Stalemates

3 (Rook)

I swear to god I'm not insane, just externally passionate, straightforward and self-aware enough to know my rights. Besides that, I'm not much different from everyone else at St. John Paul. Capable in many ways, more than most, but still faulty in some way or another. You could say that's why I acted out during my morning chess game but in all regards to that, I now see that it wasn't really worth my energy. 

********** 

"Dammit, Lucia! Why didn't you just let me ride out my high? It would have done me good." My words were slimy and ill-willed toward the chess team captain. 

"Because we all know, fully well, that would do more harm, them good! Pull it together Bradly!" Grunted back Lucia as she walked beside her friend to their next class. 

Lucia made me sick sometimes like she was so much better than me. The big reveal was that she wasn't. She had her disputes, her own problems, flaws and quirks that made her the way she was. Might I even add, that she had more blatant flaws than I did! She said whatever she wanted, and with no remorse, and no humility. 

"What about you, huh? Like you are much better?" I barked back as I gripped the straps of my backpack, looking down at Lucia with my eyes narrow while we kept walking. 

"How so? I am just being me." She said just as blatantly as usual. 

Her remark made me scowl, and I just had to say, "That's the point. You only talk to the chess team! Everyone else you brush off like they're nothing!" 

"That's because, to me, they are all SNAILs," Coldy remarked Lucia as she played with the bear keychain dangling from her satchel bag. 

Her words this time made me feel more so amused them offended, which was rare for her. 
"Humor me, what does SNAILs mean?" I asked as my bitterness faded and was replaced with a slight smirk, looking expectingly at my frienemie.

"Stupid, Narrsisistic, And Ill-mannered, Losers," Lucia repeated the textbook definition as if she had read it to herself dozens of times before. I thought what she said was interesting, and maybe she was more hypocritical than I had originally thought. 

"Well, it's settled then. I have a bad temper, and you have an even worse judgment gauge." I suggested as I sighed out heartily once we sat down at our desks. Lucia kept staring at me as she thought about what I said for a moment longer. The classroom was silent for the most part, with only the voice of the teacher projecting authority and standards onto the relatively disciplined students. It was a bore, but I internalized what the teacher said because it was a reminder and reflection of what I had just done wrong.

"We at St. John Paul represent tradition, excellence, and the best that the archdiocese has to offer to the young minds of the future!" 

"Mid-term assessments will be in one month..." 

"Don't let your studies fall behind..." 

"There are no excuses for tardy behaviour..." 

"In this classroom, we don't fail students, we assess their competence. If you aren't willing to change and grow, then, my deepest condolences." Stated the teacher sorrowfully with his hands behind his back, waltzing back and forth from his desk, and along the lanes of students seated in their chairs. Indirectly, it felt like a metaphor for power, like motionless puppets around the sole animate puppeteer. Even if I had just met this man, I had a feeling that he was going to be the worst of the worst.

"Lord have mercy on us! Why is our English teacher a black-ops?" I exaggerated while my forehead was pushed onto the surface of my desk. The class had just ended, and finally, we had a short break before we'd have to re-live that all over again. 

"I think he mentioned he was actually ex-marine." corrected Lucia as she sat beside me with a book covering her face. I had to admit, that as much as I didn't like her sometimes, she could be nice to talk to, but that was far and few between. 

"Lucia, how do you do it? I'm going to go mental if I have to spend another morning with Mr. Fisher!" I pouted and then shifted my head to face the side of Lucia's textbook. 

"I'm used to it. It's better this way. Like a game of chess, I can plan my next move so there's nothing to worry about." She blandly replied.

"Oh..." I said a bit stunned. If anything, Lucia was the epidemy of what St. John Paul does to kids; takes their morals, and replaces them with systems. Standardized guidelines that everyone must follow, and as Mr. Fisher said, "If you aren't willing to change and grow, then, my deepest condolences." Tucked away in my own troubled self-esteem, I might have sympathized with Lucia but I vowed to never turn into what she was; a power-starved animal, strained to the last drop of humanity.

"Jesus Lucia... Maybe that knight was right, take a break will you?" I teasingly said as I jabbed at her side, but I was met with only a small groan and furrowed eyes. 

"Bradly, this is just who I am... I'm not hurting anyone, am I?" Lucia said. Nothing about her changed, still socially distant and caught up on the notion of excellence. 

"Hey, let's have lunch together!" I interrupted as I smiled at her genuinely for once. The way it felt between us was weird, offputting even, but in that moment I thought that maybe getting to know our captain would be beneficial for both of us. 

"Straight to the point I see." Lucia mocked as she finally turned to face me, and amazingly, put down her book; albeit, still closely pressed against her chest. She continued to speak, "You know I don't sit anywhere else in the cafeteria." 

I rolled my eyes at her defence as I then said, "The boys won't mind if I ditch them for one day! C'mon Lucia, I'll give you half of my KitKat!" Pulling the king-sized pack of chocolaty wafers from inside my bag. 

Lucia almost seemed internally distressed as she fidged with the brim of her hardcover before she finally gave in. 

"Three-fourths."

"Deal!"