Alice hit the ball but then doubled over in pain. She dropped the cricket bat and groaned as she clutched her stomach.

Ben ran over to her. ‘What’s wrong?’ he asked.

‘Tummy ache,’ answered Alice. ‘I’m okay.’

She took several deep breaths and sat down on the yellowed grass. Ben gazed at her, concern in his eyes. As the pain eased, Alice looked up at her best friend. She didn’t like showing weakness around him. It worried her that, if she did, he might not want to hang around with her. So she was determined to be every bit as tough as he was. She was twelve years old, after all.

‘I’m okay,’ she repeated, as if saying it again would make it true. ‘Must’ve been something I ate.’

Ben finally grinned. ‘You been eating roo again?’

Now Alice smiled. She didn’t like the taste of kangaroo – it was too strong. And it just seemed wrong to eat one of the animals from the Australian coat of arms. The only time she’d ever had it was over at Ben’s place when his mum had served it up and she ate it to be polite.

‘Yeah,’ she said, mockingly. ‘Think I might try emu next.’

‘I could ask Mum?’ offered Ben with a shrug.

‘Don’t you dare,’ said Alice in horror.

Ben grinned again. His shadow blocked out the harsh sun and made him glow around the edges.

She stared up into his dark eyes. What colour were they? They were dark. Darker than his brown skin.

‘Why are you looking at me like that?’ asked Ben.

‘No reason.’ Alice shook her head and eased herself up onto her feet. She felt a twinge of pain, but was careful not to show any sign of it to Ben.

‘Yeah, whatever,’ said Ben, going off to fetch the ball.

Alice picked up the bat. She was pretty good at cricket, but she was no match for Ben. He lived and breathed the sport.

Shielding her eyes, she looked at the sun, low in the sky. They’d come out early to beat the worst of the heat. Australian summers were hot, but they seemed harsher in a small outback town. Alice was slathered in sunscreen, but she knew that her fair, freckled skin would get a beating if she stayed out too long.

She positioned herself in front of the rusted set of metal stumps she’d found in the hard rubbish collection a couple of years ago. She smiled at the flaking pink paint and remembered the lecture Ben had given her. He had complained she had used the wrong kind, and that she had painted over the rust instead of sanding it off and treating it first. He had warned her that it wouldn’t last. He was right, of course.

Alice watched as Ben positioned himself in front of the pitch and gave her his best ‘I’m gonna bowl those stumps over’ look.

She flicked her brown hair from her eyes and waited. She wondered if the haircut had been a mistake. This new style was too short to tie back and it kept getting in the way.

Ben tossed the ball from hand to hand, rubbed it on his black shorts, then began the run up. He bowled a spinner, the ball changing direction slightly after bouncing on the pitch.

Alice swung and missed.

CLANG!

She closed her eyes and groaned. The ball had knocked over the stumps.

Another twinge of pain stabbed at her and she dropped the bat.

Opening her eyes, she saw Ben punch the air as he shouted ‘YES!’

Alice wanted to scream. Instead, she righted the stumps before retrieving the ball. Lining up at the far end of the pitch opposite Ben, she felt another spasm in her tummy but ignored it.

Alice thought she might try a spinner. She concentrated as she ran up.

But pain sliced into her stomach and she released the ball early. The ball went wide and she doubled over again, clutching her arms around her middle.

Ben was at her side in seconds. ‘You okay?’

‘Fine,’ Alice snapped.

Ben stood by awkwardly as Alice straightened up and glared at him. The pain was beginning to worry her – but that was no reason to take it out on Ben. Her expression softened. ‘Sorry,’ she mumbled.

‘No more cricket today,’ said Ben. ‘You should rest.’

Alice nodded casually. But she was quietly relieved that they were stopping, as the pains seemed to be getting worse.

‘Can we watch telly at your place?’ Ben asked.

‘Yeah,’ Alice answered.

Then Ben came up close beside her, shuffling awkwardly.

‘What?’ she asked.

‘Do you need help?’ he asked, not looking directly at her. ‘Want to lean on me or something?’

‘Nah.’ Alice smiled at Ben. ‘It’s just a bit of a tummy ache. It’s better already.’

The pain had eased from a sharp stab in the right side to a dull, all-over ache. She would never admit it to Ben, but it troubled her. She’d never had this kind of stomach pain before.

As Ben got the ball, stumps and bat, Alice looked up at the sky and frowned. The sun was fierce and the day was bright. But she could feel something in the hot air. Something ominous. It was like a crackle of static electricity, signalling that things were about to change … and not for the better.