Grace on the Court

by Maddy Proud

  “Thanks for today,” she said. “It means a lot.”

  Grace could have sworn that was the first time she had ever heard Amber say thank you.

  “Any time,” Grace replied.

  “Hey, and if you want to have the next video planning meeting here, we can,” said Amber, smiling.

  Grace smiled back, but then Amber’s face fell. “Might as well use this place while we can.”

  Grace could tell she was wondering how long she would be living in the massive house, and with whom.

  “Let me know if you need anything,” said Grace, as she grabbed her helmet and made her way to her bike. “See you on Monday!”

  Even though Grace had talked to Amber, she wasn’t sure if her co-captain would show up for training on Wednesday night. She knew Amber probably felt embarrassed about her behavior and wouldn’t want the team to know about her parent’s divorce. Grace wished Amber would open up about it all so her friends could help her get through it. But she knew how stubborn Amber was and how she liked people to think she was strong and could do anything by herself, so didn’t like her chances. Hopefully this didn’t mean she wouldn’t even come to training to have to face everyone’s questions, though.

  But five minutes before training started, Amber walked onto the court with her netball bag slung over her shoulder and her usual model-style pouted lips.

  Grace breathed a sigh of relief. She hoped that the team would forgive Amber’s irrational behaviour at the game on Saturday. Despite her sometimes questionable attitude, Amber was a great player and the team desperately needed her.

  Amber made her way to Jordan and Ashley and began chatting to them as if nothing had happened. Grace looked to the rest of the team who were standing and staring at Amber, urging her to say something to explain why she’d acted the way she had. Mia rolled her eyes and made her way to Amber, obviously wanting answers.

  “What the hell happened to you on Saturday?” Mia yelled, not holding back.

  Oh no, this is going to be bad, Grace thought to herself. She desperately wanted to say something and defend Amber’s behavior, but she knew she couldn’t force her to apologise – it had to come from Amber.

  “What do you mean?” Amber said, playing dumb.

  “Oh my God, do you seriously not care about anyone but yourself? We lost that game because of you!” Mia screamed.

  “Yeah, because I didn’t play the last quarter. You obviously needed me.” Amber sprayed back.

  “We would’ve lost by more if you’d stayed on. The only reason we got so close was because Mrs Peters took you off. You’re lucky the umpire didn’t report you!” Mia hissed.

  Grace looked into Amber’s eyes and pleaded with her to let it go and apologise to the group. Grace hoped that their conversation on Saturday had proven that she cared about Amber and that she needed to do the same for the rest of the team.

  It was as if Amber realised this at the same time, and she finally gave in. “Fine. I stuffed up. I’m sorry. But can we just get over it and make sure we win the rest of our games?”

  Well, that’s the best apology we’re ever going to get out of Amber, Grace thought to herself. While it might not have been the most genuine or kind sentiment, it was still an apology. The rest of the girls seemed to be satisfied with it, and they began to nod in response to Amber’s statement.

  “Yeah, fine, whatever,” Mia replied, clearly still annoyed with Amber but willing to stop the fight.

  The team turned to Mrs Peters, clearly shocked that she’d been there the whole time but hadn’t stepped in. Grace smiled to herself, realising that Mrs Peters would’ve wanted Amber and Mia to sort it out on their own.

  “Okay, girls, I know you’re all upset about the loss on the weekend but we have to move forwards. Amber, we’re happy you’re back and look forward to you putting in a great performance this coming weekend. Let’s just make sure we keep our mouths shut to the umpires, okay?” Mrs Peters joked. The team giggled and so too did Amber as she nodded to Mrs Peters. Relief spread through Grace and she smiled to herself as Mrs Peters continued to tell the team not to worry about the past but focus on the future. “Let’s just beat those Clovers the next time we play them!” Mrs Peters shouted, confident that the two teams would meet again.

  That night felt like the best training they’d had all year, Grace thought. Even Mia and Amber managed to put aside what had happened earlier and work together for the sake of the team. The energy in the group was electric as everyone was motivated to win on the weekend and make sure they made the finals. The announcement that Amber would be hosting the next meeting for the music video had also added some excitement to the group. The idea of entering the Burns’ mansion seemed to be the best thing that could ever happen to some of the girls.

  . . . . .

  On the weekend the Lions faced the third-ranked Tarlton Tigers, who had been in good form all season. Fortunately, Amber had come out firing, clearly wanting to prove to the team that she was willing to give her best. Grace was impressed by her ability to not talk back to the umpires even once, despite a few dodgy calls that were made against her. The Lion’s supporters cheered as she took ten intercepts for the game, including numerous deflections and rebounds; she was unstoppable.

  Grace only played half a game, as the team was winning comfortably and Mrs Peters felt she should give some of the other girls some court time. Despite wanting to play as much as she could, Grace was happy to sit off and give some of the other girls an opportunity to play. As she watched, it seemed as though the better Amber played, the better the rest of the team did too. The Lions looked like a new team compared to the week before, with everyone focused and nobody playing selfishly.

  Mia was on fire and, along with Jordan, fed the ball brilliantly to the shooters – a spectator would have thought they had played together for years. The Lions won by 18 goals and none of the girls could wipe the smile from their faces.

  . . . . .

  After the game on Saturday, the team was so hyped up that they decided to go to Sophie’s house to watch the Adelaide Thunderbirds take on the Melbourne Vixens in the Suncorp Super Netball, the biggest and best netball competition in the world, with eight Australian teams battling it out each week. The Thunderbirds had won their first two matches, but had narrowly lost to the Queensland Firebirds the week before.

  It was a similar situation to the Lions, having come off a loss. The girls sat in Sophie’s lounge room in silence as the game unfolded. Stella recorded the team’s statistics throughout the game, complaining when the commentators got them wrong. Grace watched in awe, taking in every moment and watching the goal defence’s every move. Mia and Jordan both sat on their phones – not really that interested in the game, but enjoying the company. Grace was shocked to learn that Amber was also an avid Thunderbirds fan and was sitting on the edge of her seat as she watched the game unfold. Grace thought Amber would be too ‘cool’ to watch netball and care about who won, but Amber was continuing to surprise her.

  With six minutes left in the final quarter, the game was tied. Even Mia and Jordan put their phones down to watch the intense contest unfold. It continued goal for goal for the next few minutes, until a bad umpiring call was made. The umpire gave the throw-in to the Vixens, even though the ball had clearly last touched the hands of a Vixens player. The Vixens made the most of this opportunity and scored quickly. The Vixens led by one and it was their centre pass.

  With only a minute left to go, the Thunderbirds had to make something special happen. The Vixens wing attack received the centre pass and turned towards the goal circle, looking for a target. The Thunderbirds were ruthless in defence, covering every move their opponents tried to make. The cameras showed the Thunderbirds bench players on their feet, claiming that the wing attack should lose the ball after having held it for more than three seconds.

  Grace and Amber screamed at the television. Finally, the umpire blew her whistle, signifying that it was a held ball.

  T
he Thunderbirds wasted no time, quickly grabbing the ball and passing it down the court. The ball was beautifully placed into the goal shooter and she quickly slotted it through the net.

  With just fifteen seconds left, the Thunderbirds raced to get the ball back to the centre. They threw it around rapidly and with accuracy, as if it was a hot potato, trying as hard as they could to get the ball towards the goal circle and into their shooters’ hands. With four seconds to go, the ball finally made its way in and the Thunderbirds’ goal attack swiftly put it through the net right on the buzzer.

  Most of the crowd was silent, being a Vixens home game, but the Thunderbirds players and support staff made enough noise to fill the stadium, clapping hands and slapping each other on the back. In Sophie’s lounge room the Lions players cheered at the top of their lungs, not caring who could hear them. This was the kind of inspiration they needed for the rest of the season.

  As the girls were saying their goodbyes, Grace noticed Stella looking at her phone with a horrified look on her face. Concerned about her friend, Grace chased after her as she walked out the door.

  “What’s up, Stell?” Grace asked.

  “You don’t want to know,” she replied.

  “Come on, you can tell me,” Grace pleaded.

  “Ugh. It’s so stupid I don’t even want to talk about it. It’s the same stuff as always. My parents …” Stella’s eyes dropped to the floor.

  “What happened?” Grace asked.

  “They found my English assignment in my bag. I got a C and they are furious. I don’t get it, I’m good at maths and science and that’s what I want to do when I leave school. Why does it matter if I get one bad mark?” Stella hated that her parents only ever criticised her. They didn’t seem to care at all when she told them she aced her last maths test.

  “Oh, Stell, I’m so sorry. A C isn’t even bad!”

  Grace never knew quite what to say to Stella in these situations. Her parents were so supportive and while they wanted her to do well, they would never put as much pressure on her as Stella’s parents did.

  “Try telling that to the professors,” Stella shrugged. “They said that if I don’t get an A in my next assignment I can’t play netball for the rest of the season.”

  “What? Are you kidding?” Grace couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her parents would never make her miss a game of netball.

  “Nope, they really know how to hit me where it hurts. What am I going to do? I suck at English and my next assignment is due in four weeks, just before finals. How’s that for timing?” Stella looked devastated.

  “Maybe you should get a tutor or something? They’d be able to help!” Grace suggested.

  “My parents would never pay for one. They’d tell me I have to do it on my own and sort out my own problems without relying on them.” Stella confessed with sadness.

  “I could always help you out, although I’m worse than you are at English!” Grace offered.

  “Thanks, Gracie, I’m sure I’ll figure something out,” Stella said with little conviction.

  The two said their goodbyes and Grace walked to her mum’s car, grateful to have such a supportive and loving mother. If only Grace’s mum could talk some sense into Stella’s parents …

  . . . . .

  That night Grace was laying on her bed, thinking about Stella and how she could help her with her English assignment. She’d even gone as far as to count her savings to see if she’d be able to pay for Stella’s tutor, but she knew that even if she could afford it, Stella would never let her do it.

  Deflated and annoyed at herself for not thinking of anything else, Grace made her way to the lounge room, eager to watch a ‘Rom Com’ and forget about Stella’s troubles for a few minutes. Her hopes were shot down as she saw Angus lying on the couch, watching some stupid old fashioned movie on the TV.

  “What are you watching? Can we put something else on?” Grace begged.

  “I wish. I have to watch this for English,” Angus grunted.

  Grace looked at the screen, trying to work out what it was. “Hang on, is that Leonardo Di Caprio? What a babe! Is this Romeo and Juliet?” Grace asked, unable to take her eyes off the beautiful Leo.

  “Yep sure is. Way to take away my manhood by making me watch this,” Angus complained. “I’m tempted to just fail this assignment, I got an A for my last one so I’ll pass anyway,” he continued.

  “You got an A in English?” Grace asked, shocked. While she loved her brother, academics had never really been his strong suit.

  “Sure did. I got the highest mark in the class. Mrs Green even asked to use my last assignment as an example for next year’s class.” Angus said with a smug look on his face, clearly impressed with himself.

  Suddenly a light bulb went off in Grace’s head.

  “Did you say Mrs Green? Does that mean you’re in Stella’s class?” Grace asked eagerly.

  “Yep and yep,” Angus said, looking back to the TV.

  Sometimes things just work out, Grace thought to herself as she flopped onto the couch with a huge grin on her face.

  The Kings of Linwood had finally finished learning the Friday at Five songs so they all met at Amber’s house after school the following Thursday. Grace, Stella and Mia entered together in silence, taking in every inch of what they were seeing.

  “Now I know why everyone raves about Amber’s parties,” Mia said, looking around in awe.

  “Seriously, this is like something out of a movie,” added Stella.

  Grace hadn’t told the others about her visit to Amber’s place. She wanted to keep her word to Amber and not tell anyone about what she was going through with her parents’ separation. She also felt that Amber had really opened up to her and didn’t want to take advantage of that trust.

  The three girls made their way out to the backyard where some of their teammates were already sitting around a table next to the Burns’ infinity pool. None of the boys had arrived yet so in true teenage-girl style, they took this opportunity to gossip about their new colleagues.

  “I don’t care what any of you think – I still think Tyler wants me. Shotgun being in the same scene as him,” said Amber, apparently only half joking.

  “Ew. This really needs to stop,” Grace joked as she interrupted the girls and took her seat around the table.

  The girls laughed and chatted about netball and the video until eventually, the boys walked in a ‘fashionable’ thirty minutes late. The girls grew quiet, obviously losing the earlier confidence they felt about boys. Grace always loved how girls would go on and on about boys, particularly Amber and Mia, however when it actually came to speaking to them, they grew shy as anything.

  “You do know you guys aren’t famous or anything yet so you don’t have an excuse to be late,” Grace teased, realising something needed to be said and, being the most comfortable around the boys, felt it was her responsibility to ease the mood.

  “Sweet house,” Tyler said, ignoring his sister’s comment.

  Grace had seen Sebastian a few times at school over the past few weeks but hadn’t said anything about their Facebook messages. With him and Tyler now in the same room again she felt she needed to keep everything ‘friendly’ like they had been for years. Tyler and Grace had never spoken about boys or anything before but Grace knew it was an unwritten rule for an older brother to be protective of his younger sister. While Sebastian may be Tyler’s best friend, there was no way he would be happy about him talking to his sister in a way that might not just be as friends. While Grace was thinking about this, Sebastian strolled casually towards her and slouched down in the seat next to her (a seat that only moments before had been filled with a grinning Mia) and gave her his best poster-boy grin.

  “Amen to that, this place is unreal,” Sebastian added to Tyler’s comments. His effortless charm left the girls giggling like the schoolgirls that they were.

  The group sat chatting for a while, partly about the video but mostly about school, music and sport.r />
  Eventually, Amber stood up and said, “Alright, I don’t know about you guys but I sure as hell want to win these tickets so we’d better start actually doing something.”

  Everyone nodded.

  “Well,” said Tyler, “we’ve been discussing it and we think that we should change things up a little …”

  Everyone gave Tyler and his bandmates a concern look but before any of the girls could voice their confusion, Sebastian spoke up. “We just think it’s a little cliched, and corny, to sing a bunch of songs written by a bunch of boys … so we came up with a way that we get to keep our pride and not completely ruin our reputation as a rock band.”

  The girls all rolled their eyes to one another, knowing full well that the Kings of Linwood were a pop band, not that any of them had the nerve to correct him … “So we think that we should change the lyrics of the songs but still use the same music so people know what song it is. That way we will stand out from everyone else, and we can sing about things we actually know and care about.”

  The girls exchanged glances, unsure as to what they should do and how they felt about this change.

  “So what have you guys actually been doing these last few weeks then?” Amber asked the question all the girls wanted to know the answer to.

  “We’ve still been learning the music, that’s the hardest part!” Adam confessed.

  “Yeah, it won’t take long to come up with new lyrics, it will be more fun, too,” Sebastian added.

  Grace decided she should be the one to say something and break the awkward silence. “Okay. Well I think it’s a pretty good idea. He’s right – they’re right. Think about it. Everyone is going to send in videos of themselves singing and dancing along to Friday at Five songs. We should really make the most of having an actual band playing the music. We need to do something different to get noticed and surely they’ll like the fact we’ve been creative.”

  Sebastian gave her an appreciative smile.