Grace on the Court

by Maddy Proud

  Published by Piccolo Nero,

  an imprint of Schwartz Publishing Pty Ltd

  Level 1, 221 Drummond Street

  Carlton VIC 3053, Australia

  enquiries@blackincbooks.com

  www.blackincbooks.com

  Copyright © Maddy Proud 2018

  Maddy Proud asserts her right to be known as the author of this work.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior consent of the publishers.

  9781760640330 (paperback)

  9781743820230 (ebook)

  Cover design by Tristan Main

  Text design and typesetting by Marilyn de Castro

  Cover image by Stephen Pond / Alamy

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  “Go Aussies!” Grace Parker yelled at the top of her lungs.

  She gazed around the packed stadium, taking in the sea of yellow and green. The Australian Diamonds were battling their arch rivals, the New Zealand Silver Ferns. It had been a nail-biter of a match. The Diamonds were down by one goal with only a few minutes left in the final quarter.

  The Silver Ferns had possession of the ball and were passing it around carefully. The Diamonds needed to act fast to stop the Ferns from scoring and gaining a two-goal lead.

  On the edge of the circle, the Silver Ferns’ wing attack released the ball, but just as the goal shooter moved to catch it, the Australian goal defence came flying in from the other side of the goal circle, tipping the ball just before it went into the shooter’s hands and grabbing possession of it in the air.

  The crowd erupted as the Diamonds worked the ball down the court and scored. The Aussie goal defence’s turnover had kept the Diamonds’ hopes alive – the scores were now even.

  “That could be you one day,” Mia Caminetti whispered in her best friend’s ear.

  “Yeah, right,” replied Grace, rolling her eyes at Mia.

  Grace loved netball, and she was pretty good at it – she’d even been captain of her Year 7 team. She had always dreamt of playing for the Diamonds, but she knew it was incredibly tough to get selected. Thousands of girls tried out to represent their state, let alone their country. And Grace was only thirteen. She hadn’t even tried out for a high school team yet. But still, maybe one day.

  “Excuse me.” A woman carrying a large tray of drinks pushed roughly past Grace and Mia.

  Why say excuse me if you’re going to barge through anyway? Grace thought to herself, but she tucked her legs in and smiled politely.

  Mia glared at the woman’s back, and stuck her tongue out. “What a cow!”

  “Mia!”

  “Oh, don’t tell me you weren’t thinking the same thing,” grumbled Mia.

  Grace just rolled her eyes. She was used to Mia’s bluntness – and Mia was used to what she called Grace’s “good girl image”.

  The saying ‘opposites attract’ definitely applied to Grace and Mia. Their personalities balanced each other out, with Grace the angel to Mia’s devil. In looks, the two friends were polar opposites too. Grace was tall with long brown hair and lots of freckles from all the time she spent playing netball in the sun, whereas Mia was short with jet-black hair and a fiery personality.

  Grace and her twin brother, Angus, had known Mia nearly their whole life. They had attended the same childcare centre, and their parents had become close friends. While Mia and Angus were no longer quite as close, the two girls had been inseparable all through primary school, and since the age of six they had shared a love of netball too.

  “Shh, stop fidgeting, girls,” said Grace’s mum, “There’s only two minutes to go!”

  Grace didn’t need to be reminded twice: any mistake was costly at this point and would lose them the game. She sat forward on her seat, anxiously.

  The Australians took the centre pass and scored quickly, not wasting any time. The Diamonds needed a turnover to take control of the game. The New Zealand wing attack had possession of the ball and stepped forward to feed into her team’s star goal shooter, who hadn’t missed a shot all game. The Australian goal keeper read the play perfectly and lunged in front of the shooter.

  Grace and Mia gasped in appreciation – it was one of the most impressive intercepts of the game.

  The Australians didn’t waste the opportunity and within seconds led by two goals.

  Grace glanced up at the timer. “Only ten seconds left. I think we’ve got it!” She hugged Mia.

  The whistle blew and the crowd erupted. Grace and Mia leapt to their feet, cheering and stamping.

  “What a great game!” Grace’s mum yelled over the crowd.

  “The best – so close,” Grace replied. “Thanks for bringing us, Mum!”

  It was Grace’s mum who had introduced Grace and Mia to netball, dragging them along to her social games when they were younger. Kathy Parker had played in the district team as a teenager and was still a very skilful player.

  “You’re welcome, honey!” she said. “Now, let’s see if we can beat the crowds out of here – you two need a good sleep before your big day tomorrow.”

  . . . . .

  On the way home, Grace’s phone buzzed.

  “Is that Stella?” asked Mia.

  Grace checked her phone. “Yup.”

  Stella: What a game! I can’t believe I missed it :(

  Grace: I know! Next time u HAVE to come!

  Stella: Sure. If Mr and Mrs let’s-ruin-our-daughter’s-life let me out of the house!

  Grace laughed at the exaggeration, but she really did feel sorry for her friend. Stella’s parents were both university professors and put a lot of pressure on her to do well academically. They often made her stay in to do homework while Mia and Grace hung out with their other friends on the weekends. And Stella’s parents never came to any of the social activities that Grace’s and Mia’s parents organised.

  Grace: I’ll kidnap you!

  Stella: Yes! Do it!!!

  Stella Williams had started at Grace and Mia’s primary school only two years earlier, but it felt as if they had known each other forever. It hadn’t taken them long to discover that Stella was a netball nerd, as Mia called her. She knew every detail not only about the school competitions, but about Suncorp Super Netball and international leagues, too. She always knew who was playing who, where, how much they won by, who played which game and how many goals they shot and missed. She was great at maths and statistics came naturally to her. She and Grace – who knew everything about how the game was played – could talk for hours.

  Stella had also bonded with Mia over their mutual crush on Grayson Cole, the lead singer of Friday at Five. Grace thought Grayson was pretty hot too, if she was honest, and the three friends were always sharing clips and links about their favourite band.

  Stella: Still cant believe Caitlin Bassett shot at 99%! She’s #goals

  Grace: I know! And Sharni had 6 intercepts!

  “Let me guess. You and Stella are discussing stats and who shot the most goals and who
took the most intercepts and how many more turnovers the other team had and who should have got more rebounds and blah, blah, blah,” Mia joked.

  “Just the shooting percentages and intercepts, actually,” Grace replied sarcastically.

  Although Mia loved netball, she just liked to play, rather than talk about it every minute of the day.

  “Remind her we’re meeting at your place tomorrow,” said Mia, leaning over Grace’s shoulder to peer at Stella’s messages, giggling at how accurate she had been about the conversation between her two ‘netball nerd’ friends.

  Tomorrow was their first day of high school. Mia hadn’t stopped talking about it all holidays. She claimed she’d been waiting for high school her whole life and she was always complaining about how other states started high school in Year 7, but South Australia was “so behind the times” not starting until Year 8. She kept saying she felt as though she’d “outgrown” everyone at primary school. Grace hoped Mia didn’t mean her and Stella!

  Stella didn’t share Mia’s excitement. Grace knew her friend was worried that her parents would put even more pressure on her at high school.

  As for Grace herself, she wasn’t sure how she felt about going to a new school. She had loved Oleander Primary. Apart from being captain of the netball team, she got along really well with her classmates and even her teachers. Although she was excited about the new adventure, Grace felt a little bit nervous about going to a bigger school with lots of older kids. (She’d never admit that to Mia though!) And she knew she would have a lot more competition on the court too …

  Grace and Angus’s house was closest to Linwood High, so Stella and Mia had agreed to meet there and walk to school with the twins. Grace was glad she would have her friends around her on her first day.

  Grace: We can discuss the kidnapping plan 2moro at Linwood!

  Stella: OMG, don’t remind me. I don’t know how I’m going to survive high school!

  “Survive?!” said Mia, peering over Grace’s shoulder to read the text. “You guys just wait! This is going to be the greatest year ever!”

  “Hurry up, Gus! I need to have a shower!” Grace shouted as she banged on the bathroom door.

  “One minute!” Angus yelled back.

  “I need to use it too,” huffed Tyler, Grace and Angus’s older brother. “Go use Mum and Dad’s shower.” He pushed past Grace and began thumping repeatedly on the bathroom door.

  “But their shower sucks! Plus, all my stuff is in this one,” Grace complained.

  “So?” Tyler replied.

  Just as Grace was about to argue back, the door opened and Angus strolled out, heading towards the kitchen. Within half a second, Tyler had bolted into the bathroom, shut and locked the door, leaving Grace standing outside with her mouth hanging open.

  “MUM! Tyler locked me out of the bathroom and it was my turn!” Grace yelled.

  “Grow up, Grace!” replied Tyler from behind the door. “You don’t need to dob.”

  Grace rolled her eyes and made her way to her parents’ bathroom, knowing there was no point trying to fight with Tyler, especially so early in the morning.

  Grace and Tyler had once been as close as she and Angus were now, but they had drifted apart over the last few years. Although he was only two years older and was starting Year 10 this year, in her eyes there was a lifetime between them. Tyler seemed to spend all his time either practising with his band or playing guitar in his bedroom, whereas she was always outside playing sport with Angus, who was equally sports-crazy. Grace had always admired her big brother, though, and she felt sad that they weren’t very close anymore.

  Grace had loved sports ever since she could remember. Her dad was a footballer and an exercise junkie, and had her throwing and catching almost before she could walk. Sport was in her blood, and she couldn’t have been happier about it. Grace and Angus had been so keen to do well at their high school sports trials – her in netball, him in Aussie rules – that they had set up a fitness-training program in the summer holidays. Every day during their “mini-Olympics”, as they called it, they would compete in a different sport, making sure they kept fit and strong over their break. They mostly did it for fun – they loved being outside – but they also wanted to make sure they were ready to go when trials came around. Angus wasn’t the flashiest or most talented footballer, but what he lacked in skill (and height) he definitely made up for in effort and determination.

  Just as Grace was getting dressed after her shower, her phone buzzed with a text message from Mia.

  Mia: We’re here!!!

  Classic Mia, thought Grace, rolling her eyes. Too lazy to even knock on the front door, I’m surprised she didn’t just Snapchat me. She quickly finished in the bathroom and yelled out to Angus that it was time to leave.

  “Want to walk with us?” Grace asked Tyler as she passed the kitchen. He was eating toast in what seemed like slow motion.

  “Yeah … I’m going to go with no,” Tyler replied sarcastically, clearly not impressed by the thought of walking through the school gates with his two younger siblings.

  “That would be total social suicide,” Angus joked as he ran into the kitchen and grabbed his lunchbox. He was happy to walk with Grace and her friends, as Mia and Stella were like sisters to him and they all got along well. Plus, it was definitely better than the other option: being dropped off by his mum in her mini-van.

  Grace and Angus left the house, leaving their grumpy older brother to be late by himself. “Okay, this is it, Gracie. Our lives are about to change forever,” Mia announced dramatically as soon as the twins came outside.

  Was that lipgloss on Mia’s lips? Wow, we are SO different, Grace thought to herself. Mia focused a lot more on her appearance than her best friends did. She always read fashion magazines and knew which clothes and accessories to buy when they went shopping. She had obviously got better at applying makeup in the holidays too.

  Grace, on the other hand, didn’t even know the difference between mascara and eyeliner – and she couldn’t care less.

  “I’m not so sure if that’s a good thing. I liked my old life,” replied Grace.

  “Come on, Gracie, lighten up. Look at you. All the guys’ll be drooling over your ridiculously long and tanned legs!”

  Grace laughed, but the truth was she didn’t spend a lot of time thinking (or caring) about her looks. All she was worried about was being tall enough to beat her opponent for the ball.

  “Oh yeah,” Angus mocked, “the boys won’t be able to stay away from me with my perfectly toned calf muscles and luscious locks.” He used the voice he always put on when he imitated Mia. He attempted (and failed) to twirl his short, mousey brown hair around his finger.

  Grace couldn’t help but laugh at her brother, but gave him a shove for Mia’s benefit. Mia just rolled her eyes, ignoring Angus’s teasing like she had for so many years before.

  “I don’t care about boys. I just want to make sure I get in the team,” said Grace.

  “Grrr – you’re so frustrating, Gracie. If I looked like you I would spend a bit less time worrying about netball and a bit more time thinking about dating,” Mia said, grinning.

  Mia liked to talk about boys all the time, but Grace and Stella both knew it was a bit of an act. The truth was, Mia had barely ever spoken to the boys at their primary school. Growing up with two sisters meant Mia didn’t speak ‘boy’ very well. But now she was pretending she was an expert when it came to the opposite sex.

  “Mia, who cares about what boys think of you!” said Grace.

  “I care!” Mia replied.

  “Well, I’m a boy, and I think you’re being pretty annoying and gross right now,” teased Angus.

  “Will you guys stop?” Stella complained. “You know I’m already nervous – I need you to have my back today.”

  “It’s all going to be okay, Stell,” Grace reassured her. “You’re smarter than you know!”

  As they walked through the school gates, their conversation s
topped.

  “It’s so much bigger than I remember,” said Grace. Although she’d attended the orientation day, she couldn’t remember half the names of the buildings. She wondered how she’d ever find her way to the right classrooms.

  “Tell me about it,” said Stella with a horrified look on her face.

  The bell rang and they made their way to the quadrangle for their first assembly.

  . . . . .

  “Welcome, everyone, to the start of a new school year,” said Principal Reynolds, silencing the crowd. “This is always my favourite time of year as we get to see so many new faces and welcome them into our community.”

  “Boooring,” whispered Mia into Grace’s ear.

  “Shh, I’m trying to listen,” hissed Grace.

  Mia rolled her eyes then took her phone out of her pocket and scrolled through Instagram, liking every second photo.

  Grace tried to ignore her friend, wanting to take in as much information about her new school as she could. She wondered if there would be an announcement about the upcoming netball trials.

  It was as if she had a sixth sense, because the next speaker was the school’s sports coordinator. Grace waited patiently as Mrs McDonald spoke about the school’s proud sporting history and how “Linwood will continue to lead the way in sporting performance”.

  Finally, Mrs McDonald came to news about the trials. “We have a reputation to uphold here at Linwood as a specialist sporting school, which is why we will be forming teams and starting training as soon as possible. All team trials will be held this week.”

  Adrenaline rushed through Grace’s veins. She thought she’d have to wait weeks to try out, but the netball team trials were on Friday. She was so excited she could barely sit still.

  . . . . .

  After assembly, the morning was spent getting their homerooms and lockers organised. Each new student was given an iPad loaded with their timetable and a map of the school. Mia was disappointed to hear that the iPads could only be used for school work and not for taking photos or scrolling through social media.

  “I don’t see how they can stop me taking a selfie,” Mia joked as she posed in front of the iPad’s camera.