"Ah, Prague... Here we go again..." Sheva took a deep breath the mont he walked out of the plane. The sll of the winter air was completely different than the humid and polluted one in Jakarta, and even though the chill temperature pierced his bones, the boy still enjoyed this feeling. "Anyway, what is the temperature today? I think it is a little bit colder than when we were in Wijk Ann Zee, right?" Sheva asked Bagas next to him.
"Well, it is still around 3 degrees Celsius right now, but later at night, it could drop to -3, so be careful," Bagas answered. "At least, in Wijk Ann Zee, the temperature is still around 8. However, it is understandable, considering February is the peak of winter in most places."
Sheva shivered a little, not wanting to imagine how it felt to have the temperature below zero. He might enjoy the winter season, but that was when the temperature was quite moderate, not falling to an extre state.
"Anyway, let’s go! We still need to pick up our luggage and order a taxi to the hotel." Bagas waved, snapping Sheva from his thoughts.
Then, they moved like clockwork, having already been used to travelling abroad at this point. From finishing their administration process, taking out the luggage, going to the hotel, checking in, and finally having dinner, everything happened so quickly, and before they knew it, they were already half-asleep in their bedroom.
"Damn! Why is it that Europe is so far away from Indonesia?!" Sheva groaned, feeling exhausted from the journey. "If only we had the Anywhere Door or sothing that could allow us to travel faster..."
"Hah, you are dreaming." Bagas snorted, taking a huge bite of the kebab that he brought from the Turkish stall close to the hotel. "Anyway, rather than thinking of useless things like that, how about you start preparing for tomorrow’s ga?"
"Eh, just wait a second, let get my phone first." Sheva groaned, stretching his body once again before starting to scroll through his phone and getting the information on the tournant. "Honestly, on paper, I shouldn’t have anyone to worry about. This tournant is weaker than the Tata Steel one, with only four 2600-rated players here. Also, I know Erwin L’Ami’s ga, and although I didn’t play against Mateusz Bartel in the Olympiad last year, I still have the data I prepared at that ti, so I should be okay in this tournant."
Bagas nodded silently, knowing that Sheva was right. It might be cocky for them to say it like that, but they had the capital to do so. Sheva’s achievent in the last few months had been incredible, and even though his rating was still kinda low compared to the other elite players, anyone who had a matchup against him had to worry for themselves.
However, this could also be a double-edged sword, as everyone would have their eyes on Sheva since the beginning. This was the ntality of most players outside. The chess community was a harsh environnt, and whoever wanted to have a long career had to make a na for himself. Unfortunately, the easier thing to achieve that was by beating a famous player, and in this tournant, Sheva was the only one qualified to be called that.
’Oh, well, that is what Sheve has done in the last few months, right?’ Bagas shook his head quickly. ’Then, it should be okay if he becos the target like this. Let’s just treat it as karma. He has been targeting so prominent nas, and now that he becos one, he should be prepared to receive the end of it.’
"Also, my opponent tomorrow is a local young FM nad Vaclav Finec, and he is even a year younger than Ia! He is 12, for God’s sake! This is going to be teaching the young kids again, right?" Sheva added with a helpless sigh, not knowing that Bagas had so many things inside his mind.
Bagas snorted, knowing that his best friend was trying to refer to him teaching the three teenagers for the last three weeks.
"Well, don’t treat the boy as your student, then. He is your opponent, so don’t scold him when you see a blunder, or God forbid, slap him with a ruler." The corner of his mouth twitched when Bagas rembered how brutal Sheva was with Nayaka. "Just try your best to win the ga as quickly as possible. It shouldn’t be that difficult, right?"
"...Yeah, you are right. Just treat him like an ordinary opponent." Sheva took a deep breath, selectively ignoring how Bagas laughed at his teaching thod for Nayaka.
Then, his phone suddenly buzzed, attracting Sheva’s attention. When he saw the ssage at the top, a small smile curled on his face.
Anna: Hey, how are you doing? Have you already arrived at the hotel?
His fingers danced through the phone imdiately, answering the ssage at light speed.
You: Yeah, we are just chatting right now.
You: Anyway, why are you still awake? Should it be midnight already?
Not long after that, the answer arrived from the other side of the world.
Anna: Have just finished my studying, just wanting to check on you first.
Anna: Good luck tomorrow! Bring the trophy for , okay? :)
Sheva was flustered when he read the last ssage, then he started giggling foolishly. Noticing this, Bagas connected the dots imdiately, guessing already who the person his best friend was chatting with.
"Tch! A new couple, always being so lovey-dovey, they are." He clicked his tongue in annoyance. However, it would be a lie if he said he was envious. The boy also scrolled his phone quickly, just to be depressed when he didn’t find any new ssages from Sarah. ’Should I call her? Nah, she should be sleeping already; there’s no need to bother her. Let’s just call her tomorrow morning.’ He thought.
In the end, Bagas fell asleep first, and Sheva continued chatting with Anna for a while before he followed his best friend to the dreamland with a huge smile on his face. Gone was all the exhaustion he felt after a long journey to this city, as if he just gotten a boost of motivation out of nowhere.
’Don’t worry, Anna...’ He thought before he lost his consciousness. ’I will bring the trophy back ho, and after that, we will go for another adventure again...’
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