Patty Takes Charge

by Patty Mills

  ‘Don’t move, and I’ll get some ice and call your dad,’ Coach said. My teammates huddled around me.

  ‘Whoa Patty, that looks really bad,’ Manu said. His eyes said much more. There was no way I’d be playing in the tournament with a broken ankle.

  ‘WHAT HAVE YOU done to yourself, Patty?’ Dr Sophie asked as she helped me into her office.

  ‘I think I’ve broken my ankle.’

  ‘Let’s get you straight up onto the bed.’

  I explained to the doctor what had happened and how it felt. Then she gently felt my ankle and rolled my foot around to see what movement it had. ‘Ouch, ouch, ouch!’ I said.

  Dr Sophie released my foot and said, ‘The good news is, your ankle isn’t broken, Patty. It is very badly sprained, however. You’ll need lots of rest and to keep icing it.’

  ‘So I don’t have to wear a cast?’

  Dad laughed, and Dr Sophie said, ‘No. But I’ll give you some crutches to help you get around without putting your weight on it.’

  I felt relieved, but I was still scared to ask my next question. ‘Will I be able to play in the basketball tournament next month?’

  ‘It’s really hard to say, Patty,’ Dr Sophie said. ‘But the more you rest it and ice it, the greater your chances.’

  DAD AND MUM SPOILED ME when I got home. They let me lie on the couch and watch television while I ate dinner, and said I could take time off school until I could move around again.

  Josie came to visit me the next day. We sat on the couch watching basketball and drinking the banana milkshakes that Mum had made us.

  ‘Man, you’re lucky, Patty,’ Josie said.

  ‘Lucky, with a sprained ankle?’ I asked.

  ‘Yeah, you get to do all of the things that I wish I was doing while I’m at school.’

  ‘No way. I can’t do anything. Even using the crutches to get to my room hurts. It’s driving me crazy not being able to run or practise.’

  ‘But you can watch all the basketball you want,’ Josie said, turning her attention back to the television screen.

  ‘Yeah, but it’s not the same as playing,’ I told her.

  THE NEXT DAY when Dad and Mum went to work I lay on the couch and watched some more basketball. The only problem was that it made me so desperate to play.

  I hobbled to my room to get my ball and then out to the driveway. I stood in front of my basketball hoop, lay my crutches against the wall and stood on one foot to try a three-pointer.

  I pushed the ball into the air, forcing it from my shoulder because I couldn’t push up through my legs. The ball went through the hoop and I hopped over to get it.

  I must have taken about five shots before my ankle started throbbing. I went back inside to ice it, worried that I’d hurt it even more.

  AFTER A COUPLE of days at home my ankle felt good enough for me to go back to school.

  When Tyson first saw me limping to class on my crutches he asked, ‘Let us have a try, Patty.’

  I handed my crutches to Tyson.

  ‘They’re not easy to get around on, are they?’ Tyson said.

  I shrugged my shoulders, knowing exactly how hard it was to move around on crutches.

  ‘When will your ankle be better, Patty?’ Manu asked.

  ‘I don’t know. Dr Sophie said the more I rest it, the quicker it will heal.’

  ‘Well, you better rest,’ Manu said. ‘We need you ready for the tournament.’

  THAT LUNCHTIME, Manu, Boris, Tiago and Josie followed me into the library. ‘We’ll have a board-game tournament,’ Tiago declared.

  We played a couple of rounds of Connect Four, but it was hard to concentrate. It was sunny outside and I could hear everyone playing in the quadrangle, on the oval and in the playground.

  I was grateful that my friends were trying to help entertain me, but I knew they really wanted to get outside and play basketball. I couldn’t blame them.

  ‘Go and play for the rest of the break,’ I told them.

  ‘Are you sure?’ Josie asked.

  ‘It’s what I’d be doing if I could walk.’

  ‘What are you going to do?’ Boris asked.

  ‘Read or do homework,’ I told them.

  And that’s exactly what I did. I actually enjoyed reading during recess and lunch and was even ahead on my homework.

  ONE MORNING I TRIED to stand on my right foot and although it still hurt a little bit, it felt much better. ‘I’ll pick you up after school and we’ll go to see Dr Sophie,’ Mum said.

  I was glad to see Dr Sophie. ‘How’s your ankle feeling, Patty?’ she asked.

  ‘The bruising has almost disappeared and it feels heaps stronger.’

  ‘That’s great,’ she said. She patted the bed for me to sit up on it.

  I took off my sock and Dr Sophie started to softly move my foot.

  ‘How does that feel?’ she asked.

  There was still a little bit of pain but I told her, ‘It doesn’t feel too bad.’

  ‘There seems to be a good range of movement. You can start walking on it.’

  Mum smiled at me. ‘Really?’ I said.

  ‘But no running! Dr Sophie said, waving her finger. ‘You still have to take it easy. I want you to come back next week and I’ll check the recovery you’ve made.’

  ‘When can I start training and playing again?’ I asked, hopeful that it wouldn’t be long.

  ‘It could be at least two weeks, maybe less – depending on how much you rest.’

  It was such a relief to walk out of Dr Sophie’s office without the crutches.

  I TOLD COACH CLARKE that I’d only have to sit out for one training session. I was scared of losing my spot in the team. There were other kids desperate to play in the tournament.

  I went along to the next session to watch, and already my ankle was starting to feel like I hadn’t sprained it at all. The bruising had almost disappeared and I was walking fine.

  When training finished and Coach Clarke walked over to talk to one of the parents, Manu ran up to me. ‘Just come and shoot some hoops with us,’ he said. ‘You don’t have to move around.’

  I was so sick of watching from the sideline that I couldn’t resist. At first I just stood beneath the basket, passing the rebounds back to my team and taking the odd shot. Then, as Tyson approached the basket, without thinking I started to guard, shuffling across to block his path. When he dodged, I followed. And then I felt another sharp pain in my ankle.

  The pain took my breath away. I tried to make my way back to the bench without anyone noticing, especially Coach Clarke. I was scared that my chances of playing in the tournament were really ruined this time.

  AFTER THAT, I iced and rested my ankle more than ever and it improved quickly. Dr Sophie told me to sit out one more training session, and after that I could go back to all my normal activities. I was so relieved.

  Mum and Dad and all my teammates’ parents were at the last training session. Coach Clarke had organised a barbecue afterwards.

  Before we hit the court, Coach told me to take it easy, but Dad had strapped my ankle and it felt fine for the whole session.

  When we gathered for dinner afterwards, Coach Clarke stood up. ‘It’s time to present you all with your jerseys,’ he said. He held up a jersey that was white, yellow and blue. It had the number one on it.

  ‘This jersey is for Patty,’ Coach Clarke said. ‘Patty has only been playing basketball for a couple of seasons, but he’s become one of the fiercest competitors and point guards in the league. He’ll be playing point guard in the tournament.’

  Everyone clapped as I collected my jersey, but I could tell Tyson was disappointed. I guessed that he wanted to wear the number one jersey or be point guard, like he was in the Titans.

  But Coach Clarke went on. ‘And joining Patty as point guard is Tyson.’ Tyson grinned and tapped my fist as he walked up to collect his jersey. Then it was my turn to be envious, because his was the number eight – my favourite number, and the one I wore
for the Shadows.

  After dinner our team raced back onto the court to play four on four.

  As we played I paid attention to all my teammates’ strengths, noticing how much Luke had improved now that he was using his left hand. Being the point guard meant that I was the coach on the court. I needed to be able to make sure that the plays Coach Clarke called happened, and to instruct my team to make plays when needed.

  It felt like a big responsibility. But it was awesome knowing that I was going to Sydney to play in my first tournament.

  ON SUNDAY MORNING I CHECKED that I’d packed everything I needed. I was getting nervous about travelling to Sydney, and worrying that I would miss Mum and Dad too much. As I zipped up my bag, I looked up at my poster of Cathy Freeman, the Aboriginal runner who won an Olympic gold medal in the four hundred metres in 2000. I thought about all the times she would have had to travel to race meets by herself, and imagined her packing her bags when she was my age. I knew she would have been brave.

  Dad and Mum helped double-check that I’d packed everything then drove me to the stadium, where Coach Clarke was waiting with the bus.

  The girls’ team was travelling with us, and Josie and some of my teammates were already there.

  ‘You all ready, bala?’ Luke asked me.

  ‘Yeah, I’m ready,’ I said, but I still had butterflies in my belly thinking about how my parents were about to fly to the Torres Strait without me.

  A man shook Dad’s hand and then mine. ‘I’m Mr Jones, Matthew’s dad,’ he said, before storing my bag beneath the bus. ‘I’ll be helping to make sure you kids don’t turn Sydney upside down.’

  When Coach Clarke told us all to board the bus, Dad hugged me. ‘Good luck, Patty,’ he said. ‘Do your best, and have a great time.’

  Then Mum gave me a kiss and a hug and said, ‘Don’t worry about us. We’ll all be waiting for you.’

  AS SOON AS WE left the suburbs of Canberra I started to forget about Mum and Dad and the Torres Strait.

  Luke, Tyson and I sat in the very back seat and Josie and our Shadows teammate Riley sat in front of us.

  ‘Hey, check out the kangaroos,’ Tyson said, pointing out the window. There were two huge boomers bouncing through the bush. ‘Did I tell you I get Dad to cook me roo now, Patty?’ Tyson said.

  ‘Really?’ I asked, remembering how Tyson once told me he’d never eat bush tucker.

  ‘Yeah, I love it.’

  We had a good time on the bus, talking, joking around and checking out the towns we passed through on the trip.

  AFTER LUNCH and a play in a park, Coach Clarke told us that Sydney was less than an hour away, and to save some energy. Our first game of the tournament was that afternoon. I didn’t know if it was Coach Clarke giving us an order or the excitement of approaching the city, but we all stared out the bus window in silence.

  The traffic that built up as we drove into the city made me nervous. There were so many people everywhere. ‘Check that out,’ Luke said as we started travelling across the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

  ‘Oh man,’ I said, feeling a smile spread across my face. It was amazing being up so high and looking over the harbour to the Opera House.

  ‘How cool is that?’ I asked Josie.

  ‘That is way cool,’ Josie replied.

  We all jumped off the bus with our backpacks to get changed into our uniforms. The girls were playing at the same time as us, which meant I wouldn’t get to see Josie play.

  ‘Let’s try to meet up straight after our games,’ she said.

  Our jaws dropped when we walked into the stadium. It was huge and there were teams playing on at least seven courts.

  ‘Whoa, this is awesome,’ Matthew said.

  Coach Clarke laughed and said, ‘Come on, let’s get ready, our game is in just under forty minutes.’

  IT FELT AWESOME walking onto the court with my team in the Canberra uniform.

  Coach Clarke led us out to start our warmup. As I made my first layup I felt a twinge in my ankle, but I was sure I was going to be okay.

  I checked out our opposition, Northern Beaches, and tried to work out which one of them might be their point guard.

  The Northern Beaches players didn’t look taller or stronger than us, and I felt confident. I couldn’t wait to see how our representative team performed.

  Coach Clarke called us together in a huddle. ‘When you hit the court,’ he said, ‘I just want you all to concentrate on clean ball movement, okay? When you start to find each other with ease, then step it up. Our starting line-up is Patty, Luke, Manu, Jamie and Josh.’

  ‘Go Canberra!’ Tyson called as we walked out.

  At the tip-off, the Northern Beaches player jumped way higher than Manu. Josh and I immediately raced back to defend, but Northern Beaches were super quick. Two of their players shot around us and scored.

  ‘Come on, Canberra!’ Bruce called out, standing up from the bench and clapping his hands.

  Jamie passed the ball to me and all I could think about was passing it on to Manu and Luke, but two of the Northern Beaches players pressured me hard. I got a pass off to Luke and he dribbled the ball down to our key, but when Josh shot, their centre jumped and slapped the ball to one of his teammates. The Northern Beaches players raced down to score another easy basket.

  I realised that I was playing against the strongest competition I’d ever faced.

  Coach Clarke called timeout. Northern Beaches were on twelve points and we hadn’t even scored.

  Coach Clarke subbed off Jamie and Josh for the tall and solid Bruce, and Tyson.

  I was glad to have Tyson on the court for his pace and skill. We started scoring, but Northern Beaches were annihilating us.

  When the final buzzer went, I looked up at the scoreboard. We’d been beaten by twenty points. And the worst thing was that I had no idea if the other teams we’d come up against would be just as strong, or even stronger than Northern Beaches.

  The only positive I could think of was that I didn’t feel my injury the whole way through the game. I thought maybe it was going to be fine.

  WE ALL WENT OUT for pizza before heading back to our accommodation. We were staying at a Catholic school boarding house across the harbour from the stadium.

  ‘Patty, this place looks haunted,’ Luke said, the colour rushing out of his face as Matthew’s dad drove us into the school grounds. The main building looked like an ancient castle towering before us.

  Once we’d unpacked, got into our pyjamas and jumped into our bunk beds, Coach Clarke and Mr Jones came to our door and said, ‘Lights out fellas, we’ve got a free day tomorrow and there’s a lot to fit in.’

  ‘Where are we going?’ Luke asked.

  ‘If we tell you that it won’t be a surprise,’ Matthew’s dad said.

  ‘Night fellas, and no chatting,’ Coach Clarke said. He switched off the light.

  I tried to get comfortable in the unfamiliar bed, wanting to get some sleep, but also thinking about our defeat in the first game. Then my mind went to Mum and Dad. I knew they would have been feasting with my family on Athe’s fish and special vegetables and banana cooked in coconut milk, that we call sube sube banana.

  My eyelids were finally growing heavy when I noticed a light glowing. I peered over to the bottom bunk. Below me, Tyson had a torch held under his chin.

  ‘Cut it out, Tyson,’ I said.

  ‘But I just remembered, this is the school that had the meanest principal in history.’

  ‘What?’ Luke asked from the dark on the other side of the room.

  ‘It was a long time ago. But they say the ghosts of the students he terrorised still haunt the corridors.’

  ‘Tyson, cut it out,’ I told him again. I just wanted to get to sleep.

  ‘You’re just worried you’ll start crying, Patty,’ Tyson teased, making Bruce giggle.

  ‘I’m tired,’ I sighed.

  ‘I bet you don’t even know any scary stories,’ Tyson said.

  ‘I don’t n
eed to make them up like you do,’ I answered. This was a mistake. Tyson shone his torch at me and asked, ‘What’s the scariest thing you’ve seen then, Patty?’

  I propped myself up on my elbow. Some of the others had turned on their torches and I could tell they were all listening.

  ‘It was when I was fishing with my uncle and my big cousin.’

  ‘Where?’ Bruce asked.

  ‘The Torres Strait.’

  ‘Where’s that?’ Josh asked.

  ‘Off the coast of Queensland, not far from Papua New Guinea,’ Luke replied.

  ‘We were in my uncle’s dinghy, drifting over the reef,’ I continued. ‘I had a line in the water, fishing for snapper. My cousin was diving, looking for crayfish.’

  ‘To eat?’ Jamie asked.

  ‘Yep,’ I said.

  ‘I bet they’re tasty, too,’ Tyson said. ‘But this story isn’t really that scary, Patty.’

  ‘It was when two sharks started circling my cousin.’

  ‘How big were they?’ Tyson asked.

  ‘Much bigger than my cousin,’ I told him.

  ‘That’s crazy,’ Luke said. ‘Those reef sharks are fierce.’

  ‘Uncle stood up in the dinghy to get a better look. But he didn’t call out. My cousin was still diving, with no idea what was going on – I guess my uncle didn’t want him to panic. Instead, my uncle sat back down and ripped off his shirt. He said, “Patty, I’m going in.”

  ‘I looked at the outboard motor nervously, not knowing if I could start it myself if I needed to get help. “But what if the sharks get you both?” I asked.

  ‘My Uncle looked at me and nodded. “You’ll know what to do. It’ll be all right,” he said with a firm voice.’

  ‘Oh man, and what did the sharks do when your uncle jumped in?’ Jamie asked.

  ‘The sharks kept circling my cousin, but when my uncle got close they backed off a little bit. He must have distracted or confused them. And then my uncle grabbed my cousin by the arm, and my cousin finally realised what was happening. I called out, “swim!”. But as my uncle and cousin started swimming back towards the boat, calmly at first, the sharks turned on them again.’