Count Me In Page 3

  ‘Okay,’ she said. Her face was calm but her insides felt all tingly with excitement. I’m going to play netball!

  ‘Guess what, Mama!’ said Sahar when she rushed in the door after school.

  Her mama smiled at her obvious excitement.

  ‘I’ve been invited to join a netball team!’ Sahar reported, and skipped over to give her mama a hug.

  ‘Netball?’ her mama asked.

  ‘It’s this amazing ball sport, and some girls at school are in a team, and they want me to play with them,’ said Sahar. ‘Will that be okay?’ She paused for breath. It wasn’t like her to burst out with it like this but she couldn’t hold it back.

  Sahar’s mama frowned slightly and put her hand on her daughter’s shoulder to calm her down. ‘We will discuss it with Baba,’ she said quietly.

  Sahar picked up the caution in her mama’s voice. ‘Is something wrong?’ she asked.

  Her mama shrugged her shoulders. ‘We will need more information. For example, where would you go to play? When? Who with? And what will you wear?’

  As her mama listed all of her questions, Sahar’s face fell. She knew these were important questions and suddenly she realised that she wasn’t going to be able to play after all. She had heard Lily and Sienna talking about training after school at the netball courts. Her mama didn’t drive and it was before her baba finished work, so she wouldn’t be able to get there. And her parents didn’t know any of the girls and wouldn’t be comfortable letting her play with people she didn’t know. And as to what she would wear: Sahar had seen the short, little netball dresses on some of the older students. If the Gems uniform was anything like that, she could never wear it – her arms and legs wouldn’t be covered; it wouldn’t be considered modest.

  Sahar’s eyes welled up with tears. She turned away and walked to her room feeling defeated. I so wanted to play netball. What can I do now? she lamented.

  Sahar lay on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. Her thoughts kept coming back to the same thing: she was never going to be allowed to play netball. After a while, Sahar decided to try not to think about it. If it wasn’t going to happen, and there was nothing she could do about it, she should spend her time doing something else.

  She remembered her friendship list. Maybe if I focus on that, she thought, I can find a new friend to hang out with and I won’t think about netball any more.

  Sahar rolled off the bed and pulled a list out of her schoolbag. It was the one she’d made the other day, the one that listed the qualities she was looking for in a friend.

  Funny. Immediately an image of Sienna parading around with cones on her feet and head came into her mind.

  Smart. This time Sahar thought of Maia rapidly working through the maths problems on the board in class.

  Kind. Sahar smiled at the thought of Lily waiting to show her where the IT classroom was, and inviting her to sit with them during lunch.

  Sahar sat up with a jolt. These are the friends I’ve been looking for. Not one person but three: a group of friends who match my list … and who say I match theirs!

  Now Sahar couldn’t stop the tears. She wouldn’t just be missing out on netball. She was going to miss out on joining her new friends.

  She always managed to work through her problems, but how was she going to solve this one?

  Sahar tried to be brave the next day at school. Last night, when her baba had come home she hadn’t even brought up netball. She already knew she wouldn’t be able to play. She concentrated hard in her lessons but when Lily, Sienna and Maia bounced over to her at lunchtime, she couldn’t bring herself to smile.

  ‘Sahar, what’s wrong?’ asked Lily.

  Sahar frowned and took a deep breath to steady her voice. ‘I can’t be a Gem,’ she said.

  ‘What?’ said Maia.

  ‘Why not?’ asked Lily.

  Lily and Maia were both shocked but Sienna just watched and waited for Sahar to explain. Sahar wondered if she had already guessed the problem.

  ‘I can’t wear a netball dress,’ Sahar said simply, shrugging. ‘My arms and legs won’t be covered. ‘You’ll need to find someone else.’ She turned back to her locker so that Maia, Lily and Sienna wouldn’t see the tears welling in her eyes.

  They’ll find another player and then who will be my friends?

  ‘We can’t find someone else. You’re the best fit,’ said Sienna.

  ‘There are other reasons as well as not being able to wear the dress. I won’t be able to get to training and games. My mama doesn’t drive and my baba won’t be home from work in time.’

  ‘You could come to my place after school and then my mum could take us to training together,’ Maia suggested.

  ‘Or my mum could pick you up on our way to the courts,’ Sienna offered.

  Sahar didn’t respond. They were being so nice but she knew her parents would be reluctant to let her go somewhere new with people they didn’t know.

  ‘Forget the games for now,’ said Maia. ‘Couldn’t you at least come to training? You can wear a tracksuit at training.’

  ‘Yeah,’ said Sienna. ‘Then we can teach you netball, and you’d get to meet the other Gems too.’

  Lily piped up with another option. ‘I have an idea! Mum said she has to find a new place for training this season because we’re moving into the Under 14s and the Under 13s have the space we trained in last year. By the way, Sahar, my mum is the coach. Do you think if training was here on the school courts, straight after school, you’d be able to come?’

  ‘That’s perfect, Lily! Do you really think you could swing it?’ asked Sienna.

  Lily shrugged. ‘I don’t know, but it’s worth a try. What do you think, Sahar?’

  Sahar smiled at her new friends and nodded enthusiastically. School was somewhere she was definitely allowed to go, and Maia was right – she could wear a tracksuit at training. It didn’t matter so much that she couldn’t go to the games if she could go to training.

  Sahar didn’t say anything to her parents when she got home that night, not because she was being secretive but because she thought it would be better to wait and see if Lily’s idea was possible before asking permission. Her nervous energy made her want to fidget at the dinner table but she breathed deeply to stay calm and quiet. She didn’t want to draw attention to herself until she was ready. After dinner, she made sure she spent extra time doing schoolwork so her parents could see that she was serious about her study. She didn’t want them to think that netball would get in the way of that.

  The next day, Sahar ran over to Lily as soon as she saw her coming through the school gates. ‘Well?’ she asked breathlessly.

  ‘We can do it!’ said Lily. ‘Mum had actually already asked the school about these courts for training and we just phoned around last night to make sure it worked for all the Gems. We’re thinking Tuesdays straight after school. Did you ask your parents if it was okay for you to come to training?’

  ‘I’ll ask tonight,’ Sahar promised.

  But as the evening drew closer, she became more and more nervous. What if my parents say no? Will they see how important this is to me?

  Finally, when her baba arrived home, Sahar decided to get it over with.

  ‘Mama and Baba, can I talk with you, please?’ she asked.

  Carefully, she explained that she had made some new friends at school and that they had invited her to join their netball team. She spoke of how they had changed their training to make it easier for her to attend, and that they understood she was not able to go to games on the weekend.

  ‘Can I please join their training?’ she asked, looking at them earnestly.

  Afterwards, she couldn’t remember much of what they said next, only the four most important words: ‘Yes, you can go.’

  Sahar wanted to pinch herself. She was actually about to start netball training with her new friends! For an hour each week she would be part of the Marrang Gems Under 14s team. Sienna, Lily and Maia had already filled her in about the r
est of the team. She watched four girls walking towards the school netball courts and tried to pick who they were from the descriptions she’d been given. But she was too nervous to think clearly.

  What will they be like? she thought. Will they mind that I’m here, training with them?

  Lily took off from her place next to Sahar. Maia and Sienna followed, running towards the girls.

  ‘Hi!’ said Lily.

  ‘Yay! You’re here!’ called Sienna.

  ‘We’ve all got our training tops on!’ Maia said.

  Each of the girls was wearing a blue T-shirt with the words ‘Live it. Love it. Play it.’ printed on the front. Sahar stood alone in her navy school tracksuit. She suddenly felt miserable. There was no way she was going to fit in. They all wore matching tops, they had all been friends for ages and they didn’t seem to notice Sahar was there.

  But then Lily called her over to the group. ‘Sahar! Come here!’

  Sahar walked forward, trying to stay calm.

  ‘Everyone, this is Sahar, the girl we were texting you about,’ Lily said.

  The four other Gems girls smiled at Sahar. That was all it took for her to see that they were friendly. She let out the breath she’d been holding as they drew her straight into the group, chatting and laughing.

  By the time the coach, Janet, beckoned them over to begin training, Sahar thought she’d worked out who was who. Phoebe was the tall and quiet one, Maddy was small and had brown hair, Prani was the one who kept bouncing around, and Isabella was easygoing and had a wide, friendly smile.

  ‘Gather around, girls. It’s great to see you all again!’ Janet turned to Sahar. ‘Welcome, it’s good to have you join us. I’ve heard you have some excellent skills and I can’t wait to see you in action.’

  Sahar blushed.

  ‘Okay, down to business,’ continued Janet. ‘You are now in the Under 14s division, because all your birthdays have made you too old for Under 13s.’

  The Gems grinned at her. They loved feeling like they were catching up to the Marrang Opals, even though the Opals, who had been the Under 14s team last year, had moved up to Under 15s.

  But Janet’s next words wiped away their pleased expressions.

  ‘That means the competition will be tougher, so we’ll have to improve if we’re going to handle them.’ Janet smiled at their concerned faces. ‘Don’t let it worry you. I have confidence in you! Now, let’s get started on a warm-up exercise.’

  Sahar followed the team to a line of cones on the court. Some light drops of rain were falling but she was pleased that nobody seemed to take any notice. She was used to playing in the rain in the backyard with Abdul and she certainly didn’t want training to stop when it hadn’t yet begun!

  Sahar listened carefully to Janet explain that each cone was the point where the girls had to change how they moved. At the white cone, they had to jog to the next line and back. At the red cone, they had to side step to the next line and back. At the blue cone, they had to run backwards to the next line and back. And at the green cone, they had to sprint all the way to the end of the court and back.

  Sahar watched Isabella and Lily take off, and then Maddy and Prani after them.

  I can do that! she thought.

  When it was her turn, Sahar raced through each movement. When she reached the green cone, she took off at top speed to the end of the court. On her way back, she caught up with Maddy and Prani.

  Sahar was bursting with energy. She loved the drill!

  When she reached the end point, she stopped and glanced at the other girls.

  Lily was grinning at the looks on Maddy’s and Prani’s faces. ‘Told you she was fast!’

  ‘How did you do that?’ asked Prani.

  Sahar shrugged and smiled. ‘I do a lot of this sort of thing with my brother when he wants to practise soccer at home.’

  Janet called for everyone’s attention. ‘Now that you’re warmed up, I have a new drill for you.’ She smiled at Sahar. ‘I have a feeling that your speed will be a big help with this drill.’

  Sahar glowed with pleasure at her words.

  Janet explained that they would be working in groups of three. One player would throw the ball, one player would be Wing Attack, and the third would be Wing Defence.

  ‘In this drill, the Wing Attack stands still to receive a pass. The Wing Defence stands behind the Wing Attack and, when the pass comes, zips around in front of the Wing Attack to try to intercept the pass.’

  Janet chose Maia and Prani to demonstrate. She threw the ball to Maia in Wing Attack. Prani, in Wing Defence, used quick little steps to run around in front of Maia to steal the ball.

  Sahar watched intently. It seemed to be all about timing and moving quickly.

  Prani danced with the ball in her hands. ‘I did it! I did it!’ She spun around and deliberately bumped into Maddy.

  Sahar laughed with the other girls, and joined Maia and Sienna for the drill.

  At first, Sahar was content to pass the ball and then take a turn as the Wing Attack, who just stands in one place. But she was soon keen for a turn at Wing Defence. When it was her go to try to intercept the pass, she stood ready behind Sienna, her knees bent and her mind concentrating on timing her move.

  As Maia released the ball, Sahar took one step to the side of Sienna and then curved her body sideways to catch the ball cleanly.

  That felt good! Sahar thought happily.

  ‘Whoa!’ said Maia. Her mouth was open in surprise.

  ‘That was amazing, Sahar!’ said Sienna. ‘You didn’t step around me, you sort of curved around me.’ She raised her voice. ‘Janet, come and see what Sahar can do!’

  To Sahar’s embarrassment, the whole team as well as Janet wanted her to show them how she’d moved to intercept. She wasn’t really sure why Sienna and Maia thought it was so good. It felt the same as when she timed her leaps to stop Abdul’s attempts to score at home.

  Sahar demonstrated the move. When she turned to face the group with the ball in her hands, she blinked at their amazed looks. Janet was smiling at her. Maddy and Prani actually clapped!

  ‘Sahar, you’d make an amazing Wing Defence. You’re fast and you have perfect timing,’ said Sienna. ‘Don’t you think, Janet?’

  Janet wasn’t able to answer. The light occasional raindrops suddenly became heavier and more insistent. Dark clouds had rolled in without anyone noticing.

  ‘Pack up, everyone!’ called Janet.

  As the girls collected the balls and cones, Maddy’s mum, Kim, and Maia’s mum, Ani, ran across from the carpark to give them a hand.

  ‘Prani and Sienna, you can jump in with us,’ said Kim. ‘Quick, let’s go.’

  ‘Phoebe, I can take you home,’ offered Ani. ‘Isabella is going with us as well.’

  Sahar added the last cone to the pile and watched as the Gems rapidly dispersed. It was going to be a very wet walk home.

  ‘Sahar, jump in with us. I’ll drive you,’ said Janet.

  Sahar was going to say no. She only lived a few blocks away, but the rain started coming down in a heavy shower. There was no time to stop and debate it. She dove into the car with Lily.

  The wheels of the car squelched on the wet asphalt as Janet pulled out of the carpark.

  ‘So, did you like practice?’ Lily asked.

  Sahar looked at Lily and thought about the training session – about meeting the Gems and Janet, about doing the drills and about learning a new sport.

  ‘Well?’ asked Lily impatiently.

  ‘I loved it!’

  When Janet’s car pulled up in front of Sahar’s house, the rain was starting to ease.

  ‘Thank you for driving me,’ said Sahar.

  ‘No problem, Sahar. Will your mum be home? I’d like to come in and say hello,’ said Janet.

  Sahar grinned and nodded. It will definitely help Mama and Baba feel more at ease if Mama gets to meet my new coach.

  Sahar took Janet and Lily through the front door and called out as they went
inside. ‘Mama! Visitors!’

  Sahar’s mama appeared in the hallway.

  ‘Mama, this is Lily, my friend, and this is her mum, Janet. Janet is our netball coach.’

  Sahar’s mama welcomed Janet and Lily warmly. ‘Hello, I’m Wajiha. Come in, please. Come in and have some tea.’

  Janet happily sat down and the two adults began to chat. Sahar took Lily through to the lounge room. As they went, Sahar heard Janet talking about her first training session.

  ‘She’s very athletic. I think she’ll be a very good netballer.’

  Sahar was thrilled to hear Janet’s words of praise.

  Flumph! Something hit Sahar on the side of the head.

  ‘Hey!’ yelled Lily.

  Instantly, a barrage of soft squeeze balls rained upon them and the girls took cover, squealing, behind the couch. Two heads of dark hair and one throwing arm each could be seen taking turns to fire balls through the doorway.

  The girls sat leaning against the back of the couch, gathering the coloured balls around them.

  ‘That’s my brother, Abdul, and my cousin Umar,’ Sahar whispered. ‘Ready?’

  No more explanation was necessary. On Sahar’s call, she and Lily leapt up with their stash of balls and pelted the doorway just as the two boys came through in search of more ammunition.

  ‘Whoa!’ The boys skidded around as they tried to collect balls while retreating.

  The girls pushed their advantage until their supply ran out and it was their turn to cower.

  Each time the balls piled up, the urge to get the other team back was irresistible, and so the barrage continued.

  ‘We could use this as an agility training exercise,’ Lily said, giggling, as she tried to pick up as many balls as she could before running back for cover.

  Just then, the two mums appeared in the doorway. Sahar hesitated when she saw her mama surveying the room, which was in complete disarray, but her mama smiled and beckoned Sahar over.