Free Flyaway by Lucy Christopher

His long hair falls down across his face. I force my eyes away before he looks up and finds me staring.
    There are a couple of girls from Jack's year there, perched on the swings. Jack glances over at me when he sees them, and I know what that look means. Don't be an idiot, Isla, don't show me up in front of everyone . I smile at them all. One of the girls does this little half-wave at me. I recognise her from when I was in the athletics team in the summer. I think her name is Jess. I'm about to ask her when Deano and Jez call down ‘hi’ to me. They're friendlier than usual. Perhaps Jack's already told them about Dad; how I was the one who had to call the ambulance. I look back at Crowy, but I don't think he's even noticed I'm here yet.
    I drape myself against the edge of the swing structure. It's hard to look like I fit in when I know they all think of me as Jack's little sister. So I just watch Jack smack the ball against the climbing wall. The ball bounces off the fake rocks that are stuck there and comes back to Jack at awkward angles. Jack lifts his knee and stops it easily. He's so good at controllingthe ball; at moving it into the places he wants it to go. So much better than me.
    Jess, the girl who half-waved, tries talking to me, starts asking about my weekend, and I wonder whether she knows about Dad too. I tell her, briefly; skim over what happened. She nods politely and pulls her features into an expression that looks almost sympathetic. Maybe she's just trying to impress my brother. I don't know. Either way, I feel really awkward talking about this with her. She's making all these soothing noises like she really cares. When the conversation dries up, I look down at where my shoes are scuffing into the woodchips. I want to ask her about her weekend, but it feels really stupid now after what I've just said about mine.
    The boys jump down from the castle to play footy. And there's this awkward moment where I don't know whether to go with them or to keep hanging with the girls. But Crowy stops and looks back at the swings.
    â€˜We need to make our teams even,’ he says. I think he's talking to all of us, but for a second it feels like he's just talking to me. He flashes a grin then; one of those perfect ones where his teeth seem so white and straight. And then he really does look at me. ‘You're a good player,’ he says, raising his eyebrows.
    The other girl on the swing giggles as Crowy jogs away. I hear her start to mumble something as I follow him. I turn around to them.
    â€˜I'm sure you could both play too,’ I say. ‘The boys won't mind.’
    The girls just smile and shrug. ‘Maybe later,’ Jess says.
    They're not really dressed for football, I can see that now. I think it's probably the last thing they had in mind.
    The boys mark goals with their jumpers. I play on Jack and Crowy's team. I'm glad about that, glad Jack's let me play with him. Glad Crowy has, too. I glance around at the others. No one seems annoyed that I'm here, no one even cares. They just want to get on with the game.
    â€˜If you get the ball, just run it down,’ Jack says to me quietly. ‘Then pass it back to me. Don't try and shoot.’
    He knows as well as I do what I'm good at. I breathe out slowly, stretch out the muscles in my legs. My body's tingling to run, desperate to stop thinking about Dad.
    Jack kicks the ball deep into the other half to start the game. Deano's onto it immediately, but Crowy slides in and tackles him. He's really good, maybe even better than Jack. I keep out of the action for a while, watching the way they exchange passes. They keep pace with each other, running down the pitch. They seem to always know where the other one's going to be. It reminds me of how the swans fly: that silent communication and support . . . that perfect formation. I watch Crowy sidestep around Deano and then Rav, twisting with the ball, then flick it across to Jack. He