Amanzimtoti: The Ridge (Amanzimtoti 1) by Carmen-Shea Hepburn

Author:Carmen-Shea Hepburn [Hepburn, Carmen-Shea]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Carmen-Shea Hepburn
Published: 2016-03-13T23:00:00+00:00

20

The changing rooms erupted into a jeering cheer as Mr Dukakis finished his rallying speech, getting the team in high spirits as they geared up for the first match against their biggest rival, Kuswag Skool.

As the rest of the guys started filing out of the changing rooms, Wayne held back, chewing nervously on his lip as he waited for Kyle to pass by him. He reached out as soon as he did, grabbing at his arm to stop him.

Kyle shot him a curious look, his excited grin barely wavering as he let Wayne tug him out of the immediate stream of players.

“Howzit?” Kyle asked.

“I need you to do me a favour,” Wayne blurted, casting his eyes conspicuously around the room.

Kyle nodded, his smile dimming a little at whatever look he saw on Wayne’s face. “Ja of course, what is it?”

“I need you to not… interact with me. At all.” Wayne said stiffly, trying not to shift as Kyle’s eyebrows rose in surprise.

“What?”

“When we’re out there. On the pitch,” Wayne added, fingers constricting against the hold he still had on Kyle’s arm. “I don’t mean if you need to pass me the ball, just… between plays. You need to treat me like a stranger.”

“What are you talking about?”

Wayne dragged his free hand through his hair a moment before shooting Kyle a nervous look. “Matthew is here.”

“Fok!” Kyle sucked in a breath, body tensing. He glanced over his shoulder as if expecting Matthew to come racing into the changing rooms.

He felt the shiver steal through Kyle and Wayne squeezed at Kyle’s arm trying to reassure him. “He’s come to watch the game and I told him we weren’t, but if he thinks we’re friendly at all—”

“Hey, hey! I get it. It’s okay.” Kyle interrupted, grabbing at Wayne’s arm in return.

Wayne bit off his words, teeth slicing at the inside of his bottom lip instead. He inhaled deeply through his nose, feeling a little sick at the momentary relief he experienced at knowing it wasn’t just him. At knowing that Kyle was just as afraid of what Matthew would do if he thought they were so much as looking at one another as he was.

His exhale shuddered almost violently out of him, leaving him a little lightheaded. His fingers tightened around Kyle’s arm and in return Kyle tightened his own grip on Wayne. He hadn’t expected any other answer from Kyle, not really, but the pessimist in him was always planning for the worst case scenario.

If Kyle had said no he’d have either had to ask to be benched for the game or play so badly Mr Dukakis wouldn’t have had a choice. Wayne didn’t think he’d have managed the first and knew that if he’d attempted the second, not only would he be lynched by the entire team, he’d also more likely than not end up being kicked off the team and then he’d have to try and explain to Matthew, and probably his dad too, exactly why he could no longer play rugby.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.