A better life, right?

The Before Times

It was like any other day and I was on my way to school oblivious of what the day had in story for me. I was only fifteen years old which seems so young yet so old to me now I had fifteen years to do what I desired but instead I squandered all that time if only I could get a second chance at life. So I was on my way to school walking along the old footpath that some many before me had walked on it was at this moment that one of my classmates had walked up to me my mind was fixated on my prized chess club even though people made fun of me for it. So my classmate walked up to me and demanded to see my homework so that he could copy it.
Classmate: Hey Alex got the math homework
Me: nah man it was far to difficult for even me to complete
Classmate: Why the hell do you tal like that?
Me: like what?
Classmate: you know what I mean dipshit now I know you got your work done so hand it over!
Me: look just leave me alone I do not want any trouble
Classmate: again with that speaking
He then proceeded to throw a punch at me hitting me square in the face knocking me onto the ground I screamed in pain as blood trickled down from my nose.
Classmate: I bet that'll teach ya
He then pulled my bag of my back and began to rummage around searching for my homework but now I was inraged I am no push over if he wants I fight I will give him a damn fight. I stood back up and I put all the power I could into this punch and I lunged straight at him but from the corner of his eye he spots me and steps out of the way begining to chuckle. I fall forward onto the road head first now covered in blood. He then finishes searching through my bag and removes my homework and my lunch money and just as he was about drop it and leave he spots a sheet of paper assuming it is homework he picks it up and begins to read it. This was my master plan for chess my strategy I had used it in many compitions and it had ever failed me. Once he finished reading it he chuckled once more and proclaimed "ha ha chess is not a thinking game it's about luck and he then tore up my most prized procession laughing, I hand spent many a night creating it and now it would be destoryed like this. He dropped the pieces into a puddle of blood which had now formed and the road thanks to my nose I grasped at its reminants but to no use, it was gone. I just wanted to lay there and sulk for the intire day but then as I lay on the road I heard a car and when I looked up from my pool of blood I saw it a car coming straight for me I attempted to get up but my arms were to slow and I took one final breath as the car came straight towards me. I truly believed that was the end but as luck would have it the car stopped and then the door opened and soen angry fat man stood out and began to shout at me for laying on the road, I just apologised and managed to pick myself back off the ground I resealed my bag and headed back off the school.

A few hours later I had been going to all my classes getting to usual amount of ridicule when I walked into my maths class to see Jack, the classmate from earlier sitting next to my seat smiling. I did not want to sit next to him but I had no choice and this class was right before lunch so I am sure nothing serious could happen normaly he would be more concerned with his stomach at this time. So I sat next to him when he said something I will never forget, he said "I challenge you to chess" very confused I responded with
Me:what do you mean challenge me to chess do you not know I am the second best a chess in the school
Jack: o course I do but I wanna beat you and make my self number one
Me: that is not how that works but why all of a sudden do you want to challenge me?
Jack: for two reasons you don't have your cheat sheet anymore and I noticed you don't have the math homework and we all know what happens whme you don't have the homwork, right?
Me: ahhh.. No I do not know.
Jack: well what happens is teach sneds a letter home and everyone knows about your parents. So from what I see you challenge me to chess if I win you must show me how to cheat like your sheet did and if I loose i will return your homework, deal?
Of course I accepted for he was fighting on my ground now.

We both asked the teacher if we could use the bathroom at separate times and then we both arrived at the chess club which was on the top floor of the school.
Jack: you ready to get rekt
Me: no but I am ready to "rek"
The game began like many others at least for him I on the other hand was struggling to remember my strategy I was creating a defensive triangle and advancing so that I would eliminate his main force while keeping my own covered. Everything was going well I had taken his queen and had only lost three pawns when he moved his bishop in a way that I had never expected he had crossed his bishops and a rook creating a check mate. How could I have been so foolish to let this happen I was doing so well why couldn't I have just kept my king protected. It was not even a special move it was just my arrogance getting in the way and now it would cost me the alst thing I truly had, my title as a chess champion and so he left shouting "see luck" and went back down to the maths class I on the other hand was morally destroyed. My mind raced and after a few seconds of thought I came up with onyk one thing if I had no use left in this world and all I was here for was to suffer then why live at all and so I climbed to the window and looked down at the courtyard below and thought to myself fifteen years of living all for what just to die and so I put one foot off and thought again but what if life is just about luck like Jack said and I was delt a bad hand. I was about to jump when I though one final time but what if life is not luck but more like chess a strategic game and all I have to do is out smart my opponent, yes that is what I will do I will just stay one step ahead of everyone and I put my foot back on the ledge I would not be killing myself at least today but just as it intended to get off the ledge I felt a hand at my back I tried to look but it has pushed my off the edge before I could I was not in free fall I began to scream and a tear emirged in my eye I did not want to die I was not happy but I was also not this sad.

And so here I am now on the paved grounds of the courtyard my body broken an blood strewn about students began to flock to me to see what happend and it was here I whispered my final word "pushed"

My eyes closed and my consciousness began to faid and the last thing I could remember is Jack's laugh and how he is probably laughing now and so I slipt into death and my conssiness ended but then I began to be able to think again I did not know why or how but I no longer felt pain and my body no longer felt broken, light flashed before my eyes again I couldn't see properly nothing seemed to feel right nor normal. I would have no idea at the time but I had been killed and reborn.