‘Right . . . okay . . . and does she need to bring anything?’
It was Monday morning and Mum was on the phone. I shifted in my seat, bad leg resting on an extra chair, and started stabbing my Weet-Bix to get the milk soaked through.
Two seconds later, Mum slapped a sticky note on the table beside me: Grey St Physio Thurs 4pm. She was wearing a business jacket and suit skirt. As always, her hair and make-up were flawless.
‘’anks M’m,’ I managed, mouth full of soggy cereal.
‘What else can I get for you, sweetie?’ She’d already cleared away the cereal box and the milk.
I wiped a slop of milk from the table and shrugged. ‘Don’t know. Nothing really.’
‘Well, I’m going to be working from home today, so I have to make some phone calls.’ For a moment Mum’s brisk efficiency faded as she tilted her head and looked at me. She brushed the backs of her fingers against my cheek. ‘Just yell if you need something, okay?’
I nodded, and by the time I had started scooping cereal again Mum was talking on her mobile in the study.
After breakfast I spent a good twenty minutes visualising my floor routine from start to end – without any injuries – with my leg up and my knee packed in ice.
I was feeling a bit better about State Squad. Next year wasn’t so far away. And I’d have one advantage at least – more time to prepare than everyone else. Maybe I could start building so far out and work so mind-numbingly hard that I could blast into the Nationals next year and blitz even better than anyone could ever expect.
The thought made my breath come fast. I could do it, I knew I could. I just had work harder than ever . . .
I took the ice pack off my knee and started into stomach crunches – 120 pounding ones. They worked fine because crunches are hardest when your knees are lifted on a chair or, in my case, a pile of flimsy pillows. Man it felt good – the strain in my muscles and the grunt in my gut, my blood surging and pumping. A stupid weak knee wasn’t about to make me go soft.
After that I tried some leg raises, but they only worked on my good side and I imagined myself turning into the elephant-girl gymnast – huge muscles on one side and all spindly and weak on the other. Not exactly a winning look.
By ten o’clock I had no idea what else to do. Mum, the Terminator Woman, was busy working and everyone else was at school. It took me about ten seconds to realise that morning TV was a total yawn.
The day felt stretched out and strange. Usually I was really busy. Training twenty-two hours a week meant I had to be super-organised with homework. Sometimes I had to finish assignments days before they were due because the rest of my week was so chock full of gym. Any extra time I could sneak I spent with Rene, but I couldn’t call her during class time.
For a while, I stared at the tired old trophy that Samantha had left beside my bed, trying to conjure up the bold, brash feeling that would help me show the universe I was a winner. But after a while my mind wandered and I began thinking about the club championships when I won that little trophy. I hadn’t thought about it for ages, but Samantha did that comp too. She was the reason I started gym in the first place. Now that I thought about it, those club championships were the last gym comp that Samantha ever did.
It’s weird the things that pop into your mind when you give yourself space to think.
After that I mucked around on the crutches, swinging with both feet in the air, lifting my good leg up in a graceful pointed kick. I got pretty good after a while, with only a weenie bit of pain. Then I practised using the crutches properly, making sure I could get around without looking completely unco.
‘Jade, do you have a minute?’ Mum called as I clunk-hopped past the lounge room. She had work papers covering the coffee table.
‘Just let me check.’ I rested on the crutches and pretended to read through a list of important appointments on my palm. ‘Yep, I can squeeze you in.’ Then I clunked back with a little crutch-assisted leap here and there.
Mum was sitting on the edge of the couch, her knees pressed tightly together. ‘So, Jade, do you have an action plan from here? Or is it too early to ask?’
I liked it when she spoke to me as if she were talking to a work colleague in a business meeting. It made me think that maybe, one day, I could even work with her – learn everything she knew about the world of property development that had made her so Superwoman successful.
‘Well . . .’ It was hard to look businesslike with my bad leg stuck out. ‘I’ve been thinking of aiming for State selection next year. Lots of time to prepare at least.’
Mum’s face relaxed into a smile – a real one for once. Then she sighed. ‘Good. That’s my girl. A setback like this can make some people think of quitting . . .’ Her eyes narrowed.
I shrugged and smiled because the idea hadn’t even entered my mind.
Mum’s face relaxed again and she nodded. ‘And I was thinking . . . you could use this extra time to get ahead with school, so when your knee’s back on track you can catch up at gym and not have homework to deal with.’
‘Well . . .’ Keeping up-to-date with homework was one of my superpowers, but getting ahead? I didn’t want to think what would happen if anyone at school found out. But there was a book report due in four weeks that I could get stuck into.
‘Okay . . .’ I said slowly.
Mum clapped her hands once and smiled. ‘Great, let’s get to work.’
‘Right.’ Business meeting over. I stood up on my one good leg, and clunked back to my room concentrating on moving as efficiently as possible. From my bedroom I could hear the beeping of Mum’s mobile.
Terminator Woman and Supergirl take on the world.
By the time I heard Rene click the front gate behind her, I was desperate for some company. I’d finished reading the book, and had started planning my report. A laugh a minute.
‘Thank heavens you’re here!’ I called from the front door. I hopped forward and sat gingerly on the front steps. My knee felt almost comfortable resting like that.
‘Hey, babe! You look better already,’ Rene said. She tucked her skirt under her legs and sat next to me on the step. Then she held up a chocolate frog and swung it temptingly. ‘I guess you don’t need this to cheer you up.’
Chocolate! That’s my girl. I put my hands up like paws and let my tongue flop out like a puppy.
‘Good doggie.’ Rene patted my head and held the frog up in front of my nose.
I bit the edge of the wrapper, pulled the frog out of her grasp and dropped it into my lap. Then I picked it up, tore it open and broke the frog in half.
Rene took her gooey chocolate piece. ‘Thanks, chum.’
‘So, tell me everything,’ I said eagerly, licking strawberry goo from my fingers. ‘What did I miss at school?’
Rene shook her head. ‘You’ve only missed one day.’ But her cheeks seemed pinker than normal.
‘Come on, Rene, out with it,’ I said, rubbing my hands together.
Rene glanced at me, then down at her knees. ‘Well. I did see Marco on the weekend . . . shopping at Highgate . . .’
‘Ick!’ I shivered. Marco was one of those guys who believed he was God’s gift to the universe, and to his football team. ‘Is he a total sleaze outside of school, too?’
‘Not really,’ she said quickly, looking at her knees. Her cheeks were still bright pink. Then she jerked her head up and smiled as if glad to have thought of something new. ‘Actually, there is one bit of goss. It’s kind of weird . . .’
I nodded with my eyebrows raised.
‘You know Levi Sinclair? He hurt his knee on Saturday too. Same day as you.’ Rene frowned at my bandage. ‘I don’t know if it was the same knee . . .’
‘Really?’ I asked, not sure if it was interesting or not. Even though we were in the same PE class, I didn’t know Levi very well. He looked about eighteen and was a total star of the football team. From what I could tell, Levi wasn’t an arrogant jerk like Marco. Though it was hard to be sure. Levi hardly said anything.
‘And he went to school today?’ I asked suddenly.
‘Yup,’ said Rene, staring into space. ‘I wonder if a sore knee was in your stars or something. Do you know when his birthday is?’
I shrugged. ‘Don’t know. Don’t care.’ But part of me didn’t like the idea that Levi had gone back to school while I sat on my bum at home.
Going back to school was tougher than I’d expected. It hurt. I was bumped a couple of times in the corridor, just lightly, but the slight jolts were enough to make me worry about some idiot crashing right into me. It was hard to get comfortable in class, too. I had to sit up the back with my leg on a chair, trying not to take up too much room. By lunchtime, my knee was tender, my armpits were aching and staying at home working on homework not due until next century was almost looking good.
‘Want to eat lunch beside the oval?’ Rene asked as she lifted my backpack and manoeuvred it awkwardly off my shoulder and down my arm. Normally we ate under the old pine tree behind the middle school wing, but we both knew it would take me ages to get there on my crutches.
I shrugged, rubbing a tender part under my arm, then slipping my crutch back in place. ‘Okay, oval sounds good.’
‘Great!’ cried Rene, bouncing on the balls of her feet, even though my bag was pretty heavy. ‘You head straight there while I get your lunch?’
‘Thanks, Rene,’ I said. Man, did I hate the fuss and fiddle. But I wasn’t about to complain out loud and let the universe think it was winning.
On my way to the oval I had to cross a gravel road that made crutches totally annoying. So I headed for the closest set of bench seats, backing onto the road and looking across the green.
And that’s when I saw him. Levi, my partner in bad knees, was sitting alone on the first bench seat with his bulky bandaged leg stuck out at an angle, as if he was trying to keep it out of his line of sight. His ginger hair was so short that even his skull seemed muscular.
On my way past I nodded at Levi and scrunched up my mouth as if to say, pretty shitty, eh? He responded with a single, clean nod.
I kept going, concentrating on moving both crutches as cleanly as I could. If Levi could make it to his bench without any trouble, then I could make it to the next one twice as well.
After that I savoured the rare peace of sitting, and settled in to wait for Rene. A few other kids trickled past, munching and talking. A seagull squawked overhead.
A bunch of footy boys were doing their thing on the oval – kicking and running and calling. At one point Levi broke out laughing and yelled, ‘Go easy, Saxon!’
I started lifting my bad leg, testing it, tempting it to hurt. As long as I didn’t try to bend it, everything was fine. So I did some leg raises to pass the time and to remind my leg not to get too soft and cosy.
After a while, Marco walked up to Levi and shook a paper bag in his face. Levi jerked his head in what looked like a combined g’day and thanks and pulled out a steaming meat pie.
No wonder Levi was a bit beefy – his diet sure wasn’t low-fat. Maybe he did his knee because he was carrying too much weight. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d let myself eat a meat pie, but watching Levi eat his made my mouth start to water . . .
I got so busy fantasising about the hot runny gravy that it took me a while to notice Marco staring over at me, grinning.
I looked out across the oval as if I hadn’t noticed. But when I glanced back, Marco said something to Levi and walked past the rubbish bin towards me.
I sat a little straighter and took a breath. Talking to Marco was about as exciting as having a knee reconstruction. The year before he’d been selected for some big-shot football clinic and spent weeks telling the whole world about it. As if anyone cared.
Marco stopped right in front of me. ‘What’s this, hey? Cripple Club?’ he said and cracked up laughing.
I just shrugged and looked over my shoulder. Come on, Rene . . .
‘So, Jade, I reckon this proves it once and for all,’ said Marco.
He paused, and despite myself I looked at him. ‘Proves what?’
‘That girls really are softer than guys,’ he said, smiling so I could see all his straight, white teeth.
‘What?’ I said, scrunching up my nose.
‘See young Levi over there?’ Marco flicked a thumb at the other bench. ‘He did his knee on Saturday, same as you, yeah? But he still turned up at school yesterday.’ Then Marco tilted his head and pouted as if talking to a baby. ‘But you, Jade? You did the same thing, and needed an extra day tucked up safe in bed . . .’
‘Rack off, Marco,’ I said.
Marco cracked up again. ‘Whatever you say, sweetheart!’
He sauntered back to Levi, while I fantasised about ramming my crutch into Marco right where it hurts guys most. Think that’s funny, Marco? Saying girls are soft? We’ll see about that.
That was when Rene finally turned up. About time . . .
As she passed Marco and Levi on their bench seat, Marco said something that made Rene stop and giggle. She flicked back her hair and just stood there.
My stomach was really rumbling by now. Hellooo! Hungry best friend sitting over here! Her hair was out of its ponytail, and her cheeks were pinker than normal.
When Rene glanced over at me, I shot her a look – WTF? But she pretended not to notice. She just kept smiling at Marco, nodding at whatever he was saying. Then – my eyes virtually popped out and rolled around on the ground – Marco stood up and gently pushed a strand of hair off Rene’s face.
Geez was that guy a sleaze! Part of the problem was how good-looking he was – it helped him get away with anything. Not just his face, but his body too. It was beautifully proportioned, lithe and well-muscled. There was a bit of the black panther about Marco – dazzling all those around him with the ripple of muscle under a sleek black coat. Whenever he pounced, his victims were so dazed by him they had no idea what was going on.
When Rene finally joined me, I just shook my head slowly. ‘So why did you want to eat beside the oval today, Rene?’ I asked, eyes narrow.
‘No reason!’ said Rene and beamed back at Marco.
I pulled out half of my sandwich – soft wholegrain bread and crisp crunchy salad. That was the lunch of a true champion.
‘So, get this.’ I took a bite and kept talking between chews. ‘Before you got here . . . Marco came over . . . and said that I was soft to take yesterday off.’ I swallowed and took another bite, waiting for the news to take effect.
Rene flicked back her hair and peered past me at Marco. ‘Aw . . . he’s just razzing you up,’ she said. ‘Marco knows what you’re like.’ She broke a bit off her sandwich and started nibbling with her eyes stuck dreamily on Marco.
‘What I’m like?’
Rene looked at me, her cheeks still too pink for my liking. ‘You know, babe, you and Marco have a lot in common really. You’re both really easy to tease . . .’ She giggled when my eyes went wide in disbelief.
I tweaked her ear and pretended to look inside. ‘Can I just check what’s between your ears, Rene? ’Cause that sure isn’t your brain in there.’
Even that gave her the giggles.
I rolled my eyes and took another bite of my sandwich. Maybe I’d just have to wait until Marco did something supersleazy in front of Rene to make her see sense.
Knowing Marco, I wouldn’t have to wait long.