Playing Up Page 3

  ‘Thought you’d never ask!’ Sunil pulled his Kookaburra out of his kit. It was a heavier bat than Kaboom, and to Davey the weight and balance felt completely different. He ran his hand down the length of the bat, getting to know it. Like Kaboom, it had a history of the games Sunil had played imprinted in dents and marks along the willow.

  Davey took a swing at an imaginary ball. It felt strange to him, so he adjusted his grip on the handle and swung again. This time he overbalanced and nearly fell.

  ‘Get a grip, Warner!’ he muttered to himself. ‘This is embarrassing!’

  Davey got George to give him a few throw downs, to get the feel and see if he could find the sweet spot. Then he walked out to the crease and tried to find a stance that felt just right.

  ‘Ready?’ Sunil called from the bowler’s end.

  ‘Born ready,’ Davey quipped as he moved into position.

  Davey and Sunil had been playing cricket together for years and knew each other’s tricks. But for the first time in a long time Davey felt unsure of himself as a batter. But he wasn’t going to let Sunil know that.

  Sunil ran in fast and Davey saw the tell-tale flick of his wrist. He shifted his position for the speed of the ball, but felt slow and clumsy. Sunil’s fast ball seemed to fizz off the pitch and Davey just managed to jam his bat down and keep it out.

  ‘Nice one!’ Sunil shouted.

  It had been a complete fluke, but it gave Davey a little boost of confidence. The bat felt so alien that he needed to change almost everything about the way he played.

  ‘I’ll get you this time,’ Sunil said.

  ‘I’m shaking, Deep,’ Davey replied. He nodded to Sunil to let him know he was ready. He lined himself up and focused on positive thinking. Just think about the ball, he told himself.

  ‘Prepare to eat dirt,’ Sunil called out.

  Sunil was on fire. He surprised Davey with another fast yorker and Davey played right over it. It cannoned into his stumps, clean bowling him.

  ‘What the . . . ?’ Davey was dazed. The ball had sizzled straight past him and he’d been too slow to even react.

  ‘HOWZAT?!’ Sunil exclaimed as he sprinted around in tight circles.

  ‘Great ball, Sunil!’ Ivy called from third slip.

  Davey shook his head. He just wasn’t himself. Instead, he was doing a great impersonation of how to play cricket badly.

  Sunil commiserated. ‘Sorry, Warner,’ he said, giving his friend a slap on the back.

  Davey shrugged. ‘It was a great ball.’

  ‘Well bowled, Sunil,’ said Benny, who had just joined them in the middle. He turned to the man with him and added, ‘He’s not usually so good.’

  Davey realised that Benny had arrived while they were playing and had been watching with another man – the selector. Trust Benny to turn up just as he got smashed!

  ‘This is Rob, the selector I mentioned,’ Benny said.

  Davey’s stomach lurched. Of all the plays for the selector to see, that would have to be the worst. Any hint of confidence Davey had got back drained away.

  Benny’s mobile rang as he was about to introduce Rob to each player. ‘Hang on a mo, got to take this.’ He wandered off, chatting into his phone.

  Rob said hello to the team with a smile and they gathered around him while he scribbled a few notes on a small notepad. There was silence as they all watched him with bated breath. Rob finished writing and scanned their expectant faces.

  ‘Nice to meet you,’ Rob said, stepping forward to shake Sunil’s hand. He shook all the players’ hands in turn but didn’t give Davey a second glance. His eyes were fixed on Sunil.

  ‘A yorker is a hard ball to pull off,’ Rob said. ‘If you get it right, it can beat almost any batter.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Sunil said. He couldn’t wipe the smile off his face.

  Rob glanced at Davey momentarily. Davey felt his face grow hot and flush with embarrassment.

  ‘There’s probably nobody here you’d be interested in,’ Benny said, then belched. He had finished his phone call and joined them again. ‘The team tries hard, but let’s face it, we’re not very good.’ Benny hoicked up his pants. Despite his round belly, Benny was a compulsive Harry Highpants.

  Rob checked his watch and shook his head. ‘I’ve seen enough thanks, Benny.’ He turned to Sunil. ‘Can I get your name and a phone number for your parents?’ He had his notebook at the ready. ‘I’d like to give them a call to have a chat about the possibility of you playing for the rep team.’

  Sunil spelt out his name and gave Rob his parents’ mobile numbers. ‘This is my friend, Davey Warner,’ he then said, stepping to the side to introduce the selector to Davey.

  Rob smiled politely and fell into conversation, asking Sunil about his cricket aspirations. Davey felt like a fish out of water.

  The selector hadn’t even noticed him. The worst thing about it was that Davey understood why. If he was a regional selector, he wouldn’t have noticed himself either. Davey was even more determined to get Kaboom back and show the selector just what he was made of.

  CHAPTER 8

  SNIFFER DOG SUCCESS

  Davey woke with a start. It was dark outside, but he could have sworn he’d heard a noise outside his bedroom window.

  He glanced at Max, who was fast asleep on Davey’s bed, back legs in the air, snoring lightly.

  ‘Some guard dog you make!’ Davey nudged the dog, who rolled over and promptly went back to sleep.

  Davey hopped out of bed and opened the curtains.

  ‘Yikes!’ Davey nearly fell over backwards at the sight of Sunil’s face pressed right up against the window.

  ‘Scared the life out of me,’ Davey muttered.

  Sunil mouthed the words ‘Open up’ and held a finger to his lips. Sunil must be up to one of his schemes, Davey thought. He wondered what it was.

  He opened the window and peered sleepily at his friend. ‘It’s not time for morning detention yet, is it?’ Davey asked.

  ‘I’ve had an idea about where Kaboom might be,’ Sunil said. ‘I’ll tell you on the way to get Kevin and George.’

  Despite being grounded forever for getting his bat confiscated, Davey nodded and began dressing.

  ‘We’ll need one of your shirts,’ Sunil added, ‘and the smellier the better.’

  ‘Easy!’ Davey handed over his training shirt from the night before. It ponged all right.

  ‘And we need Max,’ Sunil said.

  Davey gave a low whistle and Max leapt to his feet. He stood alert on the bed, tail wagging, ready for action. Davey climbed out the window and joined his friend.

  ‘Come on, dog,’ Davey called to Max.

  Max leapt expertly out of the window and Sunil closed it quietly behind him.

  George did a sweep of the empty playground with his binoculars, taking in the surrounding quadrangle of buildings.

  ‘The coast is clear,’ he reported.

  ‘That’s because nobody in their right minds would be at school this early,’ Kevin grunted.

  ‘There’s Trundle!’ Kevin pointed towards the east corner of the school. ‘Right on time, as usual.’

  Mrs Trundle insisted on unlocking all of the classrooms in the school each morning. After completing this task, she monitored the main school gate – trying to catch out any uniform offences and generally being a nuisance.

  The sound of keys jangling grew louder. Max’s ears pricked up, but Kevin shot him a dirty look, willing him not to bark. For once, Max did what someone wanted him to do.

  Kevin watched as Mrs Trundle unlocked the 6M classroom door.

  ‘We’ve got about ten minutes before Mudge arrives for detention,’ Sunil said.

  The boys shot inside the classroom. They knew exactly where to look. Mudge had a large metal cabinet in which he stored a treasure trove of confiscated items.

  ‘Check it out,’ Davey said, holding up Duncan Carver’s water pistol.

  Sunil found Luca Panas’s game cards and Mariana Larkin
’s comic books.

  ‘I know that hat!’ Kevin picked up an old battered footy cap.

  ‘It’s Mo’s,’ Sunil said.

  Kevin shook off the dust and punched the cap back into shape.

  ‘Correction,’ he said with a cheeky grin, as he put the cap firmly on his head. ‘Was Mo’s.’

  Sunil laughed. ‘I’d like to say it suits you, but Mo isn’t known for his good taste.’

  Max barked his agreement.

  The boys rifled through all the stuff, but didn’t find the cricket bat.

  George opened Mudge’s desk drawers and a small leather-bound book caught his eye. He picked it up and scanned the pages.

  ‘Mudge writes poetry.’

  Davey looked over George’s shoulder at the book. It was love poetry. A name caught Davey’s eye. Lavinia. The name Lavinia was repeated on almost every page. Lavinia? Did that mean Trundle?

  An image of Mudge and Trundle kissing popped into Davey’s head. ‘Urgh!’ he exclaimed and immediately stopped reading.

  ‘You’re up, Max.’ Sunil gave the dog a scratch. Max sat on his haunches, eager to take part in the adventure. Sunil held Davey’s shirt out for Max.

  ‘Take a good whiff of Pong de Warner,’ he instructed the dog.

  Max obliged by taking a good sniff and wagging his tail. He jumped up on his hind legs and did his dance. I know that smell! he seemed to say.

  ‘That’s right, Max,’ Sunil said encouragingly. ‘We need you to find Davey’s bat.’

  Max ran around in circles and let out a series of short sharp barks. He jumped on Davey.

  ‘Sshh, dog!’ Davey hissed. ‘Not me, the bat!’

  Max tilted his head and froze. He had a whiff of something. He jumped down and began following his nose, zig-zagging around the room. He came to a tall coat cupboard in the corner and scratched at the door.

  ‘He’s got something!’ Kevin exclaimed.

  ‘Bingo!’ Davey said.

  George hastily shoved the notebook into his back pocket and joined the others. The boys clamoured to open the cupboard. Inside were three black umbrellas and a pale blue duffel bag with a wooden handle sticking out one side.

  ‘Kaboom!’ exclaimed Davey.

  He reached for his beloved bat . . . just as a familiar voice spoke.

  ‘I see you’ve found your bat, Warner,’ Mudge said in barely more than a whisper. He stood planted in the open doorway, his magenta ears illuminated against the early morning light like a pair of wings about to take flight.

  ‘Y-yes, S-Sir,’ Davey stammered.

  Mudge came over to the cupboard and slammed the door shut, narrowly missing Davey’s fingers.

  ‘Don’t worry . . . I’ll find a new hiding place for it,’ he told them.

  ‘Sir!’ Davey said, crestfallen.

  Mudge looked like the cat who’d eaten the cream. ‘Your detention just got extended by another term!’ He glared at Max. ‘And how many times do I have to say GET THAT DOG OUT OF HERE!?’

  They had been so close, but it looked like operation Kaboom was a no-go.

  CHAPTER 9

  A HAT-TRICK

  The morning couldn’t go quickly enough for Davey. Mudge lorded it over him by dangling Kaboom before his eyes. By the time the bell rang for lunch, Davey was desperate.

  This can’t be happening, he said to himself when he joined the others outside the classroom. He didn’t have Kaboom and every minute of his life was taken up with Mudge, Mudge, Mudge.

  ‘You lot better be waiting when I get back,’ Mudge threatened as he went to the staffroom to get a coffee. He’d given them ten minutes to eat their lunch before rubbish pick-up duty began.

  Kevin put on a battered old peaked cap.

  ‘What’s with the non-regulation headgear?’ Davey asked.

  ‘Only Mo Clouter’s most prized possession,’ Kevin explained with glee.

  ‘Does he know yet?’ Sunil asked.

  ‘Any minute now.’ Kevin nodded in the direction of the quadrangle. Mo and his entourage were approaching.

  ‘Like my new hat, Clouter?’ Kevin called.

  It took a moment for Mo to register what Kevin was talking about. After all, his brain did run at a slower speed than most. Then his pimply face erupted in a scowl. He wasn’t happy.

  ‘You punk, that’s my hat!’ he yelled. He raced over to where Kevin stood.

  ‘Correction. My hat now.’

  Mo lunged at Kevin, but was too slow for Kevin’s fast fielding reflexes. With lightning feet, Kevin darted to one side and easily dodged Mo’s outstretched hand.

  ‘You’re going down!’ Mo thundered.

  ‘Over here!’ Kevin taunted Mo by tipping his cap at him and scurrying in circles around him.

  Mo was lunging at him over and over again. He kept missing by a fraction.

  ‘Look, that’s my lucky hat!’ Mo growled. ‘Give it here!’

  ‘Have to catch me first,’ Kevin said, sprinting away.

  Mo growled and lumbered after Kevin, chasing him around the quad. After five rounds, Mo bent over and paused to get his breath back.

  ‘What’s wrong, Mo?’ Davey asked.

  Mo straightened up and shook a fist at Davey.

  ‘I’ll get it back, don’t you worry,’ Mo snarled.

  ‘If you say so,’ Davey shot back, smiling.

  Mo’s face had turned purple. He was absolutely livid with rage. ‘You’d better keep an eye out – all of you!’ he sputtered.

  He took off after Kevin again, but it was useless – Kevin was far too fast for him.

  Sunil and George had tears in their eyes they were laughing so hard. But Davey had other thoughts on his mind besides Mo. As far as he was concerned, Mudge had declared war in the same way that Mo had. It was game on.

  He was even more determined to get his bat back. The question was, where would Mudge hide it next?

  CHAPTER 10

  THE BIG SWINDLE

  Davey, Sunil, George and Kevin had arrived at school early again.

  The idea to look in the school sports store room had been Davey’s. ‘The perfect place to hide a bat is among heaps of other cricket bats,’ he said.

  ‘It’s worth a shot,’ George agreed.

  But when they got there, the door to the store room was locked firmly with a large rusty padlock.

  Davey gave it a tug, but the padlock held fast. ‘So much for that idea,’ he said with a sigh.

  Sunil wandered around looking for a way in, but there was only one small window covered by metal bars. ‘The toilets are part of the same building,’ he said. ‘Could we get in through them?’

  Davey shrugged. ‘Let’s check it out.’

  They went into the boys’ toilets. There was a small window high above the sink that led directly into the storage room.

  ‘You’re a genius!’ George gave Sunil a friendly punch.

  ‘Better believe it,’ Sunil agreed.

  George studied the small opening. ‘Reckon you could squeeze through?’ He looked at Davey.

  Davey nodded.

  ‘I’ll hoist you up.’ George bent his knees and locked his hands together. Davey put one foot on George’s hands and his friend gave him a lift.

  ‘Oof!’ George was rewarded with a knee in the mouth.

  ‘Woah!’ Davey wavered wildly but managed to steady himself. He reached for the ledge. ‘Got it!’

  ‘Hurry up! You’re heavier than I thought,’ George muttered.

  ‘Nearly there,’ Davey said through gritted teeth. He opened the tiny window a little further and, with some effort, managed to squeeze his head and his shoulders through the small opening. He was about to pull himself through, when . . .

  ‘Someone’s coming,’ George hissed. ‘Quick! Jump down!’

  Davey tried to back out, but his shoulders were held fast. ‘I can’t!’ he groaned. ‘I’m stuck.’

  He was neatly wedged in the small opening, head and shoulders on one side and his bottom and legs on the other.


  ‘HEY!’ a loud voice boomed from the doorway. ‘What’s going on in there?’

  George, Sunil and Kevin froze as heavy footsteps echoed on the cold cement floor. Mo’s ugly mug appeared around the corner. He burst out laughing.

  ‘You should see your faces, or in your case, Shorty, your bum!’ He pulled a face. ‘Ooh, no! Did you think I was a teacher?’

  ‘What do you want, Clouter?’ George asked.

  ‘I want my hat back,’ Mo said with a sneer.

  ‘Guys . . .’ Davey said, ‘I’m stuck.’

  ‘I’m here to make a trade.’ Mo held up a duffel bag. ‘Shorty’s hunk of wood for my lucky hat.’

  ‘Where’d you find it?’ George asked with suspicion. ‘Mudge moved it.’

  ‘Look, do you want it or not?’ Mo sounded impatient. He dangled the bag in front of them.

  ‘Guys,’ Davey called, ‘get me down!’

  ‘Hang on,’ Sunil said. He reached for the duffel bag.

  ‘Uh uh.’ Mo shook his head and held the bag just out of reach. ‘Give me my hat first.’

  Kevin narrowed his eyes. ‘How do we know we can trust you?’

  ‘What choice do you have? Your little friend can’t play without it, can he?’

  ‘Guys, I’ll handle this,’ Davey said. ‘Just get me down!’

  Kevin glanced at George and Sunil. They both nodded.

  ‘All right.’ Kevin held out the cap.

  Mo grabbed it and put it on before dropping the duffel bag on the ground next to George. A slow smile appeared on Mo’s face.

  ‘GET ME DOWN!’ Davey kicked his legs against the wall.

  Sunil and Kevin each took one of Davey’s legs and yanked him down.

  He fell hard onto the cement floor. ‘Ow!’ Davey grimaced as he rubbed his shoulders.

  There was silence as George unzipped the duffel bag.

  ‘What?’ Davey asked when he saw the look on George’s face.

  As soon as Davey saw the bat, he knew it wasn’t Kaboom. With a sinking feeling, he watched George pull it out. It was ancient. Mo had probably paid fifty cents for it at a garage sale.

  ‘You asked for it,’ Mo growled.