Sigmund Deaves: Timepiece

Chapter 3: Ambition

Meanwhile, in the coffee shop two girls of similar importance sat and spoke of things simultaneously mundane and important. On one side of the table sat a freshman who had recently played, and almost beat, the CCP. On the other side of the table sat a close compatriot of Miss Ozark. Their conversation involved plans to slowly take over the world.

The blonde girl sitting across from Miss Ozark continued the conversation, "What do we do now?"

"I don't know," Miss Ozark answered, all traces of previous stuttering gone, "the plan was to gain reputation through the Clubs. But now that the CCP has established that he can beat me in a game of chess, we have a bit of a problem. I really should have been able to beat him, too. No one has ever been able to beat me since I was six."

The other girl gave Miss Ozark a sympathetic smile when she said, "Don't let it get to you. You're still, like, really good at it. Just maybe, this one time, you aren't better than him?"

A moment passed in which Girl #2 sipped her coffee and Miss Ozark sat quietly, just looking at the swirling light brown liquid in front of her. "I don't think so," she said grimly, "don't you think it's kind of odd that he has never lost a match?"

"Maybe he's just really good."

"No one's that good. I think there has to be something deeper here, maybe he uses some kind of computer simulation to determine what the other player would do next. He saw so far ahead you wouldn't think it was possible," she whispered the last part so the other girl could barely hear.

Girl #2 gave Miss Ozark a knowing smile that signified the length of time they had known each other, "But you can't prove that, Jess. I think we should focus on other clubs, like the Music Club. I hear the MCP isn't very popular right now, so, like, getting enough votes for next year's election should be easy."

"You know I don't know how to play any instruments, Sarah. The Music Club is your project; I've got my eyes on the Chess Club."

"Are you sure you're not obsessing over this just a little bit?" Sarah said, "You lost, but you can try again next week. And you can try again after that. And you can keep trying until you win or figure out that he's cheating or the year ends; either way you can be spending the time in between on other projects. Oh yeah, what exactly is the CCP's name?"

"Sigmund Deaves," said Miss Ozark a little too quickly.

Sarah gave another of the almost telepathic cues written in her eyes and lips that told Miss Ozark just what she thought about the relationship between her and this older boy. "Just, like, tell me when you two start dating, I'm sure it would stir up a lotta rumors, in your favor of course," she said, barely concealing a smirk.

"Ha ha, don't listen too hard because it's never going to happen," Miss Ozark said, slightly offended, "just because we share an interest in chess doesn't mean we're going to date. I'm certain the similarities between us end there." She'd be surprised to learn that, at that moment, Sigmund was using logic to derail an emotional argument in a similar manner.

"Methinks she doth protest too much, but whatever," Sarah appeared to concede, "so what Club do we go after next?"

Both drinks lay on the table empty while they continued talking, "There's the Chess Club, the Music Club, the Debate Club, the Film Club, and the Language Club," Jess ticked them off on her fingers. "Well, it would be more accurate to say that these are the only clubs that really matter in the school. The five presidents are the only ones that get votes on issues brought before the Student Council. So, theoretically, if someone were to gain control of, say, three or more of these clubs they would control the school," when she said theoretically, she meant it in the least theoretical way possible.

Sarah chuckled, "Yeah, like, don't you think it's kinda funny how the CCP hasn't used this to his advantage yet? Like, you'd expect a 'chess master' to pick up on these kinds of things."

Jess just said, "How do you know he hasn't already done that?"

"Oh," Sarah was speechless for a moment, "that is possible. But then it makes even more sense that you try for both the Chess Club and some other club at the same time to double your chances."

"Fine, you've got a point there," Miss Ozark said, "I'll focus on the Chess and Debate Clubs while you focus on the Music Club. Holding two by the end of our freshmen year isn't too bad."

The two girls realized that their drinks were empty before saying their longer-than-brief-but-not-too-long goodbye and heading in different directions. Despite everything Miss Ozark said, she still held the resolve to take over the Chess Club by the end of the year. What she didn't know was the true importance her conviction and the club itself held.