‘The team lists are up on the noticeboard,’ said the instructor. ‘Have a look at who you are with and then we’ll start the competition. And don’t forget that we’ll be having a barbecue afterwards, thanks to all the parents who provided the food!’

Lola looked over to the side of the hall. Rex and her mum were sitting with all the other parents. Abbey was sitting on the bench beside them. Lola noticed that she was wearing her favourite jeans and a new T-shirt.

There was a rush as everyone went to look at the list. Lola craned her neck, looking for her name.

Lola gasped. She hadn’t expected the teams to be divided this way. When she had thought about the training session, she’d always thought that Will and Patrick would be on the same team.

Sometimes she’d thought she’d be on the opposite team to them, and sometimes she’d thought she would be on the same team. But the idea of her and Patrick being against Will hadn’t even crossed her mind.

‘OK, teams. Outside now,’ said the instructor. ‘Team B will be the first attackers. Try to make a surprise attack on a member of Team A. Team A, your job is to deal with the surprise attack, using any of the moves we’ve learned in class. Remember, there is to be no violence and no hard contact. The attackers will only try to push, and the defenders will try to stop them. Are we clear?’

Everyone nodded. Patrick and Lola walked outside with the rest of their team.

‘Hey, who’s your friend?’ Patrick asked, pointing to Abbey. Lola noticed that he was spiking up his hair with his fingers.

‘I’ll tell you later,’ Lola said. ‘Right now, we should be preparing for –’

Just that second, Lisa jumped out of the bushes and pushed Patrick. He was totally unprepared and went down quickly.

‘Hey, I wasn’t ready!’ he complained.

But Lola wasn’t listening.

She got ready for an attack. She pivoted, using the Horse Stance to keep her steady.

Suddenly, Big Ben jumped out from behind a tree. His hands were coming towards her. But Lola was ready.

She grabbed him by the arm, and put her foot behind his leg.

She was winning!

Big Ben was going down.

But the next thing she knew, Lola had lost her balance. Big Ben was down, but Lola had tripped over him. She lunged forward. Her foot hit a tree stump. Her ankle twisted painfully.

Lola sat by the stump, holding her ankle. She squeezed her eyes closed, trying not to cry. Everyone stopped, and rushed over to her.

Lola heard Big Ben apologising.

Then she heard Will’s voice. ‘Go and get an ice-pack, Patrick. And some bandages. Run!’

Will crouched beside Lola. ‘Are you all right?’ he asked. His voice was full of concern.

The instructor ran over to them. He examined Lola’s ankle. ‘It’s OK, Will,’ he said. ‘It’s just a bad sprain. I’ll take care of Lola. You go back to the competition.’

Will shook his head. ‘I want to stay here,’ he said. ‘With my … well she is kind of my … sister,’ he said.

Lola looked at Will and attempted a smile.

Even though her ankle hurt pretty badly, part of her was happy. She knew now that she could trust Will when it really counted.