Chapter 58 - 58: A Big Fan

Mitch had no real faith in this plan, but it was better than anything else he'd come up with.

Toby, seeing that the two students already knew Mitch, gave them a brief explanation of what they were planning and that they just needed to get the director's support.

Molly got excited, "It's a great idea! I'm a big fan!"

Director Bull frowned, "You need to be focused on your studies! Studying is the most important thing for all my students!"

It suddenly occurred to Sophia that if she participated in a chess contest held at the school and got an award, maybe that would earn her points?

According to the school rules, anyone who won a prize in a competition held by the school would be given bonus points. The higher the ranking, the more points.

She had been responsible for the loss of one point from her class last time. If the game was held, she could probably win a prize. And Molly, as the leader of the chess club, would probably win a prize, which would mean the class could get two points.

Thinking about that, Sophia said, "Director, although chess isn't technically part of the college entrance exam, it's still really good for intelligence. It helps with critical thinking and generally helps improve general ability. I've learned chess and found it really helpful to train my mind, and you can see how much my math grades have improved."

Director Bull said nothing.

"You know how to play chess?" Toby asked curiously.

Sophia nodded, "Just a little."

Toby laughed, "Chess requires deep knowledge. If you're interested, I can give you a tutorial. How are your chess skills? Have you ever participated in a competition or anything? Have you ever been ranked?"

Sophia replied after a little thought, "I've only taken part in an online competition that I saw advertised. It had cash prizes, so I wanted to try. I didn't expect there to be any powerful contestants, and actually, I ended up winning the championship. The prize money was quite a lot. I'd like to enter a tournament like that again."

Toby's voice trembled, "What… what kind of competition was it?"

"It was the Online Chess Contest that was held two weeks ago. You signed up via a blog. But you're a professional chess player, and you wouldn't care about such a small tournament.

"May I know your username?" Toby asked, trying to sound casual.

"Knowing A Person" Toby gasped, "What is it? Did you take part in that competition too?" Sophia asked.

"You said you took part in the tournament for money?"

Sophia froze for a moment, "Doesn't everyone compete for the money?"

Toby was shocked by her answer. If those Ms knew what she was playing for, they would be surprised.

Molly suddenly said in surprise, "You are 'Knowing A Person'? I've watched the final match of that online chess game. I didn't participate in the tournament. I just watched it. People were being funny and saying that it was Mr. Watson who competed in the final against you. Isn't that funny? It must have been hype! That kind of professional player wouldn't play in a small tournament like that."

Sophia smiled, "Of course not! And how could he, as Mr. Watson, be here?"

She translated Molly's words to Watson in French and finally asked, "Of course it wasn't you, was it?"

Mitch was stunned for a moment, "It… was me."

"What?" Sophia couldn't believe her ears.

"What?" Molly was flabbergasted, and even she could understand what he'd said.

Director Bull didn't know what they were talking about, but repeated, "I won't agree!"

Toby looked back at him. "Well, I don't want to sponsor it either," he said, "if you want to do it, you can pay for it."

The director didn't know how to reply.

"Why did you come to talk to me if you don't want to sponsor it? What's the deal?" He said to himself.

Sophia had never believed that her opponent could really be Mitch Watson!

Did she beat Mitch Watson?

If someone had told her that it was Mitch Watson sitting on the other side of the board, she wouldn't have dared compete!

Mitch was so excited that he kept inviting Sophia to play chess with him and asking her if she wanted to become a pro.

Sophia's attitude was quite clear. She didn't have any plans to become a professional chess player. She was not that interested in chess and had no intention of making it a lifelong career.

But she agreed to play chess with Mitch whenever she was available.

It was almost time for class when Sophia remembered that she was here to get the Mathematical Olympiad application forms. She asked Director Bull for them and hurried back to class.

Molly was upset. She thought she was at least better at chess than Sophia. But now it turned out Sophia could even beat Mitch Watson, the world champion, who had beaten her in two minutes flat.

Sophia did well in math, and Molly was not sure she could beat her for the Mathematical Olympiad application. Was her opponent some kind of mythical being? Why did she have to be in the same class as Sophia Green?

Sophia distributed the application forms to the students who had signed up. Molly suddenly noticed that she did not have any leftovers for herself.

"Did you not sign up?" Molly asked Sophia.

"No."

"Why not? You're good at math."

"I just don't want to sign up."

Molly felt more at a loss than relieved.

When she got back to her seat, Mariah looked at her grumpy face and asked, "What's wrong with you? You're not happy?"

Molly sighed, "It seems that I can't beat Sophia in anything. I'm annoyed."

Mariah suddenly smiled, "Actually, there's one lesson you will definitely be better at."

"Which one?"

"Ha-ha. I'm not telling!"

Molly soon found out.

The next class happened to be music. The music teacher announced that the music class would be changed to math after the monthly exam, which meant that it was their last one. The music teacher was a sentimental person. She announced it like it was a big farewell from a TV show.