While Elizabeth and Vlad were walking, they decided to go play chess because Vlad said:
— Girls can't play chess.
Elizabeth immediately got angry, grabbed Vlad by the hand, and quickly walked toward the room where the chessboards were. But Vlad didn't manage to finish what he wanted to say:
— But you, Elizabeth, are smart and beautiful, so you can play.
Even if Elizabeth had heard that now, it wouldn't have changed her mind. She was too principled and too proud of being a woman, and she definitely knew history and everything that had been done to women. Vlad knew that perfectly well too, and that was exactly why he didn't want to offend women — he simply wanted to compliment her, to say that she was different from the others, at least to him.
When they arrived, Elizabeth silently sat down in one chair, and Vlad sat opposite her.
The chess game began with a classic confrontation. Elizabeth made a confident first move, pushing the white pawn from e2 to e4. Vlad answered with a symmetrical response, e7-e5, instantly blocking the further advance of her forces. Next, Elizabeth brought her knight forward — Nf3 — immediately creating a direct threat to the black pawn. Vlad didn't hesitate to defend it and calmly developed his own knight to c6.
The tension kept rising, and Elizabeth brought heavy artillery into battle: her light-squared bishop took an aggressive position on c4, aiming at the weakest point in her opponent's defense — the f7 square. Vlad accepted the challenge and mirrored her move, placing his bishop on c5 with pressure toward White's kingside.
Then Elizabeth made a subtle preparatory move with the pawn to c3, laying the foundation for a future assault on the center. Vlad ignored the hidden threat and developed his second knight to f6, immediately counterattacking Elizabeth's central pawn.
Finally, realizing that the storm clouds were gathering, both players hurried to secure their kings: first Elizabeth and then Vlad castled kingside, hiding their monarchs behind a reliable shield of pawns and bringing their rooks into play.
After castling, a deceptive calm settled over the board, but Elizabeth had already spotted weak points in Vlad's defensive positions. She decisively pushed the pawn to d4, forcing her opponent into battle. Vlad captured the pawn, and after a series of quick exchanges in the center of the board, Elizabeth unexpectedly threw her queen forward to b3. Now her bishop and queen were both aiming at the weak f7 square, creating a deadly threat to the black king.
Vlad frowned for a second, assessing the scale of the disaster. Trying to defend his king, he hurriedly moved his queen to e7. It was a fatal mistake, exactly the one Elizabeth had been waiting for.
Her knight instantly jumped to g5, increasing the pressure to the limit. Vlad tried to chase away the bold piece with the pawn move h6, but it was already too late.
With a confident movement of her hand, Elizabeth took her bishop and captured the pawn on f7, announcing check. The black king was helplessly forced to retreat into the corner of the board, to h8.
Vlad desperately searched for salvation, but Elizabeth's final move was flawless. She moved her knight to e6, completely blocking the black queen while simultaneously unleashing a deadly attack. There was no defense left.
Vlad silently looked at the board, acknowledging his opponent's tactical genius, and carefully laid his king down on the cloth. Elizabeth had won.
She happily jumped up from her chair. Vlad smiled, and Elizabeth, like a little girl, stuck her tongue out at him and said:
— Dummy! See? I won!
Vlad said nothing. They simply went their separate ways: Elizabeth went to show her victory to her sister, while Vlad wandered off wherever his eyes led him.
When they separated, Elizabeth quietly said:
— My dummy.
Vlad saw Denis and Alex, walked up to them, and said:
— Alex, don't you think you spend too much time with Denis? Isn't that kind of strange?
Denis said:
— And don't you think you're sticking your nose where it doesn't belong? He doesn't always have to be with you guys.
Vlad hesitated slightly and said:
— Well, it's just that you spend time together most often, kind of like me and Elizabeth...
Alex only rolled his eyes and said:
— Everyone already knows that you love Elizabeth, but the fact that you think Denis and I are "like that" isn't true. We're... just friends.
Vlad didn't answer. He simply walked away.
Denis took Alex by the hand, and they decided to go somewhere quiet.
Alex asked:
— Do you want to run away from the camp?
Denis firmly replied:
— No, I don't.
Alex looked disappointed and said:
— Me and some friends are preparing an escape plan, and I'm drawing it. We'll probably run away soon. And somehow... I don't want to do it without you.
Denis looked into his friend's eyes and said:
— Are you sure you're not one of "those"?
Alex shrugged and said:
— I don't understand it myself.
Denis said:
— I'm not friends with people like that.
Alex stepped closer and said:
— Like what people?
Denis stepped even closer and said:
— The kind who can't figure out their own orientation.
Alex blushed and said:
— Okay...
He sighed and continued:
— I...
Meanwhile, Elizabeth came to her sister. Adaline was acting strangely. Her face was completely red, and when her sister asked what happened, she hesitated, started stuttering, and said:
— It's nothing.
Elizabeth didn't pay much attention because her sister would never lie to her, and she said:
— Today I beat Vlad at chess. He said women can't play.
Adaline looked at her sister and said:
— You're still a feminist?
Elizabeth replied:
— Of course! I can't not be one. The world is unfair to both genders, but sometimes men go too far.
Adaline said:
— Maybe Vlad wanted to say something else, and you interrupted him?
Elizabeth thought for a moment and said:
— Maybe. He was about to open his mouth, but maybe he wanted to add something even worse?
Adaline said:
— I don't think so. If he spends time with you, and considering that he comes from a rich family while we're ordinary... Just look at it: he only spends that much time with you. He's in love with you, sis.
Elizabeth froze.
At that exact moment, Vlad arrived. Well, "arrived" — he knocked on the door. When he entered, his hands were behind his back. He walked up to Elizabeth, pulled out a bouquet of roses from behind him, and inside them was a note written in their own language.
Elizabeth blushed and kissed him on the cheek.
Vlad instantly turned so red that even a tomato would be jealous, and he immediately ran away.
Adaline smiled and said:
— So, what did he write?
Elizabeth said:
— He wrote that he didn't want to offend women or me. He just wanted to compliment me — that I'm smart and beautiful, not like other girls, at least to him.
— Alex continued and said:
— I'm… homosexual.
— And it was so hard for you to say that? — Denis smiled.
Alex shrugged and said:
— I don't know, it just feels unusual to love boys.
Denis said:
— Yeah, it's strange, but love has no gender.
Alex smiled. Denis stepped even closer and lightly kissed him on the lips. Alex blushed and immediately kissed him back so intensely that they fell onto the grass. Alex kissed harder and harder, passionately. Denis opened his mouth, and Alex immediately slipped his tongue inside, running it along Denis's teeth and gums, touching his tongue as well. Denis let out a soft moan.
When they stopped kissing, Denis smiled. They lay down beside each other, started looking at the sky, and smiled.