“Good Game”
July 30, 2014
“I believe that’s checkmate, Marlene,” Skipper announced, moving his piece to trap her king.
Marlene pursed her lips and threw a bishop at him. “Come on, that was the third time in a row,” she protested.
Skipper laughed. “Hey, don’t hate the player, here!”
Marlene laughed and threw a knight at him. “I don’t hate you, it just makes me feel better,” she corrected.
“Well,” Skipper replied with a smile, “two can play at that game!” He threw a pawn at her and she ducked under the table. “Hey! Come back here, you little coward!” he said, following her under with a laugh. Marlene took the opportunity to jump onto the table, grab a handful of chess pieces, and throw them at him one by one.
“Hey!” Skipper exclaimed as he tried to pull up, but ended up hitting his head on the bottom of the table, reacting with an “Ow!”
Marlene laughed. “Victory is mine!” she cried triumphantly.
Skipper finally managed to pull himself up and he batted the pieces away with his flipper.
“C’mon, Marlene! You ain’t ran out of pieces yet?” he said, laughing. Finally, he reached out and knocked the chessboard to the floor, sending the rest of Marlene’s ammo with it.
“Hey!” Marlene protested as she threw her last remaining chess piece, which Skipper successfully batted away.
“Don’t ‘hey’ me,” Skipper said, crossing his flippers over his chest. “Now, help me clean up your mess, Miss Sore Loser,” he ordered with a smile.
“Sorry, I guess I just got carried away,” Marlene said, removing herself from the tabletop.
“No kidding,” Skipper replied with a laugh as he picked up the chess pieces. “Ah, I understand, don’t worry about it. It’s perfectly natural to feel frustrated with my superiority.”
Marlene laughed. “You’re impossible, Skipper,” she said.
After a few more minutes of picking up the chess pieces, they set what pieces they had on the table and assessed the set for completion.
“I’m missing the white rook,” Marlene told Skipper as he affirmed the completion of the black set.
“Well, it has to be here somewhere,” he said as they both started to look around.
Marlene spotted it tucked next to the leg of the table and she stooped over to pick it up when her paw came in contact with a flipper and she looked up in surprise to find Skipper’s sapphire eyes looking back into hers.
After a moment of awkward silence, they looked back down to see that they’d both grabbed the rook at the same time. Skipper cleared his throat and Marlene pulled her paw from atop his flipper. Skipper picked up the rook.
“Heh, found it,” he said, setting it on the table.
“Me too,” Marlene replied with a nervous smile. Unable to hold eye contact with the growing tension in the room, she looked down at the chess pieces on the table.
“Good game, Marlene,” Skipper said finally. When Marlene looked back to him, he was smiling warmly. She couldn’t stop herself from returning the gesture.
“Good game, Skipper.”
July 30, 2014
“I believe that’s checkmate, Marlene,” Skipper announced, moving his piece to trap her king.
Marlene pursed her lips and threw a bishop at him. “Come on, that was the third time in a row,” she protested.
Skipper laughed. “Hey, don’t hate the player, here!”
Marlene laughed and threw a knight at him. “I don’t hate you, it just makes me feel better,” she corrected.
“Well,” Skipper replied with a smile, “two can play at that game!” He threw a pawn at her and she ducked under the table. “Hey! Come back here, you little coward!” he said, following her under with a laugh. Marlene took the opportunity to jump onto the table, grab a handful of chess pieces, and throw them at him one by one.
“Hey!” Skipper exclaimed as he tried to pull up, but ended up hitting his head on the bottom of the table, reacting with an “Ow!”
Marlene laughed. “Victory is mine!” she cried triumphantly.
Skipper finally managed to pull himself up and he batted the pieces away with his flipper.
“C’mon, Marlene! You ain’t ran out of pieces yet?” he said, laughing. Finally, he reached out and knocked the chessboard to the floor, sending the rest of Marlene’s ammo with it.
“Hey!” Marlene protested as she threw her last remaining chess piece, which Skipper successfully batted away.
“Don’t ‘hey’ me,” Skipper said, crossing his flippers over his chest. “Now, help me clean up your mess, Miss Sore Loser,” he ordered with a smile.
“Sorry, I guess I just got carried away,” Marlene said, removing herself from the tabletop.
“No kidding,” Skipper replied with a laugh as he picked up the chess pieces. “Ah, I understand, don’t worry about it. It’s perfectly natural to feel frustrated with my superiority.”
Marlene laughed. “You’re impossible, Skipper,” she said.
After a few more minutes of picking up the chess pieces, they set what pieces they had on the table and assessed the set for completion.
“I’m missing the white rook,” Marlene told Skipper as he affirmed the completion of the black set.
“Well, it has to be here somewhere,” he said as they both started to look around.
Marlene spotted it tucked next to the leg of the table and she stooped over to pick it up when her paw came in contact with a flipper and she looked up in surprise to find Skipper’s sapphire eyes looking back into hers.
After a moment of awkward silence, they looked back down to see that they’d both grabbed the rook at the same time. Skipper cleared his throat and Marlene pulled her paw from atop his flipper. Skipper picked up the rook.
“Heh, found it,” he said, setting it on the table.
“Me too,” Marlene replied with a nervous smile. Unable to hold eye contact with the growing tension in the room, she looked down at the chess pieces on the table.
“Good game, Marlene,” Skipper said finally. When Marlene looked back to him, he was smiling warmly. She couldn’t stop herself from returning the gesture.
“Good game, Skipper.”