My Best Worst Year by Justin Christopher

Author:Justin Christopher
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Tags: School, Young Adult, Humor, Action & Adventure, Family, Comics & Graphic Novels, Sports, Bullying, Boys, Friendship
ISBN: 9780473548681
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Published: 2020-01-15T05:00:00+00:00

WICKETS I’VE GOT: 20

WICKETS I NEED: 0

DIRTY TROPHY: Nil

Chapter 15

26th June

Rugby season is here! I’m fullback and my magic move is the up-and-under – I kick the ball really high, sprint down the field and hope the other team drops it. Then I pick it up like a seagull looking for rubbish at the beach and score. Coach says my up-and-under is the best in the business.

But wait till he sees my new bullet pass!

I like rugby because you get to do things that you can’t do in cricket, like go for flying tackles. I never used to be able to tackle the big guys, but now I’m stronger.

I know this because I’ve been practising on Claire. Last week I got into huge trouble because she flew into Mum’s expensive new lampshade that Dad got for their wedding anniversary. Dad said I should practise on Jonesy or Hughesy, not on my sister when she’s on the phone minding her own business.

I’ve got brand new rugby boots. They’re black with orange stripes and so light it feels as if I’m running on a cloud. I just hope I’m faster than lightning, because I need ten tries. My boots dry extra quick, which means I don’t have to put newspaper in them after a rainy Saturday. For the first season ever Hughesy is also wearing boots, mostly because Coach told him he’d better put something on his feet if he wants to be an All Black.

Our team is called the Rattlesnakes, and our first game was against the Panthers. Coach says they play filthy rugby, but now I’ve learnt to tackle I don’t have anything to worry about. Apart from a guy everyone calls Supermarket.

He’s called Supermarket because he’s the size of a supermarket. No one else I know has pockets in their rugby shorts, but Supermarket does. Mostly to put food in. He eats during the game and after the game. At half-time he eats leftover chicken. After the match, he shakes hands in between putting his fist into his bag of salt-and-vinegar chips.

When Supermarket tackles you it’s like being hit by a building wearing rugby boots. That’s when Coach says things about pain just being weakness leaving your body, which is easy to say if you’ve never been tackled by Supermarket.

If we win the toss, we normally kick into the wind because that means the wind will be behind us in the second half. It’s kind of like eating all your vegetables before your crispy chicken – it’s even exciting to eat cabbage when you know there’s a crunchy drumstick and chips afterwards. The first half is always hard if you’re kicking into the wind, but the second half feels as if Supermarket and his whole family are pushing you to the tryline. The worst thing that can happen is if the wind changes and you have to run into the wind in both halves. As Coach would say, that’s a bad day at the office.

Today we lost the toss and the Panthers wanted to run into the wind.

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