headed for jail?
CORELLI
I see it. At trials he played rougher than Iâve ever seen him play before. He doesnât break any rules, exactly. But the guy definitely has an anger management problem.
SUSAN
Gracie Faltrain doesnât stretch the rules. She smashes them and gets away with it. Annabelle said Mrs Young smiled at her last night after the nurse gave her an ice-pack.
JANE
It wasnât a smile. It was that thing animals do with their teeth when theyâre scared.
GRACIE
Sheâs not scared of me, Jane. It was an accident.
JASON DEAN
Whatever you say, Faltrain. Any chance my English teacher could meet with an âaccidentâ before she marks my essay?
GRACIE
No, but thereâs a chance you could. How many times do I have to say I wouldnât hit my teacher on purpose? There are some things even Iâm not dumb enough to do.
I ignore everyone before school and knock on the staffroom door. âHi. These are for you.â I hand Mrs Young a card and a box of chocolates. She and I didnât start off on the right note this year. And that note hasnât exactly been getting any better. But she could have pushed for more punishment yesterday and she didnât.
âThank you, Gracie. Iâll see you in English. Why donât you sit up the front? On your own so you can concentrate?â And then it hits me harder than a ball to the face. Mrs Young isnât pushing for official punishment because sheâs banking on my guilt to neutralise me as a threat in her classroom. Permanently. You have to hand it to the woman. Sheâs smart. âNo problems, Mrs Young.â
I make sure Iâm in class before the bell. I sit up the front. A dealâs a deal. Iâm so close I can feel her breathing. âIâm glad youâre early,â she says, like it was my idea. âI wanted to speak with you about your last essay. Your ideas are good. Theyâre full of fun and insight and you write well. Imagine what you could do if you actually read the books and listened in class.â
I donât answer. Iâve been caught in a trap like this before. I agreed with Mr Parks in Year 8 that I hadnât read the book and he pulled out a record of the discussion in parentâteacher interviews.
âHave you read the play youâre writing on this morning?â
Itâs no use lying. One look at my essay and sheâll figureout my good friend, Cliff Notes , told me everything I know. âI read the study guide.â
âItâs not quite the same thing. Gracie, the next text is a film, so that gives you some breathing space. I can schedule extra classes to help you catch up.â
âIâll think about it. Thanks, Mrs Young.â
Kids come in and she goes back to her desk. She hands out the essay question and I read it slowly. Everything Jane said is mixed around in my head. âComment on the role dreams play in the text.â I donât know, I donât know, I donât know.
I do know what I dream about: a soccer crowd of thousands, chanting the name of my team. I dream of me, on the field, fast and focused. Iâve got my eyes on the striker and the box and the ball. When the whistle goes I sail. Iâm one of the best players in the world. And every day my job is to do what I love.
âMake a start, Gracie,â Mrs Young says gently. And because sheâs looking at me kindly with bruises I gave her, I put pen to paper. It doesnât make any sense, though. Nothing makes any sense in here. Itâs slow, clock-ticking, pen-scribbling torture. I belong on the field. I belong in the game.
At lunch I walk down to the sheds, again. Alyce has student council and Janeâs working in the library with Corelli. If I hang around where people can see me someoneâs bound to make a crack about Martin. Half of the things theyâre saying arenât even close to the truth. I went to the library this morning and a