Checkmate

Castling

The best things in life are meant to be free. But in this world, everything costs someone. Whether the cost is incurred by monetary value, time, or just karma it's best to know if you can afford to fork the bill. My spark with Daniel was quickly turning into a flame. The question was if this fire could be contained or burn down the entire forest. It's exactly two days since I last saw Daniel and all I could think about is what if did kiss? And if the kiss attempt meant we had a thing between us or not.

I decided to go shopping with my friends for the huge social event this coming weekend. They decided that I had to look the part since I became an overnight social media sensation. I was dubbed the Knight since I stood up for justice and came out victorious. "What do you think about this?" Chloe asked us as she pressed the dress against her so we could visualize her in it. "Not bad witch!" Liam answered as he compared two stilettos before he handed his choice to Chloe. "These will look great with the dress." He added.  Feeling great Chloe accepted the shoes with a smile "Thanks."

Rebecca on the other hand looked bored. "Are you okay?" I asked. She rolled her eyes and said. "I'm starving, can we please wrap it up?!" I couldn't agree more. These girls would probably buy the entire mall if they could. I was satisfied with what I purchased, even though my grandparents are well off and dad had left me a hefty sum of inheritance I remained responsible with money. Momma always said riches come and go, therefore it was important to always build wealth. I looked at Rebecca whose father basically owned the entire city, the only thing she bought was nail polish and a cute hat. "Are you not getting a dress as well?" I asked her. She just shook her head in response. "Don't worry about this one honey, her walking closet is literally a designer boutique," Liam said.

"That's because she gets freebies from all these high fashion suck-ups," Hailey added. "Speaking of freebies, did you decide to promote stuff on your social media Newbie?" She asked me. According to my friends, having a strong following means you can get all this cool designer stuff for free. "I haven't decided yet," I replied. "Any girl would kill to get such offers," Hailey said snarkily. "Well, clearly I am not any girl," I said with a sarcastic smile. "Let me ring these so we can all get lunch," Chloe said.

I was thankful for her. I still couldn't believe the school gave us two days off to prep for the weekend. This wasn't just a big deal to the students but it was a way for elite schools to come together in the spirit of healthy competition, networking, and most of all making money. "So we are all heading back to Lily's house to hang out right?" Liam asked. "Of course, I am starving. Plus we did tell Mrs. Knight that we would." Rebecca added. "I'm just curious about the Lemonade the terrible Rothchild twin was raving about," Chloe said. "His not so terrible Chloe," I added. Hailey raised her eyebrow and asked, "Since when are you his fan?" I sighed and firmly answered, "He is a good guy who makes bad calls like every other human being does." Liam chimed in "You are right darling, but he seriously needs to control that temper of his like the rest of us try to." I gave Liam a thoughtful look and nodded my head.

When we got to my house nanna had already prepared lunch for us. We washed our hands and dug in. In that timeframe, I noticed how talkative Rebecca is. She was more chatty with my nanna than she is with us. "This lemonade is summer rain on fresh mint Mrs. K." Chloe said. That made Nanna laugh at the descriptive complement. "Thank you, dear, please have some more." We had homemade beef lasagna with triple cheese and a side salad. Rebecca and Chloe were definitely full but asked for seconds anyway.

"Nanna, did grandpa say where he was going?" I asked. "He went to play chess with the other elderly folks at the retirement center," she answered. "So you're the Black Knight's grandchild?" Rebecca asked. "Yep," I responded. "No wonder why you won against Daniel," Hailey said. "Do you have to say it like that Hailey?" Liam asked with his brows furrowed. "It's true though if it wasn't for her grandpa she'd be toast," Hailey answered rolling her eyes. "Mrs. Knight, can I help with clearing up the dishes," Chloe asked. Grandma smiled and looked at me "It's alright dear, guests don't work in this household." Nanna said. "Lily, why don't you help me out?" she asked. I nodded my head and gathered the plates. When we were out of earshot she voiced herself. "That Hailey seems to be troubled." I paused thinking about what my nanna said. "Do you think she's projecting?" I asked. "Those sessions with the shrink are paying off I see," she said with a smile. I couldn't help but laugh. "Nanna... I know I was not easy to be around when I first got here." I said. "You've been through a lot pretty flower." She responded. I gave her a weak smile before adding. "Even so, I'm sorry." she placed the glasses on the kitchen island and embraced me in a warm hug. "We love you, child. why don't you go back to your friends now," she said. "I thought you needed help with cleaning up?" I asked with a confused expression. She patted my back twice then grabbed the glasses again before saying. "I only wanted you to step away from what was turning into an unpleasant conversation so you could see things from another perspective." I could only admire my nanna for her wisdom.

I was mentally preparing myself to face Hailey and get to the bottom of the demons behind her projection. "Thanks, nanna," I said. "Anytime pretty flower." She said. I was about to walk away when she added "Oh Lily" I paused, turned "Yes nanna..?" I asked. "Apology accepted!" she said. I smiled widely before turning to leave again. I returned to my friends and we hung out a little before they left. I decided to start packing for the social event. My cell beeped as a text came through. I didn't want to open go online so I dragged the text to read without opening it. It read "WATCH YOUR BACK B****" Shocked I immediately checked the number but it was unknown. I called Liam to tell him what happened. He just laughed it off saying it could just be a prank. "Don't take it too seriously darling. You're popular now. Everyone wants a piece of you." He said. "If you say so," I said, still feeling uneasy I asked, "But what if it's not a prank and someone is out to get me?" Liam sighed over the phone then added "Honey, trust me if sh** hit the fan I got your back, we all do." Feeling a tad of relief I responded "Good to know!" We paused for a second "So have you started packing?" Liam asked. "I literally just started. Have you?" I answered "I was done packing two weeks ago darling. This weekend is going to be fire!" He said with excitement. "Well, I just have to take your word for it," I added. "Come now honey, don't be a killjoy.  Think about it will you. You are now amongst the most popular girls in not just school but the elite society now, which means you automatically qualify for the running of Queen of the castle." Confused I ask "What the hell is that?" Liam giggles and says "Wait, let me put you on speaker Rebecca has to hear this." I could hear Rebecca and Liam argue on the other end about not wanting to be involved, but everyone knows saying no to Liam is like a total waste of time. So there we were talking on the phone. Liam told me that running for Queen of the Castle was dictated by Faust, every year Daniel chooses his queen and it turned out some IT GIRL called Ava has been queen since Junior high. I don't know what bothered me more, the fact that this Ava was something to Daniel or the nagging feeling of being targeted. Inside the pit of my stomach, I felt this knot that just couldn't be undone. Something was off, the question was what?