CHAPTER 48: FIRST FANS

Fifteen minutes later, they were finally ready and left their room quickly. Yeah, it only took them fifteen minutes from being half-asleep with bed hair and red eyes to be ready with their formal attire as if they were going to a press conference. This was probably the so-called men’s specialty. They only needed five minutes or something like that to get ready compared to women who always fussed about a lot of things like make-up, dress, and something trivial like that.

Not that Bagas and Sheva would say it out loud, of course. They still valued their lives too much to act stupidly like that.

Right after they arrived at the museum, the two boys went their separate ways without even exchanging words first. This was the way they usually communicated. Bagas knew that Sheva needed to concentrate before the game, so he would go straight to the commentary booth as soon as possible while letting his best friend get locked in before the game started. They just exchanged fist-bumps silently, showing their support to each other.

However, Sheva was alone not for that long. Just a few moments later, both girls, Anna and Claudia, also arrived. The big sister wore a formal white shirt with a grey blazer, dark pants, and light makeup, giving the image of a woman who was here for business. As for the little sister, she wore the modest pink one-piece dress that was still formal enough for this occasion yet also showed off her teenage cuteness. They both came together with the aura that would make almost all the teenagers in this hall turn their heads at them in awe.

"You both sure know how to attract attention, right?" Sheva couldn’t help but comment; his tone was a little sarcastic.

"It is not my fault that they have never seen any beautiful girl before," Anna said, flicking the hair on her shoulder dramatically. "Also, if anyone dares to approach Ia, I will strike their eyes instantly." She added with a quite dark tone. While she was aware of the commotion that she created here, her little sister was off-limits. Claudia was just twelve years old, too young to be bothered by those perverts who dared to approach her.

"Big Sis, I tell you that I am an adult now! You don’t have to intimidate all of the people who come to me." Claudia huffed, crossing her arms in front of her chest, annoyedly at her big sister.

"And that is why, little sister," Anna flicked her fingers on Claudia’s forehead playfully. "I will not let you do that. You are still too childish, and it is my job to keep an eye on you here."

Claudia just huffed, yet not daring to say anything to contradict her big sister’s idea. While it was annoying to be treated as a child, especially at the age where she had just learned about love—albeit from the cheap romantic movie in the cinema, of course—Claudia knew that Anna was just looking after her. Sheva just smiled, looking at their banter, letting the two siblings have their moment first.

"Anyway, how is your preparation for today?" In the end, he couldn’t help but ask. "Anna, you only need a draw to secure your WGM title, right? Would you go for an easy path?" It was a valid question. After all, there were a lot of ways to secure a quick draw, like the Berlin draw that would end the game in just 14 moves or something like that. What Sheva didn’t expect, though, was for him to receive the ’Are you stupid?’ look from both Anna and Claudia.

"You insult me, Sheva," Anna said calmly. "It would be okay if I didn’t have a chance, although my answer will still be the same. But you ask the question right when I still have a chance to win it all? Do you really think I am not that ambitious?" While polite, her tone was full of ridicule, and Sheva could only scratch the back of his head awkwardly.

"Yeah, this is also Big Sis’s chance to pass through her highest rating ever," Claudia added, yet not forgetting to give the awkward Sheva a gloating look. "If she managed to win the last two games, Big Sis would be in her new best rating, so it is impossible to aim for a quick draw or something shallow like that." She stuck her tongue mockingly at him.

Before this tournament, Anna’s highest rating was 2315, and she obtained it a year ago after a tournament in Spain. After that, her rating slipped, and she always struggled to raise it back to 2300 again. Now, with 4 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss, Anna, whose current rating was 2278, had gained 30 ratings already, and winning two more games would be important to secure her new rating to be around 2340.

Before Sheva could even return the banter or say something, though, someone suddenly tugged the sleeves of his shirt gently. He turned around quickly, just to find out a local boy and a girl who were far younger even than Claudia stood nervously in front of him, nudging each other as if they were not sure who would be the one to talk.

"Um..." Sheva stared at them awkwardly. "Is there anything I can do here?" He asked with a pretty thick English accent. Even though his language ability was limited, it was still enough for daily communication like this. Moreover, there were also Anna and Claudia, who were glancing at them curiously, so he didn’t feel worried about the language barrier here.

"Um... Yeah!... Mister! Um..." The little girl was struggling to form her words, glancing for help toward the boy who somehow decided to be a useless statue. "Um... Sign... Photo... Please?" She asked with a few words and a lot of hand gestures, and somehow, Sheva still managed to understand it.

"You want my sign and to take a photo with me?" Sheva asked for a confirmation, just to be dumbfounded when he saw the girl’s eyes shining as she nodded her head strongly. "But, why me, though?" He asked, this time turning at Anna and Claudia confusedly. "I mean, they are the better-rated player compared to me, you know? Don’t you think it is better to get their sign?" He pointed his finger at the two siblings behind him.

"No! No! No!" Unexpectedly, the strange girl in front of him shook her head quickly. "Not them! You!" She pointed her finger at him firmly, which only made Sheva flabbergasted. In the end, it was Claudia who couldn’t bear to see this awkward interaction between a player and a fan who broke it down for Sheva.

"Just accept it, you dolt!" She glared at Sheva. "You have been crushing the section with 6 wins and 1 draw! This is bound to happen sooner or later! Don’t act like an idiot and start treating your first two fans with love, will you?!"