Just Picture It

Chapter 46- The Reasons Matter

Wednesday, February 1st 8:30PM

Seymour Dojo and Fitness Center

Moe didn't know what to say as Ivan stared at the board in shock. It had been years since Ivan had lost a game, and Jamie acted like it was nothing. It had almost seemed cruel the way she had taken every piece before clearing the board. Finally, Moe asked, "Why did you finish off everything else before taking the king?"

Jamie lovingly picked up the pieces as she answered, "I wanted to remove all supporting pieces. It is easy to be blindsided by minor pieces when you focus too much on a goal. That is the only reason I was able to take some of Ivan's power pieces so early. I like to use the lesser pieces and take away all supports before going after the king. Sometimes it is the supposedly weak pieces that make a big difference."

Moe noticed Terrence nodding his approval at her strategy, and he had to admit that it had been very effective. He was still stunned at Ivan's loss as everyone began to get ready to leave.

Moe hadn't gone more than a step before Korbin stopped him with a hand on the shoulder. Finn had already handed over his money, and Moe didn't argue as he handed over his last five. Watching Korbin split the take with Jamie made him smile even though he was now seriously short on cash. He had to cut back on the odd jobs he did around the neighborhood since the start of tennis. If he had calculated right, he had almost enough to cover for when the tennis season picked up.  So far his friends hadn't suspected he was ditching them to earn what money he could, but he didn't know how much longer he could keep them in the dark. It wasn't that he was ashamed of working, but he didn't want them to feel sorry for him. He just needed to save a little extra to cover when they had meets and he couldn't work at all.  He just had to be real careful with what he had.  He would need every bit to pay his cell phone bill for the next couple of months. He shouldn't have made the bet, but he had thought it was sure money. Now he would have to replace that and find a way to get his grades up before his aunt and uncle found out they had dropped when he had been busy scrounging jobs lately.  Even though they couldn't really afford to cover his cell phone bill, they had made it clear that schoolwork came first.

The door closing made Moe glance around. Everyone had left except Korbin and Sondra. That was just fine with him. He had a few things to say to Jamie and didn't need a huge audience. He would just stick around a little longer and leave with Sondra. It would be dark soon, and he didn't want her to walk home alone. When Sondra went to through the office doors, Moe headed back to the counter.

Korbin thought about Jamie while he finished his workout. She was smart, nice, beautiful, and loyal, but she was also an evil mastermind. A grin teased his mouth. He needed a girl like that to keep him in line. Now he only had to convince her of that. This act wasn't a forever thing. Jamie was getting better day by day. Soon she wouldn't need him anymore. Just then, Sondra left the room and Korbin saw Moe walked over to Jamie.

Jamie saw him coming and watched him warily. She kept the counter between them and bluntly asked, "What do you want?"

He leaned casually on the counter and said quietly, "I stayed to walk Sondra home, and I wanted to talk to you."

Jamie tensed, but just gave a small frown as she asked cautiously, "What about?"

Moe explained, "I just thought about teasing Korbin. We have been friends a long time, but we have always competed. He teased me about girls I dated, and I thought that I could finally tease him back. I didn't think about how you might feel, and I'm sorry if I went too far."

Jamie surprised Moe by asking, "Why did you think that you could tease Korbin about the picture?" Jamie asked.

"You haven't had much time to get to know each other. You are good together, but usually it takes more time to feel confident in your relationship," Moe explained.