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‘Wait...’ Anna shouldn’t interfere, but she wanted to know. ‘You know what happened?’
‘Yeah, ’course we do.’ Spark rolled her eyes. ‘She went off with his brother. Jamie looked proper sorry for himself for a while.’
‘He told you about it?’
‘No, we saw pictures of them on the internet. Jamie didn’t say anything.’ Jen wrinkled her nose. ‘We made him fairy cakes.’
‘Oh. Well, it was nice of you to go to the trouble...’
‘We bought the cakes,’ Spark corrected her friend. ‘Then we iced them. I put black icing and a skull and crossbones on mine. He didn’t want to talk about it, but I reckon he got the message.’
‘Yes, I expect he did.’ Anna wasn’t so s
ure, but the girls meant well. ‘I’m sure it cheered him up.’
The ref’s whistle sounded, and she looked up at the players. Jamie had turned towards the bench, and he frowned suddenly. ‘Hey. Spark, Jen, aren’t you playing?’ Clearly he recognised an ambush when he saw one.
‘Nah, we’re explaining to the rules to your friend.’ Jen’s words didn’t seem to reassure him at all and he shot Anna a questioning look.
‘We won’t be a minute. I think I’m getting the hang of this,’ Anna called across to him, and he nodded, turning back to the other players.
‘So what are the rules, then?’
Jen grinned. Clearly Anna had proved herself with the girls. ‘You can only try and get the ball if the person who’s already got it is the same size as you. You can pass it to someone who’s bigger or smaller, but you can’t take it from anyone smaller than you.’
Anna frowned. ‘Doesn’t that mean that those two bigger boys just hog the ball to themselves, though?’
Spark shook her head. ‘You have to pass the ball, and you get extra points depending on who you pass it to. Don’t worry about that, the ref works it out. Just don’t throw the ball to Jamie or the team captains and you’ll be fine. Everyone else is smaller than you.’
‘Ah. I see. I think...’ Anna watched as the teams started playing again. It was all making a bit more sense now.
‘You’ll get the hang of it.’ Jen stood up. ‘You wanna play?’
‘Yes, thank you. I’d like to very much.’ If Anna could survive Jen and Spark’s interrogation tactics, she reckoned that the Hastings Hustlers basketball rules would be a breeze.
* * *
Jamie had shot her another querying glance when she walked onto the court with Jen and Spark, and she’d ignored it. Anna was beginning to enjoy herself. It was just a matter of passing the ball to as many different players as possible, so that the little kids could catch it and play too. Easy.
A howl went up as a little boy ran across to Jamie, clutching the ball to his chest, and threw it up towards him. Jamie hadn’t touched the ball yet, preferring to run up and down and encourage the others, but the ref’s whistle sounded in a signal that everyone should back off and give him a turn.
‘No-o-o-o!’ Jen’s shout echoed across the court, and when Anna looked round she saw both Jen and Spark flapping their arms in her direction. ‘Get him!’
Fair enough. Anna ran towards Jamie, and he deftly avoided her. She ducked under his arm, turning to block his path, and saw him smile. He was quick, and his reach was longer than hers, but she was quicker...
She managed to tip the ball from his grasp, but after a few bounces he got it back. She heard Jen and Spark howling with disappointment and redoubled her efforts. Finally she managed to get the ball and break free of him, bouncing the ball as she ran madly for the hoop.
Just as she slowed, ready to take her shot, he caught her, lifting her up off the ground and over his shoulder. Anna kept a tight hold on the ball as he walked back towards the other end of the court. The ref’s whistle peeped frenetically, and Jamie ignored it.
‘Cheat!’
She managed to get the word out through clenched teeth. Jamie was holding her tightly, and she resisted the temptation to kick him. Any minute now she was going to drop the ball and slide down into his arms, and that wouldn’t do. Particularly after she’d just been at such pains to make it crystal clear what kind of just friends they were.
He reached the other end of the court and put her down, his green eyes full of mischief. The ref jogged up to him, and he backed off, grinning, as the boy waved his arms.
‘Penalty!’ The ref clearly took his responsibilities very seriously. ‘And you’re benched, Jamie. Ten minutes.’
Jamie took his punishment without question. Anna only just heard his murmured words as he walked past her.
