BooksBarbecue
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Chapters (75)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise
  3. About the Author
  4. Title Page
  5. Intoroduction
  6. ONE
  7. TWO
  8. THREE
  9. FOUR
  10. FIVE
  11. SIX
  12. SEVEN
  13. EITHT
  14. NINE
  15. TEN
  16. ELEVEN
  17. TWELVE
  18. THIRTEEN
  19. FOURTEEN
  20. FIFTEEN
  21. SIXTEEN
  22. SEVENTEEN
  23. EIGHTEEN
  24. NINETEEN
  25. TWENTY
  26. TWENTY-ONE
  27. TWENTY-TWO
  28. TWENTY-THREE
  29. TWENTY-FOUR
  30. TWENTY-FIVE
  31. TWENTY-SIX
  32. TWENTY-SEVEN
  33. TWENTY-EIGHT
  34. TWENTY-NINE
  35. THIRTY
  36. THIRTY-ONE
  37. THIRTY-TWO
  38. THIRTY-THREE
  39. THIRTY-FOUR
  40. THIRTY-FIVE
  41. THIRTY-SIX
  42. THIRTY-SEVEN
  43. THIRTY-EIGHT
  44. THIRTY-NINE
  45. FORTY
  46. FORTY-ONE
  47. FORTY-TWO
  48. FORTY-THREE
  49. FORTY-FOUR
  50. FORTY-FIVE
  51. FORTY-SIX
  52. FORTY-SEVEN
  53. FORTY-EIGHT
  54. FORTY-NINE
  55. FIFTY
  56. FIFTY-ONE
  57. FIFTY-TWO
  58. FIFTY-THREE
  59. FIFTY-FOUR
  60. FIFTY-FIVE
  61. FIFTY-SIX
  62. FIFTY-SEVEN
  63. FIFTY-EIGHT
  64. FIFTY-NINE
  65. SIXTY
  66. SIXTY-ONE
  67. SIXTY-TWO
  68. SIXTY-THREE
  69. SIXTY-FOUR
  70. SIXTY-FIVE
  71. SIXTY-SIX
  72. SIXTY-SEVEN
  73. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  74. CLIMATE EMERGENCY
  75. Copyright

At half time, it seems that Mike’s mum still brings quartered oranges for everyone. I watch her in the centre circle, handing them out, collecting the skins in another bag. Will’s dad, the manager since Jamie’s dad left, is giving his usual talk. At one point, everyone turns my way and they wave. I wave back, a little confused.

Standing on the left wing and ready to start the second half, a kid called George tells me they’ve been told to play up because I’m watching and I might want my spot on the team back.

I grin, ‘Maybe.’

They end up losing three – one.

‘Some mascot you turned out to be,’ Ben half-jokes on his way back to the changing room. He’s covered in mud and doesn’t look happy.

‘Good to see you again Josh,’ says Will’s dad as he passes, not so muddy but just as deflated. ‘You’re welcome to bring your boots any time, you know. You can see we’re lacking in the middle of the park.’ He gestures over his shoulder at the field of their recent defeat. ‘The lads’d like to have you back, I think. Those passes you used to make are sorely missed, wouldn’t you say?’

I smile, ‘Yeah, maybe,’ and watch his departing back, shoulders stooped, as he trudges off.

I walk home, and consider going past Dana’s garden, but the rain is starting to trickle down inside the hood of my coat, and the thought of pushing through wet nettles doesn’t appeal to me too much. Besides which, I don’t have a key, and Dana would probably kill me herself if she found out I’d broken her new lock, never mind asking Carl to do it for her.

Mum seems oddly buoyant when I come through the back door. It’s a rare occasion she comes home from her parents’ this early on a Saturday and I’m surprised to see her.

‘Josh,’ she half-whispers, conspiratorially. ‘There’s a girl in the living room.’

‘What?’

‘In. There.’ She points over her shoulder with her thumb, as if I don’t know where the living room is. ‘She’s waiting for you. Gosh, you’re soaking.’

It must be someone posh. Mum only says things like ‘gosh’ and makes a fuss of me when she has people to impress. She peels my coat off and more or less pushes me through the door of the sitting room, thrusting two scalding hot mugs of tea into my hands as she does so, spilling some on the carpet. ‘Give her one of these,’ she hisses. And then, in her ‘gosh’ voice, ‘I’ll leave you two alone for a while.’

Dana stands up as I spin into the room.

TWENTY-ONE

TWENTY ONE

‘Hi.’ She sounds sheepish, out of place.

‘Hi.’ So do I.