First, readers should understand that we chess players aren't totally geeks, we also have a fun life and believe it or not, we have a love story.
This is one of my high school sweetheart stories.
I had just returned to boarding school that Sunday evening after spending months on holiday. The senior students have been in school while the rest of us were on holiday; they were prepping for their upcoming SAT exams.
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I walked into the cafeteria, where both boys and girls ate. The air was filled with the aroma of Jollof rice that the kitchen had provided. The food in my high school wasn't totally bad, if I were to be honest. The senior students were happy to see me again. We had a good rapport. As I exchanged banter with friends, I noticed a few new faces. Apparently, students from our school’s second branch had come over to write the exams alongside seniors here.
There I was, sitting alone and enjoying my meal, when this young lady walked up to me. She said, “I heard a proud guy was here. ”
Shayo was a senior student from branch 2 here to write her final exams. She's a light-skinned lady with brown eyes and really long black hair.
We both smiled and exchanged a few playful words.
That Math Moment
A few days later, we talked again during “prep time,” a period in the evening where all students gather in a hall to study. That was when Shayo approached me again. She said she needed help with math, specifically a topic called arithmetic and geometric progression. I paused what I was reading, and then she sat close to me. I explained the topic as best as I could, and when I was done, she thanked me and left.
A few minutes later, my friend Oge, who was a slim, dark girl with a reputation for being a bit of a busybody, walked up to me, smirking. She said, “Ola, you’re not serious, oo. Hope you know she has a boyfriend.”
I laughed and replied, “She only asked for help with math. Besides, I’m her junior.”
Then Oge said to me, “Ola, she’s the best math student in Branch 2. She’s also the Head Prefect there. You’re being rizzed and don’t even know it.”
That was when it hit me.
Later that night, I got a letter from Shayo. She wrote that she liked me and wanted to be closer. I couldn’t help but smile. It was interesting but yet strange that a senior student was crushing on me.
We got closer from that point on.
One afternoon during recess, she asked if I played chess. I said yes. She went to the games section and got us a chessboard. I was surprised, a girl that actually enjoyed chess?
She was pretty decent at moving her pieces, but I noticed she lacked some fundamentals. So I began to teach her openings like the Ruy Lopez and the Sicilian Defense. We even talked about The Queen’s Gambit series on Netflix. It became our thing. Chess wasn’t just a game anymore; it became the thread that held us together.
I noticed that she looked at me different. There was admiration in her eyes and I won’t lie, it felt good.
When I got to my room that night, I couldn't stop thinking of her. Although I felt bad that she had a boyfriend, I was yet allowing myself to fall for her.
Eventually, she broke up with him.
I was just 16 years old and I think this was a lesson I've thought myself. Always be disciplined. The right thing to do was to turn her down. But I've forgiven myself. We make mistakes, we learn, and we move. Her now ex-boyfriend Anthony was a chilling guy. He was tall and light-skinned, and he was also quite rich for a student. He usually showered her with gifts, but there are just some females that don't find gifting or even wealth as a form of getting a woman's attention.
To be honest, I was a bit scared he was going to beat me up for rizzing his girlfriend, but he didn't resort to violence.
She graduated that year, and I was her prom date. Shayo wore a blue gown and she looked like a sophisticated woman. I put on my tux and looked sharp. We had a lovely night, danced, took pictures, and parted ways to our respective hostels afterward.
We eventually broke up. She was done with school and I was still a high school student. It was expected and there was no hard feeling because life had to go on. she was moving to the next phase of her life.
It was a fun and memorable time. I fell in love, learned a few lessons, and most importantly, I got the hack: you can actually get a babe with math and chess, LOL
Thanks for reading.
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