Sidelines, page 18
Viktor leans his head against the wall. ‘Don’t talk so loud,’ he groans.
‘I did warn you,’ Alex snickers.
‘I was spewing all night,’ Viktor moans. ‘How am I going to play?’
‘Badly.’
‘If I’m sick, who’s going to score goals?’
‘Griffin, obviously,’ Audrey says.
Viktor belches and hurries from the room, the stench of vomit wafting around him. It makes Audrey’s stomach cramp in unwanted sympathy. She dumps her bag and heads to the girls’ loos. When she returns, the room is packed with boys. Her eyes flit to Griffin. He smiles when he sees her.
She pushes into the room and hunts for her bag, finds it on the floor, contents scattered everywhere. ‘What happened to my bag?’ she gripes. ‘Whoever knocked it down could’ve picked it up again.’ She squats on the concrete and rakes her things together, clears some bench space so she can sit and put her boots on.
Problem is, she can only find one boot. She rummages around in her bag. But the other boot isn’t there.
Now panic strikes. She has to find it before Dominik discovers it’s missing. She scours the room, grovelling on the floor, dodging legs, scrabbling under benches, beneath discarded clothes, but she can’t find it anywhere.
‘What the fuck are you doing?’ Viktor snarls.
‘Looking for my boot. Have you seen it?’
He raises his eyebrows. ‘Course not. Why are you always losing things?’
Audrey is wondering the same thing. She used to be organised, but lately she’s lost the plot. Away with the fairies, her mother would say. Maybe it’s because her mind is on other things.
She keeps searching.
‘Has anyone seen Audrey’s boot?’ Alex asks, frowning at the others and joining her to look for it.
Nobody says anything, and her boot is nowhere.
Then she’s out of time.
Dominik appears in the doorway. ‘Cut the noise, guys. I can’t hear myself think. Time to listen up.’
Audrey slinks over to him and asks if she can go and get something from the car.
His face warps into a frown. ‘Not now. I’m about to read out the starting list and I’ve got some important announcements to make.’ He turns to face the team, sullen. ‘I’ve heard some of you were drinking last night and I’m not happy about it. In fact, I’m disgusted by the lack of professionalism. This is not the pathway to the top. You’ve let the team and your parents down. And it’s not what we expect in our elite academy. I know who the ringleader was and so I’m making some changes. Griffin’s the new team captain.’
There’s a brief silence in which everyone looks at Viktor, whose face is dark as a thunderstorm.
Griffin glows, and Audrey’s pleased for him. But she has to go and look for her boot—she won’t be able to play without it—which means she has to tell Dominik that it’s missing.
‘How can you lose a boot?’ he snorts, flicking a dismissive hand at her. ‘Go on. Hurry up and find it.’
Beside him, Carmen gives Audrey a condescending look.
Tears scratching behind her eyes, she hobbles outside in one boot and casts around for her mother. There she is: at the canteen with Aunty Claire. At least she’s not talking to Miles. She hastens over, her sock soaked within a few strides on the damp ground.
Her mother is livid. ‘What the hell, Audrey! All you had to do was pack your bag! Just one thing.’
‘Sorry, Mum. Can I have the keys so I can go check the car?’
Her mother tosses the keys at her and Audrey hop-skips across to the car park in her filthy wet sock, opens the car, crawls around inside. The boot isn’t there. Her stomach twists. Maybe she left it back at the caravan park.
She returns the keys to her mother, whose angry eyes scald her. ‘Not there?’
‘No.’
‘So now you’re going to ask me to go back to the chalet?’
‘Please?’ Audrey begs. ‘I’m really sorry.’
Her mother stalks off while Audrey zooms back to the change rooms to check one more time. She shoves past the team on their way out, cringing at the judgement in their eyes. Except Griffin, who nods at her.
She scans the room frantically. Gear all over the benches and floor: clothes, bags, jackets, runners, spare socks. And there’s her boot, peeping from beneath a pair of tracksuit pants under a bench. How did she miss it before? Has someone got it in for her?
With fumbling fingers, she tugs it on, accidentally knotting the laces. Then she races outside. Her mother is over at the car park. ‘Mum!’ she shouts. ‘It’s here.’ She waits to see her mother turn and mouth something at her, then rushes to join the team.
‘Where did you find it?’ Dominik asks, lips compressed.
She squirms. ‘It was on the floor in the change room.’
‘I had you in the starting line-up,’ he says, ‘but now you’ll have to wait till half-time.’
With a sour, downturned mouth, he plants himself in the middle of the field to supervise the warm-up. Audrey joins in, worried he will pick on her. Straight away, though, he starts yelling at the vodka crew, who are slow and grumpy and sloppy. For once, he doesn’t notice her—she can’t believe her enemies have saved her. But it doesn’t make up for the fact that she has to sit on the bench when she might have started on the field. The only consolation is that Katerina is off too and some of the others who drank vodka. Viktor’s on, though—strikers are always forgiven for everything.
When the team files onto the field, she slumps on a chair with the other benched players and picks at her fingers. A chill wind wraps around her. She jiggles her legs to keep warm. Wishes she could be out there. But it’s not a great game, anyway. The Flames are useless and her team doesn’t look much better. Too many boys drank vodka last night and Dominik can’t keep them all off or they wouldn’t have enough players.
At half-time, he explodes on the sidelines. ‘What’s wrong with you lot today?’ he bellows, jerking his arms in the air. ‘Half of you are playing like shit. You’re making the Flames look good and you’re dishonouring our club. If it wasn’t for Griffin and a few others, we’d be losing. The rest of you need to wake up and take a good long look at yourselves. We didn’t come all this way to be useless. Get back out there and pull your socks up or we might as well go home. It’s time to do it for your mates.’
Second half, he puts Audrey on the left wing. She throws herself into the game, desperate to prove herself. What if the talent scouts are watching?
She makes a good pass and Griffin smiles at her.
This gives her confidence. She thinks of kissing him, and then it happens—everything clicks. Her touch is sharp, she’s light on her feet, and the ball goes exactly where she wants it to. She keeps her head up, runs into space. Makes great passes. Even scores a goal. Dominik nods approvingly.
You are fast, she reminds herself. You have good skills. You can be a champion.
And most of the time she believes it.
Between games, Audrey slumps on a folding chair in the sun while the rest of her team mates cluster near the canteen, chatting and laughing and eating junk food.
‘Why don’t you go over with the others and have fun?’ her mother says.
‘It’s not fun eating crap, Mum,’ she says, pulling off a scab on her knee and making it bleed. ‘And I don’t want to be anywhere near Katerina.’
Her mum notices the oozing blood and produces a Band-Aid. ‘I don’t know why you do that,’ she murmurs.
‘Because it feels good.’ Audrey holds her mother’s gaze, feeling combative and hostile.
‘Why are you in such a bad mood?’ her mum asks. ‘You played really well. I thought you’d be happy.’
‘Happy about starting on the bench?’ Audrey says sarcastically.
Her mother gives her a look. ‘Whose fault was that?’
Audrey fiddles with the Band-Aid and watches as Griffin buys something at the canteen then saunters across the field towards her.
‘Hey, Audrey,’ he says, then to her mum. ‘Hi, Mrs Woodford.’
‘Hello Griffin,’ her mother says. ‘You’ve been starring today.’
Audrey watches him scuff at the ground with his boots, digging up bits of grass with his studs.
‘Audrey played well too,’ he says.
‘That’s what I’ve been telling her, but she won’t listen to me.’
‘Want some chips?’ Griffin asks, holding a bag out to Audrey.
‘No, thanks. I’m not hungry.’
‘You need to eat something or you won’t have energy for the next game.’
She squints up at him. ‘Chips aren’t food.’
He laughs. ‘Come and get an egg and bacon roll then. Or a sausage.’
‘I hate sausages. I had enough of them last night.’
‘How about a jelly snake? A killer python?’
‘I might get one of those,’ she says. ‘I feel like killing someone.’
His smile widens and she can’t help smiling too.
‘I’ll buy you one,’ he says.
He reaches a hand and hauls her up out of her chair. But she lets go quickly, because her mother’s watching and she doesn’t want to make it obvious.
Audrey has a bad feeling about playing the Bears. It began last night with Braedon’s taunts. And it worsens now, when she sees Cody and Santos arguing on the sideline.
‘Parents from different teams have to stand separate,’ Cody is saying.
‘Relax, buddy.’ Santos folds his arms across his chest. ‘People can stand where they like. It’s kids’ football. Just a game.’ Funny he should say that when he always acts like someone’s died whenever the Minotaurs lose.
‘You’re the one who’s uptight,’ Cody says.
‘No, I’m not,’ Santos grins. ‘I’m chill … and your lot’s over there anyway.’ He points. ‘Look at them. Bunch of clowns!’
Down the line, there’s a group of Bears parents all decked out in red. The mums look like American pompom girls. And Uncle Darren is there too, in a red Bears jersey and beanie. Audrey can’t believe it. Even Freya is dressed up: red ribbons in her high pigtails, tassels made of crimson tinsel. But not Aunty Claire. She’s off to one side, keeping her distance, even though she must have helped Freya get ready.
Uncle Darren sees Cody and calls out. ‘Hey, Cody! Come over here with the cheer squad.’
Cody goes, but Audrey still feels tense.
When it’s time for the two teams to line up on the field, Griffin wins the toss and chooses to kick off. Then the players have to walk past each other, shaking hands. Audrey hates this bit, because there’s always someone who acts like girls are toxic and makes a fuss about touching her, which is ridiculous when it’s boys who don’t wash their hands after the toilet.
Her bad feeling gets worse when Viktor and Braedon refuse to shake hands.
As soon as the whistle blows, Braedon starts doing his usual thing of crashing into people and arguing with the ref. Audrey keeps out of the way, but she’s rattled. When the ball lands nearby, she glances around to see if it’s safe to go after it. Viktor barges through so she hangs back. If her dad was here, he would say she wasn’t being assertive enough. But you have to be careful when you’re playing with boys. You have to arrive just a little bit late to the ball so you don’t get smashed in a tackle.
Viktor finds space and looks like he might score when he’s chopped down by Braedon. The ref gives Viktor a free kick, but from then on it’s as if Braedon has been injected with dynamite. He goes ballistic, hurtling around the field and challenging everyone. Audrey is glad when he cops a yellow card. Viktor laughs at him, then he and Braedon chest up against each other until the ref threatens to send them both off.
At half-time, Audrey sucks on an orange while Dominik goes through his pep talk.
When the game restarts, she notices two dark-haired men in blue tracksuits standing at the edge of the field. They look important. Serious. And something about them makes her think they might be talent scouts. The way they narrow their eyes and lean towards each other, nodding whenever a player does something good.
She tries to catch Griffin’s eye, but he’s focused on the game, and maybe she should be too, instead of staring at the two men; if she stuffs up now, that would be awful.
Griffin drops the ball at Alex’s feet, perfectly timed. Alex passes back and Griffin takes off, moving the ball through the field like it’s part of his body. It’s so good, so tidy, Audrey almost stops breathing. If only she could be like him. How does he do it?
‘Here!’ yells Viktor, running through the centre.
Griffin dribbles past him, making it look easy, dodging everyone. Then it’s just him and the Bears goalie. He dances into position, all fluid motion, and slams the ball into the net, sliding it under the goalie who flings himself on the ground and kicks the dirt in disgust.
Audrey stops, stunned. She turns to look at the talent scouts. They’re watching Griffin and talking to each other excitedly.
The futility of it all lands inside her like a brick. Why didn’t she see it before? She’s playing really well, but it’s only special players like Griffin who get noticed. Naturals. Not Braedon. Not Alex. Not even Viktor. And definitely not her. Griffin is the only one of them who might play for Australia.
The game goes on but she doesn’t feel like playing. Disappointment hangs over her like a cloud. Her parents had such high hopes, and they’ve done so much for her, but the talent scouts haven’t even noticed her. She wishes she could get injured so she could go off.
And that’s when it happens—when she’s mooching and feeling sorry for herself and not even watching. She hears a loud pop and a despairing cry and whirls to see Alex and Braedon in a tangle on the ground, right in front of the goal. Braedon crawls free, but Alex is grimacing and clutching his knee.
‘Penalty!’ the ref shouts.
Audrey takes no notice. She runs to Alex, sees the pain in his eyes, the shock of it all. Then Dominik is there. Her mother. The rest of the team, shuffling their feet and looking shaken.
The St John Ambulance first aiders arrive and carry Alex off on a stretcher. Audrey wants to go with him, but the team needs her. She’s scared for Alex, yet she has to step into the gap he left behind on the field. She’s better than him. And she knows she can do it. She won’t let him down.
‘Who’s going to take the penalty?’ the ref asks.
‘Me,’ Viktor says, moving forward.
‘Audrey should take it,’ Griffin says. ‘For her brother.’
There’s a moment of silence.
Gobsmacked, Audrey stares at him. She glances at Dominik and he nods. ‘I agree.’
Viktor glares at her. ‘You better not miss!’
She looks to Alex who is sitting on a chair by the sideline with a bag of ice on his knee. They lock eyes and he nods. His face is pinched and pale. Audrey feels for him. That loud pop means it was no ordinary knee twist. He’s trying to look brave, but she can tell from his tight mouth and grimace that he’s close to tears.
‘Okay,’ she says. ‘I’ll do it.’
The ref sets the ball on the penalty spot and walks over to discuss the rules with the Bears goalie.
Audrey gets in position, stomach fluttering. Where should she aim? Bottom left corner? She’s practised so many times before with her dad and Alex down at the oval. But this is different. This is the real thing. She can’t believe they’re letting her do it.
The ref stands to her left, just outside the penalty box, raises his arm and pips his whistle.
You can do this, she tells herself.
She scopes the goal, trying to ignore the goalie jumping up and down on the line. Then she sucks in a breath, rises on her toes and starts her run-up. One, two, three strides. Her boot meets the ball and she follows through, just like Griffin taught her.
The goalie launches sideways but the ball rockets past him, snagging into the back of the net. The goalie is on the ground, grovelling.
Elation busts inside her. She sees Alex’s smile. Hears Griffin’s triumphant shout. Laughs, as the team piles on top of her.
What about the talent scouts?
She turns to see if they noticed, but they’ve only got eyes for Griffin.
They beat the Bears, win the next two games, finish on top of the ladder, and take out the tournament.
At the presentation, Dominik can’t stop grinning. He beams as the Bears file off the clubhouse verandah after accepting their second-place medals. ‘Minotaurs, go shake hands with the Runners Up,’ he urges. ‘Win with honour, lose with dignity.’
Yeah, right, Audrey thinks. What about all the times he’s gone off at them when they’ve lost? Easy to be gracious when you win. Not so easy when you lose.
She steps forward with the rest of the team to shake hands with the Bears while all the parents clap loudly. They’re the shortest, most grudging handshakes she has ever experienced. The Bears, including Tommy, drop their heads and look miserable. Braedon and Viktor still refuse to shake hands.
Then it’s time to receive her medal with the Minotaurs. She almost cries when Alex limps up too, and the whole team flocks around him, cheering.
‘Sorry about your knee,’ she whispers, lining up beside him on the verandah.
He nods and his eyes moisten.
When the tournament president hangs a medal around her neck, Audrey knows she should be excited, but she doesn’t feel anything. Not even when Griffin accepts the silver cup on behalf of the team and raises it in the air. She joins them, crowding around him while the parents shout and cheer. But her smile is fake and her face feels like plastic. She feels sick about Alex’s leg, and the fact that the talent scouts didn’t notice her—there’s only one person they would have seen.
After the presentation, there’s a photo session. First, the team shots: one with Griffin holding the cup, then another with Dominik in the middle of all the players, hugging the cup to his chest. Then everybody wants a photo of themselves holding the cup. Audrey hangs back. What’s the point when she doesn’t even feel like celebrating?
Santos takes photos of Viktor from every possible angle until Audrey is sick of the whole thing. She doesn’t want a photo. She just wants to pack up and start the drive home. But Griffin snatches the cup from Viktor and thrusts it into her hands.
‘I did warn you,’ Alex snickers.
‘I was spewing all night,’ Viktor moans. ‘How am I going to play?’
‘Badly.’
‘If I’m sick, who’s going to score goals?’
‘Griffin, obviously,’ Audrey says.
Viktor belches and hurries from the room, the stench of vomit wafting around him. It makes Audrey’s stomach cramp in unwanted sympathy. She dumps her bag and heads to the girls’ loos. When she returns, the room is packed with boys. Her eyes flit to Griffin. He smiles when he sees her.
She pushes into the room and hunts for her bag, finds it on the floor, contents scattered everywhere. ‘What happened to my bag?’ she gripes. ‘Whoever knocked it down could’ve picked it up again.’ She squats on the concrete and rakes her things together, clears some bench space so she can sit and put her boots on.
Problem is, she can only find one boot. She rummages around in her bag. But the other boot isn’t there.
Now panic strikes. She has to find it before Dominik discovers it’s missing. She scours the room, grovelling on the floor, dodging legs, scrabbling under benches, beneath discarded clothes, but she can’t find it anywhere.
‘What the fuck are you doing?’ Viktor snarls.
‘Looking for my boot. Have you seen it?’
He raises his eyebrows. ‘Course not. Why are you always losing things?’
Audrey is wondering the same thing. She used to be organised, but lately she’s lost the plot. Away with the fairies, her mother would say. Maybe it’s because her mind is on other things.
She keeps searching.
‘Has anyone seen Audrey’s boot?’ Alex asks, frowning at the others and joining her to look for it.
Nobody says anything, and her boot is nowhere.
Then she’s out of time.
Dominik appears in the doorway. ‘Cut the noise, guys. I can’t hear myself think. Time to listen up.’
Audrey slinks over to him and asks if she can go and get something from the car.
His face warps into a frown. ‘Not now. I’m about to read out the starting list and I’ve got some important announcements to make.’ He turns to face the team, sullen. ‘I’ve heard some of you were drinking last night and I’m not happy about it. In fact, I’m disgusted by the lack of professionalism. This is not the pathway to the top. You’ve let the team and your parents down. And it’s not what we expect in our elite academy. I know who the ringleader was and so I’m making some changes. Griffin’s the new team captain.’
There’s a brief silence in which everyone looks at Viktor, whose face is dark as a thunderstorm.
Griffin glows, and Audrey’s pleased for him. But she has to go and look for her boot—she won’t be able to play without it—which means she has to tell Dominik that it’s missing.
‘How can you lose a boot?’ he snorts, flicking a dismissive hand at her. ‘Go on. Hurry up and find it.’
Beside him, Carmen gives Audrey a condescending look.
Tears scratching behind her eyes, she hobbles outside in one boot and casts around for her mother. There she is: at the canteen with Aunty Claire. At least she’s not talking to Miles. She hastens over, her sock soaked within a few strides on the damp ground.
Her mother is livid. ‘What the hell, Audrey! All you had to do was pack your bag! Just one thing.’
‘Sorry, Mum. Can I have the keys so I can go check the car?’
Her mother tosses the keys at her and Audrey hop-skips across to the car park in her filthy wet sock, opens the car, crawls around inside. The boot isn’t there. Her stomach twists. Maybe she left it back at the caravan park.
She returns the keys to her mother, whose angry eyes scald her. ‘Not there?’
‘No.’
‘So now you’re going to ask me to go back to the chalet?’
‘Please?’ Audrey begs. ‘I’m really sorry.’
Her mother stalks off while Audrey zooms back to the change rooms to check one more time. She shoves past the team on their way out, cringing at the judgement in their eyes. Except Griffin, who nods at her.
She scans the room frantically. Gear all over the benches and floor: clothes, bags, jackets, runners, spare socks. And there’s her boot, peeping from beneath a pair of tracksuit pants under a bench. How did she miss it before? Has someone got it in for her?
With fumbling fingers, she tugs it on, accidentally knotting the laces. Then she races outside. Her mother is over at the car park. ‘Mum!’ she shouts. ‘It’s here.’ She waits to see her mother turn and mouth something at her, then rushes to join the team.
‘Where did you find it?’ Dominik asks, lips compressed.
She squirms. ‘It was on the floor in the change room.’
‘I had you in the starting line-up,’ he says, ‘but now you’ll have to wait till half-time.’
With a sour, downturned mouth, he plants himself in the middle of the field to supervise the warm-up. Audrey joins in, worried he will pick on her. Straight away, though, he starts yelling at the vodka crew, who are slow and grumpy and sloppy. For once, he doesn’t notice her—she can’t believe her enemies have saved her. But it doesn’t make up for the fact that she has to sit on the bench when she might have started on the field. The only consolation is that Katerina is off too and some of the others who drank vodka. Viktor’s on, though—strikers are always forgiven for everything.
When the team files onto the field, she slumps on a chair with the other benched players and picks at her fingers. A chill wind wraps around her. She jiggles her legs to keep warm. Wishes she could be out there. But it’s not a great game, anyway. The Flames are useless and her team doesn’t look much better. Too many boys drank vodka last night and Dominik can’t keep them all off or they wouldn’t have enough players.
At half-time, he explodes on the sidelines. ‘What’s wrong with you lot today?’ he bellows, jerking his arms in the air. ‘Half of you are playing like shit. You’re making the Flames look good and you’re dishonouring our club. If it wasn’t for Griffin and a few others, we’d be losing. The rest of you need to wake up and take a good long look at yourselves. We didn’t come all this way to be useless. Get back out there and pull your socks up or we might as well go home. It’s time to do it for your mates.’
Second half, he puts Audrey on the left wing. She throws herself into the game, desperate to prove herself. What if the talent scouts are watching?
She makes a good pass and Griffin smiles at her.
This gives her confidence. She thinks of kissing him, and then it happens—everything clicks. Her touch is sharp, she’s light on her feet, and the ball goes exactly where she wants it to. She keeps her head up, runs into space. Makes great passes. Even scores a goal. Dominik nods approvingly.
You are fast, she reminds herself. You have good skills. You can be a champion.
And most of the time she believes it.
Between games, Audrey slumps on a folding chair in the sun while the rest of her team mates cluster near the canteen, chatting and laughing and eating junk food.
‘Why don’t you go over with the others and have fun?’ her mother says.
‘It’s not fun eating crap, Mum,’ she says, pulling off a scab on her knee and making it bleed. ‘And I don’t want to be anywhere near Katerina.’
Her mum notices the oozing blood and produces a Band-Aid. ‘I don’t know why you do that,’ she murmurs.
‘Because it feels good.’ Audrey holds her mother’s gaze, feeling combative and hostile.
‘Why are you in such a bad mood?’ her mum asks. ‘You played really well. I thought you’d be happy.’
‘Happy about starting on the bench?’ Audrey says sarcastically.
Her mother gives her a look. ‘Whose fault was that?’
Audrey fiddles with the Band-Aid and watches as Griffin buys something at the canteen then saunters across the field towards her.
‘Hey, Audrey,’ he says, then to her mum. ‘Hi, Mrs Woodford.’
‘Hello Griffin,’ her mother says. ‘You’ve been starring today.’
Audrey watches him scuff at the ground with his boots, digging up bits of grass with his studs.
‘Audrey played well too,’ he says.
‘That’s what I’ve been telling her, but she won’t listen to me.’
‘Want some chips?’ Griffin asks, holding a bag out to Audrey.
‘No, thanks. I’m not hungry.’
‘You need to eat something or you won’t have energy for the next game.’
She squints up at him. ‘Chips aren’t food.’
He laughs. ‘Come and get an egg and bacon roll then. Or a sausage.’
‘I hate sausages. I had enough of them last night.’
‘How about a jelly snake? A killer python?’
‘I might get one of those,’ she says. ‘I feel like killing someone.’
His smile widens and she can’t help smiling too.
‘I’ll buy you one,’ he says.
He reaches a hand and hauls her up out of her chair. But she lets go quickly, because her mother’s watching and she doesn’t want to make it obvious.
Audrey has a bad feeling about playing the Bears. It began last night with Braedon’s taunts. And it worsens now, when she sees Cody and Santos arguing on the sideline.
‘Parents from different teams have to stand separate,’ Cody is saying.
‘Relax, buddy.’ Santos folds his arms across his chest. ‘People can stand where they like. It’s kids’ football. Just a game.’ Funny he should say that when he always acts like someone’s died whenever the Minotaurs lose.
‘You’re the one who’s uptight,’ Cody says.
‘No, I’m not,’ Santos grins. ‘I’m chill … and your lot’s over there anyway.’ He points. ‘Look at them. Bunch of clowns!’
Down the line, there’s a group of Bears parents all decked out in red. The mums look like American pompom girls. And Uncle Darren is there too, in a red Bears jersey and beanie. Audrey can’t believe it. Even Freya is dressed up: red ribbons in her high pigtails, tassels made of crimson tinsel. But not Aunty Claire. She’s off to one side, keeping her distance, even though she must have helped Freya get ready.
Uncle Darren sees Cody and calls out. ‘Hey, Cody! Come over here with the cheer squad.’
Cody goes, but Audrey still feels tense.
When it’s time for the two teams to line up on the field, Griffin wins the toss and chooses to kick off. Then the players have to walk past each other, shaking hands. Audrey hates this bit, because there’s always someone who acts like girls are toxic and makes a fuss about touching her, which is ridiculous when it’s boys who don’t wash their hands after the toilet.
Her bad feeling gets worse when Viktor and Braedon refuse to shake hands.
As soon as the whistle blows, Braedon starts doing his usual thing of crashing into people and arguing with the ref. Audrey keeps out of the way, but she’s rattled. When the ball lands nearby, she glances around to see if it’s safe to go after it. Viktor barges through so she hangs back. If her dad was here, he would say she wasn’t being assertive enough. But you have to be careful when you’re playing with boys. You have to arrive just a little bit late to the ball so you don’t get smashed in a tackle.
Viktor finds space and looks like he might score when he’s chopped down by Braedon. The ref gives Viktor a free kick, but from then on it’s as if Braedon has been injected with dynamite. He goes ballistic, hurtling around the field and challenging everyone. Audrey is glad when he cops a yellow card. Viktor laughs at him, then he and Braedon chest up against each other until the ref threatens to send them both off.
At half-time, Audrey sucks on an orange while Dominik goes through his pep talk.
When the game restarts, she notices two dark-haired men in blue tracksuits standing at the edge of the field. They look important. Serious. And something about them makes her think they might be talent scouts. The way they narrow their eyes and lean towards each other, nodding whenever a player does something good.
She tries to catch Griffin’s eye, but he’s focused on the game, and maybe she should be too, instead of staring at the two men; if she stuffs up now, that would be awful.
Griffin drops the ball at Alex’s feet, perfectly timed. Alex passes back and Griffin takes off, moving the ball through the field like it’s part of his body. It’s so good, so tidy, Audrey almost stops breathing. If only she could be like him. How does he do it?
‘Here!’ yells Viktor, running through the centre.
Griffin dribbles past him, making it look easy, dodging everyone. Then it’s just him and the Bears goalie. He dances into position, all fluid motion, and slams the ball into the net, sliding it under the goalie who flings himself on the ground and kicks the dirt in disgust.
Audrey stops, stunned. She turns to look at the talent scouts. They’re watching Griffin and talking to each other excitedly.
The futility of it all lands inside her like a brick. Why didn’t she see it before? She’s playing really well, but it’s only special players like Griffin who get noticed. Naturals. Not Braedon. Not Alex. Not even Viktor. And definitely not her. Griffin is the only one of them who might play for Australia.
The game goes on but she doesn’t feel like playing. Disappointment hangs over her like a cloud. Her parents had such high hopes, and they’ve done so much for her, but the talent scouts haven’t even noticed her. She wishes she could get injured so she could go off.
And that’s when it happens—when she’s mooching and feeling sorry for herself and not even watching. She hears a loud pop and a despairing cry and whirls to see Alex and Braedon in a tangle on the ground, right in front of the goal. Braedon crawls free, but Alex is grimacing and clutching his knee.
‘Penalty!’ the ref shouts.
Audrey takes no notice. She runs to Alex, sees the pain in his eyes, the shock of it all. Then Dominik is there. Her mother. The rest of the team, shuffling their feet and looking shaken.
The St John Ambulance first aiders arrive and carry Alex off on a stretcher. Audrey wants to go with him, but the team needs her. She’s scared for Alex, yet she has to step into the gap he left behind on the field. She’s better than him. And she knows she can do it. She won’t let him down.
‘Who’s going to take the penalty?’ the ref asks.
‘Me,’ Viktor says, moving forward.
‘Audrey should take it,’ Griffin says. ‘For her brother.’
There’s a moment of silence.
Gobsmacked, Audrey stares at him. She glances at Dominik and he nods. ‘I agree.’
Viktor glares at her. ‘You better not miss!’
She looks to Alex who is sitting on a chair by the sideline with a bag of ice on his knee. They lock eyes and he nods. His face is pinched and pale. Audrey feels for him. That loud pop means it was no ordinary knee twist. He’s trying to look brave, but she can tell from his tight mouth and grimace that he’s close to tears.
‘Okay,’ she says. ‘I’ll do it.’
The ref sets the ball on the penalty spot and walks over to discuss the rules with the Bears goalie.
Audrey gets in position, stomach fluttering. Where should she aim? Bottom left corner? She’s practised so many times before with her dad and Alex down at the oval. But this is different. This is the real thing. She can’t believe they’re letting her do it.
The ref stands to her left, just outside the penalty box, raises his arm and pips his whistle.
You can do this, she tells herself.
She scopes the goal, trying to ignore the goalie jumping up and down on the line. Then she sucks in a breath, rises on her toes and starts her run-up. One, two, three strides. Her boot meets the ball and she follows through, just like Griffin taught her.
The goalie launches sideways but the ball rockets past him, snagging into the back of the net. The goalie is on the ground, grovelling.
Elation busts inside her. She sees Alex’s smile. Hears Griffin’s triumphant shout. Laughs, as the team piles on top of her.
What about the talent scouts?
She turns to see if they noticed, but they’ve only got eyes for Griffin.
They beat the Bears, win the next two games, finish on top of the ladder, and take out the tournament.
At the presentation, Dominik can’t stop grinning. He beams as the Bears file off the clubhouse verandah after accepting their second-place medals. ‘Minotaurs, go shake hands with the Runners Up,’ he urges. ‘Win with honour, lose with dignity.’
Yeah, right, Audrey thinks. What about all the times he’s gone off at them when they’ve lost? Easy to be gracious when you win. Not so easy when you lose.
She steps forward with the rest of the team to shake hands with the Bears while all the parents clap loudly. They’re the shortest, most grudging handshakes she has ever experienced. The Bears, including Tommy, drop their heads and look miserable. Braedon and Viktor still refuse to shake hands.
Then it’s time to receive her medal with the Minotaurs. She almost cries when Alex limps up too, and the whole team flocks around him, cheering.
‘Sorry about your knee,’ she whispers, lining up beside him on the verandah.
He nods and his eyes moisten.
When the tournament president hangs a medal around her neck, Audrey knows she should be excited, but she doesn’t feel anything. Not even when Griffin accepts the silver cup on behalf of the team and raises it in the air. She joins them, crowding around him while the parents shout and cheer. But her smile is fake and her face feels like plastic. She feels sick about Alex’s leg, and the fact that the talent scouts didn’t notice her—there’s only one person they would have seen.
After the presentation, there’s a photo session. First, the team shots: one with Griffin holding the cup, then another with Dominik in the middle of all the players, hugging the cup to his chest. Then everybody wants a photo of themselves holding the cup. Audrey hangs back. What’s the point when she doesn’t even feel like celebrating?
Santos takes photos of Viktor from every possible angle until Audrey is sick of the whole thing. She doesn’t want a photo. She just wants to pack up and start the drive home. But Griffin snatches the cup from Viktor and thrusts it into her hands.
