Play the Game (2 page)

Within minutes, I knew I was in trouble. She was everywhere. By three-quarter time,
I’d lost the ball to her so many times, the selectors were bound to have crossed
my name off the list. I knew I had to do something to get back in the game – and
fast.

I remembered a play our Sapphires coach had taught us. It was a double-back move
from the centre pass. As the umpire blew the whistle, I faked a turn to the right
and ran left. I called for the ball, passed it off fast to Maggie and then ran, dodging
girls on both teams, and losing the GD. I made it to the goal circle, where Tess
was trapped behind the Keeper. Maggie lobbed the ball to me and I grabbed it, just
as the GD made it into the circle. Her long arm was outstretched, defending me, and
there was no way I could shoot through it. Hoping Tess could read my mind, I bounced
a fast one to her, stepped in, and waited for her to bounce-pass back. But she was
stuck behind the play. She gave me a look and I knew exactly what it meant. It was
so risky. But we had to try it.

Tess faked throwing it up to confuse the two defenders, then quickly rolled a really
short ball to me. I grabbed it, but by the time I was ready to shoot the GD was back
in front. I knew the game was almost over – we had to get a goal now.

I had only one choice.

I took a huge step back, balanced on my left foot, dodged the outstretched hand of
the defender and shot. I could hear the cheers of my teammates as the ball hit the
lip of the goal ring and teetered on the edge. I waited.
Please, please, please,
I chanted to myself. And then, just as the siren sounded for the end of the game,
the ball rolled slowly off the ring and dropped through.

I couldn’t believe it. That crazy play had just won us the game!

‘We won!’ screamed Tess, running forward and almost knocking me to the ground.

I hugged her back. ‘Only just,’ I said, my heart still racing.

‘Doesn’t matter. That was awesome!’ Tess looked even happier than when Josh had asked
her to go to the school dance.

‘Nice pass, by the way,’ I said.

My bestie grinned. ‘Not as nice as your shooting!’

I shrugged, pretending it was easy. But I knew how lucky I’d been. The last time I’d
tried to shoot a goal like that, I’d missed and we’d almost lost our chance at the
finals.

‘Great goal, Edie,’ said Maggie, jogging over.

‘Nice game,’ I said, meaning it.

‘Thanks. Tess, you must have been practicing hard. You didn’t miss a shot!’ said
Maggie.

‘Yep, I have been. Do you think you could tell my science teacher that’s why I didn’t
do so well on my last exam?’ said Tess.

We all laughed, but I couldn’t help wondering if it bugged Tess that I hadn’t practiced
as much as she did.

‘Let’s just hope we get in,’ said Maggie.

She was right. Sure, we’d won, but this wasn’t about beating the other team – it
was about being good enough to be chosen.

‘Maggie, you coming?’ called Tilly from the edge of the court.

Maggie smiled at Tess. ‘I have to go – Tilly’s my ride. But let’s catch up soon, okay?’

‘Yes, totes!’ said Tess, giving Maggie a big hug.

‘Nice to meet you, Edie,’ called Maggie as she jogged off to catch up with the other
girls, leaving Tess and me red-faced and exhausted by the edge of the court.

‘She’s great, right?’ said Tess.

‘Yeah,’ I said.

‘It would be amazing if we could be on a team together!’

‘We already are,’ I said, sounding a bit short.

‘I meant all of us. Maggie too. It’d be fun,’ she said, linking her arm through mine.

I wondered why I was being so grumpy. Tess was my best friend. Nothing was going
to change that. And besides, Maggie was really nice.

I gave Tess a hug. ‘You know what? We smashed it out there. They’d be crazy not to
pick us!’

Tess mustered a smile. ‘Yeah, and even if they don’t, we’ve still got the Sapphires!’

But I knew Tess didn’t mean it. As much as we loved playing with our team, state netball
had been our dream for a long time. We knew we were ready.

‘When do you think we’ll find out?’ said Tess, grabbing her bag.

I handed her a jelly snake. We always ate red snakes after a game. ‘I don’t know. Soon,
I hope. I hate waiting!’

‘Edie, what if we don’t get in?’

‘We try again next year, I guess.’ But even as I said it, I wondered if I’d be up
for trying out year after year. I thought of the girl we’d met in the queue earlier.
Four years in a row. I wasn’t sure I could handle that.

Tess frowned and then bit the head off the snake. ‘What if
I
don’t get in?’

I groaned silently. So far, I’d managed to avoid having this conversation with Tess.
But there was no way I could dodge it now. I still didn’t know what to say, though.
I wasn’t sure I’d want to play state netball if Tess wasn’t playing, too. It was
our
dream. Together.

Tess grabbed my arm and said quietly,‘If I don’t get in, and you do, you have to
promise me that you’ll play.’

I knew why she was saying it. A couple of years ago we’d tried out for a regional
team. I’d been picked, but Tess hadn’t, and I’d decided I didn’t want to play without
her. She’d been furious with me. That was one of the things I loved about Tess. She
wasn’t the jealous type. Sure, she wanted us both to make it to state, but if she didn’t, she’d still be happy
for me.

I smiled, and held out another red snake. ‘And what if you get picked, but I don’t?
Let’s worry about it later. Come on, we should go,’ I said, leading her towards the
door.

She spun around and looked longingly back at the courts. ‘Fingers crossed, Edie. This
could be our home soon.’

‘They won’t actually let you sleep here, you know,’ I said lightly, trying to break
her mood.

She laughed. ‘Hey, speaking of home, are you coming over? Mum promised chocolate
cake if we won,’ said Tess.

‘That chocolate cake with the gooey centre?’ I said, remembering the last time her
mum had made it.

‘Yep, that’s the one.’

Tess’s mum’s cakes were always worth changing plans for. But I had to pass this time.

‘I can’t. It’s my cousin’s birthday. We’re having a big family lunch,’ I said, wishing
I could go to Tess’s instead.

‘I’ll save you some. Come over tomorrow?’ suggested Tess.

‘Perfect. You have to keep me super busy until Monday,’ I said. ‘I think Kerry’s going
to announce the parts for the play.’

‘You mean I have to stop you dreaming about playing the lead role opposite Freddy!’
said Tess with a teasing smile.

‘Freddy is
not
the reason I go to drama class!’

‘Sure. And wanting two pieces of cake isn’t the reason I eat broccoli!’

I laughed, but Tess was wrong about drama class. As much as I looked forward to seeing
Freddy, he wasn’t the reason I went.

‘I’ve been going to drama class for ages longer than Freddy has,’ I told her.

‘True. But you’ve got to admit he’s cute. And ohhh, that accent.’

Freddy
was
cute. And he did have
that
accent. He was also lovely, and funny and definitely
swoonworthy. I’d had a crush on him since he’d moved here from America six months
ago, but so far I’d only managed to hang out with him in a group. My secret plan
was to get cast as Juliet in
Romeo and Juliet
. Freddy was bound to be Romeo, so then
we’d have to spend lots of time together – just the two of us. It wasn’t like I had
much experience with boys. I’d kissed a boy once, at a party when I was ten! It had
been sloppy and gross. I was sort of hoping that Freddy would be my first
real
kiss.

But my plan wasn’t just about getting closer to Freddy. I loved drama class, and
the idea of landing a lead role was massive. Tess was so obsessed with netball, she
didn’t really understand how I could love something else just as much. Drama was
the one thing we didn’t do together. It was my thing. It was also something I had
to work
really
hard at. I definitely wasn’t a natural, and that was one reason I
loved it so much.

As we reached our bikes, I gave Tess a big hug. ‘Nice work today. Try not to think
about selection, okay?’ I said, knowing that she would anyway. ‘We’ll find out soon
enough.’

‘I’m not worried. We’re going to play state, Edie. I’m sure of it!’

I gave her a big smile. I didn’t want to think about how disappointed Tess would
be if we didn’t get picked. I’d be upset too, of course, but not like her. This was
the only thing Tess wanted.

‘I’ll call you later. We can pick apart the game!’ I said, jumping on my bike.

As I rode home I tried to push away all thoughts of playing state netball, but as
soon as I did that, I started imagining myself onstage in Juliet’s costume, kissing
Freddy. Argh! How was I going to cope until Monday’s class?

I badly wanted to play Juliet. And not just to get close to Freddy. I really loved
Shakespeare, and I’d never done such an ambitious play before. Up until now, I’d
only had bit parts. I was so pumped about playing Juliet that some nights I lay in
bed reciting her speeches over and over in my head.

Secretly, I had my hopes up. Kerry, our drama teacher, had been really happy with my
audition, and I figured that being one of the youngest in the class would help. I was exactly the same age Juliet was – almost 14. But I knew it wasn’t that simple.
All the other roles had to be cast around the leads, and they all had to work together.
Just like our netball team.

I couldn’t believe I’d actually made it through the weekend and a whole day of school.

Tess had helped get me through Sunday by keeping me busy baking. It was really nice
just hanging out with her and being silly, instead of training. Her mum let us take
over her kitchen for a few hours, so we baked up a storm of biscuits and cupcakes. Then
her little brothers came in and practically ate the lot! It was fun. And I managed
to go almost three hours without worrying about the part.

It wasn’t as easy to keep my nerves under control at school, though. Double maths
isn’t much of a distraction – though I did spend half my time wondering what the
teacher was talking about.

Once the final bell had gone, I found myself stalling. Now that it was finally time
to hear if I’d been cast as Juliet, I was suddenly too nervous to find out.

‘Shouldn’t you hurry?’ said Tess, checking her watch.

I nodded, feeling the butterflies going crazy in my tummy.

‘You’ll be fine! Just go. Otherwise you’ll be late,’ said Tess, giving me a push.

‘Okay, okay, I’m going!’

Tess was right – I was late. As I hurried in through the doors, everyone was already
seated. I could feel them all staring as I searched for an empty seat. I hated being
late, almost as much as I hated being the centre of attention. I know that sounds
weird, given how much I loved drama class, but it was different when I was playing
a part. The audience wasn’t watching me on stage, they were watching the character
I was playing.

Our classes were held in this huge old school building that had been turned into
a theatre, almost like a professional space. Drama class was an extra at school,
but lots of kids came because we had this amazing teacher, Kerry, who used to be
an actor.