The Queen's Gambit Read Online Free PDF Page B

said: “extraordinary; outstanding; remarkable.” She repeated these words silently to herself now: “extraordinary; outstanding; remarkable.” They became a tune in her mind.
    She tried to picture twelve chessboards at once, spread out in a row on the ceiling. Only four or five were really clear. She took the black pieces for herself and assigned the whites to “them” and then had “them” move pawn to king four, and she responded with the Sicilian. She found she could keep five games going and concentrate on one at a time while the other four waited for her attention.
    From out at the desk down the corridor she heard a voice say, “What time is it now?” and another voice reply, “It’s two-twenty.” Mother used to talk about the “wee, small hours.” This was one of them. Beth kept playing chess, keeping five imaginary games going at once. She had forgotten about the pills in her pocket.
    The next morning Mr. Fergussen handed her the little paper cup as usual but when she looked down into it there were two orange vitamin tablets and nothing else. She looked back up at him, behind the little window of the pharmacy.
    “That’s it,” he said. “Next.”
    She didn’t move, even though the girl behind her was pushing against her. “Where are the green ones?”
    “You don’t get them anymore,” Mr. Fergussen said.
    Beth stood on tiptoe and looked over the counter. There, behind Mr. Fergussen, stood the big glass jar, still a third full of green pills. There must have been hundreds of them in there, like tiny jellybeans. “There they are,” she said and pointed.
    “We’re getting rid of them,” he said. “It’s a new law. No more tranquilizers for kids.”
    “It’s
my
turn,” said Gladys, behind her.
    Beth didn’t move. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out.
    “It’s my turn for vitamins,” Gladys said, louder.
    ***
    There had been nights when she was so involved in chess that she had slept without pills. But this wasn’t one of them. She could not think about chess. There were three pills in her toothbrush holder, and that was it. Several times she decided to take one of them but then decided not to.
    ***
    “I hear tell you going to
exhibit
yourself,” Jolene said. She giggled, more to herself than to Beth. “Going to play chess in front of people.”
    “Who told you?” Beth said. They were in the locker room after volleyball. Jolene’s breasts, not there a year before, jiggled under her gym shirt.
    “Child, I just know things,” Jolene said. “Ain’t that where it’s like checkers but the pieces jump around crazy? My Uncle Hubert played that.”
    “Did Mrs. Deardorff tell you?”
    “Never go near that lady.” Jolene smiled confidentially. “It was Fergussen. He told me you going to the high school downtown. Day after tomorrow.”
    Beth looked at her incredulously. The staff didn’t trade confidences with the orphans. “Fergussen…?”
    Jolene leaned over and spoke seriously. “He and I been friendly from time to time. Don’t want you talking about it, hear?”
    Beth nodded.
    Jolene pulled back and went on drying her hair with the white gym towel. After volleyball you could always stretch out the time, showering and getting dressed, before going to study hall.
    Beth thought of something. After a moment she spoke in a low voice, “Jolene.”
    “Uh huh.”
    “Did Fergussen give you green pills? Extra ones?”
    Jolene looked at her hard. Then her face softened. “No, honey. I wish he would. But they got the whole state after ’em for what they been doing with those pills.”
    “They’re still there. In the big jar.”
    “That a fact?” Jolene said. “I ain’t noticed.” She kept looking at Beth. “I noticed you been edgy lately. You having withdraw symptoms?”
    Beth had used her last pill the night before. “I don’t know,” she said.
    “You look around,” Jolene said. “They’ll be some nervous orphans around here the next few days.” She