Not an Easy Win

Mr. Dennis drives Lawrence home. Lawrence is unsure whether to ask if he can go back to the rec center again, but Mr. Dennis tells him to be back at 6:30 am on Monday. Lawrence excitedly thanks him and goes home.

When he gets there, his family is settling down for dinner. Granny tells him to wash his hands and then gives him a plate of spaghetti. He sits on the floor with the other kids. Nikko asks him about his “job,” informing him that Granny talked with Mr. Dennis about it earlier. As Lawrence begins to eat, he realizes that “for the first time in a long while, [he] fe[els] like [he] ha[s] done something right” (44).

Aunt Carmen comes and picks up the twins, who beg her to let Nikko come over for the weekend. Aunt Carmen relents and leaves Lawrence at home to spend time with Ma.

They sit on the couch and watch old episodes of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which was Pop’s favorite show. As Will and Carlton get dressed to go to a party, Lawrence asks Ma if she and Pop ever went to parties before he was born. Ma begins to talk about how much fun they used to have. She loved to dance even though Pop was terrible at it, so she would find people to dance with while he talked to everyone at the party. When she stops talking, Lawrence resists the urge to ask her more questions. However, after the fourth episode, when they head to bed, she tells Lawrence how much like Pop he is, which makes Lawrence “happy” to know that “she still th[inks] about Pop” like he does (48).

On Monday morning, Lawrence gets up early to be sure that he is at Mr. Dennis’s on time to go to the rec center. Ma tells him that someone from the school will be by later with a laptop to set him up for his online learning.

When they get to the rec center, Mr. Dennis tells Lawrence that it’s Monday, so they also have to set up the chess boards for their weekly games. Lawrence asks if chess is like checkers but with different pieces, and Mr. Dennis tells him that it has a lot more thinking.

After they set up, Lawrence watches as Mr. Dennis and Junior play chess. He does not understand the game but notices how much more thinking they do than actual moving. He sees how a few of the pieces move and realizes that Junior’s “tallest piece” getting in trouble is what ends the game. Afterward, he realizes how much different chess is from checkers.

As Lawrence watches Mr. Dennis and Junior play several more games, he begins to learn how the pieces move and how the game is won. He realizes that the queen does most of the work while protecting the king. He compares it to his life, where Ma and Aunt Carmen seem to work harder than anyone else.

During lunch, Ms. Linda tells him that Ms. Foxx, an office lady, dropped off his laptop. Lawrence is annoyed that a “real teacher” didn’t drop off his work and that he didn’t even see Ms. Foxx; he realizes how little the school cares about him.

As the kids arrive, they all go directly to the chess room. Twyla and her friend Kendra explain to Lawrence that the kids are practicing for an annual chess tournament for kids from across the state. They only have two boards, so kids at the rec center fight for a chance to play.

Lawrence watches as Deuce beats several kids in a row. When he plays Twyla, they have a much longer game; Lawrence notices how much more time they spend thinking. Eventually, Twyla wins, and Lawrence realizes that she’s the “queen of chess” (61).

On the drive home, Lawrence can’t stop thinking about how smart Twyla is. He tells himself that she will never like him, but he is happy that she remembered his name. He realizes that he wants to learn how to play chess, at least to get the chance to sit across from her. He asks Mr. Dennis to teach him, but all Mr. Dennis says is that chess is for “thinkers.” As Lawrence walks home, he wonders if Mr. Dennis doesn’t think he is smart enough or if he’s just telling him that he needs to use his brain more.

Ma is not home when Lawrence gets there, which is strange. He decides not to bother Granny while she cooks but is shocked when she invites him to eat in the kitchen with her. Near the end of dinner, he works up the courage to ask where Ma is. Granny tells her that she got fired and is “probably wandering around town feeling sorry for herself” (65).

Lawrence sits at the kitchen table long after dinner and past when he hears the younger kids go to bed. Finally, Granny comes back and reassures him that they will figure things out. She warns him not to try to “fix” things himself and reminds him to make sure that he is up to go to the rec center the next day. She also tells him that Ma got fired for getting to work late and leaving early, which makes Lawrence feel guilty for all the times she left early to pick him up from school after his fights.

The next morning, Ma is still not home. Nikko asks about her, but Lawrence tells her that she must have gone to work early.

Mr. Dennis picks Lawrence up for the center and asks if he is still serious about chess. Lawrence had been so distracted by Ma that he had stopped thinking about it, but he agrees to learn to play.

At the center, Lawrence sits down at the board with Mr. Dennis. Mr. Dennis makes him close his eyes and then asks Lawrence how many pieces there are. Lawrence counts them in his head and insists that there are 16, but Mr. Dennis tells him he is wrong—there are 32 when you count both sides. He tells Lawrence that he always has to think about the opponent’s pieces, too.

Mr. Dennis then leaves Lawrence to sit with the board alone for a while to learn it before they begin playing. However, once he’s gone, all Lawrence can think about is Ma and Pop. He thinks about how Pop might be in jail, but he isn’t sure. According to Uncle Bennie, Pop was pulled over for a broken taillight—which the police officer lied about. However, they then found an unpaid ticket from Pop’s past and took him to jail. Pop has not called or seen his family since, and Ma believes that he is back in jail for violating his probation.

Lawrence then puts in his earbuds and listens to his father’s music. He thinks of how chaotic the music is—almost like it has “no rules.” It makes him wonder about the rules of life, who makes them, and who decides how they’re enforced. Eventually, Lawrence falls asleep.

Deuce wakes Lawrence up by pulling out his earbuds. He demands to know why Lawrence is there, saying that his father owns the center, so Lawrence doesn’t belong there. However, Lawrence angrily tells him that Mr. Dennis said he could be there. In response, Deuce shoves him into the table, takes his earbuds, and runs.

When Lawrence gets home, Ma is there. She tells him that she got a job at the chicken plant, working overnight. Lawrence has heard horrible stories about the work there. He decides not to tell her about Deuce since she has enough problems of her own. She makes him promise to stay out of trouble, and he does so, but he thinks about how trouble always seems to “follow” him.

Lawrence spends the week mostly by himself. He gets some lessons from Mr. Dennis, but he still won’t let him actually play chess. Lawrence watches Mr. Dennis and Junior play, does his schoolwork, and then sits alone in the chess room, looking at the board in the afternoon. He does everything he can to stay away from Deuce.

However, on Friday, he decides to get his earbuds back. He waits outside for the bus and confronts Deuce when he gets off it. Deuce tells him that he threw Lawrence’s earbuds away, so Lawrence angrily shoves him, surprising himself when Deuce falls to the ground. Deuce gets up and punches him in the stomach, but then Junior and Mr. Dennis break the fight up. Lawrence tries to explain himself, but Mr. Dennis angrily tells him that they “don’t do that here” (83).

Pop is three years older and bigger than Uncle Bennie. He used to beat up kids who would make fun of Bennie, who was short and wore thick glasses. Because of Pop’s dark skin, people used to refer to him as “Midnight.” He would often tell Lawrence stories about his past, beginning with the line, “Once upon a time there was a boy called Midnight” (84).

One time, Lawrence traded $5 for a pack of Pokémon cards with a kid named Tariq. However, Tariq gave him cards that were wet and ruined. Lawrence angrily went to his house and confronted him. Although he got his money back, Tariq’s mom went to Lawrence’s house and angrily told his parents about him confronting Tariq. Although Ma was mad, Pop insisted that Lawrence was only “trying to do the right thing” (86)—he just had a bad “approach.”

Lawrence sits alone for the rest of the afternoon until Twyla comes and talks to him. She is angry, scolding Lawrence for letting Deuce make him angry. She tells him that Deuce just wanted to upset him, making Lawrence realize how dumb it was to start a fight over earbuds.

Mr. Dennis warns Lawrence that he has one more chance. He tells Lawrence that he has a lot “in common” with Deuce, but Lawrence is still annoyed that no one will listen to him. Instead of arguing, he just says “okay”—realizing how badly he wants to stay at the rec center.

At home, Ma works all night and sleeps most of the day, so Lawrence rarely sees her. He usually eats with Granny in the kitchen and occasionally eats in the living room with the kids.

That night, the twins go home, so Lawrence eats alone with Nikko. Afterward, Granny comes in, and the three of them watch Jeopardy! together. Lawrence is surprised when he enjoys himself, and Granny seems to be enjoying herself, too.