Friendship on Fire by Danielle Weiler Read Free Book Online

rich kid trying to join our team. We had a full side and Treston wouldn’t be stupid enough to allow someone else to march in and take away our hard earned field time.
    My brother can be very stupid sometimes.
    I nearly tripped over my feet when I realised who was running, gazelle-like, behind Treston to catch up with the team.
    It was Nate. Dressed like a pro, running like a pro and probably handled a ball like a pro too. Was this guy good at everything? I searched his face to catch his eyes but I couldn’t get his attention. He had given me his number today, so I was confident he would talk to me here. And excited.
    We started stretching to prepare for our proper drills. After a half field scratch match, training was over before I knew it. We all had turns in goals, shooting at each other, and passing. Nate didn’t say one word to me, nor did he acknowledge to Treston or the team that he knew me. In fact, it seemed like he was avoiding a direct gaze.
    Was this some type of weird boy politics? I slammed the cones on top of each other, helped drag off the nets and threw the balls hard into the training bags. I didn’t speak to Treston the whole way home and antisocially ate dinner in my room. It was unusual for me, but I avoided company for the rest of the night. Mum and Dad didn’t say anything, but I bet they were wondering what on earth happened at soccer to put me in a mood like this.
    Grabbing my towel, I headed to the bathroom to get ready for bed. Closer this time, I watched my own blue eyes give my body a thorough once over. I stood on my side, stared at my front, and tried to look at my back in the mirror. Was there something wrong with me? Was I not attractive enough for this super human guy? Why did he ignore me in public but give me his phone number in person?
    The only thing that kept me from going insane was letting all my thoughts out in my diary while my iPod was in my ears. I was furiously scratching away at a page with my pen when Mum came in to say goodnight. I waited for the routine kiss on the ear.
    She frowned at me and asked if I was feeling better.
    â€˜I’m fine. Tired.’ Slamming my diary shut, I murmured, ‘Turn the light off, please.’
    I didn’t want to be rude, but the rejection that burnt deep in my chest was unbearable.
    When she left I tapped on my touch lamp and opened my bedside drawer. I found the special little piece of paper with Nate’s number on it and let it fall gently into my bin.
    That’s the last I wanted to hear from Nate.

    I was nearly late for school because I couldn’t seem to wake up. As it always turned out, my body wanted real sleep just as it was time to get up. I waited until everyone else had left the house before dragging my sorry butt into the kitchen to pack my lunch and bolt to school.
    First period was history. Having only ten students in our class helped to keep it informal and close knit. Miss Shaw looked me square in the eyes as I walked in late but let me off the hook. After she had set everyone working on a source reading, she came to sit next to me.
    â€˜How are you settling into year twelve, Daisy?’ She smiled at me with genuine interest.
    â€˜Fine. I mean it will take a while to get used to, but everything is sweet,’ I lied.
    â€˜Good. What about assignment wise? I bet you have heaps already,’ she said, eyes annoyingly kind.
    â€˜Yeah I do, actually. I’m going to be flat out pretty soon.’
    â€˜Some teachers forget what it’s like to be studying. Don’t worry. It’ll be over before you know it,’ she assured me, and moved on to other students.
    I appreciated her special attention. It didn’t necessarily fix my problems, but it showed she cared, which was what other teachers apparently found hard.
    I told Rach what happened at training last night through a note in human biology. I watched her reaction and she quietly gasped in sympathy. She