by Lisa Gibbs
For the first part of the trip, Prani and Kasey were busy helping Radha keep track of Janet’s car in the heavy traffic. Prani understood now why everyone was annoyed. The traffic was super slow, which made the trip much longer. She felt terrible for being late, and thought about what Sienna had said about dinner.
Oh no, everyone will be starving by the time we get there.
When the cars were finally on the freeway, the two girls sat back. Prani snatched up her sketchpad. She’d had an idea. Maybe, if I can make this long trip more fun, everyone will forgive me for letting them down.
Prani began to draw on the sketchpad. When Kasey glanced over to see what Prani was up to, she started to laugh.
Seeing Kim’s car pull up alongside them, Prani whipped up the sketchpad and held it against the window.
For a while, Maddy, Eve and Sienna didn’t look at the car travelling next to them.
Are they deliberately ignoring me? Are they still mad at me?
Then suddenly Sienna glanced across and saw two big cartoon eyes staring back at her, with the words ‘I’m watching you’ written underneath. She burst out laughing and grabbed the others to show them.
Prani sighed with relief. It worked!
This time Kasey grabbed the blue texta and sketchpad and wrote ‘Spotto: next person to see a blue convertible with three dogs in the back seat, each wearing bow ties wins’. She handed the sketchpad to Prani to flash at Lily, Isabella and Maia, who were in Janet’s car, which was now alongside them. They rolled around in laughter, pointing at Kasey’s sign.
‘Here, your turn,’ said Kasey, handing the sketchpad back to Prani.
Prani thought for a moment and then wrote ‘Because I’m happy!’ She held it up next to her head and did the ugliest smiley face she could.
‘Yes!’ Kasey laughed and pulled her own smiley face and the two of them turned to show Lily, Isabella and Maia. But their eyes were so scrunched up with their silly faces that they didn’t notice Janet pull ahead and another car come up alongside them. When Prani and Kasey dropped the smiles from their faces and could see again, they were confronted with the sight of a car full of boys about their own age. The boys were laughing and pulling their own faces in return.
‘Oh no, how embarrassing!’ Kasey shrieked.
‘Pull ahead, Mum!’ Prani called, giving the boys a cheery wave as they left them behind.
As they moved closer to Janet’s car, Prani could see arms waving and pointing at the windscreen. What are they doing? wondered Prani.
‘They’re playing Spotto! They’ve seen the car,’ announced Kasey, and sure enough, sitting in the backseat of a blue convertible, were three Jack Russells whose chests had little white markings that looked like bow ties.
‘It is real!’ exclaimed Prani.
‘Yeah, I saw it earlier,’ Kasey revealed with a cheeky grin.
Prani smiled and felt her stomach unclench. Thank goodness I got them all laughing again!
‘Finally!’ said Prani, as her mum’s car slowly entered the gates of the campground behind Janet’s white car. Kim’s dark sedan swung in behind. The girls piled out and waited to see which cabins they were staying in.
‘I’m starving!’ moaned Sienna, rubbing her stomach.
Maia stretched her arms over her head. ‘That took forever!’
Prani winced at the reminder that it was her fault they were late, and in a small voice said, ‘Sorry again, you guys.’
‘Well,’ said Lily, ‘we’re here now. Don’t sweat it.’
‘Cabin numbers nine and ten, girls. Just over there,’ said Janet, who was approaching the group after having checked in at reception. She pointed across a grassed area to a row of cabins set under gum trees.
The girls walked over to the cabins while Janet, Radha and Kim drove the cars to the car spaces in front of them.
Once they were all standing by the cabins, Sienna dropped to her knees. ‘Can us girls stay in one cabin together? Puh-lease?’ she begged the adults dramatically.
Lily ran forward and grabbed her mum’s hands. ‘We’ll be sooo good,’ she pleaded.
Prani joined in the begging. ‘And we’ll keep it really, really clean!’
The three adults rolled their eyes at the girls’ theatrics.
‘It would be much better for you ladies, when you think about it,’ said Maia calmly.
‘How do you figure that?’ asked Janet.
‘Well, it would give you a lot more privacy,’ said Maia. ‘And when you’re completely sick of us, you have somewhere to escape to.’
The adults looked at each other while the Gems held their breaths and waited quietly. They knew that Maia’s reasoning might just seal the deal.
‘All right. But –’
Janet didn’t get any further. The girls squealed and ran to grab their bags. They dashed up the steps, bumping into one another in their hurry. No one wanted to wait in case the adults changed their minds or lectured them on rules and behaviour.
The freedom of a cabin to themselves made most of the team go wild. They tossed their bags inside and the bags stayed wherever they landed. One of the girls turned on some music and the Gems started to dance madly. Sienna jumped up and down on the spot like a pogo stick. Prani shrieked as she bounced and twirled, bounced and twirled. Lily mimed the song using her shampoo bottle for a microphone. Isabella and Maia linked arms and spun each other in circles. Eve and Kasey watched for a moment, wide-eyed.
‘You guys are nuts!’ Kasey declared.
‘What if we get into trouble?’ asked Eve, but before she could worry any further Maddy grabbed their hands and they were drawn into the crazy group.
The fun continued after dinner but eventually the Gems were forced to quieten down. When the parents threatened to separate the team, they climbed into bed. And when Janet reminded them of the three netball games tomorrow, shouting became talking. Then talking became whispering.
‘Sh! Listen!’ said Isabella from her top bunk. She was hanging her head over the side, her long hair draping down like a curtain.
‘What’s that noise?’ whispered Maia from below.
‘That’s Sienna!’ whispered Lily. ‘She always conks out right away and snores like anything!’
The girls started giggling, and Kasey nudged Sienna, hoping she’d stop snoring. It was getting late, and by now all the Gems were tiring and ready for sleep.
But Prani suddenly sprang from her bed, and started rummaging busily in her bag.
‘What on earth are you doing with all your socks, Prani?’ whispered Maddy. ‘It’s so hot we’ve still got the fan on. You can’t possibly be cold!’
‘I need my socks for this!’ Prani tossed a pair of socks straight at the revolving blades of the overhead fan. The blades of the fan struck the sock bundle and sent it flying across the room, straight into Isabella’s face!
Isabella squealed in surprise when the soft bullet bounced off her forehead. The next sock bundle shot straight at Lily, who caught it and tossed it at Prani. Soon there were sock bundles ricocheting all over the room. The girls were squealing with laughter and didn’t hear the door bang open but when the lights went on, everyone froze. Janet, Kim and Radha stood in the doorway, looking sternly at the girls.
‘That is ENOUGH!’ Kim’s voice boomed.
‘You are keeping the whole caravan park awake,’ said Radha.
‘And you have an early game tomorrow. GO TO SLEEP!’ demanded Janet.
The girls got back into their beds, huddled down in their sleeping bags, and closed their eyes obediently. Only Sienna’s light snores broke the silence as they waited for the adults to leave.
As soon as the door shut behind them, Prani jumped up and started collecting socks.
‘Prani, we need to sleep now,’ groaned Maddy.
‘I’m staying awake all night!’ said Prani. She looked around to see who would join her but everyone else just rolled over in their beds. Prani couldn’t lie still, though. She hopped back into bed and jiggl
ed her legs in her sleeping bag, then lifted them up into the air and down again. She was so excited to be here with her friends it seemed like a waste to go to sleep. Finally she grabbed her iPod and earphones and listened to music until she dropped off.
‘We’re here!’ called Lily.
The girls spilled out of the cars and looked around in excitement. A large brick building stood before them. All the games for the tournament would be held inside this stadium. The lawns outside were sprinkled with groups of girls wearing uniforms in just about every possible colour combination. As far as Prani’s sleepy eyes could tell, though, no other team had pink, royal blue and white uniforms like the Gems.
‘Okay, girls,’ said Janet. ‘As you know, our games today are at 8.30, 11.00 and 2.30. I know it probably seems a lot to play three games in a day but it won’t be as hard as it sounds because they’re short games with only ten-minute halves, rather than ten-minute quarters. Tomorrow there’ll be another game in the morning, then two more after that if we make the finals.’
Prani picked up a ball and worked with Maddy to do some warm-up passing on the grass. Maddy’s passes were strong and fast. Prani, on the other hand, didn’t feel as though her body was quite ready to be strong or fast. She felt her eyes drooping under the glare of the early-morning sun.
‘Wake up!’ yelled Sienna in Prani’s ear, causing her to jump back, startled.
‘What? What’s happening?’ Prani looked around confused.
‘Ha! That will teach you for keeping us awake all night!’
‘What are you talking about, Sienna?’ said Lily. ‘You slept fine. We know because we heard you snoring non-stop!’
Laughing, the girls followed Janet into the stadium. They knew their first game was on court five, but rather than making their way over there, they stopped inside the doorway. No one moved. They just stared, wide-eyed, at what was in front of them.
‘Whoa,’ breathed Prani.
There seemed to be hundreds of people swarming around the courts, and even more crowded onto the raised spectator seating. Umpires in white stood around the courts in small clusters. A voice droned instructions through the speakers, and players did warm-up drills on the courts. Their runners squeaked on the polished boards and balls were flying everywhere. The mixture of sounds was loud and echoed in the enclosed stadium.
After a moment, the Gems began slowly following Janet, trying to take it all in. It was as if the whole world of netball was in this one building!
They dropped their bags at court five next to Kim and Radha, and eyed their first opposition team for the weekend, the Movers. The only thing Prani noticed was the bright red of their uniforms. Even with all the excitement, she was still finding it hard to keep her eyes open.
Janet gathered the girls around her for a quick set of instructions before the game began. ‘The games are short so you need to get straight into it.’ Janet noticed Prani’s yawning. ‘Prani, you’d better start on the bench.’
Prani looked at Janet in surprise and then sat down, annoyed. Why me?
Turning back to the rest of the team, Janet said, ‘Use the set plays. We’ve practised them. Do you remember how they go?’
All the girls answered ‘Yes!’ except for Prani, who sat staring with sleepy, ‘stare bear’ eyes at the other team.
Prani’s body and brain were taking a while to wake up. She knew it was her own fault that she was tired, but she really wanted to be on the court for the start of the first game. As she yawned again and again, though, she realised guiltily that it was probably because she looked so tired that Janet decided to sit her out for the first half of the game. She bent forward, resting her arms on her knees, and blinked her eyes to try to focus.
Once the game started, Prani stopped yawning. Soon, she was sitting up on the edge of her seat, watching her team intently as they went goal for goal with the Movers. Both teams made mistakes as nerves got in the way, but it was fast-paced and lots of fun to watch. By half-time, Prani was wide awake and looking forward to getting onto the court.
I can’t wait to play!
With only a minute break between the halves, Prani jumped up, grabbed the Wing Attack bib that Janet was holding out for her and ran onto the polished wooden court for the start of the second half. She kept her eyes on Isabella in Centre, waiting to see if she could leap out and get the ball from the centre pass.
As soon as the whistle blew, Prani dashed out and took the pass from Isabella. When she looked down court, she saw Eve as Goal Shooter run out to the side of the goal ring and threw a long pass straight to her. Eve immediately passed it on to Sienna as Goal Attack, who had quickly run into the goal circle ahead of the Movers defender. Sienna scored immediately.
Wow, that worked well! Prani thought, pleased with the quick flow of the ball.
The next time it was their centre, Prani burst out over the transverse line again and caught a quick throw from Isabella. Prani was again able to pass the ball to Eve, who sent it in to Sienna.
Another goal!
That was a crazy coincidence, with everyone running to exactly the same places as before, thought Prani. We’d better mix it up next time so the defenders don’t catch onto us!
Prani got ready for the centre pass. This time when she got the ball she threw it across court to Sienna instead of down court to Eve. Sienna looked surprised and almost dropped it but she grabbed onto the ball at the last moment. She looked for someone who was free, but Eve was still out of the goal circle. Prani ran forward, calling for the ball, but collided with Isabella.
Sienna had no one to throw to.
Brrrp! ‘Held ball,’ called the umpire.
Fortunately, when the Movers threw the ball down court, Lily in Wing Defence intercepted, and when the ball got through to Eve, Eve shot a goal. The game continued at a fast pace and with the Movers and the Gems still matching each other goal for goal.
Isabella threw the ball to Sienna for one of the centre passes. Prani was glad to see her mixing it up. She dashed across court to take the next pass from Sienna, but again Isabella ran forward as well. They almost tripped over each other on the way through, but both recovered at the last moment.
Sienna’s pass was high and Prani had to leap up in the air to grab it. She turned around just before she landed and was able to get a quick pass into Eve in goals. She smiled to herself. Those moments when she had the ball and was turning through the air felt so good!
Prani was puffed when the whistle blew to mark the end of the game. All throughout the half, she had dashed here, there and everywhere, with the flow of the ball.
Walking off the court, the Gems stood around Janet.
‘It was a draw, which is a pretty good start to the day,’ said Janet. ‘Your passing will improve as the day goes on, and the set plays, when you used them, worked really well.’
Prani looked up in surprise. Set plays? Were we supposed to be using the set plays?
‘Prani, can I talk to you for a second?’ asked Janet.
Prani walked cautiously over to Janet while the other girls went to get their drink bottles and bags. Her leg started to jiggle as she waited nervously for Janet to speak.
‘Prani, why did you stop using the set plays?’ asked Janet.
Prani paused. She didn’t know what to say. She had totally forgotten about them when she was on court but now she realised that was why Eve and Sienna had run to exactly the same spots on court once the whistle blew.
Oh no, that’s why I ran into Isabella as well! I took her pass! I feel so stupid. What should I say?
‘I … I guess I wasn’t paying attention this morning. I forgot about them,’ she admitted. ‘I’m sorry, Janet.’ She shrugged.
Janet paused before she replied.
‘That’s okay, Prani. Thank you for being honest with me. The set plays are just like any new skill you learn in netball. You need to practise them in order to master them. I think this tournament is a good chance to do that. I’m going to sit you out for th
e start of the next game.’
Prani’s heart fell but Janet smiled kindly at her.
‘Don’t worry, Prani, this isn’t a punishment. I’d just like you to watch the others using the set plays and then I hope you’ll feel more comfortable using them as well. Do you understand?’
Prani looked miserably at the floor and nodded her head. When Janet turned away, Maddy came straight over.
‘What’s wrong?’ she asked.
‘I feel bad for messing up the set plays,’ said Prani, her eyes welling up with tears. ‘And now it means I have to sit out again.’
Maddy threw an arm around Prani’s shoulders. ‘Don’t worry. We’re all getting the hang of them. I’ll remind you about the plays next game. But don’t stop doing your twisties! That was a one-twisty game. Do you reckon you can beat that?’
Prani gave her a weak smile. ‘Maybe.’
Sienna was making the girls laugh by hanging a jelly snake under her nose as if it were a long green moustache.
‘Ew!’ said Isabella. ‘You’re not going to eat that now, are you?’
Sienna raised her eyebrows at Isabella as she scooped up the jelly snake and lowered it into her mouth, eating it in three bites.
The two hours between the games meant that the girls had plenty of time to sit around on the grass outside the stadium. The sun was getting quite warm now, and they were all feeling a little lazy.
Janet looked at her watch and then at the girls sprawled around in a circle. ‘Okay, up you get. Time for some drills. We need to be alert and on our toes, ready for the next game.’
The girls groaned and slowly got to their feet, bringing netballs with them. Sienna was the only one who had the energy to jog over to where Janet stood waiting.
‘This drill with passing directions should help you to get used to following instructions in the same way you do for set plays. I want to you to do quick short passes of different heights. I’ll call numbers to indicate where the pass should go. Down low to your partner’s left is “one”, down low to the right is “two”, shoulder height to the left is “three”, shoulder height to the right is “four”, and a chest pass is “five”. Get into pairs and then we’ll start.’
