Our school had its first official review team come in on the Monday after camp. Mr Archie let us know that the men in suits were going to pop in here and there to jot down the changes we were making and take that info back to a department panel.
‘Don’t concern yourselves with them,’ he said. ‘Your job is to follow the rules and make sure you do everything in your power to stay out of trouble.’
Mr Ahmed had managed to keep the boys on track while we were at camp, with only a few boys being asked to leave the school for breaking their contracts. Enrolments going down was one of the big factors in the possible closure of the school. Mr Archie said that we needed to have at least 200 students, but right now, we were at 186.
As well as the review team, there was also an intense BBL meeting with Mr Ahmed and Miss K. They had written out a list of expectations for me.
• Control your anger.
• Be respectful.
• If you see trouble, try to stop it or tell a teacher.
• No physical violence.
• Be committed and hardworking.
• Before making a decision, think of the consequences.
• Be supportive and fair.
• Take responsibilities more seriously.
• Work towards effective communication.
‘You forgot “Save the world”,’ I said. ‘It’s been two weeks with all these changes and you guys need to relax.’
‘You boys have been relaxing for years now,’ Mr Ahmed said. His office had boxes stacked all over the floor, with labels like School Policies and Student Records. ‘We, including staff, need to be more proactive and do what we can to help the school.’
‘If you’re serious about your footy career, then this comp is perfect,’ Miss K added. ‘You’ll have a chance to win a scholarship with the Bulldogs, and you never know, it could change your life.’
I knew winning the comp could open doors for me but it was hard to focus with so much going on at one time.
‘Great! I have faith in you, Tariq. I know you can not only meet these expectations – you can actually exceed them.’ She gestured to dismiss me, then added, ‘Oh, and don’t forget we’re heading over to the girls’ school for the poetry workshops tomorrow.’
As I left the office, I heard Mr Ahmed ask her if I had made amends with Mariam. He had almost chewed my head off when I ghosted her.
‘She got him back good,’ I heard Miss K say, and the two of them laughed like it was the funniest thing ever.
Thanks, guys.
Our first official training session began on Tuesday at the crack of dawn, with Matt accidently converting to Islam. He’d been hounding Ibby to teach him a few Arabic words to help ease his anxiety since most of his days were now going to be spent in our hood. Ibby thought it would be funny to teach him the Shahada.
‘Now repeat after me.’ Ibby held Matt’s face and looked deep into his eyes. ‘Ash-hadu an La ilaha il-lal lah, wa Ash Hadu Ana Muhammadan Rasulu-lah.’
I sat on the bench and watched the colour drain from Matt’s face when Huss explained what he had said. Ibby hugged Matt a few times and referred to him as Mohammed. We all laughed when he tried to get Matt to wear his taqiyah.
‘Dude,’ Matt pleaded. ‘I’m not racist or anything, but is there a way you can undo it?’
‘Matt, they’re just joking,’ Mr Ahmed said, giving Ibby his cap back. ‘Don’t worry, you’re not Muslim.’
‘Yes, he is,’ Ibby said. ‘It’s done. You’re one of us now.’
Matt was laughing nervously, not wanting to offend us, when I noticed Riley struggling with his boots.
I walked over. ‘You alright, bro? We’re about to start soon.’
‘We should’ve just left Hunter alone.’ He stopped trying to fix his boots and looked up at me. ‘He’s not going to stop now.’
‘What do you mean? Did he do something to you?’
He showed me some photos on his phone. ‘I don’t have any proof it was him, but my bike and our garage door were sprayed with this.’
I zoomed in on the photos to see the words Snow Boy and Traitor Freak in big, red letters. ‘Have you told anyone?’
Riley shook his head. ‘It happened on the weekend. I came home from the library and saw it.’
‘You don’t have cameras?’ I asked.
‘No, but my dad is thinking of getting some now.’
Huss walked over and wrapped his arm around my neck. ‘Yallah bro, we’re waiting for you guys.’
I told him about the situation.
‘It’s not our problem,’ he said in Arabic. ‘Let his people deal with it.’
‘The guy needs help, bro,’ I replied, also in Arabic. ‘If we can help, then why not?’
‘Nah man, he wouldn’t do the same for us.’
I turned back to Riley to find he had already walked off. He didn’t need to understand Arabic to read Huss’s body language.
‘I’m not saying to go SWAT on this Hunter guy, but at least let’s see what the situation is,’ I said. ‘It’s not a joke. The guy vandalised his house.’
Huss shrugged. ‘Look, Riley’s alright, but I’m not going to go out of my way to help him.’
‘Let’s go, lads,’ Mr Archie called as I was about to argue the point. ‘We need to get started.’
There was something about the angry red letters on Riley’s house that made me feel sick. I imagined someone coming over to my home and doing something like that, and how it would make my family feel.
But I needed to be smart about making Hunter pay.
Mr Ahmed and Mr Archie had set up the field and the recent rain wasn’t going to stop their drills from hell. We huddled around, trying to keep as warm as possible in the cold wind. A couple of birds picked out rubbish from the bins.
‘Hey, Aaron,’ Ibby called out. ‘Look, the Yahooda long-nosed birds came to help you.’
‘We’d probably win more games if they helped out,’ Aaron replied, unfazed.
Ibby turned to me and nodded. ‘I like him. He can take a joke.’
‘Remember, words have power,’ Lee sang operatically. ‘Jokes can be harmful, too.’
He was so random. PJ obviously still couldn’t make heads or tails of Lee’s sense of humour, but by now I found it funny, and so did Aaron. Ibby tried to tackle him to the ground but Lee escaped like a slippery fish.
Mr Ahmed high-fived Lee. ‘Good, we’ll need you to be that evasive during our games too.’
‘Before we begin our training session, we’re going to take our first official team photo,’ Mr Archie told us.
We gathered around, our eyes still puffy and our shoulders slumped. Mr Ahmed asked Aaron and me to stand in the centre.
‘That’s better. We want the captains to look like leaders.’
Captains? Plural?
Aaron and I turned to each other in surprise as the flash burst on the camera.
‘Now we’ll have your reactions forever,’ Mr Archie smiled.
All that energy and time at camp I’d spent trying to prove that I was better than Aaron had been for nothing. I should’ve known they’d pull something like this.
‘I don’t know what’s worse.’ Huss was trying not to laugh. ‘Not being captain at all or only being half a captain.’
‘Telhas teeze,’ I muttered, but once I got over the shock, I had to admit it was pretty funny that Aaron and I had been lumped together yet again.
Mr Archie ran through the other positions. Huss was fullback and goal kicker, Lee and Matt were wings, PJ and Ibby forwards, and Riley was dummy-half. Mr Ahmed took the boys for some warm-up drills while Aaron and I stayed to get feedback from Mr Archie. He still intimidated me and I somehow always ended up agreeing to something I didn’t want to do.
‘Here’s the deal,’ he said. ‘Truth is that you both deserve to be captain and because you lads owe me, I expect you both to put your differences aside and actually start to think about the team instead of yourselves.’
‘How are both of us supposed to be captain on the field?’ I asked.
‘And what if we disagree?’ Aaron said.
Mr Archie shrugged. ‘It’s your job to figure it out and bring the team together. As the BBL, Tariq, you should already have the skills. Start to put them to good use.’
Aaron sighed, then shook his head. ‘Footy is not supposed to be this hard, sir. Can’t you just choose one of us?’
‘The decision’s been made. You will do whatever you need to, both on and off the field, to make this partnership work or risk letting Hunter and his team become the competition champions.’
He then swung the net of balls over his shoulder. ‘Oh, and before I forget. You’ll be spending time outside the comp trying to figure out how to win some games.’
‘Like how?’ we both asked.
‘I don’t know. Go to each other’s places. Eat some pizza. Watch a footy game together,’ he said, walking away. ‘You never know how many things you lads will have in common until you let go of the past and move forward. The team depends on it.’
Fantastic. After years of skating under the radar, all of a sudden I was supposed to be the new Muslim superman or something.
‘It’s like they don’t get we have other things on,’ Aaron said, almost echoing my own thoughts. He sighed. ‘Fine. Let’s just try and work it out and see what happens.’
‘Just don’t chuck a tantrum if something doesn’t go your way, and storm off like you did at camp,’ I sniped at him.
He raised an eyebrow at me. ‘And just don’t smash people with food trays and throw chairs if we lose a game.’
Training was harder than we were all used to. We practised drill after drill and failed each and every one. We were all still adjusting to our new roles and teammates, but if we were anything like this in our first game, pretty much every team was going to smash us. The only positive I could see was that Lee was seriously trying to be the new Usain Bolt. His speed was unlike anything I had ever seen. When he ran down the line, his cheeks flapped in the wind and we’d struggle to keep up.
Aaron and I tried to take control of the drills, but we both had different set plays in mind. He wanted to play on the fifth tackle, but I wanted to grubber the ball to try and find open space.
‘Sir, they’re calling out different things,’ Ibby complained to Mr Archie and Mr Ahmed. ‘Who do we follow?’
‘They’re your captains, boys,’ Mr Ahmed said. ‘Let them know how you feel.’
Matt rested on his knees, trying to catch his breath. ‘Can’t you guys share set plays? Like, one of you take one set and the other waits his turn?’
‘That’s the dumbest idea ever,’ Huss said, turning to Aaron. ‘Just let Tariq take over. You’re not that good, anyway.’
‘Maybe if you would pass the ball when I called it, we’d have a shot at being “that good”,’ Aaron fired back, wiping his forehead with his jersey.
‘What did you say?’ Huss’s pride had taken a hit and it wasn’t going to go down well.
I pushed myself in front of Huss. ‘Relax, bro. Just try to pass when you’ve made a break and you’ve got support.’
‘What, you’re on his side now?’ Huss sneered, redirecting his anger at me. ‘Kol khara, bro. You and him can go jump.’
‘At least we know how to play and we’re not hogging the ball,’ Aaron said, storming closer. ‘I’m your captain, you do what I tell you to do.’
Oh shit. I don’t think Aaron had any idea how close he was to literally getting his head ripped right off.
Mr Archie and Mr Ahmed watched from a distance as I tried to hold Huss back. ‘Huss! Huss, CHILL! We’re on the same team in the comp! Remember the contracts!’
‘Fuck the contracts,’ he shouted, shoving me away. ‘Fuck the comp and fuck you, bro. Why aren’t you saying something to the Yahooda? You and him best mates now?’
‘You can’t do anything to me,’ Aaron said coolly. ‘Check yourself before you try to come at me.’
I turned back to Aaron, keeping my shoulder between him and Huss. ‘Can you stop pushing him, you idiot? Both of you relax. Archie and Ahmed are right there. Do you wanna screw this team over before we’ve even begun?’
Huss breathed heavily like a raging bull. ‘Don’t act like you give a shit about this team, Tariq. You’re the one that said we’d just be faking it so Mr Archie couldn’t suspend us. Remember?’
Mr Archie and Mr Ahmed were now close enough to hear everything. I felt my stomach drop as I saw the cold disappointment in their eyes. The low clouds rumbled in the sky.
‘Pack up, lads,’ Mr Archie said, not even looking at me. ‘Training is done.’
I glared at Huss. ‘Why the hell did you go and say I was faking it, ya hmar?’
His eyes still sparked with rage. ‘What? Too chickenshit to say it in front of your new friends?’
I felt like I’d been punched in the stomach.
Huss grabbed his bags and stormed off.
‘He’s not normal,’ Aaron said. ‘He literally lost the plot over nothing.’
‘I had it under control but you just couldn’t be quiet for one second?’ I snapped back at him.
‘You expect me to be quiet when he’s threatening me and calling me things like Yahooda? What? You think I don’t know what that means?’ I tried to walk away but Aaron followed. ‘You need to do something about him. He’s the weakest point in this team and you seem to be the only one who can say shit to him.’
‘You think after all that I can do shit about Huss?’
‘He’s a goddamn liability, and you know it. He’s got no place on this team and I’m amazed you guys bother with him at all.’
I turned around and shoved him in the shoulder. ‘You think I’ve forgotten that the only reason your team puts up with you now is because they decided to buy your bullshit apologies for being an arsehole all these years?’
He narrowed his eyes. ‘At least I’m trying to do something different, instead of sitting back and complaining how nobody gives me a shot just because I live in Punchbowl.’
At those words, I felt the fight go out of me. It was like I was sinking into the ground with each step I took. Everyone around me expected me to move mountains, and I had no idea what the hell I was supposed to do.
‘Listen, Aaron, Huss is my best mate. He’s been my best mate since before we could even walk. I don’t know what you expect me to do but –’
‘But what?’ he interjected, standing staunch in front of me. ‘You too scared to tell him that he needs to back down?’
‘What, like how you told Hunter to back down when Riley’s house and bike were graffitied over the weekend?’
The other boys, who had been trying to pretend they were invisible all this time, suddenly all turned to stare at Riley.
‘What did that khanzir do?’ Ibby demanded.
‘Graffiti?’ Aaron repeated. ‘What are you talking about?’ ‘Whatever, man,’ I said, pushing past him as Riley tried to downplay what had happened. ‘Don’t act like you don’t know what Hunter is capable of. How about you pull up your mates, then I’ll consider pulling up mine.’
Ibby: Hey, Hussy…Huss the Hog. We’re waiting for you at Tariq’s.
PJ: Don’t forget it’s movie night.
Ibby: Bob said if you don’t come in 5 min,
she’s never going to talk to you again.
Tariq: Stop chucking a sook and come. Mum
made you macaroni bi laban.
No response.
Huss lived on his phone and I could see that he’d read the messages. So he was choosing to ignore us.
Ibby threw a few cushions at me. ‘Just say sorry, Tariq. He feels you didn’t have his back.’
‘He’s the one that snitched on me to Archie and Ahmed. They didn’t speak to me all day. He didn’t have my back.’
PJ scooped up a few spoons of macaroni like he hadn’t eaten in days. ‘Yeah, but Hussy didn’t mean it. He does stuff like that when he’s angry.’
‘Wallah, I am so fucking sick of that excuse!’
Amira lay down in my lap and looked up at me through her glasses. Aunty Salma had bought her a pink fairy skirt, which she now wore over her overalls. ‘Haram for Huss. It was an accident, Tariq. Just message him one more time.’
Mulan was locked out of the Emperor’s palace and now had to find another way to help her friends even though they had left her in the mountains and turned their backs on her. I didn’t want to message Huss. I was still pissed at him for exposing me to Mr Archie and Mr Ahmed, but I knew if I didn’t check up on him, it would grow into a much bigger problem. Huss didn’t let things go. He brooded and festered until he exploded.
Tariq: Let’s just forget about it. Bob is waiting
for you. We’re almost finished Mulan and
about to start The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Huss: Yallah be there in 5.