Chapter One

I let out a huff of annoyance, and made my way to the edge of the stairs.

I yelled up the stairs, in the direction of my mother, who was doing her makeup for some ungodly reason. “Mum, do you mind? The game starts in 20 minutes, ya know.”

“Cate-Lynn Hayes, I’m going as fast as I can.” Her muffled voice came floating through from the bathroom. She paused, before yelling again. “And you of all people should know how hard and timely it is to apply foundation!”

I rolled my eyes, ignoring her comment.

I usually get Cate-Lynn, or just Cate, or Cate-Lynn Hayes if I'm in trouble. I sort of have this grudge with Mum for spelling my name weirdly. Mum could have at least called me Caitlin, and then I wouldn’t get the weird pronunciations, such as ‘Cat-Lin’ or ‘Cath...erm...Cate-Leen’ by my teachers. Half-way into the term and I still get both, only two of my teachers are able to call me Cate-Lynn, but one still spells it wrong, she spells it ‘Catelyn’. That’s fine with me, since her name is Ms Smyth; I just spell her last name Smith, just to annoy her.

Felicity calls me Cat-Lin just to piss me off, but I just smack her on the back of the head and she shuts up.

We have this sort of love-hate relationship where we are fighting one day and best friends the next, she thinks that we are special; I think that we are just crazy!

I go to St. Perpetuus’ Anglican Girls College, in Kiama. Nothing special about that place, may I tell you. With only 300 students, it’s quite small and boring. Felicity and I literally sleep through mass, snoring our heads off, but Sister Jemima doesn’t really care, she just shakes her head in dismay, or so Bridget Mackenzie says.

Once we got busted for sleeping through our last mass of the year. It’s quite important, our principal says. It’s no big deal, really. The head of some important Anglican organization comes in and says a few words, listens to the choir sing, sits in on a prayer, and leaves for St. Paul’s, the boys’ school next door. But its not all mass, when it’s not mass, its MATH! Well, I'm sort of exaggerating that point. Poor Miss Maine, tries as hard as she can to get us interested in math, but with no avail.

English with Mrs Cleveland is horrible, Sport with Mr Whitby is awesome, he’s so shy, but so cool at the same time.

Once, when Paul’s and Perpetuus’ were invited to an Anglican school sport ceremony, and we had to share the same bus. Lucas Graven was high on what ever he had gotten his hands on. Always acting like the world will bow down at his feet. So he was shouting out to his mate, Harry McCall, another piss-head.

“I'm hungry; take me out on a date!”

Harry yelled something random back, and then a few minutes later, he announced, “Hey Lucas, suck my dick!”

Mr Whitby, the champ (he was my hero for weeks!) yelled out, so everybody could hear, “Harry, he wants a meal, not a snack!”

Harry McCall went completely red in the face and snuck down into his seat, while everyone around him burst into laughter. The schools so small, the whole conversation got around by form the next day! There was a rumour going around that the two schools would join to form one school in at least two years, but there was a major outcry from the parents. St. Paul’s is practically dying, it only has 370 students. But both principals have assured us that ‘nothing of the sort’ would happen.

It was raining. The sky was a horrible overcast grey. Mum and I were sitting in the car; I had just turned on the radio to B105 and was singing to ‘Radio’s In Heaven’ by the Plain White Tees. I just love that song, it’s so sad, yet so…so…, I dunno. I got up to ‘You left before I had a chance, to say good bye’ when Mum turned it down, breaking the silence between us.

“How’s school?”

It was such a simple question, I'm sure that it wasn’t what she wanted to ask. Mum had a knack of asking questions that she already knew that answer to.

“Fine.”

“Anything important you need to tell me?”

“Nah, not really.”

“What about your grades? Are they keeping up?”

Oh shit.

Mum and I have this deal, that if I do not keep my grades above a C, then I can't play basketball. I was lucky to get straight B’s last term, but this term, I'm not too sure.

“It’s going all to plan,” I smiled, lies scraping through my teeth and out into the open, which was then inhaled by mum, undetectable by the human eye, but if you look closely…

“What about in math?” she asked, not taking her eyes off the road, however it felt like her eyes had a laser beam, which was blaring down on me.

I felt compelled to tell the truth, but then I would get the whole ‘You need to keep your grades up or blah, blah, blah…etc’

I faced forward, my hands making all these weird movements in my lap. “Yeah, Miss Maine says that I'm going well.”

“Okay, just keep your-” Mum began, starting on her lecture.

Oh shit, here comes word vomit.

“MUM! I'm doing fine, okay!” I exclaimed, “I know that if I don't keep my grades up I can't play! I know that! I get it! So stop pressuring me!”

It was more a desperation exclamation than a I’m-gonna-fight-with-you-cause-I-wanna-cause-trouble exclamation and Mum understood that.

“Alright Cate, I'm just asking.” She mumbled, and I instantly turned my back to her, feeling guilty and childish.

The rest of the trip was silent, except for the splashing of the raindrops falling onto our windscreen.

As soon as the car pulled up at the Kiama stadium, the rain was bucketing down. Despite this, I jumped out before Mum could get a word in and took off into the complex, getting completely soaked in the process. I swore I heard my mother sighing at me.

Saturdays were the days that the Eastern Amateur Basketball League games are on. There are about six teams in the U19 girl’s comp. Kiama, Wollongong, Albion Park Rail, Western Districts, Sydney South, and Ulladulla.

I'm actually not of age to play in the competition, I'm only bottom age 18’s, which makes me 16. However, sometimes I'm able to fill in, if they don't have enough players. My family and Keith’s family have some sort of weirded random connection back in the 18th century. I'm being sarcastic; I’ve actually got no idea.

As I entered the complex, I took a right at the canteen, and follow this long hallway down to the dressing rooms. I knew which dressing room it was, because I could hear Bridget Mackenzie cracking her outrageous jokes from 50 metres away.

I opened the door, and got bombarded with ‘hello’s’

“Catey!”

“Cate-Lynn!”

Felicity Mills ran up to me and jumped on me. She ruffled my dripping hair, “How are you, squirt?”

“I'm good, if you were not hanging off me! You’re gonna get drenched you know.”

“Oh, sorry bout that.”

Felicity Mills is about 6”1, which meant bad news for me when she jumped on me, and being only 5”8, it’s not really something that you want.

“Felicity! Get off the poor girl! You’re like the Chrysler building to her!” Leisel Mackenzie yelled from the other end of the room.

“Yeah Felicity!” her other half, Bridget Mackenzie mimicked.

I held my breath; I knew that a fight would break out sooner than later. It always does with the Mackenzie twins.

The other girls all went ‘ooohhhh!’ they were thinking what I was thinking.

Suddenly, Keith Lewis came bursting through the door, causing half the team to scream and the other half to duck under the table in surprise.

“KEITH!” we all screamed in unison.

“Okay, okay! I’ll go, just be ready on the court in 10 minutes.” He paused, then glanced at me, “Oh, hey Cate.” He smiled, before chucking me a green and gold Singlet and shorts. “It’s your lucky day; you’re sitting on the bench and possibly playing if Cassy gets fouled off.” He smirked, emphasising the last few words that were directed at Cassy, who just rolled her eyes.

“But…But…” I stammered, “I don't have my shoes! I’ve only got my Mooloolah’s!” I indicated to my silver slip-ons, which were not the best shoes to run in.

Keith nodded, and then reached from behind him, and held up my black sports bag. “This what you are looking for?”

“Keith! Just hurry up, give Cate the bag and GET OUT!” Anna exclaimed, from under the table.
He nodded and disappeared, leaving us to get changed.

“Hey Cassy, who are we missing?” Bridget yelled.

“Lucy, Georgina and Jaz.” A whole lot of ‘damn it’s’ and ‘shit’ were heard throughout the room.

Lucy was one of the main guards and Georgina & Jaz could shoot from anywhere in the key and get it in, no problems.

“Hey! It’s not my fault that girl from Wollongong decided to trip me over, twist my ankle and bruise my ego!” Georgina moaned from a chair, a pair of crutches sitting against the chair.

“You’d better hurry,” Anna Sobbenski said, from beside me. “Keith will roast your ass if you are not out on that court in 6 minutes.”

“Girls…Ladies,” Keith rephrased, “Those girls out there don't stand a chance.” We were sitting on the bench, we had just warmed up and Keith had 5 minutes for a team talk before the game began.

“As per usual, Bridget & Cassy, you’re starting. Since Georgina’s tripped over her own feet…”

“Hey!” Georgina let out an undignified howl.

“Lucy’s has gone on a little trip round Wagga and Jaz’s appendix has decided to rupture, Leisel, Anna & Rebekah, you’re starting as well.

Bridget, on the jump ball, I want you to stand at Wollongong’s end in the centre, about three feet back. They will try and hike it over Bek’s head to Tracey, their number four. Bridget, you try and get there before the ball does. Leisel, stand on our side, you know, your usual. Anna, I want you to stand in the middle of their two tallest and jump in front of them. Cass, just do your stuff, don't worry if you don't get the jump. I want you playing a tight press after a basket and man to man after a rebound. Got it?”

The girls around me nodded, fully understanding.

“Okay, who are we going to play?!” Keith yelled.

“Wollongong!”

“Who are we going to beat?”

“Wollongong!”

“Who are we going to kiss?”

“Wollongong- KEITH!”

Keith grinned, “Sorry, ladies. Couldn’t resist. Saw it on TV and decided to try it out.”

30 minutes into the game, we were down by eight. Cassy Wendt had just scored from the block and the girls had transitioned to a press.

“Good defence Cass…hold her there…FEET, FEET! CASSY!” he roared as Cass’s player managed to get around her and over halfway.

Keith walked up the bench to where I was sitting and knelt down in front of me. Instantly, my heart began to beat wildly as he explained what he wanted me to do.

After he finished, I went up and called a sub at the bench, then sat down at the chair, waiting for the ref to call me in.

When Anna Sobbenski knocked the ball out of court with her foot, the ref called “Foot violation. Subs in”

“Cassy.” I exclaimed, and slapped her hand as I entered. “Who have you got?” I asked her, as I didn’t know who she was marking.

She removed her black mouth guard that was tightly held in her mouth and panted, “I’ve got 6.”

Wollongong had gotten the ball in and was already past our free throw line.

“Get back!” Keith demanded. “Get back!”

After a gruelling match, we ended up winning by a mere eight points.

We shook hands with Wollongong and then retreated back to the dressing rooms with a smile on our faces, including Felicity who had received MVP. It enables her to go to Viva Italiana and have a free meal down in the CBD. Pretty corny I reckon, and I hate Italian, but as Felicity likes the restaurant, I'm sure that it would be put to use.

Felicity had her arm around me while we were walking down the hall. “I'm so happy!” she began to sniff. Leisel, Bridget and I stopped and turned to her in confusion and disbelief.

“I don't even know why!” she exclaimed, bursting into mock tears and engulfed me in a tight hug.

“You are the craziest girl I know! Come on Mills; let’s get you back to Landwhile before they send out an Amber alert!” I exclaimed.

Landwhile is where the local mental institution is; I’ve threatened to take her there quite a few times, and have even offered to pay for her very own personal pink straight jacket. She said that as thoughtful as the offer was, she wouldn’t need it.

Mum met me outside the complex, with a smile on her face. “You played well.” She beamed, wrapping me in a hug.

I think that it is safe to say that our little fight this morning was forgotten.

And as J.K Rowling made clear in the last book of Harry Potter, all was well. However, this time it was for now.