Tall Story - Candy Gourlay [58]
As we took our positions for the free throws, Rocky sidled up. ‘YOU, Andi-Pandy, are my secret weapon!’ He grinned. I could smell the relief on his sweat.
Surely Bernardo would be here by now. Scanning the faces on the sidelines, I recognized some kids from my class, waving like demented fans. And Mrs Green was screaming at the Souls to get some boys down to the halfway line. She acted as if she was their coach.
But there was no tall dark head poking above the crowd.
Bernardo, where are you?
Something must have happened to him.
Rambo loomed just to my left. He smirked. ‘No chance, pretty little boy,’ he said. ‘You’ll screw up and then we’re taking that ball.’
‘Why don’t you go and lift some weights?’ I said. Bernardo, not long now.
But when I took the first shot, I missed.
Thunk.
I missed! But I never miss!
‘Told you.’ Rambo grinned.
Suddenly the crowd hushed.
Bernardo, I’m coming.
I licked my lips. Focus, Andi. Only one more minute and the game will be over.
I released my second free throw.
Swish.
The crowd roared. 29–30!
Rambo charged, elbowing me aside to grab the ball. I stumbled but the referee didn’t call a foul.
I skittered down the court, not even checking to see which of the Souls would retrieve the ball. There was no time. I had to be ready on the three-point line if we were to—
‘ANDI!’
I looked round in time to see Rocky throw himself between Rambo and the ball, knocking it down the court towards me.
Stay cool. Stay cool.
The Colts galloped after it. They were steaming, desperate.
The ball bounced twice and then rolled slowly in my direction.
‘SHOOT! SHOOT! SHOOT!’
The crowd was beside itself.
Stay cool.
I picked up the ball and released it in one swooping movement.
Bingo.
Three points!
Souls: 32, Colts: 30.
The Souls had won their first and last game of the season.
‘Andi! Andi! You did it!’ I could hear Rocky’s voice above the pandemonium as the crowd rushed onto the court to congratulate us.
‘Andi! Andi!’ Mrs Green’s voice rose above the crowd.
‘Hey! Andi! Come back!’ Rocky yelled.
But I didn’t stop running. Out of the double doors, out of the school gates.
I kept on running until I got home.
11
Bernardo
‘Your brother is here.’
The nurse nodded towards the doorway.
Brother? I turned my head slowly and peered through the fog of pain at the small figure in the basketball uniform.
‘That my sister,’ I whispered and the nurse made a small snorting noise before she turned away.
Andi rushed to my side. ‘Bernardo!’ I closed my eyes, the light was so bright. Raindrops trickled on my face. ‘Oh, Bernardo, I ran all the way here. Mum left a note on the door.’ The raindrops were Andi’s tears, and they were falling fast.
I lifted my hand to point at the uniform and the gesture launched another shard of glass into my brain. My lips were parched. I had to force my voice through the dry sand in my throat. ‘Why?’
‘I played for the Souls. I was point guard. That was my wish on the stone, Bernardo. It came true.’ I felt Andi’s lips on my cheek. They were soft and cool and the pain seemed to dim just a little. ‘And we won.’
I tried to smile, but smiling made the knife dig deeper into the base of my skull. ‘You are so galing,’ I whispered. ‘So good.’
‘You have to leave, miss.’ The nurse put a hand on her shoulder. ‘Your brother has to go into the operating theatre now. The surgeons are waiting.’
12
Andi
And then we had to wait.
Mum and Dad had been upstairs when he came home. They found Bernardo on the kitchen floor. How long had he lain there, unconscious?
The ambulance, when it came, had to call another ambulance to help them manoeuvre Bernardo out of the living room and through the front door. There was only room for Mum in the ambulance that took Bernardo to hospital so Dad followed in the other one.
When Bernardo woke up, his head hurt, his eyes hurt, his neck hurt, he could barely move. At casualty, they did some tests, ran all the scans again. By the time I turned up, they had decided to operate.
‘How bad is it, Mum?’
It must