Sarah On Life

Sarah - On the Library

Sarah - On the Library

I've always loved our school's library, and to be honest, I think part of that is the fact that its always seemed as though it belonged in Sunnydale. Yeah, I'm cool like that. This was where I spent most of my time now too, just like the scoobies. It wasn't just the activities drawing me here, and it wasn't just my passion for reading. Most of all I loved the high ceilings, the carved wood, the collection of books and the indescribable feeling of knowledge and of being part of such a tight-knit group. Reaching the stairwell, I felt instantly calmer. A small smile, almost a smirk, drew itself upon my face as I started ascending the steps.

~*~

I walked into the library and looked around. It being only the first half of our lunch hour, not many people had moseyed on up at this point. Of course, the second half was never that much different. The quiet was sweet relief after the anarchy of my fight with Tia and I stood for a few moments, just soaking up the atmosphere. Now, which room was chess?

"Aha. Found you." Again, I smiled to myself as I turned left and began walking towards the door immediately in front. A worn laminated sign in plain, bold print was taped to the front; a blue scribble sitting comfortably below. Looks like someone had gotten in right before the lamination.

'Chess Club', it read. 'For all those wanting to expand their mind.'

Okay, this was definitely the place.  I reached the door and finally, clearly, saw the blue pen marks beneath:

'Though perhaps not literally. That could get messy.'

I giggled at that. Tia was wrong, some of the most amazing people could be found in the strangest of places. I had reached the door now. Shaking my head, not bothering to suppress my grin, I entered.

"Ahoy there matey!" I heard a voice cry from the far side of the room. "Welcome to the ship!"

"Oh god." Another voice replied, high and piercing. "Tom, can you please try not to scare this one off right away? We are in desperate need of a new member here."

Yep, I was definitely going to fit in here. It was fate.

I had never known my mother, and my father had for only a short time before she died. Obviously, that sometimes left me in the dark when it came to a lot of the details that others could take for granted.  Things like her hobbies, desires, and tastes seemed to be constantly hidden from me, as though an invisible wall cut off that part of my life. All I knew for sure was that she had lived in the city, and whatever else my father would deign to tell me. He didn't like to talk about it much, though. That's part of the reason why finding the box in the attic meant so much. It was aesthetically unimpressive, a simple shoe box lined with tissue. It didn't hold much either; just a few mementoes, a couple photographs and some everyday items which I knew meant more than was first apparent. As I looked gingerly through my mother's things, one photograph in particular caught my eye. A tall, regal looking teenager around 16 sat laughing with friends, a chess board in front of her.

Only the next day I set to investigating the team, and I got a glimpse of just a few of the members. In that moment I had known what I had to do.

I snapped back to the conversation. Oops. Must remember not to zone out too often here. Not everyone would accept it straight away as Tia had.

I sighed dramatically, "Desperate, hey? Doesn't really inspire much confidence in this team of yours."

When nobody spoke, I silently congratulated myself. This was my third foot-in-mouth moment today; almost a record. Though, I really had been kidding. I thought back upon the most recent of said moments. Oh, god. I really was going to the deb wasn't I?

"God, I've really got to start thinking things through before I say them."

I really did. Oh wait, the team were suddenly all looking at me. What did I do now? Think, Sarah, think.

"I just said that aloud, didn't I?" I groaned, though I'm sure it was in a good natured way. Smiling and nodding I began my way over to the only two visible members of the team.

"You did." This time the reply came from the opposite side of the room to Tom and his red-haired female companion.  To be honest, there wasn't a whole lot of space available, and so the distance really wasn't that far, but the change in atmosphere was palpable. From the looks of awed respect, I quickly began to think that this guy was the real leader here, officially or no. But no big deal, I just had to think about what I was going to say before I said it. Be the charming girl my father was convinced I could still be.

Okay, maybe winning this guy over was going to be a bit harder than I thought. I walked towards him, hand outstretched.

"Hey, I'm Sarah."

"Yeah. I know." My hand was not met.

Looking up, I took a double take; his intensity surprising. Consciously making a decision not to back down, I looked the nameless player in the eyes. Pretty colour they were too, a deep sea-green. They suited him, no matter how much they contrasted with his personality.

When he said nothing else, I took the lead. Can men seriously not do anything right? I glared at his rudeness.

"And you are?"

Oops... bit sarcastic, dude.

"They call me Mark." This, Mark said gesturing to the rest of the room, to the players stunned into silence, watching the entire scene unravel like a train wreck before them.

He continued. "But you, you can call me Sir." He chuckled. Oh. So that was the way we were going to play it? Intimidation? It made you feel powerful, to be sure. I'd used it plenty of times myself. But I also knew that I'd only used that tactic when I felt like I needed an extra advantage. Mark- I mean, Sir, was threatened by me. Why? I didn't know just yet. Only that I liked it.

I smirked and Mark, annoyed, flicked his thick, curling black hair from his tanned face, mimicking my expression. We struggled for a moment, neither wanting to let go of the other's eyes first. Eventually, eventually, he looked away. Another one bites the dust.

I claimed my victory, smiling sweetly. "Sure thing, Sir Mark. And I'd just like to take this opportunity to thank you, and everyone else, for the opportunity to be on the team." That's right honey, the team. Not your team. Or, at least not for much longer.

Mark shot me a glare meant to kill. I only got a rather strange urge to laugh. Guys. Smiling briefly yet warmly, I left the battlefield for Tom's table. To be honest, he reminded me a lot of the man-buds; fun but un-challenging.

"Oh. My god." Whispered Tom's friend, "I cannot believe you just did that. Do you even know who that is?"

"Nope. Jesus?"

"That," Tom shot me an amused glance, "is Mark Ubersmife. As in, Ubersmife Productions?"

"Really? Poor kid."

"What?" Asked the girl, confusion blanketing her face.

"With a name like Ubersmife it's no wonder why the guy's such a psycho."

Okay, I was definitely sounding like an obnoxious bitch now. Should probably stop that, especially since I'm only one of those things. Sir had really gotten me in a twist.

I sighed. "Look, I'm sorry, he just really irked me for some reason. I'm not usually this much of a bitch. I've just had a pretty eventful day. Let's start over: I'm Sarah."

"Tom." Said Tom. We shook hands.

"Lisa." Said Tom's fiery headed companion. Well, at least she had a name now.

"Awesome." I said, grinning at both. "Now, let's get right down to it. How, exactly, does one play chess?"