Grace on the Court

by Maddy Proud

  There were a few nods from the other players, and they waited patiently to see what Grace had to say next.

  “You can take it from here, Amber …”

  Amber rolled her eyes, clearly not impressed with Grace making her break the news. While Amber had finally given in to the idea at recess, she was obviously still annoyed at Grace for not including her in her plan. “Gee, thanks Grace!”

  Despite her apparent anger, Amber continued, “You’re all going to think this is ridiculous, but my co-captain over here has suggested,” Amber said, using air quotes, “that we make a video for the Friday at Five contest together. As our ‘team bonding exercise’.”

  “This has got to be a joke! What were you thinking, Grace?” Mia cried.

  “Come on, Amber, you can’t seriously expect us to make a video with them!” Jordan said, pointing at Mia and Stella.

  “And what makes you think we would want to make one with you?” Mia sprayed back.

  “That’s enough, guys,” Grace said firmly. “I know you all probably think I’m crazy for suggesting this but I think it’s the only way for us to get past our differences. We all love Friday at Five. And to play well as a team, we need to learn to get along. So, do you guys want to win this year? Or do we waste the season because we’re too busy fighting with each other?”

  There was silence.

  “And like Grace said to Mrs Peters, we stand a better chance of winning the competition if we all work together instead of competing against each other,” said Amber, much to Grace’s surprise.

  Grace smiled at her co-captain, but Amber still didn’t smile back.

  The other girls whispered among themselves for a bit, but then turned back to face their co-captains.

  “So, are you all in?” Amber asked.

  The girls had one final glance at each other and then nodded collectively.

  “Great, let’s get started then. How about we read through the criteria for the competition, just to make sure we’re all on the same page,” Grace suggested.

  Sophie Shaw, one of the most dedicated ‘Fivers’, as the Friday at Five fans called themselves, had recorded the competition details on her phone. She read them aloud to the group.

  Are you and your friends the most dedicated Fivers of all time? Now is your chance to prove it. Win a chance to meet Grayson, Cooper, Freddy, Will and Elliot when they come to perform in your state’s capital city!

  Make a video showing your love for the boys’ new album – the more creative the better. Videos should be a maximum of three minutes in length – so make it short, sharp and shiny!

  Winners will meet the boys and get the VIP experience at the Tonight at Five concert in their home state. So good luck, and get creative!

  F@F HQ xx

  Hearing the competition conditions again got the group buzzing with excitement, and before long they were eagerly throwing around ideas. They decided to meet at Grace’s after training on Saturday the following week to brainstorm their ideas further.

  Phew, Grace thought, finally beginning to relax. This might just be the thing that brings the team together – you can always count on Friday at Five! I didn’t think I could love them any more than I already did.

  After school on Friday, the girls were hanging around waiting to be picked up when Sebastian walked by and nudged Grace.

  “Run into any boys lately, Grace?” he asked with a grin.

  Grace nudged him back and laughed, “Nope, you’ve been the only victim of my clumsiness so far!”

  As Sebastian hurried to catch up with a group of Year 10 students, Grace grimaced. She could feel her friends’ eyes burning through the back of her head.

  Luckily, Stella’s dad arrived right at that moment. He was dropping Mia home too, so Stella and Mia had no chance to grill Grace about what had just happened. Keeping Mr Williams waiting just to talk about boys was something even Mia wasn’t prepared to do.

  But just when she thought she had escaped, Grace’s phone buzzed.

  GROUP TEXT MESSAGE

  Mia: Ummmmm what was that?

  Stella: Yeah Gracie! Is there something ur not telling us?

  Grace: It’s nothing! U guys need to get over this, seriously!

  Mia: Didn’t look like nothing

  Grace: He’s like my brother

  Stella: He SO isn’t Grace!

  Grace: I just bumped into him the other day

  Mia: Must have been some bump

  Grace: Shut up

  Stella: Did u talk?

  Grace: A little. You do know girls are allowed to talk 2 boys without it being anything else?

  Mia: Not when the boy is THE Sebastian King

  Grace: WE ARE JUST FRIENDS

  Mia: Whatever you say Mrs King

  Grace: I actually hate you guys so much

  Stella: OK Grace, we’ll leave it alone

  Mia: For now!!!

  Grace rolled her eyes and put her phone away as she walked home with Angus, relieved to be in the company of someone who didn’t care about Sebastian King.

  “Want to have a kick of footy when we get home?” Grace asked, hoping to take her mind off things.

  “Yeah, why not?” Angus replied, somewhat flatly. He was still not back to his usual chirpy self but at least he was willing to spend some time outside with her.

  . . . . .

  The following Saturday the team gathered in Grace’s living room to discuss ideas for their video. The week had passed rather uneventfully, which Grace was happy about. She hoped any talk of her and Sebastian was now just a thing of the past. Training that morning had been so much better than the week before, with Mrs Peters thanking Grace and Amber for trying to make everyone get along – on and off the court. Now they sat in a circle, replenishing their energy levels with Grace’s mother’s famous lasagne as they chatted (or mainly argued) about ideas for their Friday at Five video.

  Grace suggested they go around the circle and have each girl tell the group their idea for the competition. “No idea is a bad idea,” she kept repeating, mainly to make up for Amber’s negative attitude to any idea that had already been suggested.

  Although Grace had to admit it, all the ideas so far seemed to be pretty rubbish. Most required either a professional cameraman or an intricate dance routine, or both. The most realistic suggestion came from Emily Adams, the shyest girl in the team, who said she owned an underwater camera and suggested they do something at the beach or in Grace’s pool.

  By the time everyone had shared their ideas, their initial enthusiasm was flagging. Emily’s idea was a good start but they needed to work out something more specific. While they still had a few months to finish the video, they needed to decide on an idea so they could actually start filming. It was always hard to find a day that suited everyone, and with the whole point of the video being to bring everyone together, they had to make sure all the girls could attend the meetings. They also needed to make sure they had enough time to edit the video and put it all together if they stood any chance of winning.

  Grace was just beginning to suggest that they take a break and see if a change of scenery would inspire any new ideas when a loud clash of drums erupted from the Parkers’ garage.

  “What’s that?” asked Sophie.

  “Oh God, that’s my brother’s band. They’re not supposed to be here – they should be practising at someone else’s house today. Sorry about the noise!” Grace yelled over the racket.

  Above the drums, came the sound of Sebastian breaking into the lyrics of ‘Teenage Dirtbag’.

  “Oh my God, is that Kings of Linwood?” said Jordan, practically drooling.

  Emily and Nadia glanced at each other in amazement.

  “I can’t believe Sebastian King is here – he’s so hot,” said Emily, again breaking away from her usual shyness.

  Hysteria seemed to overtake the group – until slowly they all turned and stared at Grace. Mia and Amber were both smirking.

  “Wow … no!” said Grace. “
No way! They would never agree to it! First, they hate Friday at Five and everything they stand for. And second, why would they want to help us?”

  The thought of her brother and Sebastian filming a video with them made Grace cringe. It would only provide more opportunities for her friends to tease her. And with her brother also in the band, it would be too much awkwardness for one girl to handle. She was beginning to regret offering her house as a meeting place.

  There was little chance the girls would let her off that easily, however – not without any better ideas on the table.

  “Come on, Grace, just think how good it would be to have an actual band singing their songs in the video! We would win for sure,” Mia pleaded.

  “What’s the use of having a brother in a band if you’re not going to use it to your advantage?” said Amber. “If you don’t ask them, I will.”

  Grace had noticed before that Amber seemed to believe every boy found her irresistible and would do anything for her. While that may have been true for the majority of the boys they knew, Grace had a feeling her brother wouldn’t fall for Amber’s charm the way – according to Amber, at least – so many had before.

  “Go for your life,” Grace replied, sure that she already knew what the answer would be.

  All eight girls followed Amber to the garage. Grace couldn’t help admiring Amber’s confidence, even as she laughed at her arrogance and dreaded what Tyler would say to her later. She watched as Amber strutted up to Tyler, interrupting the band mid-song, and playfully touched his guitar. The boys went silent and stared at Amber in disbelief, clearly annoyed at having their set interrupted.

  “Hey, Tyler, you guys sound so good,” Amber said in her most mature voice.

  Mia rolled her eyes at Grace and the two shook their heads in unison, embarrassed by Amber’s behavior.

  “She should audition for Riverdale, her acting skills are that good,” Stella whispered in Grace’s ear.

  “Don’t say that! That’s an insult to the greatest show on television,” Grace whispered back.

  Tyler glanced around at his bandmates, clearly wondering what was going on. “Uh, thanks,” he mumbled.

  Grace caught Sebastian’s eye and he pulled a puzzled face at her – he was clearly asking her for an explanation, but she pretended she didn’t see it and looked back to Amber and Tyler.

  “So, we were thinking, why don’t you guys be in our video for the Friday at Five competition?” Amber asked bluntly.

  The boys erupted into laughter, with Ethan, the band’s drummer, slamming down on the drums in hysterics.

  “Umm, what Friday at Five competition and why on earth would we want to be in a video for it?” asked Tyler.

  “There’s a competition being run by a radio station. The best video wins tickets to see Friday at Five and meet the band and the video will be on their website. You must be the only people in Australia not to know that!” Amber explained in a frustrated tone. “It would be good exposure for you guys. Millions of people will see the video if we win.”

  Tyler looked at his bandmates and laughed. He was clearly not getting sucked in by Amber’s act.

  “Okay, girls, let’s go,” Grace said, beginning to herd them through the garage door.

  Suddenly, Sebastian spoke up. “I hate to say it guys, but it could be good for us. Think of how many people would see the video. We could get signed!”

  Everyone turned and stared at Sebastian, not believing what they were hearing. “Are you serious, man?” asked Tyler. “You hate Friday at Five more than anyone. And what if we don’t win? We’ll just have made fools of ourselves for nothing.”

  “I’m not saying I like them or really want to do it, but I just think it’s worth at least thinking about. It could be a good opportunity. And if we don’t win we can put it up on YouTube or something and still use it.”

  Grace listened to Sebastian with amazement. “Oh my God, is he serious?” she muttered.

  Mia nudged Grace and whispered in her ear. “Maybe. Or maybe he just wants to spend more time with you!”

  Grace shot Mia an annoyed look. Clearly Sebastian just saw this as a good opportunity to get the band out there and increase their image. That was all it was – surely?

  The boys argued back and forth about what they should do. Sebastian soon had Ethan, who relished any opportunity to get in front of the camera, on board; they just needed to convince Tyler – and Adam, the band’s bass guitarist.

  “Come on, let’s leave them to talk about it alone,” suggested Grace.

  “We’ll let you know soon,” called Sebastian after them as the girls left the room.

  Amber shot Tyler a bright smile before she pranced from the garage.

  Grace wasn’t sure how she felt. The thought of being around Sebastian while they planned and filmed the video made her feel surprisingly queasy. She wasn’t sure if it was in a good way or a bad way or why she thought his presence would have that effect on her. I’m going to have to think about this, she thought. Alone.

  The girls moved out to the backyard and sat around Grace’s pool, dangling their feet in the water and discussing what they thought the boys were going to do.

  “Tyler totally wants me,” Amber bragged.

  “Ewww!” was all Grace could reply, and everyone, including Amber, burst out laughing at how uncomfortable talking about her brother made Grace.

  Grace hated to admit it, but she was starting to see a side of Amber that she actually liked. There was still the side that thought she was God’s Greatest Gift, but maybe that was something Amber would slowly start to grow out of … hopefully …

  “I hope we’re not interrupting anything,” Tyler said, suddenly looming above them in the twilight. The girls giggled as they looked up at him. Even Amber looked slightly sheepish at the thought he may have heard her. But he seemed oblivious.

  “We’ve decided we will suck it up and do the damn video,” he said. “But there will be conditions. And you’d better have some good ideas. And we’d better win, or it will be for nothing.”

  There was a moment of silence as the girls waited to see if he was on the verge of adding “just kidding” or laughing deviously as he walked away. But as his mates behind him nodded, the girls cheered and talked over one another as they thanked their saviours. Hmm, this isn’t going to help with Amber’s ego, Grace joked to herself.

  The Kings moved to join the girls at the pool, and Grace felt someone sit down next to her. Looking to her right she saw Sebastian dropping his long, tanned legs into the pool. The hair on her arms stood up as his arm brushed hers, sending a wave of electricity through her body.

  “Thanks for convincing them,” Grace whispered quietly as the rest of the group chatted.

  “Any time,” Sebastian replied with a friendly nudge.

  . . . . .

  The group began to discuss ideas now that they had the addition of live music from the Kings of Linwood. But a few personalities dominated the conversations, which made coming to an agreement difficult.

  “I think we should do a group dance routine,” Amber suggested with a flick of her hair.

  Grace and Stella laughed at each other, remembering that this was Mia’s earlier idea. The more she thought about it, the more Grace realised that Mia and Amber were actually very similar.

  “Good joke,” Adam said bluntly, clearly not impressed.

  “I’m serious, it would look so cool. We could make it like a cheerleading routine!” Amber continued.

  “I think someone’s watched Bring It On a few too many times,” Stella joked to Grace.

  “In that case, it was nice knowing you all, good luck!” And with that, Adam got up from the edge of the pool and began to walk away, closely followed by Ethan and Tyler. Even Sebastian began to get up.

  All the girls turned to Amber in a panic, urging her to change her mind.

  “Fine, but have you got a better idea?” Amber huffed.

  The boys made their way back to the pool and start
ed throwing some other ideas around. The mood within the group lifted as some good ideas began to surface.

  “Why don’t we just do a medley of Friday at Five songs and then film each song at a different location? I can bring my GoPro and we can do a mash up.” Adam suggested.

  “That’s actually a really good idea!” Amber confessed.

  “A little better than a dance routine,” Tyler teased.

  The group laughed but agreed with Amber, it was a great idea and would be pretty easy to put together too. The energy in the group was electric, with everyone excited and throwing around ideas for where they could film different scenes.

  Grace mentally gave herself a shake. Was this real? She and her friends – including Amber and her friends – were sitting around the Parkers’ swimming pool with her brother’s band, working on a music video together?

  Grace couldn’t wipe the smile off her face. It might have had something to do with the boy sitting next to her …

  The next few weeks flew by, with the Lions’ trainings improving every week as they got closer to their first game of the season. Grace hoped she wasn’t imagining it, but everyone seemed more comfortable around one another now, and this was reflected in the way they were training. High school life was turning out to be pretty good. She’d even managed to find shortcuts to some of her classes and hadn’t been late once. While the workload was a lot more intense than primary school, she was coping with everything and still had time to focus on netball and do extra trainings after school.

  Finally the Saturday of the Linwood Lions’ first game of the season rolled around. They were up against the Broadview Stars, who were sure to be a tough opposition.

  Grace, Mia and Stella piled out of the Parkers’ mini-van and ran towards their school netball courts, relieved to be playing their first game at their familiar home ground. They were wearing their team uniforms: bright red and white bodysuits that carried a picture of a lion – their school’s mascot – down the left side. Mia kept going on about how much more “flattering” the bodysuits were than their primary school’s pleated skirt and polo. She had always complained that the skirts were too long and the polo made it look like she had “tuck-shop lady” arms. Before they headed off, she had insisted Mrs Parker take a photo of the three of them in their new kit so she could post it on Instagram. Mia had forced Grace to get a profile during the holidays but Grace hadn’t touched it since. The only thing she’d posted was a selfie Mia had taken of the two of them. She didn’t really care about social media and wasn’t really into taking photos of every single thing she saw. Still, she smiled a big smile to get a good photo and keep Mia happy.