When I was in kindergarten I played chess,
my father thought I was a genius,
I was in the papers,
there was no one my age who could beat me,

I met a kid named Fred
who lived in Eureka
he was a witty son of a bitch,
10 years old with spectacles flashing,
he claimed to have started playing when he was only two,
we were on the news once,
I remember I was in a stupid baggy sweatshirt
and too nervous to talk on TV,
Fred took the spotlight,
he was just one step ahead of me
all of the time,
he had the best poker face
and loved to utter the phrase “I have a plan”

he was taken home by the police once
when he tried riding his bike from Eureka to McKinley Ville
my mother was beside herself,
he was crazy,
without boundaries,
sometimes I wish I could have been more like that,

I asked him once if he believed in god,
he told me that he didn’t
he told me that the only supernatural being in existence was the tooth fairy
because she at least proves her existence
I didn’t know what to make of that

I moved away,
left the coast
somewhere in the move
I lost something
I have never been the same
never did well in school,
never excelled in sports,
never won another chess tournament,
I was nothing special in the Midwest

Fred’s 22 now
he doesn’t know who the hell I am

By: Jonny

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