CHAPTER 37: A SHORT BREAK WITH CLAUDIA

"Yeah, Mom, don’t worry, I am in good health right now."

"What? Listen more to Bagas? It should be him who is doing so, right? I mean, you don’t know half of what he is doing here!"

"Don’t worry, the money I get from Master Irfan is still here; I didn’t waste that much, anyway."

"Yes, I get a full score, four wins out of four games. Next, I will probably have to play against Claudia. Don’t worry, I will take care of her."

"Okay, bye, Mom! Take care!"

Sheva smiled a little as he saw his phone’s screen turn dark after he closed the call. It would be a lie if somehow he said that he didn’t miss his mother. Even though she always nagged a lot about his situation, having someone caring about him was good for the peace of his mind, especially after losing his father due to COVID-19 two years ago.

The topic of their conversation itself was pretty general, with his mother asking about whether he ate regularly or not, advising him to listen to Bagas and Irfan more, nagging about spending his money wisely, and all those little things that only a mother would care about. As for the question about how the tournament went, that was probably the last thing she had on her mind, proven by the fact that she asked that last. Well, not that Sheva cared, of course, as he knew his mom didn’t quite understand the chess tournament at all. However, that didn’t make him less happy here. After the call was over, he could feel his blood pumping, adrenaline somehow rushing hard into his head.

’Yeah, I am here not just for me, but also for mom, who is waiting back home.’ He said in an enlightenment. ’I have to show my best performance here, making her feel proud of me. At least, this would reassure her that her choice in trusting my change of career is not wrong. For her, I have to win this tournament!’ He clenched his fist tightly.

"Well, sorry to burst the bubble, Mister, but the winner is going to be me." Someone suddenly patted him from behind, making him jump in surprise. He almost swung his arm toward the stranger, yet managed to hold back in the last second. When Sheva turned around, he could see that Claudia was grinning mischievously at him, not even bothering to look innocent here. It seemed she had also just finished her game too.

"What are you doing here?" He narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"What am I doing here? Of course, I am going back to take a rest! I have just finished my game, isn’t it reasonable for me to do so?" Claudia rolled her eyes sarcastically.

"Well, yeah, I could see that. What I am asking, though, is what are you doing in my room? Where did you get the key from, anyway?" Sheva felt the corner of his mouth twitching. Yeah, it was indeed his and Bagas’s room, so seeing her trespassing so casually like this was enough to startle him.

"Oh, I don’t need a key. After all, you forgot to close the door." Claudia just shrugged. "Anyway, are you going to ask for trivial matters or do you want to eat together with me?" She asked. It seemed that she also bought lunch from the same restaurant as him. Sheva could still feel the corner of his mouth twitching, but in the end, he just heaved a deep sigh, giving up on thinking about the absurdity of this situation.

"Fine, you can join." He grumbled, starting to unpack the lunch. It was the local vegetarian dish, yet for Sheva, this was enough to fill his stomach. He could also see that Claudia, who was sitting next to him, did the same. Feeling like an awkward silence fell there, he couldn’t help but say, "I thought that you would be waiting for until your sister’s game is over."

"Oh, please! Do you think that this is my first tournament together with Big Sis?" She scoffed incredulously. "We have been going to a lot of tournaments together, and we know taking a rest on a double-header day is more important than waiting for each other. Also, thanks to your friend, I can see my sister’s game from here, so why would I stay there like a moron?" She shrugged, started to open her YouTube account and went straight to the live broadcast.

"So, how is it?" Sheva asked casually, not even taking a glance at her screen.

"Good." Claudia nodded satisfactorily. "She managed to force a draw here, an important result against the top-seeded player. Now, Big Sis only needs 3.5 points more to get her last norm for the WGM title."

"So, either 3 wins and 1 draw or 2 wins and 3 draws, huh?" Sheva muttered to himself. "Isn’t it a bit difficult?"

"Indeed, but Big Sis has already played against all the difficult players, so I am sure she could pull that score," Claudia said confidently. "I mean, look at the rest of her opponents! They have a bad tournament here, and they are in their declining stage! I doubt they would be able to pose any threat to Big Sis."

Indeed, even though it was a little bit arrogant, Sheva had to agree with Claudia’s assessment here. He saw a glimpse of Anna’s next few opponents, and they weren’t that strong. Well, they might be good enough in their heyday, but this was definitely not their best state. It would be strange if Anna somehow failed to sweep the entire thing easily.

They both spent the next fifteen minutes in a somehow strange yet comfortable atmosphere. Both he and Claudia enjoyed the meal they bought, while the girl herself opened her TikTok account to spend her free time here. Sheva would take a glance and make a comment from time to time, and Claudia would scoff, giggle, and even burst out laughing at that. If anyone saw this, they would’ve never expected that those two would play against each other in a decisive round three hours later. However, Sheva didn’t hate this kind of atmosphere. For him, it felt like he had a little sister, and he adored this feeling.

In the end, though, after receiving Anna’s message asking about her whereabouts, Claudia finally rose from her spot, tidied up her dress, and got ready to leave. However, before she did so, the little girl turned around for a moment, staring at Sheva’s eyes intently before letting out a small, mischievous smirk on her face.

"Well, you might have a better record against me, but this will be our first official game against each other. So, be prepared to lose, okay?"