Mean Girls

x. first soccer match of the year

"Checkmate."

Chaeryeong looks up and sees Harold's blue eyes shining, his lips pursed in his typical smile that is never wide and never shows his teeth. He's always reminded her of a night bird, quiet and watchful. She smiles back.

"Well, congratulations." She knocks down her own king. "At least I lasted over half an hour this time."

"You are getting better, Chaeryeong," he says, carefully putting the white pieces inside a blue velvet bag. "You were a disaster when you first asked me to teach you how to play."

She starts dropping the black pieces in the green bag. "I should've practiced in the summer. At this rate, we'll graduate before I win a game against you."

"I don't think you can win against me," he says, placing everything in the box with methodical gestures. Chaeryeong shakes her head, not taking offense. Harold is seldom conceited, just sincere. "I do believe you can improve enough to become a challenge."

She beams at him, moving around the picnic table to help him up. The boy has a limp and Chaeryeong still doesn't know the story behind it. They don't talk much.

"Same time next week?" he asks, fixing his old-fashioned glasses, the chess box fitted nicely under his arm.

"Same place." She squeezes his elbow. "Bye, Harold. Thank you."

Chaeryeong starts crossing the playground, headed for the school building, but she's intercepted halfway there.

"Are you that threatened by me that you're spending time with the underdogs now?"

Chaeryeong jumps, clutching her heart. Unsurprisingly, Ryujin is laughing at her.

"What the hell, Shin?!" She glues both hands to the strap of her bag to avoid shoving the other girl. She doesn't want to touch her. "Are you following me? Can't I go a peaceful day in this school without having to see you?"

"I ask myself the same question every day," Ryujin confides, her tone too dry for Chaeryeong to take it as anything other than a taunt. "Didn't expect to see you trying to buy people's votes, Lee. I'm flattered."

"I don't need to buy people's votes, Shin." She searches the contents of her bag and pulls out a flyer for her campaign. "Here, educate yourself."

"I've read this already. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, right?" Chaeryeong coughs at that, embarrassed, but Ryujin just walks beside her, concentrated on the flyer. "It's a shame you're such a despicable person, makes it hard to believe you have 'the students' interests at heart'."

Chaeryeong rolls her eyes. "You don't know me at all-"

"Nor do I want to," Ryujin interrupts.

"-and to answer your initial question," Chaeryeong carries on, glaring at her, "Harold has been teaching me how to play chess since last year. Who he votes for doesn't matter to me."

"Why would you want to learn how to play chess?"

"Why do you care?"

"I don't," Ryujin replies, too quickly. Chaeryeong stares at her, one eyebrow arching up. "I was just curious. My dad taught me how to play when I was a kid."

"What an uplifting childhood story," Chaeryeong sneers, snatching the flyer from her hands so as not to waste resources. "Can you crawl back to the hipster hell you popped out from? I have things to do, people to see."

"Yeah, I heard you were creating a song for the drama kids. Is that so you can have nice background music for the campaign video we have to present in homeroom next week?" Ryujin cackles. "Desperate much, Bows?"