by Felice Arena
‘You wanna play?’
Johnny handballed the football to Specky, who happily accepted his offer.
‘Good idea,’ exclaimed Cedric. ‘You boys have a kick and I’ll go and talk business with Specky’s old man.’
So, for the next hour, Specky played genuine outback footy – a friendly competition that turned out to be a non-stop, fast-paced game. At times, Specky found it difficult to even get a touch.
These guys are unbelievable, he thought.
As Specky watched the boys display their amazing skills, he wondered how they made the game look so easy. Playing football seemed to come so naturally. These kids were playing with such a free spirit that, when they kicked, marked and handballed, it was as if the football was just a natural extension of their bodies. Specky was absolutely gobsmacked.
Back home, people were impressed with his ability to leap high into the air and take spectacular marks but nearly every one of these young players could do exactly the same, if not better. There were mini versions of Michael Long and Andrew McLeod running all over the place. Specky couldn’t remember the last time he had enjoyed kicking the footy around so much. But he was glad that Booyong High didn’t have to play against these guys; he felt sure they would get thrashed.
Finally, Specky got a chance to show off his talent for the game. Dipper suddenly kicked the ball in his direction. The kick was a rainmaker, it hovered and floated for several seconds in the sunny sky. Specky, who hadn’t taken his eye off the ball, not even for a second, took one of his famous leaps. He stretched out his body completely and soared above the shoulders of Maurice, Roo and Johnny. With fingers well spread, he grabbed the ball firmly in his hands, taking a sensational specky. He fell to the dusty red soil with an almighty thud. The boys broke out in applause and cheered. Johnny offered his hand to Specky and helped him back up to his feet.
‘You’re a bloody good player,’ he said, grinning from ear to ear.
‘Well, you are too,’ replied Specky, sensing that this could be the start of a great friendship.
The boys decided to end the game and Specky and Johnny headed back to join their fathers.
‘Well, Specky, I’ll see you in Melbourne! Your old man is gonna show my art in his gallery,’ said Cedric, with a broad smile.
Specky could tell that his dad was thrilled.
‘But, I said the only reason I would show my paintings with his gallery,’ Cedric added, ‘is because he can’t be too bad with a footy-boy like you.’ Specky beamed at the compliment. ‘Anyway …’ Cedric continued, ‘I can tell you fellas are ready to go. You’ve got a long drive ahead. But before you go, I want to give you this, young Specky.’
Cedric reached into his pocket and pulled out a carved wooden football, about the size of a fifty-cent coin. It was painted with red, black, and yellow dots and hung loosely on a leather string. Cedric leaned forward and placed it over Specky’s head, around his neck.
‘Here, wear this with pride,’ he said. ‘It’s only a loan. You can give it back to me when I see you in Melbourne. Wear it as a sign of our shared passion for Aussie Rules.’
Specky was speechless, touched by Cedric’s unexpected generosity and kind words. He felt a bit embarrassed that he had nothing to give them in return. Suddenly he had a thought.
‘Wait a minute,’ he said, and ran back to the car. He returned, holding his football. ‘This is for you and Johnny,’ he said. ‘And you can keep it.’ It was a perfect way to end the best day of the trip.
Specky and his father said their goodbyes and began their return drive to Darwin.
‘That was extremely generous of you, giving away your football,’ said Specky’s dad, as they made their way onto the highway out of Katherine.
Specky shrugged, as if it was no big deal – even though he knew what his dad meant. His footy was his pride and joy, an extension of himself. Sometimes he even slept with it.
‘Well, I just wanted to give Johnny and Cedric something really cool, to remind them of our visit. You know, Johnny’s an awesome player! Maybe I can save for another footy – help out around the house or something?
This time, it was Specky who caught his father smiling proudly at him.
Three long hours later, Specky and his dad made it back to Darwin. The following morning, they were to catch their flight home.
What Specky didn’t realise as he watched the in-flight movies, was that something was waiting for him in Melbourne – something that would turn his world upside down.
6. back home
One of the best things about going on a big trip is returning home and telling your friends all about it.
Specky couldn’t wait to share his Northern Terrirory experience with Robbo and Danny at the game on Saturday.
‘Hey!’ he called out to them as he hopped out of his dad’s car, ready to play footy.
‘How was your trip?’ asked Robbo, on their way to the changing rooms.
‘It was fantastic. Unreal! We went to the Northern Territory. I got this close to a saltwater croc and I played footy with this kid who was so …’
Specky stopped talking, he realised suddenly that his mates didn’t seem all that interested in what he was saying. They both had worried looks on their faces, and their eyes darted all over the place, as if they were expecting someone else to appear.
‘You guys are acting weird. What’s wrong?’ Specky asked.
‘Nothing,’ snapped Robbo.
‘Well, that’s not exactly true,’ added Danny.
Robbo nudged him, as if to say, ‘Good one, big mouth.’
‘What? What’s going on?’ Specky was really curious to find out why his friends were behaving so strangely.
‘Well, you’re gonna find out sooner or later, I suppose,’ mumbled Robbo, taking a deep breath.
‘Find out what?’
Robbo continued. ‘A new kid started school this week, while you were away. And he plays footy.’
‘So?’ remarked Specky. ‘Is he playing on our team?’
‘Yep,’ said Danny. ‘And Miss Pate is gonna play him in your position today.’
Specky felt a bit hurt. He loved playing full-forward and the thought of someone taking his spot didn’t sit all that comfortably with him. But one thing that had been drilled into him, since he started playing football, was that it was a team game – the team was more important than just one player. Specky decided to put it out of his mind, and was determined to do the right thing by the rest of the boys. If Miss Pate wanted to try out other players at full-forward, he wasn’t going to sook about it.
‘You guys crack me up,’ he said, smiling, doing his best to cover his disappointment. ‘Worrying about how I’m gonna feel like a couple of grannies! But you don’t have to. It’s no big deal, really. Miss Pate is probably trying him out in full-forward because I missed training. I totally get that. She’ll probably test him in a number of positions over the next few weeks.’
Specky noticed that Robbo and Danny weren’t grinning along with him. They still looked as if there was something else troubling them.
‘What? What aren’t you telling me?’ asked Specky, again, now starting to wonder if he should be worried. ‘Is he a gun player or something?’
‘Yeah, he’s pretty good,’ replied Danny. ‘You should have seen him at training this week – he took some unreal marks.’
‘And he’s super fast and an amazing kick with both feet,’ added Robbo.
‘Well, that’s good for the team. Isn’t it?’ exclaimed Specky, wondering what the problem was.
‘Yeah it is,’ nodded Robbo. ‘But …’
Again, Robbo and Danny worriedly glanced at each other then back at Specky.
‘You know him,’ they said, in unison.
‘I do?’ asked Specky, perplexed. ‘Well, who is he?’
Just then, the boys looked directly past Specky and pointed.
Specky turned around to see a dark blue ute pulling into the parking lot of his school. The ute s
topped and the new kid hopped out, already dressed in his Booyong High footy gear.
‘No!’ gasped Specky. ‘No way. You’ve got to be kidding!’
It was Screamer Johnson.
With only a few minutes before the start of the Saturday-morning competition, the Booyong High Lions huddled around Coach Pate for her pre-game rev-up talk. This was an important moment, as it officially marked her first game as coach of the Lions. The team could tell she was a bit nervous. Most of the parents and other onlookers were hovering just a few metres behind her, watching to see if she was going to live up to Coach Pappas’s praise. And the team was listening carefully, especially a few boys, like Danny, who still felt a little uncomfortable about having a female coach.
But as far as Specky was concerned, Coach Pate could have been speaking Swahili. He was still coming to terms with the fact that Derek ‘Screamer’ Johnson, the kid who had ruined last year’s Grand Final, was now his team-mate.
‘He’s not as bad as you think,’ whispered Danny, keeping his eyes on the coach.
‘I can’t believe that you, especially you, would say that,’ hissed Specky. ‘Have you forgotten who he is? He picked on both of us, remember?’ Coach Pate continued to speak to the team.
‘I know, I know,’ he replied. ‘I couldn’t believe it either when he turned up at school on Monday. But he’s not like that any more. You should have seen him in class and at training. He cracked jokes and everything. He’s really nice to everyone. Especially me.’
Specky shook his head in disbelief and glanced over to catch Screamer smirking at him.
‘Run, run, and run! That’s all I ask,’ pleaded Coach Pate, who was now close to ending her motivational speech. ‘You’re an extremely fit team, so remember that. Make sure you’re first to the ball and –’
‘There shouldn’t be any excuses. You should slaughter this team,’ said a forceful voice, interrupting Coach Pate.
Specky looked up to see a man he didn’t recognise. He was rugged and fierce looking.
‘That’s Screamer’s dad,’ whispered Danny.
‘I should’ve guessed. Kind of scary looking, isn’t he?’ replied Specky.
‘He’s our new team manager.’
‘He’s what? How could he be team manager? And why?’
Specky was baffled once again. How can so many things change in one week? he thought.
‘Hey, you, kid!’
It was Screamer’s dad, glaring directly at Specky. Coach Pate looked annoyed; it was the second time he had interrupted her.
‘This team doesn’t need players who aren’t focused. Stop talking and listen to your coach,’ he growled.
Specky felt humiliated in front of his team-mates. He knew he shouldn’t have been whispering during the pre-game talk, but he didn’t deserve to be told off so harshly. He glanced over at his dad, who stepped forward in his defence.
‘That’s a little rough, don’t you think?’ he said, firmly, to Screamer’s dad.
‘No, I don’t. There isn’t any room for slackers on this team,’ Mr Johnson snapped back.
‘My son is not a slacker. And I don’t think you have the right to comment,’ said Specky’s dad, deeply offended by the accusation.
‘Yeah, well, I didn’t see him at training this week, and now he’s yapping his head off like some old woman.’
Suddenly, Coach Pate stepped in. Specky could tell she was especially angry about the ‘woman’ remark.
‘That’s enough. Please! This isn’t the time or place. We don’t need parents interrupting and upsetting the team. Now, if you don’t mind, we’ll discuss any problems you may have after the game.’
Specky glanced over at Danny and caught him looking impressed by Coach Pate’s stern approach. Mr Johnson and Specky’s father silently sized one another up, making the other parents, and the team, feel very uncomfortable.
‘Let’s get out there and show ’em!’ yelled Robbo, taking the initiative and breaking the tension.
The boys cheered and egged each other on as they ran out onto the oval, ready to play. Specky still felt uneasy about Screamer’s dad confronting his father, but he did his best to forget about it as he took up his new position at centre half-back. This proved to be difficult, of course, especially since it was obvious from early on in the game that Screamer was emerging as the star. In the first half alone, true to his nickname, he took four amazing screamers and followed them up with four brilliant goals. The second half was equally impressive – five marks, three handballs, six kicks, and three goals. It was definitely Booyong High’s day, thanks to Screamer. Specky played a solid game – in a position he was unfamiliar with – but it was nothing like the display Screamer put on.
At the end of the match, back in the changing rooms, Specky tried not to feel envious of the attention Screamer was getting from the rest of the team. The sight of Danny and Robbo slapping him high-fives and patting him on the back twisted his stomach into what felt like a million knots.
But Specky still looked for an opportunity to approach Screamer and acknowledge the fact that he had played a sensational game. He wondered if it might have been a little unfair of him to have judged Screamer because of last year’s ugly Grand Final incident. Maybe Danny’s right? Maybe he has changed for the better? he thought, as he wandered over to Screamer.
‘I just wanted to say congratulations,’ said Specky, gesturing to shake hands. ‘You were pretty good out there.’
Screamer looked from side to side to see that there was no one else in earshot. There wasn’t. He glared directly into Specky’s eyes and Specky couldn’t help noticing how much he resembled his father when he scowled.
‘You’ll never play full-forward again,’ he hissed.
‘What?’ Specky asked, not believing what he had just heard.
‘I said, you’ll never play full-forward in this team, ever again. Not while I’m here – you loser!’
7. good guy screamer
The following Monday at school, Specky found himself trying to convince his friends that Screamer wasn’t the good guy they all seemed to believe he was.
‘So, what you’re trying to say is that Screamer told you that you’ll never play full-forward again, and he called you a loser?’ Danny repeated.
Robbo, the Bombay Bullet and Smashing Sols were all eating their lunch on an outdoor table by the school’s canteen.
Specky nodded, but to his horror he noticed Danny rolling his eyes to the rest of the boys.
‘What was that?’
‘What was what?’ asked Danny, taking a bite out of his mozzarella-filled foccacia sandwich.
‘You pulled a face.’
‘No, I didn’t.’
‘Yes, you did. You don’t believe me, do you?’
Danny again shot a sideways look at Robbo and the other boys.
‘You know, he did have a great game, and maybe you’re just feeling a little …’
‘A little what?’ asked Specky, even though he could guess what Danny was going to say next.
‘A little jealous.’
‘What? No way! Is that what you all think?’ asked Specky, suddenly feeling like the odd one out.
The other boys all nodded.
‘Believe it or not, he helped me in maths this morning,’ added Robbo, reluctantly, as he usually sided with Specky in most things.
‘And get this, he said that I was one of the best rovers he had ever seen,’ exclaimed Danny, as if that was reason alone for anyone to like Screamer.
‘Well, he told me that Indian food was his favourite and he could have madras curry every day,’ smiled the Bullet, proudly, as he scoffed down some curry, left over from last night’s family dinner.
Feeling frustrated and a little ambushed, Specky waited for Smashing Sols to put forward his excuse, but Sols just shrugged and said, ‘I just like him. I think he’s cool.’
Specky shook his head.
‘I don’t believe you guys. He’s got you all sucked in. He’s pret
ending to be nice for some reason. It’s a cover-up – can’t you see that?’
Just then, Screamer himself appeared out of the blue. Specky wondered if he had caught any of their conversation. He hoped he hadn’t.
‘G’day guys. I grabbed a bunch of Tim Tams from home this morning, but I can’t really eat them all. Would you like some?’ he asked, placing them on the table.
‘Yeah,’ said Specky’s friends, attacking them like ravished wolves.
‘Anyway, I’ve got to keep moving. I’m taking this Year Seven girl to sick bay. She tripped over on the asphalt between B and C wing.’
With their cheeks already stuffed with Tim Tams, the boys leaned forward to see that standing behind Screamer was a girl, quietly sobbing and holding onto her grazed knee.
‘Catch you later,’ said Screamer, as he and the girl wandered off. The boys looked directly at Specky.
‘Yeah, there goes a real troublemaker,’ said Danny, sarcastically.
Specky held his tongue and decided not to say a word. He knew nothing he could say would change his friends’ minds. No matter what Screamer was scheming, he would have to let it be. The best thing he could do was ignore him. But that was easier said than done – especially when it came to footy training later in the week.
Coach Pate had arranged for Screamer and Specky to compete directly against each other as part of a one-on-one drill. At the very end of the training session, she got every boy in the team to take their turn and kick the footy to Specky and Screamer. Both boys were jostling and shoving, eager to beat each other to the ball.
It was good for Specky to have someone as talented as Screamer to compete against at training, and vice-versa. Training should be a time for players to improve themselves as footballers, always challenging themselves to be better. Competing against someone who was of similar ability was the quickest way to become a better footballer, and Specky knew that he shouldn’t take the easy option against a player of lesser ability.