...Checkmate

Introduction from the Author: A huge segment of my life has been spent regretting all the things I have done. But I have one thing in this world that I regret the most. And my passion for Chess is indescribable so I'm not doing it justice just by writing a novel dedicated to it. But I hope that other people will understand the amount of regret, loss and pain I have to go through everyday knowing what I've lost. Although the character, 'Mia Villon' is me, and the story is kind of about me, the story is just a story. What happened in this novel is not real and is just fiction. And what I feel in this novel is how I feel right now. So I hope you enjoy, and get a box of tissues ready. And get ready for the loss, pain, hurt, suffering and regret... But never forget.

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It all started at 6 o'clock a.m. I could just manage to hear the steady sound of the clock, 'tick, tock, tick, tock'. It was almost as if the clock was trying to mock me. Why does time go fast when you're having fun, then goes dreadfully slow just when you need it to speed the hell up? The clock's face was staring at me, intent on trying to annoy me.

 "What are you looking at?" I raged, throwing my pillow at the nettlesome clock. However, its glare didn't waver.

"Stupid idiot." I muttered to myself. I guess I'm just so anxious and excited about tomorrow, that the time passing by really slow is making me even more anxious. Tomorrow is my big day. Chess Tournament. My chance to prove I'm worth it. The first one I'll ever have. It doesn't help that the clock is going by too slowly. It reminds me of when I was a bit younger and I was in a hospital wing. The nurse took a lot of time cleaning the injection blade and it made me more and more anxious. So who could blame me when I screamed out: "Get on with it, stupid lady!" My parents didn't take it very well. They literally dragged me out of the ward. My nails scraping the floor as I dug it deep into the floor because I was so embarrassed about being dragged out of a hospital. I didn't even realise that my parents were doing me a favour, I would have done myself more embarrassment if I stayed in the hospital screaming a slow nurses. But come on, she was practically polishing the damn thing. Almost caressing it in a way, desperate to get rid of me. She was the spawn of the devil.

 I looked back at the gazing clock. It still fixed its steely glare on me. Out of irritation and boredom, I got up from my bed and steered myself to the clock.

 "Hmm..." I murmured to myself, "Let's see how strong you are now, Mr. Annoying"

 I took the clock hands and tried to make the hands move so I could say that the time went faster even though its obvious that it didn't. I caught the hands by my fingers, but the hands didn't budge. I put some more power into my movement and I felt the hands buckle under all the pressure. Who's laughing now, Mr. Clock... Then the hands of the clock snapped off.

"Uuuurgh!" I moaned to myself, as I slumped down on my bed and tried to get a decent sleep. I had a big tournament tomorrow and all I could do was break the hands of the clock.

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"Darling! It's time for you to wake up! Big Tournament's on today!" I heard my mom squel from the kitchen where it reeked with the smell of - bacon! Bacon!

"Bacon!" I screamed, still within the comforts of my sweet bed. Until I stupidly rolled over and fell off.

"Mom! Save me some bacon!" I roared as I marched down the stairs.

"Of course! They're for you."

I sat down at the table hastily and ate non-stop.

"Mia? Mia? You know you don't have to eat everything on the table... The rest is for me and your dad."  

"Oh," I managed to choke out. There were still layers of bacon in my mouth "because I thought you said these were made for - ahem. Ahem..." Then I figured that I was choking.

"Mia? Are you okay?" my mom asked while smacking my back to help me choke out what I was choking on. 

"Yeah, yeah. I'm just fine," I replied, "I may be choking to death, but I'm just fine." I coughed and coughed after that. 

After I coughed out the last piece of bacon, I quickly went back to looking like a water buffalo, stuffing my mouth with mouthfulls of bacon.

"That's what you get for being greedy." my mom said. 

"10 pieces of bacon? Cool. I should be more greedy." I said happily, until I recieved a painfail smack on my forehead which wiped the smug smile off my face.

"You know what I mean, Mia Villon." My mother retorted, slicing her bacon into thin slices making sure that the choking buisness that happened to me would never happen to her. I watched as she slowly placed the fork with the bacon slice in her mouth, and as she carefully and dreadfully slowly, chewed the bacon. I sighed as I figured that there was no way that she would choke. My thoughts were proven as a smile twitched at her lips and she grinned at me. Then, a miracle happened. She choked. And her smile was disapeared as drastically as mine.

"Pay back time."

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I strode outside into the sunny summer's day. Although the sun was shining as bright as a laser beam, it was freezing outside. Looks can be so decieving. I will never be fooled by looks again, that'll be a mental note that I'll keep from now on. Little did I know, as I staggered into the car and strapped my seatbelt on, that I'll forget that mental note sooner than I thought.