Oops, My Boyfriend

第4章

Vacations always end indulgently and decadently.I woke up suddenly, realizing it was the last day.Back at school, life went on as usual.But I avoided the activities center; it was just too stressful.Later, there was some chess tournament my roommate encouraged me to join.I said I could handle them, but I'd be dead meat out there.She said, "Why not? It's free to enter, and there are prizes for the top three."I thought, why not, and signed up.I went there thinking I'd get knocked out in the first round. But when you're lucky, there's no stopping it.My first opponent was a girl who seemed to have just learned the rules; I won easily.My second opponent was a guy with glasses. I was losing, but a phone call took him away mid-game. I advanced by default.Love might be elusive, but success in other arenas was on my side.I geared up for the third round, excited at the prospect of at least winning a towel.On the day of the match, I prepared earnestly, brought a small fan, and brewed some "dad coffee," setting up in the venue.There's a saying, right? "Misery loves company!" Well, it's no joke.I settled on a small stool, placing my coffee cup down. The student referee started to introduce my opponent, but I waved him off, "No need, I know him. That's Caleb from the biology department, right?"The person across recognized me too and nodded, asking, "And you are?""I'm Audrey."The referee explained the time limits and started the game.Despite having eliminated two people, my opponent was cunning. I was cautious, carefully planning each move.Every tragedy has a beginning.My downfall started with a careless move, losing a rook, then it all went downhill.Honestly, losing the game wasn't a big deal; the skill difference was clear.What was infuriating was how Caleb didn't seem to care about finishing me off quickly but instead slowly captured all my pieces.A game that should have ended ages ago dragged on as he avoided quick kills, preferring to capture.I watched helplessly as my last advisor was taken.Finally, all I had left was the king.I looked up to see Caleb smiling gently.He signaled for the referee, who exclaimed in surprise, "I've never seen such a brutal defeat."This was a blatant humiliation.Caleb was still smiling at me, offering a concession.I smiled back, "Oh, please."I told myself, hang in there, there will be other days.I have one rule: if you wrong me, I'll return the favor.For someone like Caleb to err twice, I was ready to haunt him like a vengeful spirit if I had to.That Friday night after the chess tournament, I headed to the activities center, and sure enough, Caleb was at the window."One movie ticket, please."A movie ticket was just two dollars, but I pulled out a crisp $100 bill.There's a term for what I was doing—"picking a fight."Caleb knew, seeing me, that he was in for it.He flipped through the sparse cash in the till, making a show of it, then shook his head, "Sorry, can't make change."That's exactly what I was aiming for.I fanned myself with the $100 bill, looking at him sideways, "Oh, what to do?"He pulled a ticket from the holder, "Tell you what, I'll cover it for now.""That won't do," I said.Pointing to the small book at the window, I added, "There are rules for buying tickets, aren't there? And we aren't exactly friends.""Ha, are you kidding?" he said, without a hint of a smile.The people behind me were getting impatient; he looked at me again, stood up, and called out, "Hey, Jordan, take over for a bit."A guy hurried over and stepped into the booth.He took my $100, pointing to a bench, "Please, have a seat over there."I couldn't tell if it was my conscience, but his "please" seemed loaded with daggers.Caleb went out to get change.I sat in the activities center, looking up at the TV showing "Friends."The girl at the center had questionable taste—why this show?I didn't dare complain, as she had been glaring at me fiercely since I arrived.I couldn't afford to offend too many people here, and officially, I was in the wrong.When Caleb came back, sweat was sticking his hair to his forehead, and what was once a pale face was now sunburned.