Read Online Play the Game by Nova Weetman - Free Book Online Page A

big deal was.
    ‘I just said he was cute, that’s all.’ I sounded more defensive than I meant to,
but it irritated me. Why couldn’t I say a boy was cute? Tess had always been pretty
hardcore about netball, but she’d never been this bad. Now that she was playing state,
she acted like we couldn’t even think about anything else.
    ‘Tess?’ I elbowed her playfully, hoping she’d realise she was overreacting.
    She shrugged and nudged me back, making me spill water everywhere. ‘Oops, sorry!’
she said, laughing. ‘All right, he is cute,’ she whispered, and chucked me a cloth.
‘About as cute as watching you mop up your T-shirt.’ Tess laughed and I threw the
wet tea towel at her head.

    To keep life simple, I’d decided to ignore Finn and concentrate on watching the Vixens
thrash the Eagles. I was doing really well, until he started talking to me.
    ‘What do you play?’ he asked quietly.
    ‘Mostly Goal Attack,’ I managed to answer without sneaking a look at him.
    ‘You’re a shooter?’
    ‘Yep.’
    ‘Finn,’ Maggie said sharply. ‘No talking.’
    ‘I’m just finding out about your new friends,’ he said, sounding irritated.
    Luckily, Maggie’s mum walked in at exactly that moment, carrying a big stack of pizza
boxes. Finn leapt up to help her, and Tess seized the opportunity to wriggle along
the couch into the spot where Finn had been sitting.
    Maggie paused the game to introduce me to her mum.
    ‘Nice to see you, Tess. And Edie, it’s lovely to meet you finally. Maggie has told
me a lot about you. I think your mum might have been the doctor who stitched up Finn’s
eye in emergency last year.’
    ‘Really? What happened to your eye?’ I asked him, wishing I could take a closer look.
    He shrugged. ‘Got into a fight.’
    His mum laughed. ‘It’s called football.’
    ‘Mum, you’re destroying my image,’ joked Finn.
    ‘Image! Huh! Go and grab some plates from the kitchen, Finn. And napkins.’
    ‘Plates! Napkins! Now my image is totally shot. Thanks a lot,’ he said, pretending
to be devastated. He wasn’t just cute, he was funny, too. I liked the way he mucked
around with his mum.
    ‘So how was training?’ asked Maggie’s mum.
    ‘The best,’ said Tess.
    Maggie’s mum laughed. ‘You sound just like Maggie. Nothing’s as great as netball!’
    It felt strange hearing how similar Maggie and Tess were, but it was true. They lived
and breathed netball. I wondered why I didn’t feel the same.
    Then she smiled at me. ‘And you, Edie? Are you enjoying it?’
    ‘Yeah, it’s great. Except for the blisters.’
    She gave me a big smile. ‘I’ve got just the thing for blisters,’ she said warmly.
    Maggie looked panicked. ‘Not the cream, Mum!’
    ‘Why not? It worked for you. And your brother.’
    I was intrigued. ‘What cream? I’ll try anything.’
    Groaning, Maggie explained. ‘My grandparents have a farm. And Grandad makes this cream
for the cows.’
    ‘For their udders,’ said Finn, walking back in with a stack of plates and napkins.
He looked straight at me and smiled. ‘It works for blisters, too.’
    Maggie pulled a face. ‘I was leaving the udder bit out, Finn.’
    I couldn’t help but laugh. ‘That sounds great, thanks. I’ll definitely give it a go.’
    ‘I’ll get you some before you leave,’ promised Maggie’s mum. ‘Now, make sure Finn
doesn’t eat all the salami. He has a bad habit of picking the bits off the top and
adding them to his slices. You watch him, girls.’
    ‘This is character assassination. I hardly know these two. Honestly, what are they
going to think of me?’ said Finn, mock-outraged.
    Maggie’s mum left us to eat and watch the game. Tess wasn’t kidding about the extra
salami. I was so happy. Even my blister stopped hurting.
    Maggie pressed play on the game, and I realised how pleased I was to be here instead
of at home on my bed counting my sore muscles. And now that I wasn’t sitting next
to Finn anymore, I could actually