16 Truth - Part 3 (2/2)

Okay, I think I get the gist of it now.

”Well, stuff like that happens when you're new. But Chase, with how passively you played that, I can't help but think that you're a bit of a chicken.”

”… You're saying this based off of a single game of chess?”

”Not just a single game. I've already won the next one too.”

The… next one?

”What are you talking about? You won't know if you've won until we play it right? Even if I am new, saying outright that you've won the next game before we've moved a single piece is plain arrogant.”

”Arrogant, huh?”

She reaches her hand out toward the chessboard and grabs my king. As if taking my king away was such an easy thing to do. But the way she moved forward felt almost forceful. It was as if my king had truly belonged to her.

”It's far from arrogant, Chase. It's the truth. I would bet one million dollars on myself if I could. My victory in the next game is already a fact of this universe. Even if I weren't as experienced as I am now, I would still win the next game. One hundred percent.”

What the hell is she saying?

This is too much, even for her. Calling me a chicken then saying I'm definitely going to lose? Who does she think she is?

”Chase, you just said you'd keep more pieces around your king, didn't you?”

”So?”

”So, look. You're not trying to win at all, are you?”

”…”

”I'm right aren't I? After all, not once did you say that you were going to checkmate me. When I asked about your strategy in the first game, you stated that the goal of your strategy was to 'see how I'd react'. Once I explained what you did wrong, your goal shifted to 'protecting the king.' But look, in neither of those scenarios was your goal to 'checkmate my king'.”

”What choice do I have? You're a better player than I am. It's better for me in the long run if I spend my time trying to learn the rules so that I can fight you evenly another day.”

She smiles at my response.

She smiles as if she had been using her words to carefully guide me into that exact response all this time.

”That's why I said you're a chicken. The game hasn't even begun and yet you've already accepted defeat. You've already acknowledged me as the untouchable, superior player. And as a result your play suffers for it. That's it, isn't it? You don't want to lose after trying your heart out. Because it hurts to want something and lose it right before your eyes. It hurts to fail, doesn't it? It feels like the whole world will laugh at you if you fail.”

I look away.

”Mhm, that's just like you Chase.”

She leans in and rests her palm on her chin.

”Yeah. Yeah, yeah yeah. Turn away from me. I'm making too much sense, aren't I? Escape from this terrible situation by looking away from me. Actually, if we choose to observe this more deeply, it explains a lot of things about you doesn't it? For example…”

”…”

”It explains why you chose Sig and Nick as your friends.”

I can only look away.

”I had wondered why a boy as amiable and as good-looking as yourself was stuck between those two. After all, it's apparent to anyone looking on from afar that you showed absolutely no interest in any of their hobbies.”

All I do is look away.

”I've been watching you closely ever since I learned that you and Scarlet had been dating. And you know, I couldn't help but wonder. Why? Why was Chase doing this to himself? Did he despise himself so much that he'd force himself to play with those kids? Kids he has nothing in common with? Kids whose reputations dragged him through the dirt? Why was he living in that world of geek-dom by himself? I really couldn't understand any of your thought process until I played this game with you today.”

I continue looking away.

”The truth is Chase, you respect hierarchies to the core. Both the hierarchy of skill that says I am a better player than you, and the social hierarchy of this school that says the popular kids are better than the geeks. You revere people like Jen and Scar as better than you. You're afraid that normal kids will think of you as weird or boring. And out of that fear of rejection, you settled for you current friends.”

I…

”Chase, you gave up on making any real friends on the first day of high school, didn't you?”

I try my hardest to resist the urge to let my anger explode.

After all, if I do that then we'll get found out. And as much as she's pissing me off right now, she doesn't deserve what Ryan threatened to do to her.

And worst of all, she's completely right.

”In the end, you're just a chicken who happened to luck out with Scarlet.”

”Shut up.”

My anger couldn't be stifled anymore.

I didn't want to hear that. Those words were the last thing I wanted to hear.

That's probably because deep down, I had thought so too.

Scarlet approaching me like that was nothing short of lucky. I was probably reveling in that luck. I was elated to be talking to such a fun girl like her.

But if it was luck, if it had nothing to do with me as a person, then it means that she could also disappear at any moment.

”…”

Her playful grin deflates along with any trace of excitement that her face once carried.

As if the battery on her video game console had just died right before her eyes.

It was that kind of disappointment.

”In any case, the last thing I'd want to waste my time doing is playing chess with someone who's already given up on winning.”

She yawns and stretches her arms out nonchalantly, as if she hadn't just completely put a damper on my mood.

”I'm going to go use the washroom.”

She walks off as if absolutely nothing had happened.

”…”

I shift in my seat.

It's probably apparent enough at this point, but that was completely different from when Scarlet berated me.

When Scarlet does it, it's clear that she's only using prejudices against geeks and nerds to put me beneath her. In a way, it's almost charming how much less she thinks of them compared to herself.

But with this girl, it's more personal.

It's as if with every exchange of words, she's slowly peeling the skin off of my bones and stripping my weaknesses bare. In Dungeons and Dragons, she would be a courtier; an advisor to some noble figure in the royal court, one who is proficient in the insight stat.

It should go without saying, but that noble figure would probably be Scarlet. For the sake of Scarlet, for the sake of determining whether I was worth her affection or not, she felt that it was necessary to expose the most fragile parts of the man called Chase Masters.

This entire situation was a façade.

She planned to lock me in here with her from the beginning; it was the perfect excuse to get to know me and determine my worth.

It seems my initial assessment of her was correct. She really is straightforward. She just says whatever she wants without a care for how you might feel.

She's the worst match for someone like myself who's constantly drowning in insecurity.

I don't think I should bother myself with this anymore.

Even if I could gain favor with Momoka by staying here, Scarlet and I haven't spoken to one another for a week at this point. And before that, she seemed to want to end this fake relationship.

And besides, is anyone truly worth that kind of abuse?

The abuse that this girl, Momoka Kudo, was capable of handing out?

”…”

But.

I don't know.

There's a strange emotion building up inside of me that I can't quite describe.

This overwhelming desire to protect a future where the two of us, where Scarlet and I can hang out together as friends. Even if she is the most basic woman I've ever met, I'd be lying if I said I didn't have fun talking to her after all.

Besides, I promised her that I'd do this.

Even if she decides that we're ending this relationship tomorrow, the least I can do is protect that lie for one more day.

So, let's keep this charade going for just one more day.

It's on, Momoka.