The Slut's Guide to Chess

chapter 2

"You better be serious about this, Zora," Griffin grumbled while pushing Timmy and I into the playing room. I was familiar with this small room for it was where Griffin had kissed me for the first time. The memory brought a bitter taste to my mouth.

The playing room was once an office to the music teacher before she moved away for the club to settle inside. Now it was an empty, windowless room that smelt of damp. In the centre was the old wooden desk with its dents and graffiti. The board that sat on top, however, was much different. It was nothing like the plastic chess games that Eliott and I played with. This one was expensive.

The board itself was made of hardwood, painted to excellence and glossed over. Without a speck of dust, the pieces were beautiful. Looked to be handcrafted, they held intricate details and I was hesitant to even touch them. They must have been worth a lot.

Beside the board was a rectangular wooden box with two clocks paired side by side. On top of each clock was a golden button in which to stop your time.

Eliott had told me before that in competitions, they used these stop clocks to make a note of how long each player took to move. She'd taught me to think quickly and effectively. I'd never seen or used one of these before. My heart beat erratically against my chest and the nerves swirled around as I walked the thin line between excited and terrified.

I tucked in my skirt and sat quietly opposite Timmy who was setting up his black pieces. He checked the wood and made sure they were all in the right place. To look busy, I did too. Carved to perfection, I tried not to get distracted by the beauty of the board.

My head yelled out to me, throwing odd situations and countless 'what-ifs' into play. My legs bounced up and down under the table and the muffled pitter-patter of my Doc Martens as they tapped against the floor caused Griffin's clenched jaw to tick.

"Ladies first," Timmy smiled encouragingly.

Griffin sat on an old plastic chair to the side with his phone in hand and I felt the roar within me to prove myself and throw everything he thought about me back in his face. His blue eyes were stuck on the board and I smiled uneasily at Timmy while the boom of my heart echoed loudly.

A steady determination fizzled inside me until all I could feel was the buzz as it filtered from the tips of my toes to the throbbing in my head. I could only imagine this was what Aleena felt every day while standing in front of all those people and offering her strong opinions out to the crowd.

I felt the pressure of Eliott on my shoulders and the cold gaze of Griffin on the side of my head. That stupid boy who'd ruined everything I knew sat so calmly as though nothing had ever happened between us. As though we were strangers.

Strangers.

I moved my pawn forward and clicked the button on top of the clock that kickstarted the game.

The minutes moved along unwaveringly and it was a steady match where I'd mostly played at a neutral standing. I didn't stand out too much but neither did I attack, Eliott would have shaken her head and I practically felt Timmy's disappointment. I supposed he expected a more challenging opponent. I doubted Griffin even realised the game was still going on as his eyes were buried in the soft glow of his phone.

Little did these boys know that while I was completely unpredictable and usually quite spontaneous, I'd been trained a lot differently in the art of chess. I'd moved Timmy's pieces out in a false sense of security. I saw from how he placed the pieces that he was formulating an attack but before he could've put it in action, I used my knight as leverage. Moving him out, stealing a pawn and feigning innocence at the obvious loss.