Making the Team

by Scott Prince

  It used to be Mum and Dad who shared the secret. Now it’s only Mum and me. Poor Mum, she still keeps the bath filled.

  The problem is – water isn’t always around to save me when I turn into the man-creature. Having a shower doesn’t help. I have to be totally submerged. To help me, Mum has taught me different ways to control my anger. Sometimes I close my eyes and think of being in Nanna’s kitchen. I pretend I can smell the lemon chicken cooking. Another thing that helps is counting to ten and taking deep breaths. My heart beats slower and I am able to calm down quickly.

  But today is different. When I see the blood gushing down my leg, I realise that no amount of happy thoughts or deep breaths will help me.

  Chapter 10

  The Secret Comes Out

  I look for somewhere to hide. Underneath the jetty it’s dark. I run away from the bully and hide under the jetty. Too late. My vision goes blurry and the muscles in my arms start to explode. The buttons on my new school shirt pop as my chest expands. My head hits the top of the jetty as I grow. “Please don’t let anybody see me!” I think. Then Jared Knutz starts to walk over.

  “Where’s the tough guy?” he says, peering through the shadows. He spots my feet at the dark end of the jetty. My toes have popped out of the end of my shoes. He scoots over the rocks. Lucky it’s a long jetty. He’s out of shape and I can hear him puffing. Good for me. Then I remember that I don’t look like me anymore. Bad for me.

  I think really hard for a way to get out of this situation but I can’t. The more I think, the more my hands start to shake. He’s much closer now. The rocks clunk together under the weight of his body. I can’t let him see me like this. The only thing I can do is crouch down low like a kangaroo about to take off.

  “I’m going to teach you a lesson kid,” he teases. “Come out now or I’ll make you pay really bad!”

  “No, I’ll make you pay!” my voice is a growl. I emerge from the shadows and before Jared realises what I’ve turned into, I explode out of my kangaroo position. He steps backwards, stumbling on a rock. Before he sees what I look like, I grab him by the shoulders. I give him a taste of his own medicine. I lift him off the ground, like he did to the Kiwi kid. With all my might, I toss him forward, my arms exploding outwards. His gang watch him fly from under the jetty and go splashing face first into the water.

  They don’t know what has happened and it looks like they don’t want to find out. They run for their lives and leave Jared splashing around in a panic. The way he carries on, you’d reckon he’s being attacked by a croc! When Jared’s feet find the sand, he sprints out of the water, his wet clothes clinging to his body. Puddles of water follow him down the street as he tries to catch up to his gang.

  I jump into the water before anyone sees me. My body sizzles like a hot pan dipped into a sink of water. I morph back to an eleven-year-old boy again. There is only one problem. The Kiwi kid has seen everything.

  Mum went wild when she saw my ripped clothes and the cut on my knee. I told her about Jared the bully. She was happy I stuck up for the Kiwi fella, but she was cranky about the uniform. Luckily she had a spare one. She must have known that the curse might strike. She just didn’t expect it to happen so soon.

  Chapter 11

  Proper Introduction

  The bell goes for the start of school the next day. When I sit down, the light catches some old words scratched into the top of my desk. I look closer. “Skool sux”, it says. School must have sucked for that poor kid if they couldn’t spell school or sucks. Anyway, I’m still thinking about the bad speller when the Kiwi kid sits down next to me.

  He opens his desk and you wouldn’t believe it. There’s a bundle of rugby league trading cards in his tray! They’re good ones too. Like a Johnathan Thurston signature gold card and a Jarryd Hayne phenomenon diamond card. They must be worth heaps. Next to them is a chocolate bar with a bite out of it. It has pink marshmallow on the inside and chocolate on the outside. It says “Pinky” on the wrapper.

  He sees me looking at the Johnathan Thurston card, pulls it out of the pack and slaps it on my desk. It covers “skool sux’” Well, not completely but most of it. I look at the picture of JT, throwing a tricky little flick pass. “It’s yours,” he says. “Thanks for yesterday, bro. You were mean as!”

  My eyes pop out of my head. JT is the deadliest player! This card is so rare. I’ve never seen it before.

  Before I can say thanks, he sticks out his hand.

  “I’m Justice. Justice Jones.”

  “Dylan Conlan,” I say, shaking his hand.

  “You were awesome yesterday,” says Justice. “You looked like some type of monster or something, bro!”

  “Ssssh!” I say. “We can talk about it, but not here.”

  “OK, whatever you say, bro,” Justice shrugs and starts eating his Pinky.

  Chapter 12

  Top of the Class

  Mr Barwick comes in wearing another Broncos shirt. Yesterday it was mainly maroon, today it’s mainly yellow. He must really love the Broncos eh. We start the day with ten maths mentals. There is a fast finisher activity at the bottom of the whiteboard. The question says, “I am playing New Super Mario Brothers. If I am on level 1-3 and I want to get to World 5, how many more levels do I need to complete?”

  Justice is deadly at maths. He finishes the maths mentals first and raises his hand.

  “Yes Justice, what’s the matter?” asks Mr Barwick.

  “Is this a trick question?” asks Justice.

  “No,” says Mr Barwick.

  “There is a cheat in that level,” explains Justice. “If you get on Yoshi’s back and find the entrance to the hidden pipe, a cannon will shoot you straight across to World 5.”

  Mr Barwick slips a DS out of his back pocket and starts playing it while walking around pretending to check out our work. But we all know he’s gammin’. Mr Barwick loves his games.

  “Cool trick, thanks Justice! You and someone of your choice can have an early mark today,” he says.

  “Sweet as! I choose Dylan,” says Justice, drumming his pencil on the desk. We high-five each other. Good win today.

  Chapter 13

  Best Mates

  As soon as the bell goes, Justice and I are out the gate. The wind is howling. My hair is blowing in my face. Justice’s hair is still spiky from all his hair wax. It’s too windy for fishing, so we go down to the park and kick the footy instead.

  “So where you from?” asks Justice in between kicks.

  “The bush,” I say. “It’s a long drive from here.” That’s what Mum says anyway. We kick the ball for a while without saying anything.

  “What about you?” I finally ask.

  “Wellington.” Justice has to shout over the wind. “That’s the capital of New Zealand you know.”

  “Yeah I know,” I say.

  “I’m Maori,” says Justice.

  “Yeah I know.”

  “You’re black too,” says Justice.

  “Yeah I know,” I say. Justice looks confused.

  “Well, what are you then?” he asks.

  “I’m Australian. I’m the first Australian. I’m Aboriginal,”

  I explain.

  “Oh, you’re a Murri then, bro?” he grins.

  “Yeah,” I say.

  “Then why didn’t you say so?” asks Justice.

  I don’t feel like explaining so I put the bomb up. Justice starts yelling like a commentator on the TV: “The ball’s gone high in the air. Kevin Locke is under it, Matty Bowen is chasing down the kick, but Locke catches it. He steps, he swerves! He swivels! No one can catch this handsome man! He goes all the waaaay! Warriors win the grand final!” He slaps his knees and his tongue is hanging out like a thirsty dog, doing the haka. He’s carrying on like a dill, blowing pretend kisses to the crowd.

  Exhausted, we drop to the ground.

  When I look over at Justice, I can see he looks a bit like me. We’re both skinny fellas, same height, but from different people. He’s
proud to be Maori and I’m proud to be Aboriginal.

  The day has been a good one and I’m hanging out with a new friend. We have a special connection now. It feels right to trust him with my secret. But only if he promises to keep his gob shut.

  Chapter 14

  Roast Pork and Fluffy

  Justice’s house is on the way back to my house. He wants me to come in and meet his mum and dad. As he opens the door, a big black dog called Fluffy jumps on us and nearly knocks us over. Justice gives Fluffy a cuddle and sends him outside. A voice comes from the kitchen. It’s Justice’s mum.

  “Where have you been, son? It was your turn to bring in the washing!”

  Justice leads me into the kitchen and puts his hand in a box of choc-chip cookies. He gives me a couple. “Sorry Mum, I was kicking the footy with my new friend. His name is Johnathan Thurston, he plays for the Cowboys.” Justice gives me a wink.

  “Don’t you tell silly tales, son,” says his mum. She looks over at me. “What’s your name then?”

  “Dylan,” I say.

  “You got a surname?” she says.

  “Conlan,” I say.

  “Well Dylan Conlan, if you can help my boy bring the washing in, you can stay for dinner. We’re having roast pork,” she says.

  “Deadly”, I think.

  I help Justice with the washing and then ring Mum and tell her I’m staying for dinner.

  I sit down with Justice’s family. There is me, Justice, his mum, dad, two little sisters, and his nanna. Justice’s dad is a builder and he tells us about the high-rise he’s working on. Justice takes the sweet potato off his plate on the sly and passes it under the table to Fluffy.

  “Aue! Justice Jones did you just give your kumara to the dog?”

  “Hey Fluffy you stinker, step away from the kumara!” Justice says, trying to pull the wool over his mum’s eyes.

  “I didn’t come down in the last shower, boy. You can wash up all by yourself while I take Dylan home,” she says.

  “Oh, not even Mum!” he says, shamed out.

  “Don’t you talk back to your mother, son or you’ll be washing up for a month!” says his dad. Justice keeps his mouth shut and then gives me another wink. A weird noise comes from under the table, followed by a rotten smell.

  Now I know how Fluffy got his name. Wow.

  Chapter 15

  Bus Ride from Hell

  When I’m doing my homework one night I remember a note that Mr Barwick handed out to the class. I pull it out of my Cowboys schoolbag and give it to Mum.

  “Sorry Mum, I forgot to give you this,” I say. It’s a permission form for an excursion.

  “What? Tomorrow?” she asks. “Good on ya, Dylan!” I try not to look at her and she gives me the evil eye. Tomorrow Mr Barwick is taking us to the Brisbane Broncos Training Day. There are other classes going as well, but we’re the only one from grade six. I can’t wait; I’ve only ever seen the stadium on the TV. Mum signs the form and gives me a talk about behaviour.

  “You stay out of trouble and keep your nose clean. Don’t go carrying on like a halfwit.” I know she means the curse when she talks like this.

  The next morning Mum takes me to school. Justice is waiting for me at the gate. When we get to class, Mr Barwick is getting ready for the excursion. He’s wearing his Broncos jersey today. It has been autographed by all the players. I wonder if he’s wearing Broncos undies as well.

  He spots us. “Can you boys take the lunch boxes and first-aid kit down to the bus?” He looks busy so we help. At the bus stop, we look for the minibus with our name in the window. We load the lunches and first-aid kit on board.

  Mr Barwick meets us at the minibus with the rest of the class. Everyone takes a seat and then Mr Barwick blows his whistle. He waits until we’re quiet, “Boys and girls, the good news is that we are seeing the Broncos at Broncos Stadium today!” The kids go nuts. With all the excitement, a few lunch sandwiches go flying through the air. “The bad news is that the bus driver is sick and I will be driving the bus!” Everyone looks around in panic. The smiles on their faces are quickly replaced with looks of fear and dread. I hope he knows he’s not driving Mario Kart.

  Mr Barwick starts the engine and the bus jolts out of the bus stop and heads for the traffic island knocking down a KEEP LEFT sign. The students are swaying from side to side as the bus swerves across the road. Mr Barwick runs red lights and takes up two lanes on the highway. One of the girls gets sick and turns purple in the face and spews into her schoolbag. Angry truck drivers wave their fists at Mr Barwick for cutting them off. When we arrive at Broncos Stadium, the class cheers. I cheer the loudest. Not because we’re at the Broncos but because soon we’ll get off the bus.

  As Mr Barwick tries to reverse park, a loud crunching noise comes from the rear. We all run over to the window and see a shiny black 4WD being squashed by the bus. Scott Prince is watching as the front bumper of his car is dragged along and sparks are coming out. He bangs on the back of the bus, trying to get it to stop, but Mr Barwick can’t hear him. He’s singing along to Katy Perry’s “Fireworks” on the wireless … shame job!

  Chapter 16

  The Return of the Bully

  All the school kids are sitting in the grandstand watching their heroes practise tackling. Mr Barwick is down the front getting photos with him and the players before training begins. Scott Prince is missing. He’s talking to the tow-truck driver.

  A young lady wearing a Broncos jacket is at the front of the grandstand with a microphone. She’s pretty. Justice spots her before I do. He’s already fixing up his hair. He’s big-noting himself in front of the girls, thinking he’s the man. The lady starts to talk into the microphone. “Good morning students and teachers, welcome to the home of the Broncos.”

  “Good morning Miss …” everyone mumbles. We don’t know her name.

  “My name is Chloe, you can just call me Chloe,” she smiles.

  “Good morning Chloe,” we all say together.

  Justice stands up and sings it. He sounds something like, “Gooood Morniiiing Chloeee.” He’s trying to sound like Jay-Z. She hears him, but is not impressed.

  “Very shortly you will get to train with the Broncos,” says Chloe.

  “Can we get autographs?” Mr Barwick interrupts. Chloe ignores him and moves on. She asks us all to line up near the gate. Everyone is excited. We sound like a mob of noisy galahs as we push to get to the front of the line. Before we walk down the steps, Justice starts doing leg stretches. He’s bending down and touching his toes with his bottom in the air.

  “What are you doing, man?” I ask him.

  “Stretching my legs, mate,” he says. “I’m gonna beat Josh Hoffman in a race!”

  “Pull your head in,” I laugh.

  As we move down the steps, we see a group of boys looking at us. It’s Jared Knutz and his gang.

  “Oi, look! There’s Jared the dirty, stinky bully!” Justice says, pointing at them.

  “Don’t point! Just ignore them!” I say. But it’s too late. Jared walks towards us and stops. He smiles at me. It’s not a nice smile, it’s an evil smile. I’m dead meat.

  “Well, if it isn’t the new kid and Justice Jock-Strap,” he mocks. All the other boys laugh. “I don’t know what kind of trick you played on me down by the jetty, but you got lucky!” he snarls.

  “Look, just leave us alone. We don’t want any trouble today,” I say.

  Jared laughs and shakes his head. “Oh, OK then. We don’t want to give you any trouble, do we, boys?” he says, looking over at his mates. Before I know it, Jared shoves me. I trip over his outstretched leg and go rolling down the steps of the grandstand. I can’t stop. I crash and smash my way down to the bottom of the stairs.

  Chapter 17

  No Control

  The anger is bubbling up inside me. Everyone is watching. I see Mr Barwick put down his camera and start running over with his first-aid kit. My hands start to shake and my eyes start to flicker. I’ve got to hide.<
br />
  I pick myself up and dash under the grandstand. There’s a storeroom door to my left. I open it and run inside, locking it behind me. My body starts to burn. “Aaagggh!” I scream. My chest muscles erupt and my biceps expand. My tummy muscles turn into a six-pack. Every part of me is bigger and stronger. My toes pop out of my shoes again. My uniform rips apart and my pants split. Mum is going to kill me!

  The curse has struck again.

  Luckily, there is a training bag in the corner. I open it up to find a Broncos training shirt and shorts. I pull them over my muscly body. They’re tight, but they’ll do.

  My first thought is to stay here, but there’s no water around to change me back. There’s no other option but to get out of here. Slowly I open the door and peek out. Training has started. The only exit is on the other side of the stadium. I’ll have to run across the field to get there.

  I run straight past my class, my legs flexing with muscle and speed. No one recognises me. Good. I continue across the field, I look back to see if Mr Barwick is watching when BANG! I crash into something. I look down to see the Broncos forwards Ben Hannant and Josh McGuire staring up at me. I’ve knocked them to the ground! “S-sorry,” I say and keep running.

  “Hey you! Wait! Come back!” yells Hannant. He can see I’m wearing a Broncos training uniform. I ignore him, but the Broncos coach – Coach Griffin – steps out in front of me with his hands on his hips, looking at me with squinted eyes. His cap sits crooked on his head and sweat drips from his forehead. I slow down and try to jog around him, but he steps in my way. I move to the left, and again, he won’t let me pass.