Haircut (Beth Harmon X Benny Watts)

Chapter 36

I won my second match in 21 moves and was pretty sure that I was the first one to finish. Most of the people that were watching the games tried to talk to each other with hushed voices.

I started to walk from table to table again, but nothing seemed interesting. No sacrifices, no bold moves and no breaking the chess rules. It was rather boring.

I decided to grab a drink and walked over to the bar to order a coke.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite chessplayer." Matt"s smile popped up next to me and one seconds Mike's on my other side. "Don't tell Benny I said that."

"I'll try to keep it to myself." I smiled.

"What did you play?" Mike asked while he poured himself a drink.

"Gosh, almost can't remember, it wasn't exciting st all."

"Of course it wasn't." Matt rolled with his eyes. "Doesn't it get dull?"

"What?"

"Winning."

"No, not really." I grinned. "And besides, I lost to Benny a few weeks ago."

"We know, he is very proud he best you in Ohio." Mike laughed. "But it's a good thing that he won, even for you."

"And why is that?"

"Because otherwise, you wouldn't be standing here, sober, with us, with him, with good friends at home, etcetera."

I sighed. "Yeah, you're right. It's still crazy that a month ago I was still... You know."

If I hadn't won that game, I would probably be drunk right now, trying to not think about life and responsibilities. I might not have gone to Jolene's wedding or made up with Matt and Mike. I only now realised how deep in the shit I was.

When I put down my glass, Matt and Mike suddenly threw their arms around my shoulder and pushed me back and forth.

"Hey, hey, hey, no sad thoughts. We're in Las Vegas for God's sake." They laughed.

Their happiness had always been contagious, so I immediately smiled along.

"Let's go watch Collin's and Benny's game."

When we found where they were playing, a small crowd had already formed around the table. People were whispering to each other. The all looked really excited as if the best game ever was being played.

I started to push myself through the crowd, but when people recognised me they stepped aside.

"Do you think she's going to help him?" A unknown voice whispered.

"You know that's against the rules, Charles." Another voice said.

I had no clue what they were talking about, untill I finally could see the board and Benny's and Collin's faces.

My jaw slightly droppen in suprise. Collin had a big advantage. Shit, he could win.

Benny's head leaned in against his hand. He was studying the board hard. I could see his eyes move from one piece to another.

His face was dead calm, but in his eyes I could see the rage. Probably more because he blamed himself than he blamed Collin.

Collin tried to keep a poker face too, but the curled corners of his mouth gave him away. He was enjoying this. A lot.

"I told him not to underestimate him." Matt whispered in my ear.

I knew he meant it as a joke, but I was too focused on the board and the pieces to respond.

Benny had a problem. He could lose his queen of he wouldn't be able to run away from Collin's knight. And his defense on the other side of the board was weak. How could this have happened?

Benny nervously rubbed his mustache and moved his pawn. The move made sense, but it wasn't going to save his queen.

Collin moves his knight up. He surprised me again. Yesterday he showed me that he was great at fast attacks, but this, this was a whole different thing. He was smart, cautious but still a threat.

Suddenly I got anxious. What if Collin was actually going to beat him? Collin hadn't lost a game yet, neither had I. What would mean that I would play Collin in the finals, instead of Benny.

Unless Collin would lose one of his next games. But if he could beat Benny, could he beat me? Could he beat everyone here?

We all watched them play a couple of moves in silence. Benny escaped the first attack that Collin threw at him, but had to back up to do so.

Benny's knuckles turned whiter and whiter. He looked mad and helpless at the same time and I hated it. I wished I could walk up to him and throw all the pieces in Collin's face.

Collins a great guy, but he shouldn't mess with Benny. Even if it's just a game.

Benny let out a soft sigh. He looked at his clock. 45 minutes left, he needed to hurry. His eyes drifted away from the board and the clock. He looked at all the eyes around him, untill he met mine.

When I could look in his eyes, I clearly saw his nerves. Of course he was trying to hide them, but I knew him too well.

"You can do this." I mouthed to him.

He rolled with his eyes. Encouragements like these weren't going to help him win, be I knew it secretly eased him.

Just before he turned back to the board, he gave me an almost invisible smile. It made a single butterfly in my stomach fly around.

Another dreadful 30 minutes later, the situation hadn't gotten worse nor better.

Benny was probably thinking about resigning or offering a draw. Collin looked at the board indesicively. When he moved his bishop, rowdy sounds rose up from the audience.

I heard Matt and Mike curse underneath their breath unbelievably.

Collin made a mistake. Which didn't make sense at all.

Even Benny had raised an eyebrow I'm confusion. He inspected the board to see if there was a plan behind it, but when he found nothing he moved into his mistake.

Collin's face was calm, he even had a smile playing around his lips. What was wrong with this boy?

Benny moved quickly. He only had 15 minutes left on his clock. But because of the weird move, he suddenly had a big advantage.

4 minutes before Benny's flag was going to fall. Collin resigned, leaving the whole crowd discussing what just happened.

"How did he lose that?! He had him." Mike exclaimed.

I felt relieved. Everything was going to be fine. A nervous chuckle escaped my lips and I shook my head in disbelief. Benny turned his head to me and smiled. He didn't understand it either.

Collin stood up from his chair and pulled out his hand. Benny accepted it with a hint of doubt.

A lot of camera flashes appeared capturing this crazy game. They both smiled at each other and Collin said something to Benny that I couldn't hear above all the noise.

All the people around me were talking, applauding, slapping each other on the back. It was one big mass of sound.

And that's when I saw him. I didn't recognize him the first second. His hair was sloppy and he hand black circles underneath his eyes. He looked he had just been run over by a truck.

When his eyes met mine, I froze, a cold shiver going down my neck. His eyes shot full of panic. And in less then 3 seconds he was out of sight. Leaving me more scared than half an hour ago.

Townes really was here. And he looked terrible.