Heiyota

Chapter 1

Two boys sat across from one another, contemplating a game of chess--at least that's what one boy, Marshal, had called it. He had his arm thrown over the back of his chair and his shoulder was nonchalantly leaning against the metal wall behind him.

The boy sitting across from him, Willder, was almost the complete opposite. His eyes peeked out shyly from under his curly naturally highlighted brown hair. He sat on the edge of his chair and stared hard at the game in front of him.

Willder grabbed a piece and quickly moved it to a new spot. He glanced up at the Marshal's face, awkwardly not making eye contact.

There was a long second where nobody moved before the first boy ran a hand through his short blond hair and grabbed a piece, sliding it to a new position.

The second boy didn't waste a second before grabbing a piece and setting it down two spots over. It clicked as it connected with the board.

He glanced up sheepishly, "Checkmate."

The first boy smiled good-heartedly back. "Good job, again. You're going to have learned every strategy game that I've ever learned before we even land on Earth."

Willder looked out the window as his ears burned and he scratched the back of his neck. He stared at the stars, wondering which one Earth orbited. "That can't be true, we have only been on this ship for a month," he mumbled distractedly.

Marshal chuckled and leaned forward off the wall. "I wish I could be as smart as you."

"Huh? You're definitely smarter than I am." He tilted his head and frowned.

"Pft," Marshal waved a hand, "Yeah right, you beat me at this game in less than three minutes every time we play." He propped his ankle on his knee. "Do you want to play again?"

A shy, lopsided grin made its way onto Willder's face and he nodded eagerly.

As they reset the chess pieces to their original places, Marshal continued the conversation.

"Honestly, you can do great things with a mind like yours." Willder shifted in his seat and glanced uneasily at Marshal. "You could win battles, or solve crimes, or... or just do amazing things that change worlds."

"Marshal..." Willder whined uneasily.

"There is so much out there." Marshal pointed out the window next to them towards the endless stars. "There is so much you could do."

"Marshal, please stop," Willder's pleaded, but it went unheard.

"The Le-Earth could really use more humans like you--"

"Marshal stop," Willder all but yelled. "I already told you to drop this." Marshal rolled his eyes dramatically and punched Willder's arm lightly.

"Fine then. Be a wussy, but don't be mad at me when you become famous or something like that for the great things you'll do."

Willder harrumphed, and turned back to the window. He loved the way the stars warped just around the edges of the glass, and how they seemed to blink in and out of existence. Truthfully, the stars didn't twinkle where they were. They only did so in atmospheres. Out here it was just debri and other ships moving in between the stars and them.

Willder moved a piece into place absentmindedly. He had once hoped that he could change worlds, but that dream had long since been extinguished. His tampering had only brought him trouble. Big trouble. What made this any different?

The two boys continued their game in silence, both deep in thought.

Willder captured the king as the 18th bell of the day sounded. The boys looked at each other in surprise. Time had gone by so quickly.