THE NEXT DAY, I ask Arthur if he wants to play chess at lunch, and he’s like, “Whatever.”

Arthur always wants to play. He’s crazier about chess than I am. So I know something’s up right away. And I’m pretty sure it’s about Ray-Ray.

“What’s up with you, man? Is it about what went down at the museum?” I say. “Or is it because we haven’t had a good match in a minute?”

He just shrugs, but at least he’s setting up the board. Dele and Vashon are there, too, and they’re both looking at me like I just stepped out of a flying saucer with three eyeballs plastered on my forehead, and a butt where my nose should be, plus…I stink. Real alien funk, man.

“What?” I say. “Ray-Ray? It’s not like we’ve been hanging out a lot. I just told Dr. Yetty I’d teach—”

“Ray-Ray, yeah. You already said,” Vashon tells me. “Don’t worry about it, Kenny. It’s a free world.”

So I go with the same vibe they’re throwing. “Okay, whatever,” I say, and start setting up my pieces on the home row.

“Why do you even want to hang with him, anyway?” Dele asks me after a couple of moves.

I don’t know what to say to that. These guys know about why I’m teaching Ray-Ray, but I haven’t told them anything about what he’s teaching me. I mean, what am I going to say—that I’m getting anti-wimp lessons? He’s showing me how not to be a Grandma’s Boy?

Yeah, that’s not too embarrassing.

It’s like some other kind of chess, where the pieces are secrets and I’m playing as hard as I can to protect the most important ones. So far, though, all it’s gotten me is a bunch of ticked-off people. (And one exploded brain.)

“Anyway,” I tell everyone, “Ray-Ray’s not so bad, once you get to know him. He’s not nearly as annoying as I thought.”

“Oh, yeah?” Vashon says, and points to the other side of the cafeteria.

 

When I turn around, Ray-Ray’s sliding this girl’s whole lunch tray off her table while she’s tying her shoe. He spots me watching him, gives me a nod, and disappears into the Sugar Shack crowd.

“Seems pretty annoying to me,” Arthur says.

“Well, we’re going to be done with the chess soon,” I say. “Promise.”

Dele and Vashon aren’t even listening anymore, and Arthur just castles his king without saying anything.

I’m starting to feel about as popular as day-old meat loaf around here. So I don’t stick around.

“I’ll catch y’all later,” I say.

“Whatever,” Arthur says.

The one other thing I do before I leave the cafeteria is stop at that girl’s table.

“Here,” I say. “You can have my sandwich.”

I think her name’s Rosa. She looks up at me like she’s going to cry, and to tell you the truth, that’s the last thing I want to deal with right now. So I drop the sandwich on the table and keep going.

By the time I leave the cafeteria, I feel like the scum that scum wipes off its own shoes at the end of the day. At least I know what my next move is.