Chess Match

It is too dark…, no, not the atmosphere but my lipstick. I love to adore myself with different beauty brands and my smile justifies them. But I have a question that why did my friend call me when she hates me. Maybe she has changed her dumb brain and gets to know that I never betrayed her. It was the situation that made us far.

I tried to narrate her tens of times about the day—when she lost the match of chess due to her own flaws but interpreted the incident as mine. A few minutes later, she saw me and her opponent talking and laughing with one another. This created a false story in her brain that I revealed her weak points to the other player and just because to gain the praise of our teacher.

I believe that appreciation can never be snatched or overtaken by anybody. I play better chess than her because I took training for six months which pushed me a level up.

That day made us apart and cut phone lines.

Now, after three years, I get a call from the same voice which asks me to participate in a chess competition. Another competition! This overwhelm me because another competition could bring new chances to the win for her as she is now working as a trainer and I am amid in the bookish world—publishing industry.

As per the discussion, we meet in the canteen. She is with her two girlfriends—one sitting opposite to her and another beside her and me. Three of them twirling their forks into the chowmein, so, I open my phone to swipe.

My friend and I exchange the smile and sit quietly again, pretending to be busy with our own work. But one of her friends asks me to have the snack with her but I deny it. My friend does not utter any word.

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Then as three of them stop burdening the food over their fat bellies, some tit-bit of food attracts my dear friend’s attention. She asks me how am I doing these days and pass me their leftover plate to eat with ‘your habit of snatching must not have gone, so snatch this leftover too’. Her face has the sweetest smile which makes my body squirm.

Is it for this, she called me? I ignore her and start walking towards the exit. This gesture is what she expected. She follows me and indicates me the room where the chess competition is going to hold. Although, officially, there are no banners, organizers, chess boards except the one my friend carrying.

A few minutes later, several boys accumulate near the room. We both ran towards the crowd. My eyes still searching for the other girls which will become our opponent but there was no one. We both enter the room after registering our names. The middle man asks us to sit and start playing with each other. A big joy spread on the face of my opponent. I too felt happy to revive old memories but the game with the next few minutes makes me old.

Within these years, she became a good player. But at a moment, she gives my piece to move either by mistakenly or overconfidently. And here, she lost the match. I enjoyed the game but she grieved the defeat.

The opponent of hers is also present there. When he sees her defeat, he legs him could not stop haranguing her. But I come in between and protects my friend.

On seeing this, my friend cries and hugs me from the back. She apologizes for doing wrong acts and interpreting things wrong on that day.

We again became friends. Chess broke us and again the chess joined us.