Mocha Chip Coffee Shop.

It was Alanna Thackery's 'usual place' and it was the place where Reggie's infatuation with her had really taken off. Before that fateful summer day in his sixteenth year, Alanna was just an admirable girl who had once been his chemistry partner. After, his heart had accelerated in the hope that they could be more. That is until she had crushed it with her lie. The truth, she later admitted to was that she had only pretended to be interested in him and Franz in order to cause a rift between them to break their band up. In the end, it had worked. He hadn't spoken to Franz in years; they definitely were not friends anymore.

She was sitting at one of the chess tables in the sunken room of the coffee shop. There didn't seem to be anyone else around this early on a Saturday. The business rush always happened on weekday mornings in the coffee joints dotted around Kashmire.

Reggie approached the chess table, pulled out the chair opposite of her to take a seat, and said, "Good morning."

"Good morning, Reggie," she replied. Her tone was overall pleasant but she wasn't wearing her usual warm smile. She already had the pieces set up. He d always wanted to play a match with her. She was smart, and he knew she played well because she had been in the chess club. She met his curious eyes, "Ask me anything you want that can be answered with true or false. You may ask me a question for every move you make."

What kind of game was she playing at? Well, chess obviously, but this caveat he found an odd addition to the rules.


He gave a nod, indicating he understood her rule though he didn't understand why she would only answer questions as true or false. He started simple, pushing a black pawn forward one space, "Did you ever consider me your friend?"

"True," she moved one of her pawns two spaces outward.

He thought that a bad start, move-wise. Then again, the game had just begun. Maybe she knew a play he didn't. Even so, there was an opening to bring his queen out and start threatening her pawn.

"You lied to me."


"True," she replied with a regretful expression and brought the white knight on the king's side forward in an L-shape.

"About your interest in me," he frowned. He was now confused. That was what she indicated she hadn't lied about last night. He felt a little bit of enjoyment at capturing her pawn with his queen. Her knight was in the space by his queen and would be the next victim if she didn't move it.

"False," her voice was hard and determined—and as he predicted, she moved her knight back to its original position in the back rank.


Reggie studied the board, his mind split between what his next move should be and what question he should ask.

He touched the head of his knight but then changed his mind and decided that he was going to move his king's bishop out three spaces so it had a clear path to capture the knight she had tried to save the turn before. So what did she lie about? He racked his brain—was the lie itself a lie?

If so, why would she have done that? He remembered her mentioning his sister the night before, and smiled with a small sense of hope, "The lie you told me wasn't true."

He was figuring it out now.


"True," she confirmed his suspicion with a wry little smile. He met her eyes and didn't pay attention to what she played or where it landed. She was so beautiful, it was amazing that he hadn't stumbled over his words yet. He realized he was being distracted so he averted his stare and looked down at the board, studying it some more and trying to figure out how Evelyn Jane fit into the equation.

His sister could be ruthless when trying to get what she wanted and she must have had something to gain by making Alanna break his heart. It wasn't too impossible that Evelyn Jane had threatened her either.

He saw the pawn in front of the very same knight that had been evading him and was moved a space out. His bishop could capture it but—he saw a fatal flaw in Alanna's move—his queen could move into the empty spot diagonal to her knight and put her king into checkmate. Without thinking, he made the move and then said, "Evelyn Jane was behind everything."

"True."

He was disappointed that his suspicion was true and even more that he was able to beat Alanna in five moves. How could she have been in chess club with such a dismal play? He was no master but he even knew how to play decently. He pushed that thought out of his head for a minute and asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You're out of questions Reggie," Alanna replied, and besides that can't be answered with true or false."

Then he realized she had only played awful on purpose, to limit his questions. He'd foolishly fallen into her plan, winning the game but losing the number of questions he could have asked otherwise.

"If we are going to start over and be friends, I don't want to spend hours hashing out the past so let's move forward," she smiled and then tilted her head in concern, "You look a little sleepy, want a coffee? My treat."

Her offer caused him to have hope at least. He returned the smile.

With one move of his arm, he brushed the pieces off the board and into the tray underneath it. He couldn't help but to notice Alanna had changed somehow; she seemed a bit more guarded than he knew her to be. She was the type of person to be friendly with just about everyone she met.

Unbeknownst to Reggie, the reason for her seeming change in demeanor had just entered the coffee shop and spotted them.


Just as Alanna had taught Franz to see the good in people, Franz had taught Alanna to be more wary of them. He was especially wary of Reginald Orbsinson, knowing that the guy had been slightly obsessed with Alanna when he was a teenager.

"Alanna!" a deep voice called over the room.

They looked to see the muscular blond staring at them in a very perplexed manner. He approached, his eyes scanning about to try and figure out why they were in the same room together.

"Hi Franz, what are you doing here?" Alanna asked pleasantly surprised.

It wasn't hard for her best friend to figure she was at her favorite place on a Saturday morning. Also, on his way to the bakery, Franz saw her bike parked outside and knew she was in there. He wondered why she hadn't let him know she was in town for the weekend and was going to ask if she wanted to hang out later, but all his thoughts were thrown out and preoccupied with one burning question.

"What's he doing here?" Franz nodded toward Reggie.

"Mind your own business, that's what," Reggie retorted with a frown and then a beat later was pushed backward with a reckoning force and staring at Franz's knuckles. He'd been in this position before but thankfully Alanna had halted the inevitable blow by shouting at Franz to stop.

"What are you playing at, Reggie?" Franz nearly growled.

Reggie grinned, amused at how the world changed. When they used to be friends, Franz looked out for him, putting his fist into any bullies when they threatened Reggie yet now Franz was threatening him.

"I invited him to play chess. Let him go!" Alanna demanded. The little coffee shop had never heard so much commotion on a Saturday morning.


Franz did so but not without giving Reggie a cold, threatening stare. Alanna grabbed him by the arm and turned him around to face her. Franz crossed his arms and kept his frown. She seemed furious.

"Why would you do that? It was incredibly rude. You're better than this! Apologize to him now."

Franz clenched his jaw. He wasn't having a particularly good week and seeing Reggie hovering around his best friend was concerning. She was one of the few people in the world he genuinely cared about and didn't want her natural goodness to be taken advantage of by a guy like Reggie.

From Reggie's perspective, it was clear that Alanna and Franz had developed a friendship and a rather close one in the years since the Battle of the Bands. That would have to change if they were to start over.


"He doesn't need to apologize," Reggie spoke before Franz made up his mind whether or not to apologize, "I shouldn't have provoked him."

Franz hated how Reggie made it sound like he was some wild, untamed beast, and yet was articulate enough to come off sounding humble at the same time.

It was working, Alanna seemed surprised but then didn't press Franz any further to apologize.


"I have to go, but maybe you can treat me to that coffee another time?" he shrugged and Alanna nodded with an acquiescent smile.

Franz kept his frown aimed as Reggie passed them to leave. He still hadn't said a word.

Reggie had to attend a diplomatic dinner with his family later that night anyway and was on his way to his father's estate. It would be the first time this semester he would see them, including Evelyn Jane. His thoughts grew angry, remembering what Alanna had confirmed. Evelyn Jane was the one who ultimately robbed him of the happiness he could have had with Alanna Thackery.