Kicking On by Dave Hannigan

Author:Dave Hannigan [Dave Hannigan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781847173843
Publisher: The O'Brien Press
Published: 2012-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Davey was lying on the couch when he spotted Peter getting out of his mother’s car and running up the path. He was sprinting to try to avoid getting soaked by the rain. It didn’t work.

‘You’re like a drowned rat,’ said Davey’s mother as she ushered Peter toward the living room.

‘I know,’ said Peter, shaking the rain off his coat.

‘I hope you’re not as bored as Davey?’ said Mrs McCarthy.

‘I think I might be,’ said Peter. ‘My mother told me when I was getting out of the car not to come back for hours because she’s sick of me.’

Mrs McCarthy laughed. She understood what Mrs O’Connor meant. It had been raining almost constantly for the best part of two weeks. Not the usual drizzle either. This was heavier rain than most people could ever remember and everybody in Dromtarry was fed up with being stuck indoors. Adults and children. Nobody more so than Peter and Davey.

‘I can’t believe we can’t train or play in this,’ said Davey.

‘I know,’ said Peter. ‘No matches. No training. I feel bad for Lenny. How’s he ever going to get better if he can’t get out on the field?’

‘His first day was the last time we trained, wasn’t it?’

Peter nodded his head. They were talking like Lenny’s first training session was two years ago. That’s how far away it all seemed to them.

‘You want to play FIFA on the Wii?’ asked Peter.

‘I’m sick of it. I’ve been playing it since I got up.’

‘What about Mario & Sonic at the Olympics?’

‘Played that for two hours with my dad last night.’

Peter got down on the floor in front of the television and began rooting through the box containing all Davey’s games.

‘You won’t find anything, I’m sick of them all,’ said Davey, still glued to the couch.

Peter ignored him and kept looking.

‘I’m so bored I did my mum’s Wii Fit this morning,’ said Davey. ‘I was even going to try the yoga, but was afraid I’d break it.’

‘What about this?’ Peter was holding up Gaelic Games Football for Playstation 2.

They both laughed. Davey got a present of it for Christmas when he was eight and the pair of them spent two frustrating days of those holidays struggling with it.

‘I’d forgotten all about that.’

‘Do you even have the Playstation 2 hooked up anymore?’

‘No it’s in the cupboard there.’

‘Come on, let’s give it another try.’

Suddenly Davey was enthusiastic.

‘I suppose it’s the closest we’ll come to kicking a ball until the rain stops.’

It took Davey a while to find the box containing the Playstation 2 console. Then he thought there was a lead missing. Eventually, they had it ready to go.

‘Let’s play at Pairc Uí Chaoimh,’ said Peter.

Within seconds they were looking at their field of dreams. They went there two years ago to cheer on the school team in Sciath na Scoil. They desperately wanted to get back there as players themselves before going on to secondary.

‘I remember the stadiums were the best part of this game, I think I can actually make out where we sat that day at the finals,’ said Davey.

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