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

been in one of the inter-school sports
teams, but I’d never played with her. I wondered how Tess had suddenly become so
friendly with her. Tess was bouncing a netball and laughing as they walked. She didn’t
seem to be missing me at all. Unless she was pretending – but if she was, she could
have acted her way into the school play, it was that convincing.
    I had two choices. Either I could pretend I hadn’t seen her and wait for her to come
to me, or I could dump the rest of my pizza in the bin and take off after her. Who
was I kidding? I didn’t even really like cheese pizza.
    As I rounded the corner past the theatre, I saw Tess on the netball court shooting
a goal. At first I thought she was alone, but then I saw Saskia scoop the ball up
and take a turn. They were practicing shooting goals. Just like Tess and I usually
did at lunchtime. I felt sick. I couldn’t believe Tess had replaced me already.
    As I watched them, I thought about the fact that Tess and I would probably never
play another netball game together. Maybe when we were old and playing seniors, but
not when we were young. I could keep playing with the Sapphires because I could fit
it in around the school play, but Tess was on her way now. The thought made me really
sad.
    Now I felt sure that was why she was so angry with me. Not because I’d chosen to
be Juliet, but because I hadn’t chosen her. No more training together. No more jelly
snakes to celebrate our big wins. No more spending hours dissecting every game. She
would find someone else to do those things with, and soon there would be a huge chunk
of her life that I wouldn’t be a part of.
    I had to shake myself out of it. I was playing Juliet. That was huge, and super exciting
too, even if Tess didn’t see it that way. I just had to find a way to make her understand.
I took a deep breath and walked over to where they were shooting. Tess shot a goal,
and I grabbed the ball and threw it back to her, like we always did.
    ‘Hi, Edie,’ said Tess.
    ‘Hi, Tess.’ Talk about awkward. It sounded like we didn’t even know each other.
    ‘Remember Saskia?’
    ‘Yeah, hi,’ I said, without really looking at her.
    ‘Hey, Edie, I really want to thank you. Because of you, I’m trying out for a spot
on the state team tonight,’ said Saskia. I think she was trying to keep it all light
and friendly, but my stomach sank as she said it. Obviously when I’d turned down
my spot on the team, they’d decided to run tryouts for my replacement. Great. If
Saskia got in, she’d probably replace me completely, and she’d become Tess’s new
best friend.
    ‘Good luck,’ I said to Saskia, not really meaning it.
    ‘Thanks,’ she said smiling, then picked up the ball and shot another goal. Tess passed
it back to her and I decided it was time I found somewhere else to be. Obviously
they didn’t want me around.
    ‘See you, Tess,’ I said as I walked off.
    ‘Bye, Edie.’
    Tess and I had been best friends since we were seven – around the same time we’d
first started playing netball together. What if netball had been our glue? What if,
without it, our friendship was nothing? I hated the thought. And despite being super
excited about the play, I just couldn’t shake the idea that giving up the chance
to play state netball meant I’d be missing out on much more than just the sport.

    The rest of the day dragged by. As soon as the last class finished, I headed for
the theatre. As I got closer, I could see some of the other kids from drama class
running towards the theatre. Everyone was racing to see the list. Freddy came thundering
up behind me, and ran straight past.
    ‘Come on, Edie!’ he yelled over his shoulder.
    Laughing, I tried to catch him, but
he was too fast. It was a mad scramble. Everyone banged through the front doors, across the foyer
to the corridor that led backstage. Freddy was in front. All around me, people were
laughing – it was like a crazy marathon. I reached the wall where the