Play the Game (10 page)

‘Edie, what’s going on? You’re a million miles away,’ said Justine.

‘Sorry, I’m just tired,’ I said.

‘The only way to get through tiredness is to train harder, okay?’

I nodded. What I really needed was to train without Finn watching, and to rest my
feet long enough for my blisters to heal. But I knew there was no point telling Justine
that.

As we finished training, Tess gave me a hug.

‘Are you okay? You’re really flat tonight. Your passes are off, and you haven’t even
been shooting very well,’ she said, concerned.

I shrugged, glad she hadn’t connected it to Finn’s presence. ‘I’m just sore. My legs
hurt and I need a few days off.’

Tess laughed. ‘We’re playing state now, Edie. You don’t get days off!’

‘Don’t remind me!’ I said, groaning.

‘Maybe we could skip shooting for a few hours and go to a movie on Sunday afternoon?’
suggested Tess with a grin. ‘What do you think?’

‘I think you’re brilliant!’ I said, smiling. I looked up into the stand and saw that
Finn had gone. Maybe he’d just come to pick up Maggie, but I felt a bit strange that
he hadn’t at least come and said hello.

‘Nice lip gloss,’ I said to Tess, noticing how sparkly her lips looked.

‘Thanks. Maggie gave it to me.’

I frowned, then tried to look normal. ‘Really? Why?’

Tess shrugged. ‘I went to her house for dinner last night and I told her I liked
the colour, so she gave it to me,’ said Tess, a bit defensively.

‘That’s weird. Isn’t it?’ I didn’t ask her the questions I wanted to ask.
Why were
you at her house for dinner? Why is this the first time I’m hearing about it?
But
she must have heard the tone in my voice, because she looked at me and said,‘Don’t
be jealous, Edie.’

‘I’m not.’

And I wasn’t. Not really. Was I? It’s just that I’d noticed how much time Maggie
and Tess seemed to be spending together. They were always the first to training sessions
and practically the last to leave. I was starting to feel a bit on the outer. But
I knew Tess and I would always be besties – so why was I being so weird about it?

‘Edie,’ said Tess again, linking her arm through mine. ‘You can share the lip gloss, okay? And next time I go there for dinner, I’ll tell
you.’

Next time?
Was this a regular thing?

‘Come on, let’s get our tickets,’ said Tess.

We were going to a film we’d been dying to see. It was pretty cool being out, doing
something other than training. I really wanted to spend some time with Tess away
from a netball court. But as we lined up to get our tickets, I saw something that
made me want to run. It was Freddy and Belle, holding hands over by the candy bar.
If they turned around at that moment, they’d see me, and I’d have to talk to them. And
that was something I really didn’t think I could do.

‘Tess, we have to go. Now!’

‘What? Why?’ she said.

I nodded in Freddy’s direction. Tess’s eyes grew wide. ‘Is that …?’

‘Yep.’

Tess grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the queue. We kept walking, as fast as we
could, until we were outside. I tried not to cry.

‘They’re together,’ I choked out.

Tess nodded. ‘Looks like it.’ She wrapped her arms around me.

‘But if I’d been Juliet …’ I said, knowing that was what really made this hurt. Not
only did Belle have Freddy, but she also had the part I’d wanted. The part I’d tried
so hard for.

‘Come on, Edie. You don’t have time for that anyway. You’re playing state netball!’

I knew Tess was trying to make me feel better, but I was tired of hearing what I
didn’t have time for. Maybe I did have time. Maybe I could go to a movie with a boy
and
play netball. Maybe it didn’t always have to be one or the other.

Suddenly my good mood completely disappeared. ‘Can we just go home? We can hang out
at your place, or mine. I don’t care.’

Tess didn’t answer straight away. She bit her lip, which meant she was working up
to telling me something she knew I wouldn’t be happy about. ‘I told Maggie we’d be
here. She’s coming too.’

‘Oh. Right.’

Tess rubbed my arm. ‘Sorry, Edie. Let’s see the film. We can sneak in after it’s started. They’re
probably not even seeing the same thing anyway.’

I shook my head. ‘It’s okay. You can stay. I’ll catch you later.’

I didn’t want to risk bumping into Freddy and Belle, and I really didn’t feel like
seeing a sad film now. But it would have been nice if Tess had offered to come with
me.

Feeling a bit hurt, but determined not to show it, we headed for my bike. Just as
I unlocked it, Maggie rode up with Finn. That was the last thing I needed. I tried
to make a quick escape, but got sort of boxed in by their bikes.

‘Where are you off to?’ asked Finn.

‘I’m going home.’

Surprised, Maggie looked at Tess. ‘Are you leaving too?’

‘Um …’ Tess stalled.

‘No, she’s staying. It’s just me,’ I said.

‘Oh. Well, we’d better get our tickets because the film’s about to start. Sorry I’m
late, by the way. Finn decided to come too,’ said Maggie, obviously less than happy
about it. I was surprised that Maggie hadn’t bothered asking why I was going home,
but then, she obviously wasn’t here for me. The realisation made me feel even worse.

Tess gave me a rushed hug as she and Maggie took off into the cinema. Finn didn’t
go with them. ‘Aren’t you seeing the film?’

He shook his head. ‘Not now. I’m going to come and shoot baskets with you.’

‘Baskets?’ I asked, pretending not to understand.

He smiled. That cute smile that could almost make me forget Freddy. ‘Goals.’

‘Thanks, but I’m going home,’ I said, starting to ride off. As cute as he was, I didn’t
feel like hanging out with anyone. Not just then.

But Finn rode after me. ‘Really? What about a shoot-off? If you can shoot more goals
than me without missing, I’ll shout you an ice-cream.’

Despite how miserable I was feeling, I laughed. ‘I don’t want an ice-cream.’

‘No, of course, you’re in training. Only healthy food. Well, what about a tofu burger
then?’

I smiled. I hated tofu more than anything in the world. ‘A tofu burger? You’re on,’
I said, totally surprising myself. I couldn’t believe I was choosing to hang out
with a boy I hardly knew rather than going home to wallow. But I didn’t really want
to go home and wait for Tess to call me. I wanted company.

Riding with Finn wasn’t like riding with Tess. We didn’t talk, we just rode. Single
file, all the way back to my house, where I really hoped Jean wouldn’t be. If she
saw Finn, she’d give me such a hard time, and I didn’t feel up to it today. Luckily,
nobody was home. I grabbed my netball, chucked it into the basket on my bike, and
we rode down to the school, where Tess and I always shot goals at lunchtime.

‘So this is your school?’ said Finn, riding around the court.

‘Yeah,’ I said, parking my bike up against the side of the theatre. Finn propped
his up, too, checking out the buildings as he did so.

‘It’s nicer than ours. What’s that building?’

I groaned. ‘The theatre.’

‘O-kay,’ said Finn, looking at me strangely.

‘Long story.’

‘Ah, then I’m interested. I only like long stories!’ he said.

I wasn’t sure I wanted to get into it, but Finn raised an eyebrow. ‘Come on, spill!’

I sighed. ‘Well, I used to do netball and drama, but then I made state, and I had
to choose between playing netball or being in the school play. It still stings a
bit,’ I said, surprised at how easily it all just poured out.

‘That sucks,’ said Finn. ‘Do you want to be playing netball?’

‘Yeah, I do. I love netball. And I understand why I had to give up the play, but
netball is taking over my life. When I’m not training, I’m trying to catch up on schoolwork
because training is so full-on.’

‘You forgot the blisters,’ said Finn with a smile.

‘I never forget the blisters,’ I told him. ‘I just want all this to be worth it, and
at the moment, I don’t really feel like it is,’ I said, shocked at how honest I was
being. But it just felt so good to be able to talk about it.

‘I’m not a big fan of training either, even though I understand how important it
is. But maybe once you play a game, you’ll realise what netball means to you,’ said
Finn quietly. I was amazed at how perfectly he understood what I was feeling.

‘You’re right. All we’ve done is train, train, train, and it’s exhausting. I really
want to get out and play, so I can see that there’s a point to all this hard work!’
As I said it, I realised it was true. That’s what I was missing. Real games. Training
was great because we were learning heaps, but I’d never been one for endless practice.
I much preferred the adrenaline and excitement of a game.

Finn grabbed the ball out of my hands and took off across the court. ‘You want a
game? I’ll give you a game!’ he said, laughing as he shot a perfect goal.

‘I should warn you,’ he said with a smile. ‘I’m very good at this game.’

‘So am I,’ I said, grabbing the ball from his hands. I took one step in and shot
a goal.

‘I didn’t tell you what you have to give me if I win,’ he said cheekily, tossing
another easy goal.

‘What?’ I asked, matching him.

He looked at me. I couldn’t believe how cute those eyes were. ‘You have to come to
the disco at my footy club. Thursday night from 6 till 8.’

I frowned. ‘Disco? Me, dance? I don’t think so.’

‘Then you’d better not lose.’

As much as the idea of going to a disco filled me with horror, I was sort of surprised
that he wanted me to come. And even more surprised that I actually liked the idea.
Still, there was no way I was going to lose to a boy. I grabbed the ball and shot
five goals in a row. He matched them. This was going to be harder than I’d thought.

‘Do you play basketball?’ I asked.

‘I used to,’ he said. ‘But then I had to choose. And I chose football. I still miss
it, though, even after a year.’

‘So that’s why you get how hard it was for me?’ I said. It was a relief to find someone
who understood.

‘Yeah. You think you can do everything but you can't. Not if you want to take a sport
more seriously. And then you have to choose. And that's hard. It’s not all bad though,
Edie. It means you get to really focus on one thing. I’m a much better footballer
now.’

I nodded as I lined up my next shot. He was right. My netball skills were improving.
Much more than they would have if I’d just been playing with the Sapphires, and acting.
Maybe I was distracted by how well Finn understood me, or maybe I was just having
a bad day, but as soon as the ball left my hands, I knew that it wouldn’t drop through.

I was right. It didn’t even hit the ring. With a huge smile, Finn held out his hand
to shake mine. ‘Bad luck.’

I groaned. ‘Rematch?’

‘No way. I know I got lucky – bet you don’t miss many goals. Maggie says you’re one
of the most gifted shooters she’s seen.’

Maggie. Oh god. I’d totally forgotten that Finn was her brother. He must have read
the worried look on my face because he said, ‘Don’t worry about Maggie. I don’t think
she even knows the disco is on this week. Besides, there’s a whole bunch of us going.’

I smiled, relieved. I had plenty of time to break it to Maggie. Anyway, it wasn’t
like it was a date; it was just a bunch of kids going to a disco. No big deal. Well,
except for the dancing part.

‘You’d better get home and start practicing your dance moves,’ said Finn with a grin.

‘Yeah, about that …’

‘You’ll be fine, Edie.’

Riding home with Finn, I couldn’t believe how the day had turned out. Seeing Freddy
and Belle felt like a million hours ago. And now I was going to a disco with a boy
I’d only met once before.

‘So I’ll see you Thursday. It starts at six – I’ll come past and pick you up. Your
mum can check out my scar, and see what a good job she did!’

‘Okay,’ I said, laughing.

I watched as Finn rode off, whistling. I don’t think I’d ever hung out with a boy
who whistled before. It was sort of cute.