Not an Easy Win: Chapters 11–23

Living with Granny had made us all take on a routine. Granny was up by six-fifteen every morning (even on Saturday); Ma was up by six-thirty, and she got the kids up. Everyone was dressed by seven and done eating breakfast by 7:20.

I could tell the kids were up to their normal fighting by the rustling noises coming from the living room.

I stalled leaving the kitchen until Nikko and the twins were safely in their room.

I finished that assignment and answered all the questions in the computing- rational -numbers review right before Ms. Linda brought lunch at twelve o’clock, like normal.

Next were the bishops (the tall pointy ones), the knights (the horses), the rooks (the castles), and the pawns (the round ones).

Ma said Pop was prone to making bad decisions, and she didn’t want that energy rubbing off on me and Nik.

Uncle Bennie said Pop was released sometime last year. But then Ma said he’d violated his probation and was back inside again.

His body lurched forward, closing the little bit of space between us.

My chess lessons with Mr. Dennis started out slow and logical (a Mr. Dennis word). “To do well at chess, you’ll have to develop logic and reasoning.”

When the bus stopped on the street in front of the center, I stepped out into the walkway, ready to confront Deuce.

During Final Jeopardy!, the host read the answer: “Consisting of twenty-one verses, the book of this minor prophet, whose name means ‘servant of God,’ is the shortest.”

At first I didn’t understand why Mr. Dennis didn’t just beat him right away, but it seemed that chess was a slow-winding game, where you had to build a strategy and execute.

“Glad Mr. D let you come back,” Twyla said.
“Yeah, me too,” I admitted.

I watched her walk away, and a wave of warm air flushed my face. If I wasn’t as dark as the night air, I would’ve been blushing.

Deuce must have sensed me looking at him, because he shot me an icy glare. I looked away quick, but not quick enough that we didn’t lock glares for a few seconds.

She collected four pawns, a rook, and a bishop from Deuce’s side of the board, just like that. And, more important than the pieces she collected, she collected his confidence.

Junior moved his fourth pawn two spaces forward.
I moved my fifth pawn two spaces forward.

I moved my right knight in a left L.
Junior moved his right bishop diagonally left two spaces.

“Each square on the chessboard represents the intersection of a number and a letter. When you get home, draw yourself a chessboard on a sheet of paper. Eight squares wide, eight squares up and down. Letter the squares from A to H across the bottom, and number the squares from one to eight on the side; then match the squares with the moves on the paper.”

The cool April mornings had turned May and muggy. In North Carolina, we have something the weatherman calls humidity. It makes the air thick and hot, and you have to work harder to breathe.

The cool April mornings had turned May and muggy. In North Carolina, we have something the weatherman calls humidity. It makes the air thick and hot, and you have to work harder to breathe.

Deuce, Lin, and the other kids got back to their basketball game, and I tried to get back into Pop’s music. But instead of cool and funky, all I heard was He’s too chicken.

Apparently she had a collection of cat headbands—she wore a different one every day.

I got up early and headed to Mr. Dennis’s at 6:20 Monday morning. I was so antsy that I couldn’t sit, so he found me leaning against the passenger side of Old Blue.

I got my morning chores and schoolwork done at lightning speed so I could get to the boards—maybe one day I’d need to know about misplaced modifiers, but right now I was just glad to get my class assignments checked off.

I went over all the possible combinations from my last game with Junior, and I worked out three options for my starting move and for what Mr. Dennis called a counterattack.

After I beat Lin, I was supposed to be done for the day. But on free day, Mr. Dennis let anyone who wanted to challenge one of the upper- tier players get a chance to battle. That way, everyone got a chance to level up, he said.

Tournament open to junior players of all skill levels
Time control—90 minutes plus 30-second increment per move
Top prize $1,000!

That night at home, I’d told Pop about the word I missed. He insisted that annoy was a trick word.

“That board is yours, under two conditions,” Mr. Dennis said.
“Okay,” I agreed without even knowing what I was agreeing to.
“One, you clean out that closet from top to bottom. Two, you commit to practicing chess every day. That’s the only way you’ll get better. Deal?”