Chapter 2
Dear Bump,
I plan on winning the chess tournament this year.
I’m tired of getting second place. Jesse Chao has won first place since the first grade. His smile looks like a string of gray pebbles. Everyone in the math club knows I can beat him. I need to practice some more, that’s all. I’ve been asking Mom, but she says she can’t remember how to play anymore. I don’t understand, she remembered fine last month.
I don’t know who I’m supposed to play with now.
When I asked Boone if he could help me hone my skills, he laughed. “No way, Red. Gonna be way too busy. JF told me Julie wears a bra now.”
Boone thinks I should ask his father because Johan and Nick used to play when Nick was little.
It’s hard to imagine Nick Lund as a little kid. I try picturing his eyes on a smaller f
