‘See – I can see a rook sliding from h2 to h6 to take a knight.’

Rebecca puts her hand over her mouth. ‘Well, I’d love to have that,’ she says. ‘But it must be annoying if you’re trying to watch TV.’

‘I don’t know,’ I say. ‘I’ve been playing so much chess I don’t get time for TV.’

‘You should tell Mr Keytes. He’d love to have—’

‘What should you tell me?’ Mr Keytes is standing right in front of us.

‘Nothing, sir,’ I say, glancing at Rebecca like, Don’t say anything.

‘He’s turning into a chess nerd!’ Jake jumps in.

‘What?’ Mr Keytes looks at me.

I nudge Jake under the table, but all that does is nudge more words out of his mouth. ‘Yeah,’ he says. ‘Some people see ghosts, Felix sees chessboards. Nowhere near as exciting, just weird.’

‘I knew I shouldn’t have told you!’

‘What?’ Jake grins. ‘I’m just saying.’

Mr Keytes smiles. ‘Well, it’s good to see you two are friends again, but let’s get on with some work.’

I pick up my pen and glare at Jake. Then Mr Keytes leans between me and Rebecca and says, ‘If he’s really seeing chessboards, take him to chess club at lunchtime.’

‘Ha!’ says Jake. ‘There’s no chance of that.’

*

‘Felix, don’t do it! Don’t! I beg you. It’ll be like getting on an alien spaceship and they’ll fly off and turn you into one of them . . . You’ll be like Dr Banner turning into the Incredible Hulk, only you won’t turn back into a normal person, you’ll be stuck as a monster! It’ll be like a step to nerd-dom!’

‘Jake!’ I say. ‘This is for real. I’m not turning back this time.’

I’m standing outside the library with my hand on the door. Jake puts his hand on my shoulder.

‘Please, Felix! No! I’m begging you.’

Rebecca pushes the door open and looks back at me.

‘Coming?’ she asks.

I nod then step into the library.

‘Felix, pleeeeease . . .’

Jake’s voice fades away to another planet.

My heart is beating fast while my feet feel like they’re moving in slow motion. But I’m ready for this. Jake and Rebecca are walking beside me, but somehow I feel like I’m on my own.

In silence I pass the loan desk. Chris, Tom and Leah, the members Rebecca told me about, have got their heads turned to the table as they take all the chess pieces out of wooden boxes and place them on the boards.

It’s so quiet all I can hear is my breath and my feet skimming over the carpet.

Jake says it’s a step to nerd-dom, but it’s not. It’s a step to doing something I want to do, something I love doing with Granddad, something that will make us both proud.