Song of the Curlew by Lazaros Zigomanis

Author:Lazaros Zigomanis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: australia, australiana, lazaros, lazaros zigomanis, ecg, ecg press, busybird, pinion, football, footy, austrralian rules football, aussie rules, afl, australian football league, vfl, victorian, western australia, northern territory, football league, life, death, mystery, suspense, dreams, magical realism, grand, final, finals, indigenous, aboriginal, aborigine, luke, adam, amanda
Publisher: ECG Press
Published: 2019-06-11T04:13:22+00:00

… and More Questions

Tuesday’s training session was subdued as Percy monitored us, Matt constantly behind him. It felt odd to have Matt there, although he clapped and shouted and encouraged – so that was something. He mightn’t have liked the hard training when he participated in it, but he relished being vocal, and shouting at players if they did slack off. I wondered if this was a sign of the newfound maturity Percy talked about, or if Matt enjoyed the power.

Amanda watched us from the boundary, notebook in hand. The moment Percy called it a night and dismissed us to the showers, she ran on, charged through the players, and chased Adam as he headed across the ground to that far wing. Torn between following the other guys and her, I went back and forth, then decided she’d never forgive me if I didn’t support her, so cantered after her.

‘Adam!’ she called. ‘Adam!’

He slowed down – probably more out of courtesy than anything – and she sidled up to him. I kept my distance – close enough to hear what was going on, but not close enough to intrude.

‘The paper – the city paper that is, not The Tribune – is really interested in a story—’

‘No thanks,’ Adam said.

‘I want to explore how you’ve decided to stay—’

‘Not interested.’

‘But it’s a human interest story!’ Amanda said. ‘You’re giving up a chance—’

‘All I’m interested in is being home and at peace with my family.’

They reached the railing on the other wing and stopped. Amanda bounced on her feet. I could feel the excitement and frustration in her. Adam leaned against the railing with his elbow.

‘That’s it?’ he said.

‘They want me to write this story regardless—’

‘If that’s true, you’re free to write what you want, but I won’t be involved. See ya.’ Adam threw his hand up at me. ‘Luke!’

I waved. ‘Adam!’

He leaped over the railing and disappeared down the embankment as I drifted up behind Amanda and folded my arms around her. We didn’t see Adam come up the other side of the creek – it was too dark.

‘Well?’ I said.

‘Well, what?’

‘What’s your next plan?’

‘I’m thinking about it.’

I nuzzled my face against her ear. ‘Maybe you should let it go.’

‘Luke?’

‘Yeah?’

‘You really smell.’

She laughed, broke free, and I chased her all the way back across the ground.

Thursday’s session felt normal – no more questions about Adam, and one of the advantages of having Matt running around shouting encouragement and barking orders was that it allowed Percy to participate in the physical drills of training, although he had to do it all one-handed. Still, it helped him keep his fitness up.

Saturday, his pre-game speech was different to his usual speeches that were all about hyping us up until we bounced off the walls and out onto the field. Now – using the info Matt had gotten watching Grasstree’s previous game – he broke down tactically what we had to do.

‘Watch out for number thirty-two,’ he said.

‘Jay Collins,’ Matt said.

‘Matt says he won’t even go for the ball – he’ll block and hold the whole game long.

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.