I look back at Granddad and see him smiling right back at me.

‘I’m sorry, Granddad,’ I say. ‘I didn’t mean . . . I didn’t . . .’ My voice cracks.

Granddad puts his finger up to his lips. ‘It is okay,’ he whispers. ‘It is okay. The most important thing is that we are here.’ He glances down at the ground. ‘And the second most important thing is that we get to play chess.’

He picks up the white and black kings and puts them behind his back. His face cracks into a grin.

‘You choose,’ he says.

No Chance

I’m in history between Jake and Rebecca. All the class are talking while Mr Keytes is trying to sort a problem with the projector. I’ve been thinking what to say to Jake about him getting Granddad and me back together, but if I say the wrong thing he’ll say I’m soppy. I’m just glad he did because I played chess again all day and Mum and Dad were so pleased that they let us play another hour in the evening while they watched Dragon’s Den. We played so long that the chessboards were back on my bedroom walls when I got home, and on the insides of my eyelids when I went to sleep.

Mr Keytes tells us the projector problem should be sorted in a couple of minutes. Jake scuffs his shoes on the floor. Rebecca opens her eyes wide at me. Go on, she mouths. Tell him now!

I take a deep breath and lean towards Jake.

‘Thanks for getting me and Granddad back together,’ I mumble.

‘It’s okay,’ Jake mumbles back. ‘We’re cool . . . Even if you did break my nose in a zillion places.’

‘I did not.’

Jake looks up and grins. ‘Maybe not, but it did bleed a bit.’

‘That was a zit!’ says Rebecca, leaning across.

We all laugh.

‘Well, I’m glad you two got that sorted,’ Rebecca says, beaming. She seems as happy that we are friends once more as she is with her joke. ‘Maybe you can concentrate on chess again now.’

‘I already am,’ I say. ‘I’ve started seeing chessboards everywhere.’

‘What?’ says Rebecca.

‘I see chessboards everywhere.’

‘So, can you see them now?’

‘Yes.’

‘Amazing!’

‘No, not amazing. When I woke up this morning they were on my bedroom walls and when I went downstairs they were on the fridge, the kitchen table, the front door, the road and the pavement, and they were on the backs of buses as I walked to school. My granddad was supposed to make a few tweaks to help my work, but the boards are getting in the way.’ I nod at Mr Keytes, who is talking about how the First World War started. ‘Tell me, what do you see on the whiteboard?’ I ask Rebecca.

‘A picture of the Archduke Ferdinand,’ she whispers.