Specky Magee by Felice Arena Read Free Book Online

who obviously loves footy!

11 CHRISKICKS
    On the following Monday morning at school, Specky still wasn’t sure if he was going to share his news with his friends. It wasn’t something he felt he wanted a lot of people to know.
    ‘What’s with you? You haven’t said a word all morning. What’s up?’ asked Robbo during recess.
    ‘Look, if I tell you, you have to keep it to yourself. Promise?’ said Specky.
    Robbo crossed his heart with his forefinger and gave an exaggerated nod.
    ‘All right,’ began Specky. ‘Remember the photograph of me dressed up in all the Geelong gear? Well, I suspect my dad took it.’
    ‘Your dad? But your dad isn’t into footy and…’
    Specky took in a deep breath and stopped Robbo mid-sentence. ‘No, not my dad that you know, my biological dad. I found out I’m…’ Specky took in another breath. It was still difficult to believe this was all happening. ‘I’m adopted!’
    Robbo paused for a few seconds before he fully understood what he had just heard. ‘No way! You’re adopted ! What are you going to do? Are you going to look for them—your real parents, I mean?’
    Specky shrugged his shoulders. He felt kind of relieved that he had told someone.
    ‘Um, I don’t know. I’m not sure if I want to. Where would I begin, anyway? My parents freaked out on me when I tried to find out more, so I know they won’t help me. They told me my biological mother is dead, but my father is out there, somewhere.’
    Robbo shook his head in disbelief, not really sure how to react. ‘Man, you know what this means. Your dad, I mean, your biological dad, is probably into footy. That’s why you were dressed in all that footy gear as a baby!’
    ‘Oh derr, no kidding,’ Specky replied sarcastically. ‘I haven’t stopped thinking about that since they told me.’
    The bell sounded, and Specky and Robbo made their way back to class. By the end of the day it seemed that everyone in school knew about Specky’s secret.
    ‘I’m sorry, mate!’ pleaded Robbo, running up to Specky near the front gates of the school.
    ‘I thought I told you to keep it to yourself.’
    ‘I did, but I thought it wouldn’t hurt just to tell Danny, and then he thought he could tell…’
    ‘Look,’ snapped Specky, ‘it’s okay. I don’t care anymore. I just wish I had never found that stupid photo in the first place.’
    Specky bolted from Robbo, and ran nonstop all the way home. When he got there, his mother greeted him at the front door, offering home-made snacks—this was so out of the ordinary. Specky declined the food with a shake of the head, ran upstairs and jumped in front of the computer. He didn’t want to deal with anything or anyone. He wanted to totally forget about all this adoption stuff. Instead, all he wanted to do was surf a few of his favourite footy sites. That’ll provide the perfect distraction, he thought. After a few minutes online, Specky was messaged by CHRISkicks.
    CHRISkicks : Hey! What happened to you the other day? You signed off in a rush.
    FOOTYHEAD : Yeah, sorry about that. You were right.
    CHRISkicks : Right? I was right about what?
    FOOTYHEAD : About being adopted. My parents told me yesterday. It’s true, I’m adopted.
    CHRISkicks : Wow! How do you feel?
    FOOTYHEAD : It’s a weird feeling, hard to explain.
    CHRISkicks : I know what you mean.
    FOOTYHEAD : What do you mean you know? How could you possibly know how I feel?
    CHRISkicks : ‘Cause I’m adopted, too!
    Specky wondered if this was a joke. Now he was more curious than ever to find out more about this ‘CHRISkicks’ kid. Up until now, he was happy just to talk footy with him. But that had changed—now they had something more in common than just Aussie Rules.
    FOOTYHEAD : So how long have you known you were adopted?
    CHRISkicks : I’ve known for a long time. Since I was able to talk. My parents are the coolest people around. I consider my adopted parents to be my real parents.
    FOOTYHEAD : Do you ever