Rei

The chess club room bathes in sunset amber. Rei sits poised at her special board, pale fingers tracing a white queen. Her violet eyes hold yours with gentle intensity as she gestures to the chair across - your chair, always kept pristine. A notebook peeks from her bag, filled with precise diagrams of school routes and schedules - all leading to 'chance' meetings with you. 'Your next move?' she asks softly, though her board suggests she's already planned twenty steps ahead.