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Chapters (67)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. The Staring at the Wall Club
  4. The Pink Car
  5. Teatime in Germany
  6. Writing for Dummies
  7. I’ve Got Problems
  8. Up Our Tree
  9. No Way!
  10. I Hear Voices
  11. Ten Things
  12. Early Alarm
  13. The Grass Cutters
  14. Rebecca’s a Genius ☺
  15. Guilty ☹
  16. Jake’s a Genius
  17. SCUBAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!
  18. The Army in the Box
  19. Dad, Help!
  20. Our Square Is a Battlefield
  21. Weakness
  22. Me, the Knight and the Wardrobe
  23. X + Y = Spy!
  24. Pass the Sauce
  25. Astroboy2008
  26. We Spy
  27. What Have I Done?
  28. Tipping Point
  29. That Kid
  30. Loser!
  31. Desperation
  32. Gunfight
  33. No Chance
  34. Postmortem
  35. I Can Keep a Secret . . .
  36. The Mechanical Turk
  37. Beginner’s Luck?
  38. Panic!
  39. Revenge?
  40. Champion!
  41. Tug of War
  42. The City and the Wall
  43. I’m Sorry, Jake
  44. Why Did Dad Do That?
  45. Surprise!
  46. First Round
  47. Tick, Tick, Tick
  48. Blue Lights and Disinfectant
  49. Is It Okay to Pray Only When You Want Something?
  50. Stage Fright
  51. Hugs and Soppy Films
  52. Plan B
  53. Uh Oh!
  54. What Mr Keytes Said
  55. Teatime in Germany, Again . . .
  56. Worms in My Belly
  57. Final
  58. Down, But Not Out
  59. Knockout
  60. When We Are Famous
  61. Can’t Wait Till Morning
  62. Alerts!
  63. What Do I Do?
  64. Confrontation
  65. Final Curtain
  66. Zip Wire
  67. Acknowledgements

‘Well played,’ says Tom as he gets up.

‘And you.’ I sit back in my chair.

I won.

I just won!

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Panic!

‘I know, but what if I can’t do it again?’ I stare at my sausage roll.

‘But you can,’ says Rebecca. ‘You’ve already done it twice.’

‘But it’s the final, and it’s Rich! There’s no way I’m ever going to beat him. Maybe I should stop while I’m ahead.’

‘You can’t. That’s like a boxer giving up after the first round.’

‘Two,’ I say. ‘I’ve won two games,’ I say. ‘Against Tom, then Chris. I could stop there.’

Rebecca sighs and takes a bite of her sandwich.

We’re in the school canteen and I’m leaning over my lunchbox with my head in my hands and I can’t think straight for the clatter of chairs and tables as they are packed away around us. We’re supposed to be eating before we go back to lessons, but my stomach’s tumbling over like a washing machine. I felt great after winning both games, but as soon as I left the library my confidence started to drain away. I won, but it didn’t feel like it was me playing. It was like I wasn’t in control, like I was in a dream at the controls of a plane coming into land, only I was on autopilot with the computer overriding me and making every move.

I drop my sausage roll back into my lunchbox.

‘I can’t do it,’ I say. ‘Rich will beat me in ten moves and tomorrow it’ll be all over the school.’

‘He won’t,’ says Rebecca. ‘It took him twenty moves to beat Leah.’

‘And how does that help me?’

‘Because you beat Chris and he usually beats Leah, so that means you’ve got a better chance. See?’

‘No.’ I roll my head in my hands.

‘Ha! Did you lose?’ Jake puts his drink on the table and sits down.

‘Brilliant,’ mumbles Rebecca. ‘That’s all we need.’

‘Never mind, Felix.’ Jake grins. ‘Not like you wanted to be one of them anyway.’

‘He didn’t lose,’ says Rebecca.

‘Then why is he so grumpy?’

I lift my head. ‘Because I’ve got to play Rich!’

‘But I thought that’s what you wanted. Revenge!’

‘I did,’ I say. ‘I do, but I can’t remember how . . .’

‘Can I have your sausage roll?’

‘What?’

Jake nods at my lunchbox. ‘Can I have your sausage roll? I didn’t have any money on my account.’

I push my lunchbox across the table. I don’t care about food. I don’t care about chess. All I want to do is grab my bag and get out of here.

‘Right,’ says Rebecca. ‘As I was saying, before he arrived, it’s just a game and Rich is just another player.’