Check Mate, My Mate

 

 Here is a short story I wrote awhile ago. I hope you enjoy. ^.^

Why the hell does she even care?!?

“Rue McIntosh!” the cracking witch-like voice had seemed to travel down the hallway to the small, thin, pale-faced child, but did the words process? Obviously they did for the other young faces in the hallway, but not the palest.

Left foot, right foot, left foot again.

I mean honestly, what does it matter to the old hag anyway?

She found her feet stopping at an old rusty trash can, her eyes traveling down to her hand, which was now lifted above the opening of the can, holding the small pill bottle. She watched as it fell and clanked and against the walls of the trash can, allowing gravity to pull it down. For a few minutes she stood there, looking down into the trash, thinking of how useless it all was. How perfectly the pills would fit in.

Useless items fixed together, making happy friends, forever. Fun right?
“Well hello Mr. Banana, how are you today?”
“Oh, Mrs. Wrapper, I’m wonderful, same as always!”.....

The young girl’s mind traveled off into the world of garbage. She wasn't talking to herself, not a single sound left her lips, she simply stared at the rusty old can.

Everyone's eyes was on the young girl in black. She was quite beautiful besides the pale face and tough, cold, heart. When she walked her long, black, lovely hair would flow behind her, on her back, like a winding and twisting river. Her personality, ruined her beauty, her elegance in posture, everything. She looked up and everyone continued on their way down the hallway, as if nothing happened, leaving the strange child behind. Finally a sigh escaped her as she turned to the door and left the hallway. The other children left her behind while she left the pills behind, the hallway was silent.

~*~

With her head propped up in her hands and her elbows rested against her knees, Rue sat on the steps of the educational building, listening and watching. Girls in short shorts and v-neck shirts sat in the grass, leisurely flirting with the guys. Giggles and hair flips to silly nonsense. That was what was interesting to the young girl.

How can they just sit there like a bunch of idiots? Really? I just don't understand what about a stupid girl appeals to a guy. It’s stupid. Have some brains for God’s sake.....Yup, now just drop your pen, bend over, and sit up, blushing. “Oh, I'm so clumsy, I dropped my pen” Now giggle-

“Hello”,  a voice from behind Rue spoke softly, strong and manly-like, none-the-less it still had the faint tone of child, mixed in with that of a man's.  

Rue’s thin body twisted around to face the source of the voice. The first thing she thought was: river. There stood a boy, his hair was just like Rue’s, shorter of course, but it still resembled a black river. His eyes complimented his baby-blue t-shirt and shoes. It was the beginning of a hot summer, and almost everyone was wearing shorts, but not this one here, no he was wearing long blue jeans.  When he looked down his hair fell forward across his face, covering his eyes.

“Excuse me miss, but-”

“Calling someone your own age, ‘miss’,  won’t get you anywhere in this school.” Rue said curtly and quickly, expecting that he would start apologizing.  She stood, not wanting to hear it.

The young boy's eyes followed her as he spoke in an almost mocking way: “Alright, then what's your name?”

Rue’s eyes looked him over with contempt and hatred, for nothing. He hadn't done anything wrong. Yet, she still hated him, but why? Just for the fact he was there, talking to her? Maybe. Maybe because she felt that way about everyone and everything? Contempt for the world, a general contempt at that. Rue’s eyes left the boy she hated, her feet began moving without thought. Left foot, right foot, left foot again.   

“Wait! You didn’t answer the question! It’s quite rude to walk away when someone’s talking to you, especially when they’ve asked you a question!” his feet followed Rue’s still talking “I’ll go back to calling you ‘miss’ if you don’t tell me your name”

“I don’t care” Rue replied simply, like a competitive child giving up.


“Alright....miss, well if you did care, at all, my name is Tristan”  Tristan’s feet stopped and he turned and walked back into the school, without another word passed between the two teenagers.  Rue kept walking away, her feet working on their own, through the soccer field, towards the woods.

Left foot, right foot, left foot again, another step that's all and we’re here!

She tilted her head up ever so slightly, she saw the wondrous bright green and dull brown and smiled.  Suddenly, if anyone was there to see her face, they would fall to their knees in a daze. They would be looking at the most beautiful young adult in all of New Zealand. It’s strange how a simple facial expression can change someone like that. Rue’s entire appearance was lit up at that moment. The beauty disappeared when the smile left her face, not when her entire body fell to the ground due to the harsh coughing. She hugged her frail, thin, body. As every sudden jerk and cough, a red warm liquid would leave her mouth, speckling the grass.  It looked as if a child of maybe 3, came by with a paint brush covered in red paint and waved the brush around in the air trying to get someones attention, accidentally getting paint everywhere. But there was no child or paintbrush, only Rue’s body tightly curled up wincing with every jerk.

A few minutes passed before she placed her hands on the ground and pushed up, her hand grabbed for the tree to steady her balance once she was on her feet.  One hand holding onto the brown and brittle bark, the other slowly and shakily reached into her back pocket. Out she pulled a white handkerchief, already speckled like the grass. With it she wiped away-still shaking- the dripping red from her chin. She did this as she took in deep, unstable, breaths.  Soon the handkerchief was back in her  back pocket and she had both hands on the tree now. Rue’s feet left the ground as her arm muscles weakly worked to pull her up to the first branch. Taking in deep breathes still, she sat, holding onto the tree. She could smell the sweet sticky sap as she closed her eyes, allowing her breath to slow down.

It seemed like hours had passed there in the tree, till she heard the faint chime alerting the students that the day of endless, boring lessons had actually come to an end. Rue didn’t want to move from her tree. If she could just stay there.....

Now that I think about it, this would be the perfect place to die. No one else comes here...just me. Little to no noise. No drama. No action. Just the forest and me and my tree....
Rue climbed down the tree reluctantly and let her feet take over, moving back into their thoughtless rhythm. Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot, left foot......

~*~

Days passed before Rue saw Tristan again. The hottest day it could ever be, happened to be that day.  The soccer players sweat made the entire field smell like a sweaty mens locker room. The uniforms of green and yellow mixed in the sun's heat. Everyone wanted to go home, the game’s score board held the numbers five and zero, but yet the game kept droning on and on.  Rue sat there in the streaming sunlight, even hotter in her black attire. Still as pale as ever, watching the game take place.

Why am I even here? This is ridiculous. Yup, we already know we list, why do we have to continue the damn game. IT’S TOO HOT!

Tristan was on the field, wearing a yellow jersey, hands on his knees, panting like an overly active dog. He waited at his position for the ball to come his way,  then he would make his move against the opposing team. Maybe he could score one, just one....WHAM!!

Tristan was on the ground, no idea what had hit him to knock him down off his feet. A few seconds later it clicked.

The ball, idiot....get up and kick the ball. Rue had seen everything. From the boy in green swinging his leg, to Tristan sitting up, looking like a complete fool. He lifted himself up carefully, his eyes darting around the field for the black and white ball he had got so familiar with.

“HEY KID! LOOK DOWN!”, a pot-bellied old man was almost screaming at the poor boy in yellow, spit emitting from his mouth every time it opened. He was wearing a matching yellow jacket and black sweat pants. Rue’s eyes watched as his face turned even redder with every word

In this weather? This guy is insane, who the hell would be wearing a jacket and sweatpants?

Tristan's eyes finally found the ball by his feet. He brought his leg back, and swung it forward against the ball. Not only his, but everyone’s eyes followed the black-white blur fly across the field.  As it landed it rolled past the net. just barely missing the pole attached. The usual harmonious groan came from the yellow-side of the field and crowd. Game over. Onlookers began walking away, the fans followed at a slower pace, few discussion of the actual game took place after. Rue saw that the green jerseys were running around like the lunatics they were, all soaked by not only sweat but the gallons of water they wasted on themselves.

Idiots... Rue thought plainly to herself. Well that's what the other team was, party rockers.

Rue’s routine walking began shortly once most of the people had left the field, she didn't notice who else was left, she didn't care....she never did. But Tristan did, he had noticed her the second he walked on that field, he even tried to wave. As he watched her walk away from the field, he automatically quickened his pace in packing his sports bag and allowed his feet to carry him in a run up behind her.

“Hey nameless!”

Rue’s rhythm was interrupted, her body tensed up, but she did not turn around to face the boy with her hair.

“I’m not nameless, I have a name” She said coldly

“Well what is it then?” He said this with a smile on his face, not a cynical smile, but a friendly one.

“Rue...Rue McIntosh”

“Well, Rue it’s nice to meet you” he walked up closer and eventually in front of her and bowed slightly to her.

Who does this guy think he is? GO AWAY!

A simple frown fell upon his face as he looked down again. That stupid hair fell in front of his eyes, it bothered Rue so much, but she resisted the temptations to move it out of his face. It would have been creepy if she had.

“Tristan, right?” her voice was softer and kinder, less cold.

He simply nodded in reply.   

“Well Tristan, nice knowing you, bye...” she was glad to let her feet begin to fall back into their familiar rhythm. The happy moments when-

“Wait Rue,” he looked up from the ground, his eyes gleaming the wonderful blue they were. “would you...uhhh....like to....umm...play chess? Maybe?”

Again her rhythm was interrupted.

“No” her voice was cold again.

“Why not? It’ll be just one simple game. I bet I’ll win”, this time Tristan's smile was a devilish smirk. “What harm would it do to get to know me? Hm?”

Rue hadn’t actually considered this, no she just expected him to give up after her ‘no’.  She didn’t answer for what seemed like ages, he waited patiently until she finally turned around.  His eyes, they were blue...but something else. Something in them pulled Rue to him, he was the first person who could do this. Her iced heart melted a little, but had it already started to melt a few days earlier on the front steps?

“Um..” she was still thinking. How would she answer that? Finally: “Running the risk of getting attached...it would do that harm”

There ya go...good answer Rue..now walk away before he asks anymore questions.

She tried to let her feet pick up their rhythm again, but was yet again stopped. This time he grabbed her arm. Not in a rough manner, he was gentle about it.  

“So? What does it matter if I get attached? What if you get attached?”

She had nothing she could think of to answer such a question. No one before had tried this hard. It wasn’t fair, she wasn’t prepared! What harm would it really do? She knew she could prevent any “getting attached”, easily. It would be okay, just one simple game like he said. She couldn’t let him know she thought it was a total good idea, so she put in a slight ‘annoyed’ sigh before her final answer.

The game began in the library, the two sat directly across from each other, surrounded by books. Old, new, tall, short, thin, fat, crazy shaped, all sorts, the typical library. Rue took the pale white pieces while Tristan took  the black. He was still sweaty from his winless game. Today Rue thought: honey bee. His yellow shirt with his black shorts and hair, not to mention the black pieces he was playing with.
She felt something new for once, she couldn’t  figure it out. It wasn’t quite happiness, but it definitely was not the usual sadness. Rue’s hand traveled over her selection of pawns, she picked the farthest to the right and moved it up two squares. Tristan played his first pawn directly across from hers.

Stupid move, now it’s stuck there!

When Rue looked up at Tristan, she saw his smile had become sincere again, but not to her, to the game. His eyes hadn’t left the board since he sat himself down on the purple bean-like chair. Rue’s eyes examined his face, quickly while his were examining the pawns, rooks, kings, knights, and queens. His head finally lifted up to look at the pale-face who had spoken first.

“Do you play chess often?” Rue asked, kindly.

“I used to, not anymore....er well not for a while”, he said flatly and tilted his head down to its previous position. “ with my brother, up till he was hit by a car.”

“ Oh, I’m...terribly sorry,” and for the first time she was sorry for someone else, she knew what it felt like to lose someone important to you. Rue played her next move, silent and unsure what to further say to Tristan.  Was this a touchy topic for him?
The black knight was the first to die in this silly war game, more followed of course, from both colors,  but the board was heavy with white by the last ten minutes of the game.

“So you don’t spend much time in the sun do you?” the first actual attempt to continue a conversation, since the brother who played chess.  

Rue’s eyes left the board, while her ears were still processing the words that had left. “Hm?...Oh no I do..why do you ask?”

“You’re just so....not pink. Like most students are this time of year,” looking at her tired eyes surrounded by the darkish purple of exhaustion, he realized Rue had always looked this way, since the day on the steps. Always pale, always tired, almost bruised it seemed. “You’re sick aren’t you, not just a silly cold, no this is something serious.”  

In shock, Rue’s eyes closed for half a second. He...he knew. Well it was sorta obvious. But he’s actually talking about it, he actually.....cares? Why would he care?! She’s a nobody, a gonner. All she could do was nod in reply.

“How long?” a simple question. How long until dinner time? How long till the end of school? How long till this game would end? How long till the library closed? But it wasn’t any of those.

“A few months” Rue replied quietly as if it were a fear, but it wasn’t. She wasn’t scared, she had accepted it when the surgeon has walked into the ER with the look of temporary absolute hopelessness. She knew there was an end for everything, she was okay with it. She just didn’t have to be happy about it, about anything.

“Rue, that sucks”

Rue wasn’t annoyed with this simple reaction of the boy in the purple bean chair. What else was he supposed to say to her? What would you say to her? Rue took in a deep breath as if it was nothing and the white horse shaped piece made its ‘L’ to conquer the black king, and it was over. They both stood up in unison, the boy packed up the board and the wide range of pieces going with it. The girl watched with blank eyes, in silence. Once both pairs of feet began their own rhythms, another topic had risen into their atmosphere. Music. As they reached the end of the long rows of books, Rue was laughing with her true smile. She looked beautiful again. Tristan's smile wasn’t for the silly joke passed between the two like Rue’s, but it was for Rue’s smile. It was a good thing she was smiling and not simply hating it.

~*~

It was only a few months that passed until the thin pale-faced child had made it to the hospital, on schedule. Sparkling white walls surrounded Rue and and the boy, the sunlight streaming into the room through the single window. The faint musical rhythms of the machines sounded for them in the background of their game. Rue propped up with a few pillows on the bed, her face paler and her eyes were darker, her body thinner.  She was still beautiful though, nothing could overcome that smile she had. The board was mostly white again, matching the room. The girl was winning yet again. Over the months the young boy hadn’t won a single game, this was the norm for the two.

“I’m gonna to win,” her voice was soft and quiet, a weaker voice of that of the girl in black, but a content voice of a young girl in the white hospital gown.

“Well you always do” Tristan said with an almost spiteful-and mocking at the same time- tone in his voice.

The single black king, left on the board was cornered by the range of white figures, in the right corner closest to the grinning Tristan. He was sitting in a chair he had brought in from the lobby, it was quite uncomfortable, but it didn’t matter. He was there, bringing the world to Rue. He wasn’t just there to help her move on. He was there to allow her to enjoy the last few days without letting her drop back into the old rhythm of hate.  

“Checkmate, my mate,” after saying this, from Rue’s mouth, escaped a yawn. Playing chess all day was tiring. She removed the pillows from behind her back and dropped them on the ground, leaning back. The boy with a river for hair leaned back as well. His smile hurt to uphold at that moment, but he left it there for Rue. The blue eyes didn’t leave the pale girl, even after he knew his eyes would never meet hers again once she had closed them.

“Wake me up if anything exciting happens.” she closed her eyes and her breathing slowed as she drifted off into a sleep she would never wake up from. Her last thought she would ever think was simple and short. Sincere. Happy. Grateful.

Thank you, Tristan.