A Little Game Page #6

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I love somebody

in this room.

Is it me?

You guessed it.

Actually, I love

two people in this room.

I love you,

and I love Max.

You also love yourself,

so that's three people.

Right,

but I love you and Max

and Papa even more

than I love myself.

Me, too, Mama.

I can't stop loving you.

Ohh.

How'd I get so lucky?

Tell me a story, Mama.

Okay. What about?

About Cinderella, Ariel,

Spider-Man,

and Max.

And Max, okay.

Well, one day,

Cinderella, Ariel, and Max

were walking

through the park,

and all of a sudden,

Spider-Man went swinging by.

And Spider-Man stopped

as soon as he saw Max,

because he knew he needed her

for a very important mission.

I wouldn't

have done that.

So you've learned

how to move the pieces.

I've been

taking lessons.

I'm ready to play you.

Who've you been

studying with?

He can't be better

than my teacher,

Vadim Alexeyevich.

I'm sure you know

who that is.

He teaches me

in Russian.

You speak Russian?

Not really,

but he's such a genius,

it doesn't even matter.

Anyway,

why should I play you?

What's in it for me?

At this school, I'm here,

and you're here.

You're scared.

Please.

Okay.

If you win,

I'll leave the school.

And if you win,

which could only happen

if I go into a coma...

Then you have

to leave the school.

Not a chance.

Okay.

Then you have to stop

bothering me.

That's pretty broad.

I'll stop

insulting you in public.

That's acceptable.

Okay.

Today I'm

gonna go first.

Listen, Norman, I need

to tell you something.

Tell me later.

Move first.

I'm going to play

a real chess match.

The hell you are.

No, I am.

I'm going to play

against someone else.

What?

I'm going to play

a real chess match

against someone else.

I told you

you weren't ready.

Well, I thought I was.

Then I guess we're done.

Hey, Maxie.

How was school today?

It was fine.

Yeah? What'd you do?

The usual,

nothing.

I see.

Hey, Maxie, do you

like your new school?

You're not supposed

to like school, Papa.

Oh, really?

At best, you're supposed

to tolerate it.

Okay, then.

Do you tolerate

your new school?

I tolerate it.

That's good,

I guess.

You know, parents,

they always think

they know better

than their kids.

Duh.

And they do for a while,

but pretty soon you're

gonna be coming home

with math homework

that I don't understand,

that you're gonna know the

right answer way before I do.

You know what I mean?

I'm only

doing multiplication.

It's a metaphor.

Oh.

I don't like metaphors.

All right, listen.

I'll be back

in a few minutes,

okay, honey?

You call me

if you need me.

Sleep.

Sleep, matia mou.

I might have made

a mistake, Yaya.

Everybody makes mistakes.

Your mother

married your father.

Why do you

keep doing that?

Habit.

Don't worry about it.

Make the best choice

you can.

That's what your mother did

when she went to Boston.

She made her best.

You make a choice,

then go on.

Life's too short.

Compared to what?

What do you mean?

I mean,

compare our lives

to the life

of a spider.

They must think

we live forever.

Huh. You're right,

matia mou.

Life is also

very, very long.

So what should I do?

You know

what I'm gonna say.

Yes.

Now go to sleep,

matia mou.

Karaniecta, matia mou.

Look, it's my life,

not yours.

I'm entitled to play

against somebody else.

Seriously,

the silent treatment?

Now who's

the six-year-old?

I need to start making

my own decisions,

but I'm sorry that I didn't

tell you in advance, Norman.

That was a mistake.

This is

not what I expected.

This is

your great teacher?

She called you

Norman.

What's

your last name?

It doesn't speak.

Why am I not surprised?

His name is

Norman Wallach.

Google dui wo

Norman Wallach.

That's my Tibetan nanny,

Tashi.

My parents insist I only

speak Mandarin with her.

I have

tae kwon do class now.

Let's play

tomorrow here.

I want Norman

to see me beat you.

I'll bring the clocks.

She's the one you're

gonna play against?

You gotta beat her.

Tell me about it.

She said she's

bringing clocks.

What does that mean?

Chess clocks.

You only get a certain

amount of time

to make all your moves.

It makes the game

move faster.

I always liked that you can

control how fast the game changed.

Hey, look,

chess is change.

It'd be pretty boring if

the pieces never moved.

But sometimes you want

things to stay the same.

You know that great

pizza place on West 11th?

Sure.

I been there

a hundred times.

Seems like that place

has been around forever.

Yeah, it has been.

But sooner or later,

it'll close.

Every place has to,

eventually.

You just have to enjoy

it while it's here.

Enough

with the metaphors.

Then listen.

You can't just use the

same pieces you always use.

Find new ones.

Look for one

that could be

more valuable than

you think it is.

You can't lose.

You think

you're gonna lose,

give me a signal, and

I'll knock the board over.

I'm serious.

Back in a sec.

Here's the plan.

I'm going to pretend

to be blind,

and you ask...

No.

Come on.

I'll go 50-50 with you.

You're underutilized.

Huh?

Come with me.

All right,

6 to 11/2.

6 to 11/2?

That can't be right.

All right, 164 to 41.

What?

Ooh!

What's the count?

It's, uh,

10,016 to 2,504.

Or it's

eight to two.

It's about as simple

as I'm gonna make it.

This is B-ball,

after all.

I don't get it.

The city is going

to help me beat her.

Go ahead. You're first.

It's eight to two.

This is B-ball,

after all.

So, B4.

You know,

that pawn is you.

What?

He's not allowed

to coach you.

It doesn't matter.

I have no idea

what he's saying.

Remember, your board,

your city.

That's the stupidest thing

I've ever heard.

You're a sucky teacher.

Go back to the suburbs

where you belong.

I'm from the Upper West Side, if you...

Like I said,

go back to the suburbs.

I'm sure they never heard

of the Mexican defense there.

There's no such thing

as the Mexican defense.

Says you.

C, C, C, C.

C4.

Pawn takes pawn.

I wish

I understood him.

Checkmate in three moves.

Unless you find

the one move

that wins

the game for you.

Hey, he said it.

I'm just translating.

You don't speak Russian.

Oh.

I don't see it.

Look harder.

I don't see it.

Look harder.

You have 20 seconds

to make your move,

or you lose.

I do not get that.

10 seconds.

Take responsibility.

You happen to life.

Of course.

I'm going

to turn into a queen.

My pawn will become

a queen in two moves.

Then checkmate.

She can't stop me.

You're gonna win!

Put it down!

What's wrong? Is there

a problem with the move?

No.

Congratulations.

Enjoy school

without me.

Very good player.

I don't understand.

She's coming back

to PS 41.

Just when I was

about to win,

I realized

that I didn't want to.

You didn't want

to win?

No, I didn't want to go back

to the Blackstone Academy.

Nothing against it. It's just

I've got a fantastic school

that's a five-minute-walk

from my house.

I love it there.

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