Bloody rain
“Bloody rain” says Mr Chivers
bouncing a basketball
on the one dry patch of court
“bloody rain” he nods to our Sports class
and gives us the afternoon off.
Bloody rain all right
as Annabel and I run to Megalong Creek hut
faster than we ever have in Chivers’s class
and the exercise we have in mind
we’ve been training for all year
but I doubt if old Chivers
will give us a medal if he ever finds out.
We high-jump into the hut
and strip down
climb under the blankets
and cheer the bloody rain
as it does a lap or two
around the mountain
while Annabel and me
embrace like winners should
like good sports do
as Mr Chivers sips his third coffee
and twitches the bad knee
from his playing days
Annabel and I
score a convincing victory
and for once in our school life
the words “Physical Education”
make sense...