Waverley's pretty much had it with being a chess prodigy. At first, it was kind of fun, with all that publicity and all those special privileges at home. But not anymore. As she goes with her mother to market one Sunday morning, Waverley starts to feel terribly exploited all of a sudden; all this chess champion business has been for Mrs. Jong's benefit, not hers. The two get into a blazing row, which ends when Waverley runs off, finding shelter for the next couple of hours in an upturned pail in an alleyway.
Eventually, she makes her way home. But the moment she walks through the door, Waverley realizes that Mrs. Jong's still mad at her for what happened earlier; Mrs. Jong gives her the silent treatment, as indeed do the rest of the family. Waverley has no alternative but to retreat to her room, where she lies on the bed having strange visions about her white pieces on the chessboard being attacked by a couple of dark slits.
Waverley responds to the attack by rising above the board and flying high over the houses, until at last she's lifted up to the night sky by a soaring wind. The vision mirrors the state of Waverley's soul at this precise moment. She wants to break free from her mother's exploitative control and do her own thing.
After the fight with her mother, Waverly chooses to flee.
First, she runs down an alley past several dark, curtained shops. Then, she arrives at a main street filled with tourists looking at souvenirs and trinkets. Not wanting to attract too much attention to herself, Waverly eventually runs down another alley.
She continues running down several alleys. Waverly finds the exertion cathartic. She runs until it physically hurts; until now, her anger has fueled much of her nervous energy. Now, however, she feels strangely deflated. As her thoughts become more rational, Waverly begins to realize that she cannot run away from her mother forever. The alleys present no escape routes.
She sits down on an upturned plastic pail and thinks about her mother searching for her. After two hours, Waverly returns home. Her brother, Vincent, unlocks the door for her and then returns to the dinner table. No one invites her to the table to eat. Her mother's words are acerbic and unforgiving: "We not concerning this girl. This girl not have concerning for us."
Feeling chastened, Waverly walks to her room, closes her door, and lies on her bed. At present, Waverly is alienated from her mother. However, she knows that the impasse will not last for long. In light of this fact, Waverly begins to plot her next steps. Using the skills she learned from chess, Waverly tries to come up with new ways to thwart her mother's will.
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