" I feel tired." Kate said, looking through his eyes, hoping that he would take the bait. Most people did. He adjusted the cuffs on his wrist and his eyes darted all over the board, looking for an escape route from the chokehold she had him in. He lifted his head ever so slightly and returned Kate's gaze back to her, looking for clues. After finding none, he rose elegantly, straightened his tux and offered her a handshake.
"That was a good game." He subtly said. He wasn't used to defeats thus he had a gruffly tone with it. " You had some pretty solid moves."
Kate looked at him and managed a smile. "That is what I do. Another game sometime?"
"Yes, most definitely. I have never been beaten in a long while, and trust me, I never get beaten. Not by anyone or any thing." He said.
" We will see about that. But anyway, I have beaten you, so technically you have ever been beaten." Kate did not want to brag but the guy was being arrogant, and she felt that he needed to be taught a lesson.
"Same time, same place tomorrow?" The guy interjected.
"Yes. I will be here. Mr…" Kate replied.
"Mr. Marcus. Marcus May. And you are…?"
"Miss Kate. Kate Dennings. Pleased to meet you Marcus." Identifying herself as "miss" had a strange feeling in her mouth. She had never thought that she was old enough for that title.
"I guess I will be seeing you soon." Marcus said as he excused himself and walked towards the main entrance, glancing over at the other players who seemed to be largely engrossed in their own little worlds. If he listened silently enough, he could hear the chess pieces softly hit the boards, and even hear the grunts that came with the owners losing a piece or having a miscalculation. Kate's eyes followed him all the way to the door, lingering just long enough for Marcus to tilt and give her a subtle tip of the hat before disappearing into the throng of people on the pavement.
"Guess that does it for today." Kate thought out loud to herself and started packing the pieces into the makeshift bag that the center had given her. She felt weird as she picked up the pieces that Marcus was using and sensed they were colder than all the other pieces. She brushed it as a result of the temperature drop due to the atmospheric change brought about by the now- accumulating nimbus clouds above her. She heard the birds and squirrels chirping and scampering to get to their homes in time before the downpour got them at a wrong corner. She looked up at the rafters through the translucent glass and saw that the sky was getting darker by the second- something which got the attention of the other players who quickly folded. No one ever fought nature and won. Their games could be played at another time, probably in twenty four hours when the skies were clearer. Kate looked around and managed a smile when the Center manager strolled in and helped her organize the remaining chess boards into the available drawers.
"Today was a good day. Wasn't it?" Miss Clovers, the manager, said as she picked up a pawn that had been strewn over and handing it to Kate to find its rightful board.
"It wasn't the worst we've had in days. I guess that counts for something." Kate replied, tossing the pawn into a carton labelled 'Extras'. " We had a dozen new faces and you know, almost all the locals. The largest turn up we have had in a while. In fact, all the boards were in use and some unfortunate players had to wait for others to finish their games so that they get a chance at playing too."
"That is good news. I guess we will have to buy more boards and get more tables. Our 100 person capacity is almost becoming insufficient. Remind me about the same on Monday, or you know, send me a text or whatever you people do nowadays." Miss Clovers said while doing what seemed to be a mental headcount and surveying the room.
"It seems you have a competition coming. Did you send out some flyers?" Kate asked, scribbling More Boards and Tables into a sticky note and handling it to her boss. She had picked up that habit after sending her boss countless text messages- most of which she never read and still complained that ' you never communicate. I am no telepathic!' every time she came around and found something amiss. This made her carry her notebook with her anytime she was on duty.
"No. I guess all this is from a popular TV series that is making the airwaves. Something with a gambit on it."
"The Queen's Gambit."
"Yes. That one. It has made many people develop an interest in chess."
"That explains our ever increasing numbers." Kate said and they both stocked and did the final checks in silence. She had taken to helping up with the Arcade Center as a hobby when her Ma had demanded that she find one and she gradually began to like it. Chess acted as a stimulating pastime activity for her brain. She had fallen out with Miss Clovers a number of times in the past over a myriad of issues that would take forever to explain and they had recently began to bond. It was like neutral time in a war, where there are a few days of peace and calm before the battles continued with renewed vigor. This peace or whatever state of calm they were in was mildly reassuring and she wanted it to last a little bit longer than what they normally had. She anted to treasure it, even though she knew that she had no control over how it played out. Miss Clovers had always found a reason to hate or even despise her, no matter what she did to make amends. It was like hitting a rock and expecting it to break- it only hurt you in the process.
"You will close up, right? Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow." Miss Clovers said as she made her way to the door.
"Yes. Goodnight." Kate called after her. Miss Clovers mumbled something before lightly closing the door behind her.
Kate then glanced up at the sky and saw a constellation of stars that she did not know the name yet and switched off the lights, making a mental note to do research on heavenly bodies before she closed the door and double-checked the locks behind her as she stepped into the night life. She took a deep breath and shifted her hair to the side before letting out a shrill shriek when she came face to face with Marcus.
"What are you doing here?" She asked.