Play the Game by Nova Weetman Read Free Book Online

practice before, during and after school – though I’d managed
to negotiate that down to just lunchtimes.
    I’d always loved playing netball, but maybe Jean was right. Maybe it did come easy
to me, maybe that’s why I’d stuck with it. Maybe it was time to chase my own dreams. And
that meant playing Juliet.
    It also meant I was also going to be late for chemistry, if I didn’t get myself into
gear.

    Somehow, I made it to chemistry on time. I sat on a stool and took out my books reluctantly.
Chemistry wasn’t one my better subjects. When I looked up, I realised Jackson was
sitting on the stool next to me.
    ‘Hi,’ he said with a smile. ‘You excited about finding out your part?’
    ‘Yeah,’ I said, wishing I could just tell him.
    ‘You’d make a great Juliet,’ he said, fiddling with his books restlessly.
    ‘Thanks,’ I said. I knew Jackson had tried out for Romeo – we’d all watched each
other’s auditions – but everyone assumed Freddy would get that part. I hoped Jackson
wouldn’t be too unhappy with a smaller role.
    ‘So, are we blowing anything up today?’ asked Jackson.
    ‘I hope so,’ I said, remembering the class when we’d experimented with Bunsen burners
and weird-smelling chemicals. The reaction had made little blue clouds of smoke puff
up around the room. We’d been nagging Mr Gibson, our chem teacher, for explosions
ever since.
    ‘Right, could everyone take out their notebooks?’ said Mr Gibson. Jackson already
had his book out, but he wasn’t writing notes. He seemed to be drawing. I tried to
lean closer to see the picture, and accidentally bumped into him. His pencil slipped,
dragging a black line right across the page.
    ‘Sorry,’ I whispered.
    ‘That’s okay. It’s only pencil,’ he said, rubbing out the line. Then he slid the book
over so I could see the pictures properly. There were little elf-like creatures dotted
across the page, with tiny wings and tiny faces. They were pretty incredible. All
I ever did in class was scribble notes to Tess. I slid it back with an impressed
smile. He shrugged, pretending not to care what I thought, but I think he was secretly
pleased. He blushed a bit, just like I did when Kerry said I’d done something well
in drama class.
    It turned out that Jackson wasn’t just good at drawing. He was also really good at
chemistry – so he made the perfect lab partner. He explained why certain reactions
happened when chemicals were mixed and amazingly, I almost understood him!
    When the lunch bell sounded, I hurried off, anxious to see if I could talk to Tess.
‘See you later, Jackson,’ I said. ‘Thanks for the chemistry help!’

    I raced to the netball court but I couldn’t see Tess anywhere. Normally we borrowed
a ball from the sports club and shot goals while we ate our lunch. But Tess wasn’t
waiting by the netball ring today. There were a few other girls hanging around, but
I didn’t know them – they weren’t in my year level. I hung around hoping Tess was
just buying her lunch at the school canteen, but after exactly seven and a half minutes,
I knew she wasn’t coming. This was the first time I hadn’t eaten lunch with my best
friend since we’d started high school. It felt awful.
    I sighed, eyeing my soggy sandwich miserably. It drooped in my hand, seeming to match
my mood. I tossed it into the bin and went off to the canteen. When in doubt, the
cheese pizza is always edible, and makes a good alternative to some of the strange
things I find in my lunch box.
    All around me, kids were hanging out with their friends. I knew I could find people
to have lunch with, but my best friend not talking to me somehow made the idea of
hanging out with anyone else even less appealing. I kept wondering where Tess was.
    I didn’t have to wait long to find out. Three bites into my pizza, just as the hot
cheese fell off and burnt my lip, I saw Tess walk around the corner with a girl called
Saskia. I knew she played netball because she’d