Checkmate - Chapter 10: Chapter 10

It was boring.
Hana dreaded the next day, but at the same time was excited about it. With the help of Fallon, they began making their schedules so everything will move swiftly by tomorrow's shoot.
She spent her entire free time having extra lessons with Professor Andrea to boot. Hana was almost ready for the big day, but not really. She had one more thing to do.
That's why Hana, with Fallon, and Liezel were looking through trinkets and tableware. Even shopping and trying to talk people into giving them stuff for free or find great deals on a budget that usually was meant for Hana's monthly allowance of everyday expenses.
"The theme is mostly reds and blacks so if anything matches that color scheme let's be sure to grab it. If you find a couple of white pieces don't hold back. It would also look good."
"A variety of sizes that gives us the idea that belongs to a Queen?" Fallon asked.
Hana nodded. "They'll all either be hung together on one wall that will serve as a backdrop or will be placed on a table. I'm looking for mismatched styles and sizes. We already have three but could use at least fifteen more."
They get to work, sifting through everything from useless red bottles to newly-bought but thrown-away handbags. Hana and Fallon started a pile and Liezel added some to it. Hana noticed that Liezel's finds were always mushrooms or related to mushrooms.
In three hours, they had gone through garage sales, estate sales, and thrift stores. But they found nothing that was even useful or even something they can afford; which resulted in the last option—dumpster diving.
Sure, it can be gross. But it was proven to be a practical and sometimes lucky find. Hana was also willing to comb through the trash to discover it.
Hana inhaled a lungful of foul odor and coughed. Next, to her, she heard Liezel snickering while looking for mushrooms instead of entirely helping.
"Liezel leave those mushrooms alone!"
"I need them as samples for my finals. I need to extract poison from them."
"POISON?"
Liezel grinned. "To make you hallucinate while sleeping."
"STOP FEEDING ME STUFF AT NIGHT!"
"Cut it out you two!" Fallon interjected.
After some more mushroom and toxic waste antics, Hana managed to find satisfactory props that would give life to the character Althea Lancaster will portray in her photography.
She called it a day and brought out her bag. Hana placed the stuff inside it, making a mental note to herself that she has to bleach it all tonight.
When she finished, the trio headed across the half-empty lot towards Fallon's car afterward.
Fallon brought out her keys, "Everything ready for tomorrow, Hana?"
"I guess," Hana quietly responded as she slung her backpack over her shoulder. She had everything ready to go, all the props she needed for her shoot.
Hana climbed into the car and set her backpack down between her legs. She tried to be patient, but that just wasn't going to happen. Even as Fallon pulled out of the school parking lot, Hana silently prayed for her to go faster. Maybe she can persuade Fallon to let her drive instead.
"Who would have known we'd meet Checkmate girl again so soon."
Althea found herself in Joshua's company once more in the forest back in the gazebo at the same spot where they had first met Hana. Joshua had brought some tea and snacks again. As per usual, her childhood friend annoyed her with the silly banter.
"Do you know what I think of Checkmate girl?" Joshua helped himself with sharing more of his thoughts in a casual chat. "As far as our conversation allowed me to perceive her the last time, I think she's sincere and a bit naïve at one point. She likes to dream as much as she loves being a Photographer. Now, after listening to my first impression which I believe to be accurate, tell me how much do you share that you managed to model for her?"
Althea let out a sharp exhale, crossing her arms haughtily. "I insisted to borrow your chessboard, not yourself. Why bother wasting your time here when you can play pool or solitaire with Charles and the boys?"
"Come on now, Althea. This is your first time hanging out with people who aren't brought up with the same refinement. What you need is a chaperone, because, after all, today is a day of marked beginnings."
Althea sighed. Sometimes she wished that Joshua's priorities were sorted out; however, he was right. Today was indeed a day worthy of celebrations. Not wanting to delay their departure any longer, she and Joshua arrived at the meeting place five minutes too early.
As minutes passed, her wristwatch became a victim of her observation.
Two minutes... five minutes... ten minutes past the time they agreed on the meeting. She couldn't even fathom why there was no sight or text that Hana and her companions would be late to the shoot.
She glared at her wristwatch once more. Surely, she should try a little bit more patience for she had indulged her heart with the thought that she could help Hana when the trip would reach its ending.
A few minutes later, Joshua was busy drinking a bottle of water when he asked. "Do you hear that?"
At this moment the unwanted sound of car wheels screeching upon the road arrested their attention. The sound seemed to be approaching from the high ground overlooking the bridge, and very soon the vehicle emerged from that point.
"WHAT THE HECK?" Joshua shouted.
A yellow beetle car was headed to the bridge in lightning haste. Althea's first thought was not of the danger that such a frantic speed might mean but rather the extravagant entrance of a car inside the forest park where they had passed.
"Are they allowed to do that?" Joshua asked, having the same thoughts as her.
With that question, Althea and Joshua were all immediately absorbed in watching this most unusual spectacle. It became, in a few moments, greatly more interesting, for just as the carriage had passed the summit of the steep bridge.
"KYAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
The excitement of the scene was made more disturbing by the clear, clarion screams and one among them was undoubted—Hana—the driver, herself.
The pair advanced in closer due to curiosity and horror—Althea, in breathless silence, and Joshua with various sentiments of terror. Their suspense did not last long, on the route the beetle car was coming, there stands by the pathway a magnificent tree, and on the other stands a historical stone cross.
As Hana caught sight of the immovable crucifix, she swerved the wheel to bring the car over the projecting roots of the tree. Althea knew what was coming. The elements had been cast and there was no undoing the impending crash.
Althea nearly screamed, unable to see it out, but then a blur came and saw a scene of utter confusion.
There was a huge Russian girl who resembled Superman as she stopped the collision of the car to the tree.
When the dust and leaves and everything else has settled, Althea finally found she was able to breathe. Althea and Joshua lifted from their seats and together proceeded in haste outside the gazebo where they met up with the trio.
"Oh, my stars!" Althea yelled. "What happened?"
"I'm so sorry," Hana slipped through the driver's seatbelt, looking guilty. "I'll make it up to you, Fallon. I will pay to fix your car."
"Hana... as much as I love you and you have been a very dear friend to me, next time... I'm not going to let you drive when you're in a hurry." The girl called Fallon has glasses and short orange hair. She pinched Hana by her nose.
As soon as the group of three emerged outside the car, Hana saw her. "Ooh Hello, Althea! Sorry, we're late."
Althea's jaw dropped. "That's all you have to say considering you almost crashed to death?"
Hana scratched her nape, her face pinkish from embarrassment. "Ehehehe, I knew a prim and proper gal like you don't like tardiness so I did what I could to get here faster."
The fact dawned on Althea that Hana speeded and drove the car inside the park perhaps thinking that she doesn't tolerate tardiness. "Oh, Hana," she reached for her hand. "I have no problem with you being behind schedule please never do that again!"
"Well, I admit that is rather a sight you don't get to see every day," Joshua smirked. "I didn't know checkmate girl would be such a daredevil."
"She's really not," Fallon spoke conversantly, "Except when she's driving." She can't even say that with a straight face. "I meant, no exception at all."
The British duo stared at her incredulously and she quickly extended her hand.
"Nice to meet you, er... Althea, Joshua" she introduced herself. "Fallon Virtanen..."
"Ugh," another voice emerged from the backseat as Althea glanced farther and saw the third passenger.
She was a laid-back pale Asian girl with a seemingly lack of arms and her face half-covered by her puce hair and has red eyes as far as Althea can tell. She appeared almost ghoulish.
"This is Liezel Magbanua." Fallon introduced her with a meek smile. "Despite her general appearance, she's harmless, mostly."
"Pleasant to meet both of you," Althea replied.
There was no reply coming from Liezel. Althea even felt something rather of disdain emanating from her.
Joshua met with Althea's eyes as they both shared a befuddled look as the trio started to salvage the shaken things inside their car.
"Seriously, you guys almost died! You should be thankful, Nat's around!" A new voice said, heading towards them.
Althea and Joshua came in contact with another girl. She had fiery green eyes and ginger hair pointed upwards. She was as tall as Althea and looked refined as her but somehow, she sensed an unruly disposition from her. Althea immediately saw that this girl is one of the reasons why Hana is a troublemaker.
"Yes," Fallon fumbled through her bag pack and dug some chips to give the older girl. "Thank you, Natalya! I know this is not much but—!"
"Ohh! Salt and Vinegar flavored chips!" Natalya snatched the offering and didn't wait for snack time to start devouring her prize. "These chips are definitely much."
"Good afternoon, Samantha," Hana said, "how do you find your classes?"
"You mean how boring. Classes are fine, going smooth, as always," she replied cheekily making Hana smirk, her eyes landing on Althea. "Who's this beautiful lady? I don't advise you to introduce her to me, though; she might not like you that much afterward."
"Hmmm, I think I'll take my chances," Hana said. "Samantha O'Reilly, this is Althea, Althea Lancaster ."
"It's nice to meet you, Samantha," she spoke, outstretching her hand and meeting the redhead.
"Same here," Samantha took her hand with a firm shake, yet her eyebrow rose untrustingly. "What's your story for being friends with Hana?"
Althea mirrored her, keeping things civilized with the girl trying to outwit her for some reason. "Hana practically asked for my help. I agreed to be her model and serve as her impulse control."
Samantha's eyes suddenly crinkled with a snicker. "Now hold up girl, don't be so defensive. I'm just trying to get a rise out of you, and I can see you're so tense." She patted Althea's shoulder to lighten her up, but Althea's inhibitions doubled instead. "Impulse control, eh? Good luck with that."
"Hullo," Joshua barged in, combating the unnecessary disdain forming between the two women. He shook Samantha's hand. "My name is Joshua Cohen. Are you Irish?"
"My ancestors are Irish but my folks fled to America." Samantha nonchalantly said.
Althea noticed two more girls walk beside Samantha; one was the Russian girl with waist-length pink hair, worn with two braids, and a short German girl who has her navy blue hair tied in a low ponytail with a big red ribbon.
"Oh!" Hana noticed them arrive too. "Althea, Joshua, meet Natalya Petrov and Hildegard Ron—Raun?"
Samantha stepped in. "Hildegard Eadaio Röntgen."
"Oh right!" Hana chuckled nervously. "Why is it so hard for me to remember?"
Hildegard brought up a blackboard that says, "People hardly do".
"Does she work out?" Joshua asked what Althea couldn't.
Althea hardly rolled her eyes. Joshua's skull was thick and could be annoyingly blunt but the extremely strong girl finished munching on her snack.
"Oh," she said, deflated, showing her empty snack. "It's finished as I could do to you."
Joshua gulped at the implications.
"So now that we're done with the courtesy... Can we please pass on to something more exciting?" Fallon queried and Hana nodded.
And with that, everybody started the preparations for the shoot.
"Hana..."
Hana looked up and saw Liezel perched above the hood of the Beetle car. She noticed that Liezel was quiet the entire time— quieter than usual and more than what Hana was used to. The Filipino girl talked to her, so she humored.
"Liezel, I know I'm asking you to do this for free but can you start unpacking the pantry and props with Nat?"
"Free?" Liezel's eyebrow shot up and her voice with a sharp edge. "I think I gave you the wrong impression, Hana. I'm not doing this for free. You're my servant for the whole week."
Hana groaned. She did promise Liezel she'd be her guinea pig on her science experiments and let her be bossed around for a week, but now that she can imagine the stuff she has to do, and blanched a little at the prospect. "Did I?"
"No back-outs," Liezel snarled. "You did sign the contract." She took a scroll from her dress's spacious pocket, unrolling the paper where Hana wrote her signature, and agreed to the terms that she would carry Liezel's books for the entire semester.
"Ugh fine!" Hana yelled. "I promise!"
"Good," Liezel said. She stared at Althea for a while, her droopy eye fixing every feature of her face, which slightly inconvenienced Althea. And as Liezel noticed that Althea was looking back at her, she shifted her gaze towards a prop detail that resembled very much a mushroom and then began unpacking some of the necessary props.