by Dan Freedman
Jamie couldn’t believe girls like that actually existed. They were so fit.
He tried to imagine what would happen if he ever got the chance to actually talk to a girl like that. He’d definitely muck it up!
“Let’s have a bundle!” shouted Ollie, with a mischievous smile. He turned the music up even louder so the speakers started to vibrate and downed a can of Red Bull. “Come on, who’s up for it?”
“Nah, I’ve got a better idea,” Tesh said. “What about Truth or Dare?”
There were seven or eight of them. They all got round in a circle, including the ones Jamie didn’t know. They must have been Ollie’s mates from outside school.
“Right, Jamie’s up first,” announced Ollie.
“Ah, give me a break,” said Jamie. “I’ve only just got here!”
“Exactly. Last in, first up. Right, the question is: you and Jack, what’s the story there? Don’t tell me you’re just mates. Truth or Dare?”
Jamie felt his chest tighten. He should have expected that one. None of the others had a girl as a really close friend, so they were always trying to get the goss on him and Jack, find out what was “really going on”.
The others were all staring expectantly at him.
“OK. . .” said Jamie, trying to buy some time. “So what’s the dare?”
“Eat five slices of pizza and down two cans of Red Bull . . . in three minutes.”
Ollie handed Jamie the cans and a box of pizza. Jamie opened it. It was Hawaiian – his worst type of pizza.
“I can’t do that! I’ll be sick – you know I will,” Jamie protested.
“My bro’ can do it,” said Ollie proudly. “But fine, if you don’t like the dare, do the truth.”
“OK, fine, I’ll do the dare,” said Jamie. He didn’t want the others to think he was a lightweight. So, without thinking any more, he started to stuff his face. He pushed two whole slices of pizza down his mouth and took a massive swig of Red Bull.
All the boys were cheering and clapping their hands as Jamie did his best to force the food down. It was disgusting though, and after about two and a half minutes, one of the bits of sweetcorn got stuck in Jamie’s throat and he had to cough some of it back up.
“OK, time’s up,” said Tesh. “Unlucky, good effort.”
“Ah, come on,” Jamie appealed. “I’ve done four slices and both cans. That’s enough, isn’t it?”
“Sorry, mate,” said Tesh. “The dare wasn’t completed. That means it’s the truth.”
“Yup, the truth it is,” Ollie chipped in. “Let’s have it, then.”
Jamie took another gulp of Red Bull. He began to see things in a different way. He may as well just tell them what they wanted to hear. They would never believe them if he told them anything else, anyway.
“OK,” said Jamie. “Well, we’re basically just friends these days but. . .” He paused to add suspense. “Obviously there’ve been a few kisses here and there. . .”
“I knew it!” said Ollie triumphantly, pointing at Jamie. “You’re a dark horse, you are!”
Jamie smiled and comforted himself with the thought that, strictly speaking, it was the truth. The fact that they were pretend kisses, when they were about six, was beside the point.
“I bet that’s not it either, is it, Johnson?” said Ollie. “How far have you two gone, then?”
Jamie could feel his heart pumping faster and his ears starting to go red. He didn’t like talking about Jack like this.
Lots more truths, dares and Red Bulls followed over the next couple of hours.
They were all pretty hyper by the time Ollie jumped to his feet and said: “Right – let’s call the girls. I reckon we’re ready for them now.”
But Jamie wasn’t ready for anything. In fact, at exactly that moment he felt a swell of sickness rush through his body like an evil tidal wave. There was no way he’d impress Jess in this state.
Even if he managed to kiss her – which was highly unlikely – he’d probably just end up being sick in her mouth.
He quickly made up some excuse about having another party to go to and left. He wanted to run home but he got really bad cramp. He could hear all the Red Bull swishing about in his stomach, all the way back.
Jamie opened his eyes. Then he closed them. He’d hardly slept all night. He’d just lain there staring at the ceiling. Even though his body was tired, his mind had kept running around in circles while his heart had kept beating faster and faster.
He’d even started thinking about his dad, which didn’t help at all.
He’d probably had about two hours of sleep all night. Now he felt horrendous. And when he tried to get up everything got worse, much worse.
He suddenly felt an unstoppable surge rise up from his stomach towards his throat. He ran to the sink and watched the sick shoot out of his mouth all in one go.
It tasted of Red Bull and looked like chewed-up pizza. Bits of pineapple and sweetcorn were getting stuck around the plughole. He had to push them down through the gaps with his finger. It was rank.
“All right, Jamie?” said Quincy Oromuyi when Jamie arrived at Sunningdale for training with the Firsts. “Was it a big one last night, by any chance? Look at the state of you!”
Jamie forced a smile but he didn’t answer the question. His ears were still ringing from the sound of the music in Ollie’s attic. His mouth felt dry and his stomach ached.
And this was before training.
It turned out to be the worst session that Jamie had played with the Firsts. When he wanted to control the ball, it bounced off him. When he wanted to pass it, he miscued it. When he wanted to take someone on for pace, his legs felt heavy. And when he wanted to track back, he couldn’t keep up. He was like Superman without his powers.
Jamie knew that it was all down to the fact that he’d completely overdone it last night. He’d been trying to show off in front of the boys but he’d ended up wasting a whole training session because of it.
His body had no more energy left in it, his brain had turned to sponge and he could still taste the sick at the back of his throat. Jamie could hardly remember what it was like to feel normal.
On his way home, Jamie got out his mobile to call Jack. He really needed a lift. Someone to talk to.
As he dialled the number, he rehearsed what he was going to say. He could be playful: “Hi, Jack, are you still mad with me?” Or maybe more apologetic: “Hi, Jack. Listen, I’m sorry. . .”
But the call just went straight to answerphone.
Jack’s cheerful voice clicked into action:
“Unlucky! I’m not around. Leave a message and, if I like you, I’ll call you back. See ya!”
Jamie smiled when he heard Jack’s voice. But it was a sad smile.
He’d already had his dad walk out of his life without explaining. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing Jack too.
After assembly, Jamie caught up with Ollie and Tesh. He hadn’t spoken to them since his sharp exit on Saturday night. He wanted to get the low-down on what had happened after he’d left.
“Here he is,” said Ollie, with a smile. “Did you go to your other party?”
“Nah, I was getting a bit knackered and I had a footy game on Sunday so I called it a night,” Jamie managed to pull from somewhere. He’d completely forgotten telling them that he was going to another party. “What about you? Did you meet up with the girls, by the way?”
“You left too early, man. The girls came round and Tesh got off with Steph Thompson!”
Jamie switched his eyes to a proud-looking Tesh, who nodded to confirm the deed.
“Ah, what I would give for that!” said Jamie, shaking his head. “Why do I always miss the good stuff?”
“Don’t be greedy, Johnson,” said Ollie, flicking his eyes in Jack’s direction. She was walking across the assembly
hall on her way to lessons. She gave Jamie a quick glance but her face stayed cold. Then she looked away.
She’d put some highlights in her hair. She looked nice.
At first Jamie didn’t know what Ollie was going on about. Then he remembered what he’d told them about him and Jack.
“You know what?” said Ollie, looking around shiftily, trying his best to lower his booming voice. “She still fancies you. I reckon you could get quite far with her. You should go for it!”
He gave Jamie a little punch of encouragement on his shoulder.
“Get off,” laughed Jamie. “And how do you know I haven’t already?”
It was too late for Jamie to own up now. And anyway, Ollie seemed pretty jealous, so it was worth keeping it going just for that. They carried on laughing about it as they headed for maths.
The only problem was that someone behind Jamie, Ollie and Tesh had heard their whole conversation and didn’t find it funny at all.
Jamie’s heart stopped. He’d checked the list for the B team twice. His name wasn’t there. Hitchcock must have told Marsden that Jamie was too much of a liability to have in any Kingfield team. He’d been dropped.
And to make matters even worse, the games tomorrow were against The Grove, Jamie’s old school. How would he be able to tell all the people he knew at The Grove that he’d gone from being practically the best player there to not even being able to get into Kingfield’s B team?
At the age of thirteen, Jamie’s football career was falling apart. How much worse could things get? Maybe he should just give it up. Stop playing altogether. Maybe that was the answer.
As he went to leave, his eyes quickly scanned though the A team.
And then Jamie saw something incredible.
There, at the bottom of the A team list, next to the number eleven, was his name. Jamie Johnson.
Jamie looked around. He thought it might be a trick. He thought Dillon might come out from a doorway and start laughing, asking him how he could possibly think that he’d be in the A’s. But there was no sign of him.
Jamie felt a flash of excitement sizzle through him.
Then someone tapped him on the shoulder.
“Can we have a quick chat, Jamie?”
It was Marsden. He was pointing to the staff room.
Jamie had never been into the staff room before.
The first thing that struck him was the smoke – it reeked of cigarettes.
“Take a seat, Jamie,” said Mr Marsden, as he wandered towards the drinks machine. “Coffee?” he enquired.
“Oh – no thanks,” said Jamie. He felt a bit nervous, as if he was somewhere he shouldn’t be.
“I take it you’ve seen the team list for tomorrow, then?” said Marsden as he returned with a cup of coffee that was so hot you could see the steam rising from it.
“Yes. Thank you so much, sir.”
“Don’t thank me, Jamie. I’ve picked you because I think we’ve got a better chance of winning the game with you in the side – no other reason.”
Jamie fought the smile that was making a bid to take over his face.
“But I’m taking a risk here, Jamie,” said Marsden, taking a gulp of coffee. Jamie hated coffee.
“I know, sir.”
“I’m not going to beat around the bush with you, Jamie. You’ve clearly got an issue with your anger and that’s something you are going to have to address and deal with in your own time.
“I’m not saying it’s a bad thing to have that fire inside you, but you’ve got to harness it and use it to your advantage – not let it rule you. Don’t make me regret this, Jamie.”
“I won’t, sir. I promise I won’t let you down.”
“All right, then. Just make sure you show me the talent tomorrow, not the temper.”
As he left the staff room, Jamie felt like he was six-feet tall. He couldn’t wait to line up against his old teammates from The Grove. And he couldn’t wait to see Dillon’s face when he found out that Jamie was in the A’s!
Meanwhile, Pete Marsden took a final sip of coffee from his mug and laid it on the table beside him. He was watching very closely as his latest recruit to the A team walked away.
There was something about Jamie Johnson’s balance, something about the way he moved, even when he walked, that was different. It was natural . . . instinctive.
A strange thing happened to Jamie sometimes. When he got really good news, as well as being happy, every so often it made him feel a bit sad at the same time.
He could remember that when he lived in Grove Avenue with his mum and his dad he was happy the whole time. He could remember when his dad used to take him for walks in Sunningdale when he was really young. That was when he first learned to kick a football. In those days, he only ever smiled.
But recently he’d found that for no particular reason, and often without warning, he might lose his temper really badly or else suddenly start to feel down.
He knew it was weird and he didn’t know why it happened. But it was happening again today.
He’d just been named in the A team. The A team! It was what he’d been working towards every day for the last two months. And yet, just now, right at the moment he’d actually achieved it, somewhere inside him he felt an emptiness. And he didn’t know how to fill it.
Maybe if he told Mike the news he’d snap out of it. He knew if Mike was happy, he’d feel it too. He headed straight over to see him after school.
“Guess what?” said Jamie, standing behind Mike, who was watching football on TV.
“What’s up, JJ?”
“Mike, you are looking at the new Kingfield A team left-winger,” said Jamie proudly.
“Oh, fantastic, mate! Well done!” Mike stood up to firmly shake Jamie’s hand. He had such a big smile. He looked even more proud than Jamie.
“Yup,” said Jamie. “I’ll be wearing the Number Eleven shirt tomorrow for my debut. And guess who we’re playing? The Grove!”
“What a game to get you started, JJ! Just give it everything you’ve got – for the whole ninety minutes. Don’t forget, one kick of the ball can change a game, like that,” he said, clicking his fingers. “It only takes a second to score a goal.
“And don’t over-analyse things either. You know you’ve got the talent – you’ve always had the talent – just go where it leads you.”
“Good shout, Mike,” said Jamie, dropping to the floor for an impromptu set of press-ups. He had to get rid of some of his nervous energy.
“What does Jack reckon then, JJ? She’s your biggest fan, isn’t she?”
Jamie stopped doing his press-ups. When he heard Jack’s name, that empty feeling from earlier came back. Except this time Jamie knew why he was feeling it: he wanted to share this with her.
And he couldn’t.
There, standing in the doorway with her hands on hips, was Jack.
Instead of training with the Firsts tonight Jamie had gone round to hers. He had to have it out with her sooner or later. It was the only way they might get back to normal.
“What do you want, Johnson?” she shouted.
“I want to be your mate again,” said Jamie, breaking into a nervous grin. “I’m sorry I didn’t call you when you got back from holiday but it’s not the end of the world, is it? Can’t we just forget it and go and grab a milkshake?”
“More like so you can grab a feel. Isn’t that what you want to do?”
Jamie felt his stomach drop right through his body.
“What are you talking about, Jack?”
“I know what you and Ollie said about me,” Jack shot back. “I’m not an idiot, Jamie. Nicki heard the whole thing. It’s disgusting. And I thought you were different!”
Her! Of course it was her. Jamie could imagine how Nicki had made it sound to Jack. Like he’d just been playing her the
whole time.
He had to think quickly. He had to turn this around.
“Oh, that,” he said, trying to sound calm. “Listen, Jack, I may as well come clean. . . The thing is, Ollie really fancies you so he’s jealous of me ’cos we are – or were – so . . . you know . . . close. I just wanted to wind him up a bit to make him jealous. That’s all it was. Honest. I didn’t know you’d find out. I’m sorry.”
“And what if I hadn’t found out? That would have been OK then, would it?”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying—”
“What’s happened to you, Jamie? I go away for a few weeks and when I come back it’s like I don’t exist any more. Like you couldn’t . . . care less about me. How do you think that makes me feel? Like there’s no point in us being friends any more. That’s how it makes me feel.”
Jamie was getting so frustrated. There were so many things he wanted to say to Jack. He wanted to tell her to stop. That she was his best friend. That she’d always be his best friend. That he needed her.
But Jack was angry too. Jamie knew that when she was like this there was no way of talking her round. He had to leave. Otherwise he’d lose his temper and it would get even worse. He could feel it.
“Fair enough,” said Jamie. “Your choice.”
He was trying to keep himself calm but he felt like kicking the gate to her house right off its hinges.
As he started to walk away, Jamie expected to hear the door slam shut behind him. But he didn’t. Instead, he heard a sound he’d never heard before: Jack crying.
Her loud, angry shouts had been replaced by soft, sad tears.
Jamie turned and looked at his best friend. He couldn’t believe he’d caused her to be in this state.
Were football and his other mates more important than Jack? Maybe that was how he’d been acting.
“Get lost, Jamie, go away!” she screamed, as he walked towards her.
But he kept on walking and put his arm around her.
