Tall Story - Candy Gourlay [44]
The smile slipped, like a picture frame gone crooked on the wall. Mrs Green’s mouth pursed into a thin lipless line. ‘That girl. She’d better not be in the gym again.’
Andi was in the gym.
Rocky was there too, his spare basketball kit in a plastic bag.
I slipped Rocky’s kit on over my clothes. It fitted.
‘You’re actually really skinny in spite of your height,’ he said, stepping back a few paces to look me up and down. ‘You’ll pass.’
The truth was, the shorts didn’t quite reach to my knees. But at least they weren’t riding up my thighs like those micro shorts worn by players from yesteryear. The fashion for long, long basketball shorts and tops meant that the kit hung on me in a way that was, if not right, at least not wrong.
I gave Andi a sideways glance. She was staring studiously past the free-throw line, at the small white notice by the front door, No Entry Unless Authorized. A basketball sat at her feet.
‘OK, Rocky,’ I said, holding out my hand.
Rocky shook it vigorously.
‘OK. Fantastic! Tomorrow, we play ball!’ Rocky grinned and turned to Andi. ‘And you’re coming to the game, I hope?’
The corner of Andi’s mouth twitched and she looked up with startled eyes. ‘Huh?’
‘Tomorrow. Right here. Lunch time. Are you coming to see your brother’s debut? It’s the last game of the season, you gotta come!’ Rocky said.
‘Oh!’ Andi said. ‘Yeah. Yeah, of course.’
But she was looking everywhere except at him.
So I knew she didn’t want to go.
As soon as Rocky left us, Andi turned silently to the goal. She picked up the basketball and began to shoot.
Thunk. The ball hit the ring and bounced away.
I carefully took Rocky’s basketball kit off and tucked it into my backpack.
Andi ran to retrieve the ball and tried again. Thunk. Another miss.
It was only when she had missed a third time that I noticed the redness in her eyes, the sheen of tears on her cheeks.
‘Andi?’ If only I had the English, I could say, Andi, what is wrong? Can I help? You can count on me. I’m your brother and I’ve loved you for ever and ever. But it wasn’t going to come out like that, was it? I was useless.
‘Andi?’
Andi picked the ball up and hugged it like it was a teddy bear. She turned to me.
‘It’s not your fault, Bernardo,’ she sighed. ‘None of this is your fault. It’s just bad luck.’
Andi was small but she was one of those people who gave the impression of packing an explosion of energy within her tiny frame. I swear it sometimes felt like she was taller than me. Now, as she rubbed her eyes on her uniform’s shirt sleeves and clutched the ball for dear life, she looked like a little girl. Her chin rose and her eyes looked directly into mine.
‘Look, I was disappointed when I found out that the Souls were boys only. But they let me train with them, which was cool even though they’re hopeless at basketball. I was just taken aback when Rocky decided to sign you up. I couldn’t help feeling disappointed. I wished I was you.’
Andi wished she was me? I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. How could anyone wish that they were me?
I cleared my throat. ‘I will not play,’ I said. ‘It is wrong. They only want …’ I searched for the English word for ‘sideshow’ but it eluded me. ‘Gimmick. They only want gimmick.’
Andi smiled, though tears continued to trickle down her face. ‘I wish someone wanted me to be a gimmick on their team. It’s not wrong, Bernardo. At least it’s not wrong if you want to play. Do you want to play?’
I looked at Andi and suddenly I could see how much she wanted to play with the Souls, how much basketball meant to her. And me playing was the closest she would ever get to being in the team. At that moment, I wanted to play. For Andi.
‘Yes, yes, I will play,’ I said.
‘I’m glad.’ Andi sighed and smiled. In the shifting light, the amber in her eyes changed to a greeny brown. ‘That would be so cool, Bernardo.’
I smiled. ‘My best friend. He want me to be … he want me to be gimmick