2024 School Magazine

Black and White and Sweet and Bitter (continued)

But—no. She released a breath as he moved his king, not allowing another second to pass before she took his queen. She had done it! Taken his queen! And now without his most powerful piece on the board, she could win. She smirked triumphantly at her dad now, leaning back in her chair. His move. He didn’t falter as he dragged his bishop down the board, attacking her king. She had not seen it move to that square. “Checkmate.” Her hands were cold and clammy when she shook his, defeat sapping her strength. She lost. Again. Just as she always had. Just as she feared she always would. “I’ll take my frogs now,” her father said, scooping the handful off the table. She combed the board with desperate eyes, the emptiness echoing her disbelief; there was no move, no block, no take. The battle before had left the board barren—empty. “You know,” he said, taking a bite of her Freddo, indulging in what she had wanted so badly, and would now be starved of for a week, “You did come close.” “What?” “That was the first time you had ever taken my queen, even if your own king was the cost. Progress is progress.” Progress. Not perfection—just improvement. She didn’t need to win, she just had to improve. And maybe that would be enough.

Lucy Bongers (10L)

BRISBANE GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL 2024 | 123