‘OK, teams. Outside now,’ said the instructor. ‘Team B will be the first attackers. Try to make a surprise attack on a member of Team A. Team A, your job is to deal with the surprise attack, using any of the moves we’ve learned in class. Remember, there is to be no violence and no hard contact. The attackers will only try to push, and the defenders will try to stop them. Are we clear?’
Everyone nodded. Patrick and Lola walked outside with the rest of their team.
‘Hey, who’s your friend?’ Patrick asked, pointing to Abbey. Lola noticed that he was spiking up his hair with his fingers.
‘I’ll tell you later,’ Lola said. ‘Right now, we should be preparing for –’
Just that second, Lisa jumped out of the bushes and pushed Patrick. He was totally unprepared and went down quickly.
‘Hey, I wasn’t ready!’ he complained.
But Lola wasn’t listening.
She got ready for an attack. She pivoted, using the Horse Stance to keep her steady.
Suddenly, Big Ben jumped out from behind a tree. His hands were coming towards her. But Lola was ready.
She grabbed him by the arm, and put her foot behind his leg.
She was winning!
Big Ben was going down.
But the next thing she knew, Lola had lost her balance. Big Ben was down, but Lola had tripped over him. She lunged forward. Her foot hit a tree stump. Her ankle twisted painfully.
Lola sat by the stump, holding her ankle. She squeezed her eyes closed, trying not to cry. Everyone stopped, and rushed over to her.
Lola heard Big Ben apologising.
Then she heard Will’s voice. ‘Go and get an ice-pack, Patrick. And some bandages. Run!’
Will crouched beside Lola. ‘Are you all right?’ he asked. His voice was full of concern.
The instructor ran over to them. He examined Lola’s ankle. ‘It’s OK, Will,’ he said. ‘It’s just a bad sprain. I’ll take care of Lola. You go back to the competition.’
Will shook his head. ‘I want to stay here,’ he said. ‘With my … well she is kind of my … sister,’ he said.
Lola looked at Will and attempted a smile.
Even though her ankle hurt pretty badly, part of her was happy. She knew now that she could trust Will when it really counted.
Afterwards, at the barbecue, Lola sat with her bandaged ankle up on a chair. Will, Patrick and Abbey had each brought a sausage over for her.
Now they were all coming towards her with cake. Patrick and Abbey were walking together. Lola grinned as Patrick ran his fingers through his hair … again!
‘How’s the hero?’ Rex asked, sitting beside her.
Lola laughed.‘What do you mean?’ she asked.
Rex leant in towards her. ‘Everyone’s talking about how you tripped Big Ben!’ he said. ‘Even the instructor can’t believe it.’
When they got home that night, Lola limped from the car, and just about fell onto the couch. She was full of sausages and cake. And she was completely exhausted.
Her eyelids grew heavy. She closed her eyes, and began drifting off to sleep. Then she felt a tap on her shoulder.
‘Hey, it’s six-thirty,’ Will said. ‘Isn’t it time for your lame show?’ He put his head on the armchair, and did the grasshopper leg waggle.
Lola switched on the TV.
The Neighbours song bounced around the room. Lola choked back a laugh. Will may have been upside down, but he was watching with her.
Lola smiled. Her team had lost the competition. And her ankle was really throbbing – but somehow, that didn’t matter.
Lola still felt like a winner.
Karate Kicks
published in 2013 by
Hardie Grant Egmont
Ground Floor, Building 1, 658 Church Street
Richmond, Victoria 3121, Australia
www.hardiegrantegmont.com.au
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A CiP record for this title is available from the National Library of Australia
eISBN: 9781743580271
Text copyright © 2006 Chrissie Perry
Illustration and design copyright © 2013 Hardie Grant Egmont
Illustration by Aki Fukuoka
Design by Michelle Mackintosh
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