by Rawah Arja
The boys kept training with Mr Ahmed and Mr Archie, but I could tell everyone was eavesdropping as I tried to get him to relax.
‘Huss? I’m not asking you to kiss his arse. Just to be normal. I’m your captain too, and I’m asking you to take this comp a little more seriously,’ I said. ‘Think about it as something for us, and nothing to do with this Aaron guy.’
His breathing eased. ‘Just tell him not to get in my face.’
We had an audience at training today. Groups of women worked out on the new gym equipment installed by the council and old men sat on the benches and laughed every time Mr Archie or Mr Ahmed threw the balls at our heads.
‘We need to be more consistent, lads,’ Mr Archie shouted. ‘Talk to each other, and please, for the love of God, stop dropping the ball.’
Mr Ahmed looked at his phone. ‘Mr Archie, I have something that’s going to help.’ He left in a rush. We had a rare opportunity to have a break until Mr Ahmed came back, so we sat on the cold grass trying to catch our breath.
Lee fiddled with his phone and seemed frustrated. His YouTube channel had lost some followers over the weekend and racist comments had been posted. We knew it was Hunter and his friends because of all the times ‘Noodle Boy’ had been used.
‘He’s gonna pay, bro,’ PJ said, punching his fist into his other hand. ‘Next time we see him, let’s just smash his face behind the toilets.’
‘And ruin any chance for your school,’ Aaron said, sitting up quickly. ‘We have to figure out another way.’
‘Don’t act like you care about our school,’ Huss sneered.
Aaron looked at me like I should say something.
‘We’ll talk about it later.’ I saw Mr Ahmed walking back our way. ‘Hey, who’s that with him?’
I blinked a few times to make sure my eyes were seeing right.
It was Hazem El Masri.
Each team had been given an NRL mentor, and lucky us, we had a home-grown talent. Without warning, Ibby rushed up and hugged Hazem tightly. ‘Wallah, I luv ya.’
‘Don’t fight it,’ Mr Archie advised Hazem. ‘He’ll just hold on tighter.’
‘Morning, boys,’ Hazem said, Ibby still wrapped around him. ‘Hey, buddy, I need my body to show you boys some things.’
Ibby finally let go. ‘He’s a good hugger, man.’
Hazem took out a newspaper from his back pocket and showed us the front page of The Torch.
‘Is that you, Ibby?’ PJ asked as we all huddled around.
‘Am I famous?’ he asked, holding the paper close to his face.
It was a picture of Ibby hugging Hazem when he had come to our school earlier. The headline read, ‘School Embraces a New Beginning.’
It was the first good story that had been printed about us in a long time. We were so used to people pointing out our flaws that we had forgotten what it was like to have something nice said about us.
Hazem handed the paper to Mr Ahmed and got straight into it. ‘Alright, boys. First things first. Hands up if you have each other’s mobile numbers.’
We looked at each other, confused.
‘Mobile numbers?’ PJ asked. ‘I only have theirs.’ He pointed to Huss, Ibby and me.
‘Communication is key,’ Hazem said, and waited until we had all exchanged numbers. He then pointed at me. ‘Make a chat group with all of you in it. From now on, you need to communicate via the group. This is more than just a team. When you play week in and week out, your teammates start to become your family.’ He went on to tell us of the difficulties he faced when he first played for the Bulldogs and how getting to know his team made them play so much better. ‘We knew each others’ strengths and weaknesses, and in 2004 we proved what brotherhood could do.’
Aaron raised his hand. ‘My dad has a jersey signed by all of you in our garage.’
Ibby grabbed him by his shirt. ‘First you don’t invite us to your house, and now you’re telling me you have a jersey from the last time the Bulldogs won a grand final?’
‘Relax, bro,’ he said, freeing himself. ‘You can see it when you come over.’
Hazem nodded, impressed. ‘Nice. Even I don’t have a signed jersey.’ He looked at all of us. ‘Look, guys, it’s all about sportsmanship and respect. You need to be able to rely on your team. I knew my team had my back, especially after September 11 and all the bad media coverage about Muslims. When I’d take a kick, I’d sometimes hear racist comments, but knowing my team had my back, I didn’t care.’
‘Team,’ Mr Archie said. ‘You lads need to be a team off the field before you play on the field.’
We split up and went back to completing some drills. Hazem coached Huss one-on-one, teaching him a few tricks for his kicking. With Huss and Aaron away from each other, I could concentrate on running the ball with the boys.
Miss K watched me like an eagle during the poetry workshop with Jamila. My stomach bubbled with nerves as I took my seat.
‘I’m sorry.’
She tapped away on her laptop.
‘I’m sorry for what I said. I didn’t mean it. It just came out.’ I could feel the sweat break out on my face.
She looked up like she was waiting for more.
‘I don’t think you’re uptight. I don’t know why I said that. I got nervous and said a dumb thing.’
It felt like a million years of her staring at me. She then reached for her bag and pulled out a small red gift bag. She slid it across the table, then went back to typing.
My heart beat a little faster when I pulled out a pair of gloves with rubber grips on the palms.
‘Maybe they’ll help Bob with the monkey bars,’ she finally said.
‘Thanks.’ I smiled a little. ‘So, I’m forgiven?’
‘I’m not one to hold on to grudges. But the next time you speak to me like that, I’ll ask Mrs Pepper to change groups and I’ll work with anyone but you.’
‘Fair enough.’ I put the gift bag away and pulled out a bunch of notes about our poetry slam presentation that I had scribbled the previous night with Aunty Salma. I didn’t just want to say sorry, I wanted to show her. ‘I wrote these notes and thought maybe you could have a look at them and see if they’re any good?’
She grinned. ‘You worked on this at home?’
I shrugged, trying to play it cool. ‘You said it was important. And I do think you’re Miss Perfect. But in a good way.’
She passed me her laptop with her notes, and for the first time the silence between us brought us closer. She read so much faster than me, and sat there drawing on her forearm as I caught up.
‘Your parents are divorced?’ I asked, reading some lines about rebuilding a broken home.
‘Yeah. Mum’s remarried in Dubai,’ she said, inking more flowers onto her arm. ‘It’s one of those “I promise I’ll always be there for you, except if a rich man from Dubai comes along and offers me more than what your dad could” type of divorce stories.’ She shook her head and continued to draw. ‘What about you? How’s the school stuff going?’
‘We met Hazem this week,’ I said. ‘We also had our first good news story and I’m sort of captain again.’
‘Nice,’ she said, smiling.
I looked down at her arms. ‘Why do you draw on yourself?’
‘It’s like brain therapy,’ she said. ‘I find it calming, especially drawing roses and tulips.’
‘Brain therapy?’
‘Yeah,’ she laughed. ‘It’s hard to explain. It just helps.’
‘Why don’t you buy real flowers?’ I asked.
‘I do. Every couple of Fridays. It brightens up the house.’
We worked and talked a little more, then Mariam came and sat on our table. I tensed up immediately.
‘What are you guys up to?’ she asked casually. ‘Anwar and I are going to do it like a rap. He needs work, but I think after a few Cardi B songs, he’ll be alright.’ She then busted out a few rhymes.
‘You’re really good!’ I said.
She grinne
d. ‘Don’t look so surprised. I killed it.’ She then looked at Jamila. ‘We’ll talk after, yeah?’
Jamila nodded, and Mariam headed off to show her rap skills to the other groups. I gazed after her.
‘Never thought I’d have a civilised conversation with Mariam again,’ I mused.
‘You’d be surprised how much women have to say if you’d actually listen,’ Jamila said tartly, but she was smiling, and there wasn’t the characteristic bite to her words.
I didn’t want to jinx anything, but it felt easy talking to her now. It wasn’t that she didn’t make me nervous or that I still didn’t think about every word I said, but I finally accepted that she was always going to pull me into line when I acted out.
Chapter 24
The weather for Game 3 was crisp and cool, with only a couple of clouds in the sky. The buses had arrived and all the teams were sitting under their team banners. The fields were marked out in white, and some photographers were scattered around the park. Dad told me that The Torch article with Ibby and Hazem was displayed in some of the shop windows in Punchbowl.
‘They tell customer about football comp,’ he said. ‘They come to some games and watch you boys.’ It felt so great having the community come out to support us on this cold Friday morning.
Mr Archie and Mr Ahmed gave us our final pep talk, both wearing Bulldogs jerseys.
‘Change of plans, lads,’ Mr Archie announced. ‘Your VIP tickets for tomorrow’s game at Belmore depend on how you play today.’
‘But, sir!’ PJ protested. ‘That’s not fair.’
Aaron raised his hand. ‘Weren’t they a gift from Hazem?’
‘Too bad,’ Mr Ahmed said. ‘You only get these tickets if you work as a team.’
‘Do we have to win?’ Lee asked dubiously. ‘The outlook isn’t good.’
‘Win or lose. We want to see proper sportsmanship and team playing from all of you. The tickets are for the F Team, so if you lads show us that you’re a team, Cinderella will go to the ball,’ Mr Archie said.
‘We have an incentive now,’ Riley said, strapping on his headgear. ‘We have something to play for.’
‘Um, and we have our school?’ PJ added doubtfully.
‘Stuff our school!’ Ibby shouted. ‘Wallah, if any of you stuff this up for me, I’m going to kill all of you.’ He focused on Matt. ‘Especially you, Goldilocks.’
Matt looked around. ‘Goldilocks? I thought Mr Archie just said I was Cinderella.’
‘Goldilocks, Cinderella, Humpty Dumpty, whatever. I’ll kill you.’
My heart picked up its pace as the referee called for our game to begin in five minutes. Aaron and I discussed a couple of game plans when we noticed Lee with streaks of black paint marked across his face.
‘Hunter’s going to know I’m here for war,’ he said, slapping his face. ‘You wanna mess with my YouTube channel? I’ll show you what Noodle Boy can do.’
PJ stared at him. ‘It’s official then. Nintendo’s lost the plot.’
‘We need that intensity if we’re going to beat Team C,’ Aaron said. ‘Just keep an ear and eye out for Tariq and me on the field.’
We stood across from Team C while the referee went over the rules. Ibby and PJ growled a few times and shadowboxed, trying to intimidate the boys from Campbelltown and Macquarie Fields.
I set up the ball on the tee, ready for kick off, and raised my hand to signal play. ‘Here we go, boys.’
They caught the ball, and in a matter of seconds PJ and Ibby were on the other side, ready to make the tackle. I’d never seen them run that fast – they almost gave Lee a run for his money. Team C reached the last tackle in their set, just before the halfway line, when one of their players accidentally played the ball the wrong way.
‘Play on,’ the referee called out.
Riley hurried over to pick up the ball and made a break. He ran down the line, but just before he could pass to Aaron, he was tackled twenty metres out. Mr Archie shouted from the sidelines as I rushed up as dummy-half. I heard Matt behind me in support.
‘I’m unmarked,’ he shouted.
I passed the ball, and before we knew it, our first points were on the board. Ibby squeezed Matt so tight that I thought his eyeballs were going to pop out.
‘Hey, you said you’d kill me if we lost the game, not if I scored a try,’ Matt laughed. We watched on as Huss set up the ball but missed the kick.
‘It’s okay, Huss,’ Mr Archie called out. ‘Keep your head up, son.’
PJ ran beside him. ‘How did you miss that shot?’
‘It’s just one kick,’ Huss snapped back. ‘It’s no big deal.’
Even though I’d seen Huss make that shot a million times before, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. We’d talked before the game, and he assured me that he had our backs just as long as Aaron stayed away from him.
We made a few tackles and defended our line well, but they got a couple of repeat sets.
‘Stay on your line,’ Aaron called out. ‘Stay on your man.’
Team C played the ball and dived through to score their first try under the posts. It was Huss’s man but he still managed to get through.
‘You said he was going to play properly,’ Aaron said to me. ‘What the hell was that crap tackle he made?’
‘I got this,’ I said. ‘Just keep away from him.’
‘If he stuffs up one more time, I’m going to say something.’
I went over to Huss while we waited for Team C to take the kick. ‘I know it’s just one tackle, but it’s cost us a try. Hold on to the tackle next time.’
‘Relax, man,’ he said shaking his head. ‘You guys are taking it too seriously.’
They converted the try with a few minutes left on the board.
At half-time, the score sat 6–4 in their favour.
Mr Ahmed passed around the water while Mr Archie went through a few plays.
‘It’s okay, lads. You’re only down by two. Let’s just focus on completing those sets and gaining possession.’ He then looked at Aaron and me. ‘You two lads are working much better today. Run the ball a little more on the outside. We’ve got a rocket in Lee, and Riley is great out of the ruck. Use them to your advantage.’
We did just that and Aaron and I set up a beautiful set piece for Riley to score on the outside. Lee made most of the metres when Riley ran in support. I had used this play so many times in our school games and it always worked like a charm.
‘Good play, man,’ Aaron said as we watched Huss set the ball up on a tee. ‘He should get this, right? It’s not that far out.’
I held my breath, because if Huss didn’t make this kick, then I would know something was up. He took a few steps back and looked up to the posts.
Ya illahi, please make it.
The ball missed the posts, too far to the right.
Ibby and PJ shook their heads in disbelief. Aaron bared his teeth at me. ‘He’s not taking the next kick. You are. That’s my call as captain.’
8–6.
For the first time in all my years of playing footy, I prayed that we didn’t score any more tries. I was angry that Huss was messing up simple things, but I knew that if Aaron stripped him of goal kicking, it would start an all-out war. Before we knew it, Ibby bulldozed through their line and scored.
My heart sank.
Huss ran to the ball just as Aaron picked it up. ‘You’re not taking the kick.’
Huss laughed and tried to take the ball from him.
Aaron turned away. ‘We need these points to at least secure a win.’
‘You can’t do that,’ Huss said through clenched teeth. ‘Tariq’s captain, too. Tell him to give me the ball, bro.’
I felt like time had stopped around me. Huss was my mate. But we needed this win to have any chance of making it into the finals.
‘Just listen to him, Huss.’ The words finally left my mouth.
His eyes turned flat and cold, and he took a few steps back. ‘Really.’
Aaro
n shoved the ball into my chest. ‘We need this, Tariq.’
There was a deafening silence on the field as I placed the ball on the tee to take the kick. It flew high in between the posts. Huss spent the rest of the game jogging up and down the field, not bothering to engage with any of the plays. When Aaron scored one more try, he wandered to the other end of the field.
20–6, full-time.
‘Congratulations, F Team,’ the referee said as we shook hands with Team C. I sat on the bench and watched the boys celebrate. They laughed and cheered, but as hard as I tried to join in, I couldn’t get Huss’s face out of my head. He had left as soon as the game was over, catching a lift back to school with some of the men who were heading off to Friday Jummah.
‘Am I supposed to feel this bad?’ I asked Mr Archie, who sat beside me watching the boys.
He smiled gently. ‘Depends what you’re feeling bad about, lad.’
I swallowed around the lump in my throat. ‘I don’t even know if I did the right thing.’
‘If you had the chance to go back and change your decision, would you?’
I so badly wanted to say yes, but I knew that as hard as it was for me to side with Aaron against Huss, it had been the right call.
Aaron walked over and joined us.
‘I’ll leave you two captains to talk,’ Mr Archie said.
Aaron watched him go. ‘I know that was hard for you, but we had to win,’ he finally said. ‘We gave him so many chances.’
‘You don’t understand. It’s not that I didn’t let him convert. It’s the fact I sided with you. That’s the problem.’
‘Mr Archie put us in charge because we can make those tough decisions. That’s why we’re captains.’
I took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. ‘You have no idea what I’m talking about.’
He couldn’t understand. No one could.
No one was going to be hurt in this situation but Huss’s and my relationship. He held so tightly onto his anger and did stupid things when he was upset.
I could only hope he’d be over it for tomorrow’s Bulldogs game.