“You want me to do what?!” All of a sudden, a perfectly average Saturday went sour.
“I want you to teach me how to play chess so that I can join the chess club,” Satie repeated. She stood on my front doorstep, looking every inch the anorexic socialite she was. Pink tank top, khaki shorts shorter than some of my underwear, legs like toothpicks. I was suddenly aware of how scruffy I looked. I was still in the cargo pants I’d played paintball in and I wore an old, frayed shirt that said ‘Chess—It’s not only a game’ (on the back it said ‘It’s the only game’). About half of my hair was in a ponytail, and the rest was wildly flying everywhere, while her straight black hair hung down, afraid to step out of line. I fixed my eyes solidly on her pendant.
“No,” I said. I wanted her to get away before she could play her mind games with me.
“I can pay.”
“No.”
“Katya,” Mom called from the kitchen. “Invite your guest in.” I grimaced. First of all, Satie had invited herself here. She was not my guest. Second of all, NOBODY called me Kate, Katie, or Katya. I was Kat.
“Why won’t you teach me?” Satie asked as we headed up the stairs to my room.
“You don’t give a counterfeit penny about the game,” I growled. “You just want Jamie.”
“What’s wrong with that? He’s hot, smart, president of the chess club, single.”
“I know what you do to boys. You lure them in like a spider, get what you can, then toss them in the trash. Some people have disposable toothbrushes, you have disposable guys.”
“It’s none of your business what I want to do with Jamie.” Satie was defensive. “Unless, of course, you’re cheating on your Army boy.”
“Jamie is my friend, and I try to take care of my friends. It’s called loyalty and you might want to look it up in the dictionary.” I was mad. I would never, ever cheat on Cody, especially not now. “Besides, you and your hatchet-girl friends treat me like an atheist in a Muslim camp at school and all of a sudden you expect me to cram chess knowledge into your lighter-than-air head.”
We entered my room and I was suddenly embarrassed. I had invited her up here so we could have privacy from Mom while I chewed her out, but then I realized that she’d probably never seen anything like my very ungirly room and would make fun of the décor.
It was a fairly plain room. The bed had a camo bedspread on it, and pinned to one wall was the paper target from the first time I shot an expert score (Dad had taught me how to shoot when I was younger, and to Mom’s dismay, I enjoyed it). The rest of the walls were covered in artwork. Most of it was mine, anime-style fight scenes. The rest was Tanya’s from when we were still friends. Her work was more realistic.
At the foot of my bed, where I could see it when I woke up in the morning, were two pictures. One was mine, an anime-style sketch of Cody and I in paintball gear. The other was a Tanya’s painting of Cody and I dancing the tango at the winter school dance. Cody was fairly good-looking, though Satie wouldn’t have given him a second glance. It was his personality that drew me to him, though, and his sense of humor. I saw Satie staring at the room and wondered if it would be necessary to decontaminate the room when she left.
“How is Cody, by the way?” Satie asked. I suspected she was changing the subject on purpose. Cody was several thousand miles away, and not a target for her, so she wouldn’t have any reason to care about him.
“The IED hurt him bad. They shipped him to a hospital in Germany, and they’re still not sure if there’s any--” I forced myself to keep my voice level as I said the words “—permanent damage.”
“I hope he’s okay. Just in case, you should start shopping around for a new boyfriend. I think that thing with Tom’s blown over by now. One thing I like about you, Kat, is that you have standards. You wouldn’t settle for damaged goods.”
I resisted an urge to punch Satie. “I’m standing by Cody, no matter what.” I reached onto my bookshelf for a dictionary. “It’s part of that loyalty thing. You really should look the word up.”
“Your decision.” Satie shrugged. “Just saying you could do better than a cripple.”
Again, I managed not to punch her. “As you say, it’s my decision, so I’ll make it myself, thank you.”
“And Jamie is my affair. What I feel for Jamie is the real thing. Like you and Cody,” Satie said.
“That’s what you said about Luke. And Tanner. John, Evan, Brian, Tom. And all the others.”
“How about we make a deal,” I told her with a sigh. “I’ll teach you to play, but if you hurt Jamie, I swear I will come to your house, in the middle of the night, with a paintball gun and cover your face with these.” I lifted my pants leg so she could see my paintball welts. “By the way, I hear the orange paint has chemicals that cause acne,” I lied.
“I want you to teach me how to play chess so that I can join the chess club,” Satie repeated. She stood on my front doorstep, looking every inch the anorexic socialite she was. Pink tank top, khaki shorts shorter than some of my underwear, legs like toothpicks. I was suddenly aware of how scruffy I looked. I was still in the cargo pants I’d played paintball in and I wore an old, frayed shirt that said ‘Chess—It’s not only a game’ (on the back it said ‘It’s the only game’). About half of my hair was in a ponytail, and the rest was wildly flying everywhere, while her straight black hair hung down, afraid to step out of line. I fixed my eyes solidly on her pendant.
“No,” I said. I wanted her to get away before she could play her mind games with me.
“I can pay.”
“No.”
“Katya,” Mom called from the kitchen. “Invite your guest in.” I grimaced. First of all, Satie had invited herself here. She was not my guest. Second of all, NOBODY called me Kate, Katie, or Katya. I was Kat.
“Why won’t you teach me?” Satie asked as we headed up the stairs to my room.
“You don’t give a counterfeit penny about the game,” I growled. “You just want Jamie.”
“What’s wrong with that? He’s hot, smart, president of the chess club, single.”
“I know what you do to boys. You lure them in like a spider, get what you can, then toss them in the trash. Some people have disposable toothbrushes, you have disposable guys.”
“It’s none of your business what I want to do with Jamie.” Satie was defensive. “Unless, of course, you’re cheating on your Army boy.”
“Jamie is my friend, and I try to take care of my friends. It’s called loyalty and you might want to look it up in the dictionary.” I was mad. I would never, ever cheat on Cody, especially not now. “Besides, you and your hatchet-girl friends treat me like an atheist in a Muslim camp at school and all of a sudden you expect me to cram chess knowledge into your lighter-than-air head.”
We entered my room and I was suddenly embarrassed. I had invited her up here so we could have privacy from Mom while I chewed her out, but then I realized that she’d probably never seen anything like my very ungirly room and would make fun of the décor.
It was a fairly plain room. The bed had a camo bedspread on it, and pinned to one wall was the paper target from the first time I shot an expert score (Dad had taught me how to shoot when I was younger, and to Mom’s dismay, I enjoyed it). The rest of the walls were covered in artwork. Most of it was mine, anime-style fight scenes. The rest was Tanya’s from when we were still friends. Her work was more realistic.
At the foot of my bed, where I could see it when I woke up in the morning, were two pictures. One was mine, an anime-style sketch of Cody and I in paintball gear. The other was a Tanya’s painting of Cody and I dancing the tango at the winter school dance. Cody was fairly good-looking, though Satie wouldn’t have given him a second glance. It was his personality that drew me to him, though, and his sense of humor. I saw Satie staring at the room and wondered if it would be necessary to decontaminate the room when she left.
“How is Cody, by the way?” Satie asked. I suspected she was changing the subject on purpose. Cody was several thousand miles away, and not a target for her, so she wouldn’t have any reason to care about him.
“The IED hurt him bad. They shipped him to a hospital in Germany, and they’re still not sure if there’s any--” I forced myself to keep my voice level as I said the words “—permanent damage.”
“I hope he’s okay. Just in case, you should start shopping around for a new boyfriend. I think that thing with Tom’s blown over by now. One thing I like about you, Kat, is that you have standards. You wouldn’t settle for damaged goods.”
I resisted an urge to punch Satie. “I’m standing by Cody, no matter what.” I reached onto my bookshelf for a dictionary. “It’s part of that loyalty thing. You really should look the word up.”
“Your decision.” Satie shrugged. “Just saying you could do better than a cripple.”
Again, I managed not to punch her. “As you say, it’s my decision, so I’ll make it myself, thank you.”
“And Jamie is my affair. What I feel for Jamie is the real thing. Like you and Cody,” Satie said.
“That’s what you said about Luke. And Tanner. John, Evan, Brian, Tom. And all the others.”
“How about we make a deal,” I told her with a sigh. “I’ll teach you to play, but if you hurt Jamie, I swear I will come to your house, in the middle of the night, with a paintball gun and cover your face with these.” I lifted my pants leg so she could see my paintball welts. “By the way, I hear the orange paint has chemicals that cause acne,” I lied.
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