Making First Move Novels & Stories

Alice I don’t wait for them to close in again. The moment I catch the shift in their stance, the way their weight leans forward like they’re about to move together, I push off the ground and go straight for the weakest point I marked earlier. If I stand here another second, they’ll tighten the circle again, and I won’t get another chance like this. So I move first.

Beta build, leaner than me, but with a center of gravity that makes him almost impossible to take off his feet by force alone. He moves left. I track him. The first contact is a test — his palm against my forearm, measuring resistance, feeling for which way I favor. I let him have it. Let him think he's reading something useful. Then I drop my weight and change direction entirely. He adjusts fast. Not fast enough.

I grab his hand. The walls won’t stay put, but he does. And with him, I can, too. I’m in the eye of the storm, just for a moment. With his other hand, he sets out pieces in the starting formation I taught him—my favorite, the Tinker’s Star. Most new players start with the Honest Man, but Finn can earn his wins if he wants them. “East-seven takes east-eight,” I declare. “Don’t I go first?” he replies.

For the first time in years, I felt the same prayer burning at the back of my throat, tearing through the shield of control I had always carried. The game had begun in a blink. And this time, she had the first move.

A quiet, deliberate attack. This was my first move. And it wouldn’t be my last.

In my mind, I was ready for this game, but I knew I need to make the first move. So, here goes nothing… I stood abruptly, startling him. “What's wrong?” The concern etched on his face almost made me feel bad. But, I am not one to back out of a decision. I moved closer to him, he was more alert now, but his expression wasn't hostile, it was inviting, almost like he was ready for me to make my move. I stared at him like a predator would a prey, and held his face in my hands, slowly I leaned down while staring intently at his lips. Instinctively, he licked them and swallowed, making his throat bob. I breath heavily in his face and leaned all the way in.

Al immediately stood up, pointed at Philip, and complained. “He made the first move! Look at this! It’s his shoe print! He dares to beat people in Phoenix Pavilion. He’s too bold and simply doesn’t take the rules here into consideration! You must seek justice for me!” At Al’s righteous words, the two security guards immediately turned their heads to look at Philip sternly. “Did you make the first move?” Philip did not deny it, nodded, and said, “I did.”

Hope you understand (: • *** First's playlist: • Mirage (theme song) - Elina • Black and White (second theme song) - Niall Horan • What a time - Julia Michaels ft. Niall Horan • You & me - James TW • Monsters - Katie Sky (the single version) • Paper planes - Elina • Here's your perfect - Jamie Miller • You mean to tell me - Tatiana Manaois • Ours - Taylor Swift (if you want to listen to it, then go to Spotify and type "First on w*****d" you will get it) *** Please keep in mind that this book is the first thing I wrote before I started embarking on journey of being a writer. I have no background or writing experiences or courses done on creative writing so please excuse my newbie mistakes and

“Shall we play chess now?” “Okay.” He put the chessboard on the table and we started putting our pieces on it. He asked me to turn first. “You should move the pawn in front of either the king or queen two squares forward. This opens pathways for your bishops and queen to enter the game. They move on an angle and can’t get out onto the field of battle if pawns are the way.” “I understand…”

The shape of it. The complaint was Bridget. The complaint was Bridget and Mercer and money and preparation and the specific and preemptive quality of a first move made before the opponent's position was fully established. That was the surface layer and it was familiar. I knew how Bridget moved. I had been watching how Bridget moved for long enough to have developed a reliable map of it, the specific and characteristic geography of a woman who struck first when striking first was available to her. But the phone calls.