They connected the two parts of the board and Trupacius instantly went rather green about the gills. Amartia's pieces were positioned extremely aggressively: queen, rooks, knights and bishops were poised to kill in the first line while the king was sheltered in a back corner behind a line of pawns.
The initial challenger realised at once that he had no chance of winning. There wasn't even a possibility of a draw. Check-mate would probably happen in the second or third move. His king was blocked and couldn't be saved.
But there was to be no game. Trupacius' hand swiped the board and knocked it off the table. He froze. Everyone around the board laughed at him while his classmates stood riveted to the spot, knowing full well he had lost. Amartia stood up and gave him her hand.
“It's a draw,” she declared.
Trupacius was momentarily dazed, but then he seized his chance to get off the hook.
“Ye-yes,” he stammered. “It's a draw. Well, I did think your positioning set us up for a quick draw.” He smiled sheepishly.