, throwing the clock on the floor didn't stop it from ringing. And now I was too awake to dream of again.

I groaned as I stepped out of bed on the cold floor. As I stood up straight, I noticed that I was still pretty tired. Maybe I shouldn't have gotten to bed around 3:30 AM.

I rumbled in my suitcase and picked out a neat blue skirt and a white sweater. As I put them on, I pushed the memories of yesterday away. Couldn't let sleep get in my way of winning today. I smoothed my dress and pushed my hair up. And hell was I going to win.

When I walked into the match room, I saw that I was one of the last. Some people were already playing. So I quickly walked up the stage and settled down in front of my opponent.

He looked exactly like Benny had told me. Black hair that was combed backwards, pointed ears and his nose had a strange dent in it. I smiled. I wondered why it suprised me, that Benny remembered it all. He is pretty much the king of detail.

"Mr. Motik." He said with a low voice.

"Beth Harmon." I said as I shook his hand.

I focused on the pieces on the board and started to set them straight, but Motik kept staring at me. "Jeez, why are all these new players creeps?" I thought to myself.

I quickly glanced over his shoulder, where I could look directly at Benny. He wasnt really concentrated and looked tired as well. After he moved his pawn to E6, he looked and his eyes met mine. I couldn't read at all what he was thinking. It was like he had this weird mist in his eyes. He nodded at me, so I quickly nodded back. Would he have had the same feeling as I did when he woke up? Did he think it was a dream too?

After a few seconds I looked back at my own board and saw Motik smiling  mischievously, like he just discovered something. He set his pieces straight as well and I started his clock.

It was a steady start. Neither of us had made one mistake, so it looked like we didn't had a plan. But i had one. Benny told me about how he played. A bit of Alekhine and a bit of Botvinnik.

We were 18 moves in and we were almost still in the same spot.

"You look sober today." Motik suddenly said, taking away the little concentration I had. My hand clasped around a white brook, that I knocked of the  board. Most of the people who knew, and that weren't many, never said anything, because they thought it would hurt me. And of course they were right. So what is this man talking about.

"That's true." I said, trying to stay calm.

"I've heard that doesn't happen to often."

"Maybe you shouldn't believe all that you hear."

"Where would be the fun of that?" His voice sounded so full of judgement all of the sudden that it threw me of.

I wanted to scream at him, but I knew that wouldn't really help the situation. I needed to be as calm as possible. 'He couldn't touch me.' I thought as I moved my bischop. 'He didn't know a fucking thing about me.'

He stayed silent for a couple of turns. I wanted to slam the board in his face when he opened his mouth again. "It's strange there aren't any rules about drugs in matches, isn't it? Maybe they should think of some."

I stayed silence, trying to think of my next move. But all the pieces on the board looked like they were dancing.

"Don't you think that's an reasonable idea? It might stop cheaters like you." He said the word cheater so hateful, that he spitted on the board.

I grabbed the side of the table so hard that my knuckles turned white. I needed to concentrate and stop listening to this crazy man.

"And you know the weirdest thing is?"

'That you can't shut up and play a game of chess in silence?' I screamed in my mind.

"That even though you're nothing more than drug addict, that weird cowboy still cares for you. He is probably more fucked up than you."

The blood in my veins raised atleast 100 degrees in temperature and my heart never had beaten that fast. I wanted to pin this motherfucker to the ground and kick him in the crotch. I might be a fucking drug addict and an alcoholic, but nobody in this freaking world can say something this bad about Benny. He is so much more and better than me. I suddenly stood up straight with my hands on the table, but before I could say one terrible word, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Hey Harmon, you asked for water, right?" Benny stood next to me. He squeezed my shoulder twice and slightly pushed me down. I didn't want to sit down. My veins, my bones, my whole body was filled with anger. But his brown soft eyes begged me and said that it was okay at the same time. The mist in his eyes was gone. It was just Benny. I slowly sat down and accepted the glass of water Benny held in his hand.

"Thanks." I could just get out.

He nodded and walked away. Leaving me alone again with this monster. His smiled successful.

Because of Benny, I regained my peace. I looked to the board and the pieces. And I quickly realised, who Motik was smiling so hard. In my rage, I put myself in trouble. Big trouble.

I layed my head in my hands trying to look for a way out of it. But how harder I tried to find something, the less I saw. Motik leaned backwards in his chair, crossing his arms.

I couldn't move. If I did he would only need to move his rook and queen and then it was over.

I started to stress again and my hands became sweaty. I knew I needed to calm down, but if I lose this game, I can't play against Benny the day after tomorrow.

Benny, I thought. I quickly looked around the room. He stood next to the door with his hands in his coat. He was looking at me and when I caught his eyes he quickly nodded. He made a weird gesture with his hand. What in the world was he doing?

But than he understood, he acted out drinking. When he saw I understood he smiled shortly.

I turned around and took my glass and drank from it. I immediately saw what Benny did. Underneath the glass he had drawn two letters. A+B.

I put the glass down and quickly started to study the board again. Alekhine and Botvinnik? No, I already tried that one.

I wanted to slap my forehead. Alekhine and Borgov.  Stupid me.

I move my pawn and it quickly wiped Motiks smile of his face.

After 8 more turns, I had won.

Motik stood up from the table, without even looking at me. I looked at the board again. I'm so stupid, I thought to myself.

I took another sip from the water. My eyes immediately fixating on the two letters who had just saved my ass. I smiled. And he is so smart, I thought.