The Fate of the Club 1

Morning came and my routine was as usual. I woke up, made breakfast, and got dressed. I locked my apartment and made my way to the school. I check the time on my watch, 6:45 am, 15 minutes before class starts. But I wasn't going to my classroom. My destination is the student council room. 
"Today's the day, Naoto-san," Megumi said.
"Yeah. It is..."
Today's the day I'll play chess again properly. My game against the student council president will decide the fate of the chess club. I'm carrying all of Kinoshita's dreams behind my back. I can't afford to lose this. But with Megumi by my side and the pieces in my briefcase, I feel like I wasn't going to lose.
"Morning, Naoto-san."
"Morning."
We meet up with Kinoshita in front of the school and we both entered the campus. We went inside, changed our shoes, and climbed the stairs. The students' looks were the same as yesterday. But I didn't care about that. All that was on my mind was my impending game against Hasegawa-san. I'm sure Kinoshita thinks the same. His face wasn't lively, but more on the serious side, maybe even nervous. I can understand why. His club was at stake. It only made sense.
We arrived at the front of the door. I brought my hand to the door. Before knocking, I looked at Kinoshita. He was looking down.
"Kinoshita, are you okay?
"Yeah. I'm just... nervous." Seems that my previous thought was real.
"Don't worry. I promise I won't lose." I reassured him.
"...Thanks, Naoto-san. I believe in you." he let out a faint smile. Him believing in me made me more nervous. I mustn't let him down. Kinoshita took a deep breath. Looks like he's calmed down. I knocked on the door.
"Come in." The voice was a female's. Her voice was familiar to both of us.
"Ready?"
"Yes."
I opened the door and walked inside the room. Two people were inside the room. 
"You're early, Naoto-kun." The same voice that invited us in greeted me. It came from the girl standing. She was facing the window at the back of the seat.
"Sorry about that, Hasegawa-san." The student council president, Emiko Hasegawa, turned around to look at us.
"That's okay. So, shall we begin?" She wanted the match to begin. Does she want this to be over already?
"Yes."
"Sato-kun." She looked at the person standing beside her. Daisuke Sato, the student council secretary, was holding a briefcase. He placed the briefcase on the table before unzipping it. He took something square out of it. That checkered pattern is very familiar to me. Sato placed the chessboard on the desk. That board was soon to be a battlefield for us. He also took out something that looked like a rectangular box connected to the board via a cable. It had a screen in front and buttons on top. A chess clock was placed beside the board. Guests we're going to play with time controls. 
"Shall we set up?" Hasegawa took out a case containing her pieces. In response, I opened my briefcase, revealing my pieces. I may have just received these pieces, but I felt that I could win with them. We sat down and started setting up the board in the proper order. The rooks, knights, bishops, queens, and kings were all in their correct places. Both armies are now ready for battle.
"Since you were the one who proposed the challenge, that means that I get to choose what color we have, right." it's customary for the challenged to pick their color first.
"Yes." 
"Then, I pick white." 
She clicked a button on the clock. The button had a symbol of the king with black on one side and white on the other. It lighted up as soon as she pressed it. My pieces immediately turned black while hers remained white. She will play as white, which means the clock will be placed on my preferred side. I choose my right, which was where it already is. Everything was set for our game. Except for one thing...
"By the way, what time control are we playing?" 
Time controls are mechanisms in play for chess games. There were four time controls, so I wonder what are we playing.
"Rapid. Ten increments"
So it was rapid, huh? I guess she didn't want this to be too long or short. Rapid was the perfect middle ground of any of the time controls, as it was considered fast but not too fast. She said that we would play in ten increments, so the time control was fifteen minutes with ten increments for each move.
"I see."
"Shall we start?"
"Yes." 
"Then..." She looked at Sato. He quickly pressed the button with a clock and a play and pause symbol. Numbers appeared on separate sides of the screen. They look like the time. They both showed fifteen minutes. They were the time control we were going to play with. 
We both held out our hands and shook them, a sign that a game was about to begin. As I pressed the button which starts the time, the game was now in session. My first true game back was now happening. The game to decide the fate of the chess club was in play.
Having the first move, Hasegawa-san quickly moved her d file pawn to the d4 square (d4). After making the move, she pressed the button on her side of the clock with the same hand she used to move the pawn. Her pressing stopped her time and moved mine. My time was now ticking. 
'Naoto-san, move your d-pawn as well.' Megumi talked inside my mind. I can see my d-pawn lighting up and the square it needed to go to. Was this because of Megumi? Can I see what moves are the best ones because of her? So this is what it's like when we talk during games.
'Yeah, I know.' That move was the most logical. Matching your opponent's move is common if you don't know what to do. I've just returned from chess, so I forgot some of the moves I should make in certain positions. I moved my d-pawn two spaces like Hasegawa (d5). Like her, I pressed my button, stopping my time, and moved hers. My time was currently 14:45, while hers started ticking at 15:10, due to the increments. I spent some time because of what I saw.
It was now her turn. She touched her queen-side bishop, moved it three spaces in the same rank as her pawn (Bf4), and touched her button. She moves very fast. Is this all part of her preparation? And this position...
'London, huh...' The opening reached the London system. The London system was very popular when you play the move d4. It had variations that resembled each other, all having the bishop on the f4 square. The variation on the board was the "Accelerated London System". It's been a while since I've played this opening. Even when I played before, players rarely use it. But to those who use it, it was very effective. Which could mean that she knows what she's doing. 
The pieces weren't lighting up yet, so Megumi might still be analyzing the position. But this line in my memory may be the best one for us...
To be continued...