Leopard Spots - 34. Chapter 34

“Thanks for this,” Sam said as he shook first Matt’s and then Gary’s hand. “You certainly didn’t need to hire someone to pick me up from the airport.”

Gary smiled. “It was our pleasure. We told you that we’re here to help, and that’s what we’re doing.”

Matt glanced at the clock. “I expect you’re tired after your flight, so why don’t you turn in and we’ll talk some more at breakfast. Since the Leopards game tomorrow is in Richmond, we’ll take you with us when we go.”

Gary chuckled. “Matt’s really keen to go to this game because it’s been a long time since he’s been to a match at Punt Road. He’s nervous, though. He’s been a Richmond member for years, but tomorrow’s match has him worried. He’s not sure if he should be barracking for the Leopards or the Tigers.”

The Richmond Tigers AFL club had started a standalone VFL team that season, with the VFL team having the same name as the AFL parent. As part of the entry into the VFL, the parent club had opened up the training ground for their AFL team as an extra venue for VFL matches.

Matt shrugged. “Put it this way: I can’t lose. One of my teams is going to win tomorrow no matter the result.” He smiled at Sam. “But given the company I’ll be keeping, I’m going to give a small preference to a Leopards victory.”

Sam cocked his head at Gary. “Which AFL team do you support?”

“Richmond, too, since Matt’s a member, but I’m a lukewarm supporter. I’m a stronger supporter of the Leopards than I am the Tigers. What about you?”

“I lost interest in the AFL a couple of years ago. I used to be an Essendon supporter, but after the supplements scandal...” Sam shrugged. “Now, it’s only the VFL and the Leopards that I follow.”

“Unless Deon makes it to the AFL, right?” Matt grinned.

Sam smiled back. “Yeah. I’ll be a loyal supporter of any team that drafts him. It won’t matter which.”

* * *

Peter cast his narrowed gaze across the assembled group in the visitors change room at the Punt Road Oval. Will, Julie, and Roger stood behind him. “This is your time to shine, guys. The Tigers are bigger than we are, but I believe we’re not only faster but smarter and stronger. We’re going to show them that not only can we mix it with AFL-listed players, but we can beat them, too.”

Peter had spent a lot of time during the week reviewing the Richmond Tigers team and trying to work out the best matchups. One of his problems was that the Tigers had seven players 195cm – six-foot five as Peter persisted in thinking of it despite decades of use with the metric system – or taller, and he only had four, one of which was out injured. Over half the Richmond team were AFL-listed players, either rookies still to break into the AFL team or senior players dropped back for some reason.

“Ty, you’re starting in the forward line. Give those tall defenders something to worry about. Deon, they’re going to push and shove, so stand your ground and don’t be afraid to push back.

“Jai, as we discussed last night, you’re also starting on the forward line, but we may need to switch you with Zach at short notice. It will all depend on whether we can outpace them or if we need Zach’s extra height closer to the goal.”

Jai gave him a nervous nod. Jai was the backup ruckman, and it would be the first time that season that he had been part of the starting lineup.

“You’ll be fine,” Ty told him. “They won’t know what hit them when we get up to speed.”

“Don’t get too cocky, brat,” Peter said, a note of warning in his voice. “We can’t underestimate them. We have a speed advantage, but we also need teamwork to take advantage of that.” He gave a hard smile to the rest of the group. “We should have the edge in that respect, too. They don’t have a settled team due to players being swapped in and out each week to play AFL. They don’t have the cohesion we have, and we need to show them the teamwork we’re developing.”

Peter continued to reinforce the strategy and tactics that had been discussed after training the night before, and then he let the players go. As was usual, Peter, Julie, and Will followed the players out onto the ground.

“They’re big,” Will said as he stared across to where the Richmond players were warming up.

“That usually also means they’ll be slow,” Julie said. She smiled at Peter. “Hence, the tactics we’ll be using.”

“It’s still going to be a tough match,” Peter said. He had his usual start-of-game frown on his face as he surveyed the area. The constant stream of traffic along Punt Road on the east side of the oval was only a minor distraction. The noise of the train rattling along the elevated track on the south side drew his attention for a moment, but he quickly ignored it. He was feeling quietly confident, but he didn’t let it show on his face.

Fifteen minutes later, that confidence had taken a beating. Richmond had already kicked two goals and three behinds, while the Leopards were only on one and one.

“Come on, guys. We need to build up some momentum.” Peter watched as the umpire bounced the ball in the centre square to start play after Richmond’s last goal. “Shit!”

Zach had won the duel, but one of the Richmond players had intercepted the hit-out and had immediately sent the ball into their forward line with a snap kick.

“Todd’s onto it,” Julie said as the Leopards defender blocked his opponent and picked up the loose ball. Todd’s kick went high and wide, sending Dave into a chase with two Tigers to get to the football first.

One of the Richmond players was faster, while the other used his body to slow down Dave to give his teammate time to pick up the ball and send it back into attack. Two minutes later, Richmond had another goal on the scoreboard.

“Shit!” Peter glanced over his shoulder. “Runner!” He waited for Neil to stand next to him. “I want Ward and Todd to switch opponents. Also, tell Dad to drop back and sweep on defence. Jarrod’s to cover the far wing. Go!”

Peter hoped that the extra unassigned defender would allow them to stop the momentum that Richmond were developing, while not leaving too much of a hole in their midfield.

* * *

Sam glanced up at the quarter-time scoreboard. “That last-second goal certainly helped. They’re only down by nine points instead of fifteen.”

Gary nodded. “Deon’s certainly doing his job out there. It was a strong mark against a bigger opponent.”

“They’re all playing well.” Sam gave Matt a wry grin. “I don’t suppose you can tell the Tigers to lay off a bit?”

Matt chuckled. “No fucking way.” He peered out over the ground to where the two teams were having their quarter-time huddles. “It looks like a good contest. I thought Richmond were going to run away with it near the start, but the Leopards are fighting their way back into contention.”

Gary suddenly leant forward. He then straightened and pointed. “I thought he looked familiar. That runner down there. It’s that kid with the homophobic parents.”

Sam’s eyebrows rose. “You didn’t know? He’s been a runner for the team for about a month, I think.”

“I’ve never paid much attention to the runners before.” Gary gave Sam a wry smile. “It’s a bit sad when someone from Sydney knows more about what’s going on than someone who’s local.”

Sam shrugged. “I’ve got the advantage of having had a few chats with him. He stayed with Marcus and me one night the weekend after he ran away from home.”

“Why was that?” Matt asked.

“That was when the reporters were snooping around. Deon thought it would be best for Neil to stay with someone that the reporters wouldn’t know.” Sam sighed at the memory. “The poor kid. He was pretty shaken up by everything that was going on at the time.”

“Matt wanted to throw something at the TV when the report came on. The boy’s parents are bastards.” Gary peered down at the oval again. “He still seems a bit tense.”

“That could be because the Leopards are down,” Sam said. “Deon said he’d take me around to see Neil tomorrow. I might find out then if there’s something else going on. Which reminds me, what’s the best way for me to get from your place to Lilydale?”

Matt and Gary exchanged a quick look. Gary then smiled at Sam. “It’s easiest with a car. We’ll get you a new BMW to test drive. Just drop it back before you head off to the airport.”

“I can’t do that, I’m already imposing enough.” Sam turned to Matt. “Please?”

Matt grinned as he shook his head. “Sorry, Sam, but you’re our guest. That means we look after you. The loan of a car is no big deal; we’ve got enough of them at the dealership that we won’t miss one for part of the day.”

* * *

“Shit! Not again.” Peter glared out at where the football was being taken back to the centre after another Richmond goal.

“Peter, I’ve noticed something,” Julie said. “They’re not using their full team.”

Peter frowned as his eyes flicked momentarily to his assistant coach. “What do you mean?”

“There’s been a few times when they’ve had a player free, but the man with the ball didn’t pass it to him. It gets back to what you said earlier about them not having gelled as a team. They’ve got a handful of key players that they’re using, and they tend to ignore everyone else. If we shut those players down, I think they’ll start to fall apart.”

Peter glanced to the other side. “Will?”

“I think Julie’s right. Most of the passage through the midfield goes through maybe three players. They’ve got more key players on the forward line, but if we block the midfield we’ll take them out of play, too.”

“We tag them?” Peter grimaced. “We don’t have enough. We’ve got Dad and Dave, but we need one more, and it weakens our midfield if they switch to a tagging role.”

Roger smiled as he broke in. “Add the brat as the third tagger. He’s doing a good job as a forward, but we need to stop them more. He’s got the skills; let’s use them.”

“That leaves a hole on the forward line. We need goals as well as stopping them from scoring.”

Will frowned thoughtfully. “Bring Charlie back from the midfield to take his place. That leaves Jai and Deon as our only tall forwards, but with Charlie and Ollie we’ll have two faster, smaller players that I think can run them off their feet.”

“Julie, can you do without Charlie?”

She nodded. “If you move Jarrod back to the midfield, that should be enough to fill any holes. The brat, Dad, and Dave can all do more than just tag, so we’ll still have a strong midfield when we’ve got the ball, while shutting down their passageways down the ground when there’s a turnover.”

Peter drummed his fingers on the seat as he thought. “It’s too much of a change to do on the fly. We’ll have to organise it at the halftime break. That’ll give you two time to sort out the details while I concentrate on the rest of this quarter. Plan for Jai not being available. Zach’s getting pretty beaten up out there, and I may need to switch Jai into ruck to give Zach a rest.”

“We’re on it.” Julie moved over to sit next to Will. The two put their heads together and started talking quickly and quietly.

* * *

The Leopards lost yet another ruck duel, but it didn’t matter. Jarrod leapt in before the Richmond small players could and handballed the football out to Jim. From there, the ball went to Ty who ran with it for five metres before kicking a short, flat, stab pass to Charlie on the half-forward flank.

Charlie glanced around quickly then kicked it across the oval to where Jim had run forward. Not stopping, Jim continued the swing across the width of the ground by handballing it to Ollie, who kicked it to the now-open Deon. He was twenty metres out from the southern-end goalposts on a thirty-degree angle.

Deon took his time. After pulling up his socks, he picked up the football and glanced from the Richmond player on the mark to the goalposts beyond. He ignored the train that was rattling outbound from the city and started his run-up. Keeping his focus on a spot on the distant train-track that was in the direction he wanted the ball to go, he accelerated and then dropped the ball as he swung his right foot forward.

It was a textbook drop punt that sailed right over the goal umpire’s head for Deon’s fourth goal of the match and the Leopards’ third unanswered goal in a row. It also put the Leopards in front for the first time in the match.

* * *

“Well done, Deon,” Sam said quietly. He smiled at his son while the Leopards celebrated in the visitors change room after the match.

Deon grinned. “It was a great win. After halftime, we just got better and better.”

“You did well, too. Six goals. You’re becoming very much a key player.”

“I need my teammates to get the ball to me first.” Deon couldn’t help smiling, though, as it was the first game in the season in which his set-shot accuracy was over fifty percent.

Ty was standing nearby. “You make it easy for us, Deon. You know just when to push off your opponent and open up a gap. When you can’t, you still get most of the contested balls sent in your direction.”

Deon shrugged. “It’s still a team effort.”

“Don’t put yourself down. You starred out there.” Ty stretched his neck to peer over the crowd of players and supporters and then beckoned. “I’ll prove it to you.” He waited a moment and then dropped an arm across Neil’s shoulder as the young runner arrived. “Mate, I need you to tell Deon who was better out there: him or me?”

Neil grinned up at Ty. “Deon.”

Ty pushed him away and gave him a mock glare. “Traitor!” He turned back to Deon. “See, someone who’s completely impartial also thinks you did great.”

Deon chuckled. “Neil’s biased, but thanks.” He glanced at Sam. “By the way, I never told you, but you were right about my kicking action. It needed to be fixed.”

“So the videos helped?” Sam asked.

Deon shook his head. “No, but they got things started. Julie worked out the problem, and she’s given me some exercises to change my action.” He grinned at Ty. “Today it started to work.”

Ty slapped him across the back. “And it’ll only get better. Next week we play the Hawks. That’s going to be a tough match, and we need everyone to be on fire.” He glanced at Neil. “Right?”

“Right.” Neil smiled.

Ty grinned back. “I told you I’m always right. I’m glad to see that you agree.”

Neil gave an exaggerated roll of his eyes. “Brat.”

* * *

Ty paused before getting on the bus for the return trip to Lilydale. His eyes had been caught by one of the six flyswatter-like light towers that surrounded the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia’s largest sporting arena and the spiritual heart of Australian Rules Football. It was a few hundred metres to the west of the Punt Road Oval, with only parkland between them. The MCG was where the AFL grand final was played each year on the last weekend in September before a crowd of up to 100,000 screaming fans.

“You’ll get there one day,” Jim said quietly from behind Ty.

Ty’s head snapped around, and then he grinned. “Not me. You. You’re the one who’s being watched by an AFL team.”

“Don’t give up on your dreams, brat. You have the skills. Keep going, keep learning, and keep improving. You’ll get there.” Jim chuckled. “Just don’t take as long as James Podsiadly.”

“Who?”

Jim’s eyebrows rose. “You don’t know him? J-Pod, used to play for Geelong. He was drafted from their VFL team at the age of twenty-eight.”

Ty gave Jim a mock glare. “Of course, I know who J-Pod is! I just didn’t know his real name.” He rolled his eyes. “You probably only know the details because you’re almost as old.”

Jim chuckled and slapped Ty on the back. “As I was saying, don’t wait as long as he did before getting drafted.”

Ty’s eyes drifted back to the MCG light towers and the portions of the MCG itself that could be seen through the trees. He let the fantasy of playing on the MCG run through his mind for a moment longer before throwing it out. He turned back to Jim with a hard expression on his face. “I’m not here to get drafted. I’m here to play for the Leopards and hopefully win a premiership. That’s my dream.”

Ty had been burnt once. He wasn’t going to get burnt again by dreaming too high.

* * *

Deon sighed as he looked across the restaurant table. “Thanks for coming down, Dad. I really appreciate it.”

Sam smiled. “You can thank Marcus. He organised it.”

“But you came down for me.” Deon looked away. “I haven’t been exactly the most welcoming of sons.”

“You had your reasons. Valid ones, too.”

“Next time, if there is a next time, I want you to stay with me. We don’t have the room for both you and Marcus, but if you come down by yourself, you can stay with me.”

Sam tried to keep the shock from showing. He hadn’t expected the offer. “Thanks, Deon.”

Deon sighed again and stared down at the tabletop. “One of the things Pamela said to me a few weeks ago was to give you a chance. She told me that you mightn’t be the person I remembered from when I was nine.”

Sam nodded slowly. “That was at that lunch with the four of us at your place.”

Deon gave Sam a look of despair. “She was right. She was right about a lot of things. Why did she have to leave?”

Sam wanted to reach over the table and take Deon into his arms, but he didn’t know how his son would react, especially in a public area. “I don’t think it was an easy decision for her, Deon.”

“Do I really put football before anything else?”

Sam gave Deon a sad smile. “Only you can answer that one, but it’s obvious even to me that football is your passion. Sometimes passions interfere with relationships.” A wistful sigh escaped before he could stop it.

Deon stared for a moment. “Are you thinking about Marcus?”

Sam nodded. “He interfered with the relationship I had with your mother. In hindsight, I still think it was for the best that he did, but that didn’t stop it from hurting both Mandy and me. Your mum hurt the most, but I did, too...just like you’re hurting now.”

Deon glared for a moment and then chuckled sadly. “I can’t believe I have something in common with you, but yeah, I know what you mean.”

“Do you love your football?” Sam asked, though he was confident he knew the answer.

“Of course!”

“Would you want anything to take you away from your football?”

Deon hesitated before responding. “Am I that hopeless?”

Sam shook his head. “You’ve got your priorities. They’ll change as you go through life, like mine did. Your mother used to be my top priority until I couldn’t deny myself any longer. Things change as we get older. For now, love your football while you’re young and can play at your current level. If you find someone to share your life with, they’ll need to love your football, too, because that’s who you are. Denying it will mean denying part of yourself.” Sam’s smile was full of melancholy. “Trust me, I know how that feels, and I don’t want you to go through it, too.”

* * *

“Uh oh. Here comes trouble,” Mary murmured to Neil and Clarissa. The three were seated outside for lunch in their usual spot in the schoolyard. It was an unseasonably warm Tuesday for the second half of May, though a persistent cloud cover still gave the day a dreary feel.

Neil glanced around and blanched. “What does he want?”

“We’re about to find out.” Clarissa scowled as she crossed her arms and waited.

Doug marched straight up to where Neil was seated and stared down at him. “I need a favour.”

Neil edged away. Doug hadn’t bullied him all term, but he wasn’t taking any chances.

“Hi, Doug. Yes, I’m well. Thank you for asking,” Clarissa said.

Doug’s eyes snapped in her direction. “Shut up, Clarissa. I need Neil, not you.”

“Wh...what for?” Neil asked. He clambered to his feet, unsure as to what was going on. It was very much out of character for Doug to ask him for anything.

Doug’s eyes flicked to Clarissa and Mary. “Can we go somewhere private?”

“So you can beat me up?”

Doug winced. “No. I...I need your help.”

Neil glanced at Clarissa who still had her arms crossed. “Your call, Neil,” she said while glaring at the bully. “But I don’t know what he’s up to.”

“I’d prefer to stay here,” Neil said. “I still don’t trust you, Doug.”

Doug sighed. “Yeah, I suppose so. Look, I’m desperate. The fact that I’m asking you, of all people, should show you how desperate I am. Will you help me?”

Neil felt his confidence growing. It didn’t feel like a trick, and Doug seemed stressed. “Why should I? You and Jerk Face have done more than enough to try to ruin my life. I don’t owe you anything.”

Doug started to growl and then slowly relaxed his clenched fists. “Please?” Neil had the impression he had struggled to get that word out.

“What’s it about?” Clarissa asked.

“Liam. He’s...” Doug shoulders slumped. “He’s losing the plot. He’s going to hurt someone, or maybe himself. I can’t get through to him anymore.”

“You expect me to help him?” Neil stared in disbelief. “That fucking bastard?”

Doug’s hands shot up, and then he pulled them back. “You’re the only one who can. I know it’s been over a week since that Alf debacle, but you’re still all he talks about. I’m desperate, Neil. He’s my best mate, and I’m losing him. Whatever you want, please, just tell me.”

Neil smirked. “Anything? Really?” He tapped his lips thoughtfully. “Now what do I want...?”

“What’s going on?” Clarissa asked. “What’s wrong with Liam?”

Neil shrugged. “We’ve only got Doug’s word that he needs help. Jerk Face may be fine.”

Doug grunted. “I knew this was a stupid idea.” He turned away.

“Wait!” Clarissa scowled at Neil. “Don’t sink to their level, Neil. If the village idiot is in trouble, don’t be a prick about it. At least find out what’s the problem.”

Neil scowled. “Jerk Face is fine. He doesn’t need any help.”

Doug turned back and glared. “Liam just got himself suspended for the rest of the footy season, and the coach isn’t sure he’ll be welcome back next year, not after what he did. And that’s only the latest incident. He can still play for the school, but he's probably history as far as our local club is concerned and that's the important one.”

Clarissa gasped. “What did he do?”

“During Saturday’s match he laid into one of the opposition players so badly the guy was taken to hospital. Last night’s tribunal was told he had broken the guy’s nose, cracked one of his ribs, and fractured his cheek bone. We’re still not sure if the police are going to get involved.”

Neil shrugged. “The guy had it coming to him. He knew Jerk Face is gay and he’d been making homophobic comments all game. Jerk Face did well to wait for as long as he did before he lashed out.”

Clarissa spun around to face him. “How the hell do you know that?”

Doug narrowed his eyes. “That explains why Liam made a second lunge at the guy after they’d been separated, but I’m with Clarissa. Liam wouldn’t tell me why he snapped, so how the fuck do you know what happened?”

Neil glanced between the two of them and then turned to look over to where Liam was sitting. After it had been made clear to him the previous week that he wasn’t welcome, Liam had taken to spending his lunchtimes far enough away that he could be ignored but close enough that he could watch Neil. “He told me.”

“He what?” Doug stepped closer, making Neil back off. “He told me that you’re not speaking to him!”

“I’m not. He told me. I never said anything to him. He doesn’t even know if I know what he’s said.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Doug asked.

Neil sighed. The look on Clarissa’s face told him it would be in his own best interests to answer Doug’s question.

“Every night without fail, he sends me an email, telling me about his day, how much he misses me, and how sorry he is for everything that’s happened. He’s been doing it for over a week now, starting the Saturday night after he...you know. I deleted the first few without looking at them, but I’ve read all the recent ones.” Neil looked in Liam’s direction. “He’s trying to be honest with me. He’s told me so much that I could blackmail him if I wanted to. He even told me about the video that Clarissa used to get you and Rod to leave me alone.”

“You’re smiling,” Mary said. “You like him.”

Neil scowled at her. “No, I don’t!”

“Is there a chance you will in the future?” Doug grimaced. “I think it’s a mistake, but it’s what he wants. Can you give him any hope?”

Neil shrugged. “You can tell him I’m reading his emails.”

“Is that it?” Doug glared. “Is that all?”

Neil glared back. For some reason, he didn’t feel afraid. “Tell him. And in case he doesn’t believe you, tell him he’ll have proof tonight. I think that’s all he deserves for now.” Neil made a mental note to remove the auto-reply he’d set up for Liam’s email accounts.

Doug stomped off, muttering under his breath.

“Are you playing with him?” Clarissa asked.

“Maybe.” Neil watched Doug speak to Liam. He smiled when Liam’s head snapped around to stare in his direction, and then he turned to face Clarissa. “After what he did to me, why shouldn’t I?”

“Neil...” Clarissa’s warning growl put him on the defensive.

“What? After lying to me, trying to manipulate me, hurting me, don’t you think he deserves some of his own back?”

Mary stepped forward and surprised Neil by giving him a kiss on the cheek. He put his hand to his face as he stared, wide-eyed, at her. “What was that for?”

She smiled. “Because you’re sweet. Liam isn’t the only one who’s been lying. You’re lying to yourself, too.”

Neil stared, unable to think of a comeback as she walked away. He looked at Clarissa, who no longer seemed as angry as she had been only moments before.

“You know, I think she’s right.” Clarissa smiled. “But you’ll need to work out the details for yourself.”

* * *

“Mr. Bellweather...”

Liam dragged his attention from the window and looked to his teacher. “Sir?”

“Perhaps you could share with the class what’s so fascinating outside?”

Liam shrugged. “Just watching the footy clinic the Leopards are running out on the oval for the Year 7s.”

“And this relates to Australian macroeconomic trends...how?”

“It doesn’t.” Liam didn’t care if he ended up in trouble. He’d lost interest in economics – indeed, in school in general – the week before. However, to keep his teacher happy, he made a pretence of listening.

The Year 12 students would be having their football clinic with the Leopards the next day. Liam had originally been looking forward to the occasion, but he found he could no longer muster any enthusiasm. Doug had been trying to encourage him, pointing out that Jim Henderson would be there because Liam had asked him earlier in the year. Liam didn’t care anymore.

There was only one thing that Liam cared about, and that was trying to convince Neil he’d changed. Doug had told him that Neil was reading his emails, but Liam didn’t know if that was true. He was developing a fresh appreciation for some of the mind games he and Doug had put Neil through over the years. He made a note to put that observation into that night’s email to Neil.

Liam suddenly became aware that the classroom had emptied, leaving him alone with one other student: Clarissa.

“Doug’s right; you’re really out of it,” she said.

“I don’t see the point. I’ve already decided I’m not having anything to do with economics after this year.” Liam put his unopened textbook into his backpack and hoisted it to his shoulder.

“Yeah, but it’s not just this class, is it? The way you’re going, anyone would think you were trying to live up to your new nickname. Do you really want to be the village idiot?”

Liam shrugged. “It’s a job. What else is there?”

“I’ll rephrase the question. Do you think any future boyfriend you might have would want you to be the village idiot?”

Liam snorted. “I think that’s exactly what he wants.”

“No, he doesn’t. He thinks you’re a jerk and a bastard, and while he might be right about the first one, he’s wrong about the second.” Clarissa cocked her head. “Now that school’s finished for the day, I’m going to grab a cup of coffee with Neil. Do you want to join us?”

Liam stiffened. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

She smiled. “Of course, it’s not, but you’re going to come along anyway, right?”

He gave a single sharp nod. She knew him too well.

A couple of minutes after leaving the classroom they were intercepted by Doug. He glanced at Clarissa before smiling at Liam. “How about we go to your place and play on the Xbox for a bit before we start our homework?”

“Sorry, Doug, but I’m going for coffee with Clarissa and Neil.”

Doug stiffened. “Neil? He gave me the impression at lunchtime that he didn’t want anything to do with you.”

Clarissa snorted. “He doesn’t. I invited Liam. Neil doesn’t know about it yet.” She frowned and poked a finger in Doug’s direction. “If you want Liam and Neil to get together, you’ll have to keep your big clumsy mitts out of the way. Get lost, and leave this to me.”

Doug scowled at her and then gave Liam an uncertain smile. “Are you sure about this, mate? She might be making things worse.”

Liam shrugged. “Thanks, Doug, but I think she knows what she’s doing.”

“Of course, I know what I’m doing!” Clarissa rolled her eyes. “What is the world coming to?”

Doug bit his lower lip and then nodded. “Okay, mate. Let me know how it goes.”

“I can tell you now,” Clarissa said. “It’s going to be a disaster, but I need that to make Neil open up. Don’t expect miracles, guys. I’ve got mere males to work with, so nothing’s certain.”

Liam smiled at her. “Thanks.”

Doug shook his head. “I don’t know why...” He sighed and turned away, calling back over his shoulder, “Don’t forget to tell me what happens!”

“He’s worried,” Liam said.

Clarissa frowned at him. “You know this, and you still act the way you’ve been doing?”

“I can’t help it.” Liam sighed. “It’s probably not the best thing to say to a former girlfriend, but I’ve never been in love before.”

She snorted. “And you’re not in love now.” She crossed her arms and cocked her head. “You’re infatuated with an idea. You don’t really know Neil. I don’t really know him, either. I’m getting there, but I’m a long way from knowing who he really is. That’s why these coffees after school on Tuesdays are so important.”

Liam shook his head. “I know enough. I’ve seen him, the real him, when I was at that Leopards game. I also saw the loyalty he’s inspired in the people there. I don’t see it at school, but it’s starting to come through.” He paused. “Thanks for that, by the way. That’s got a lot to do with you.”

Clarissa tilted her head to indicate that they should resume walking. “I think you’re wrong with how much you think you know, but okay, you mightn’t be completely ignorant of who Neil is.”

Liam smiled. “I know a lot more than you think.”

“Really?” Her tone dripped suspicion. “Have you been stalking him again?”

Liam chuckled. “His favourite colour is brown, though it used to be green. His current lucky number is 8, but at the start of the year it was 13 because he refused to believe a number could be unlucky. He changed it a few weeks ago to 35 before settling on 8 at the start of the month. The number-one item on his birthday wish list is a boyfriend. Number two is a new laptop. He’s scrapped numbers three and four because luxuries are no longer a priority for him. He wants either money or department-store gift cards since he’s no longer living at home, and he’s finding he has to spend more money on basics than he realised.”

“How the hell do you know all of that?”

“He told Alf.” Liam grinned and then sighed. “We got really close before I told him the truth. We just clicked. It didn’t really matter what we were chatting about, we enjoyed each other’s company.” He dropped his eyes. “I want to get that feeling back.”

Clarissa’s eyes narrowed. “How do I know you’re telling the truth?”

“You can ask him, but it’ll all be obvious in hindsight. The main colour on the Leopards’ uniform is brown. Jim Henderson’s number is 35, and Todd Underwood’s is 8. Jim used to be his hero, but it’s now Todd, hence the change in lucky number. His current laptop is so old and clunky it takes a couple of minutes after being switched on before it’s usable.”

“Wish-list items three and four?” She smiled. “Just because he no longer wants luxuries, that doesn’t mean he can’t get them for his birthday.”

Liam chuckled. “Yeah, I know. Number three was an iPad or tablet. Number four’s an iTunes gift card.”

She blinked. “He had an iTunes card at number four?”

Liam nodded. “Most of his wish list was things that he could enjoy by himself in his own room. He’s not used to being with other people.” He smiled at her. “Thanks for helping to fix that. He told me once that he did appreciate you spending time with him.”

Clarissa shook her head in disbelief. “I thought I was getting to know him, but there’s a lot more going on than I thought.” She glanced at Liam. “Thanks. For the record, I think you’d make him a good boyfriend, but I really don’t know if he’s going to be able to look past those years of bullying.”

“Yeah...”

“You got to learn a lot about him when you were Alf. How much did he learn about you?”

“A fair amount.” Liam shrugged. “The only thing I wasn’t truthful about was who I was. On everything else I was honest. If we didn’t agree on something, I told him. The whole point was to give him a chance to see the real me without our history getting in the way.”

“And now that history is a big wall between you two.”

“No. The wall is because I pretended to be someone else. That’s where I really fucked up. I think he’d overlook the bullying if it wasn’t for that.”

“You might be right...”

They continued in silence until they reached the school car park, where Neil was waiting with Oliver and Jim. When Neil saw Liam, he scowled. “What are you doing here?”

“I asked him along. Have you a problem with that?” Clarissa asked, tapping her foot as she stared down Neil.

“I don’t want him here!”

Clarissa turned to Oliver. “When you and Helena have a disagreement, who normally wins?”

Oliver chuckled. “She does, but it doesn’t happen very often.” He grinned at Neil. “My recommendation is to quit before you dig yourself too deep a hole.”

Neil glared. “That’s different. Helena’s your girlfriend.”

Jim shook his head. “Think carefully before you say anything more, Neil. If you want friends, you need to learn to compromise. Everyone’s not always going to want to do things your way.” He smiled and took a step towards Clarissa. “Hi. I’m Jim, by the way. I’ve already met Liam, but I haven’t had the pleasure of your company. Neil suggested I stick around so I could meet you.”

Clarissa chuckled as she shook Jim’s hand. “Pleased to meet you, Jim. Neil hasn’t said a lot about you, but Liam’s told me a fair amount.”

Neil scowled. “I still don’t want him around.”

Jim cocked his head. “How about Liam starts with us, and then he and I leave you three alone? There are a few private things I want to catch up on with him, anyway.”

Liam’s eyebrows rose. He didn’t know what Jim was talking about, but if the compromise meant he’d get to spend a bit of time with Neil, he wasn’t going to complain.

“What sort of things?” Neil asked, eyes narrowed.

Jim’s face wore a faint frown. “I just said they were private. If you really have to know, it’s to do with some issues he had with some other people when he first came out. I want to find out how things have gone since then.”

Liam smiled as he remembered the conversation he’d originally had with Jim about some of his local football teammates. “I’ll put the details in tonight’s email, Neil.”

Neil scowled. “I should never have told Doug I was reading those. I might skip tonight’s.”

“What emails?” Oliver asked.

Clarissa rolled her eyes. “The village idiot here,” she waved a hand towards Liam, “has been writing deep and meaningful emails to Neil each night. Stubborn boy,” she tilted her head in Neil’s direction, “admitted today that he’s been reading them even though he’s never replied.”

“I’m not stubborn. The guy’s a bastard! Why would I want to have anything to do with him?”

Clarissa raised an eyebrow. “You might be right, but who are you talking about? Liam, Alf, or both?”

Neil’s mouth opened, but no words came out. He stared at Clarissa and then looked away.

Liam smiled his thanks at Clarissa. Neil’s reaction to her question had given him hope.

* * *

Roger hobbled out onto the school football oval and then rested his weight on his crutches as he scanned the assembled Ringwood East students. “G’day. My name is Roger, and I’m the captain of the Lilydale Leopards VFL football team.” He gave them a wry grin. “As you can see, I’m not currently in a fit state to play. As an experienced captain and a former AFL player, though, I’m still more than capable of telling you what to do. You might even learn a few things.”

A chuckle ran through the crowd of almost forty Year 12 students. Most were male, with only a handful of girls in the group. Roger knew from past experience that he would have to be careful with the girls. Most would be there to learn, but there was often one or two who were merely there to flirt. It had been a particularly touchy point the year before when it had only been Oliver and himself doing the clinics and Oliver was eighteen.

“We’ll be breaking you up into three groups based on skill levels. Rather than waste time doing an evaluation, I’d like you to sort yourselves out based on what you think of your abilities. Don’t worry, if you end up in the wrong group, we’ll move you soon enough. For those that are looking to work on advanced skills, move over to my right. Those with intermediate skills, to my left, and anyone else stay in front.”

“Where’s the group for those like Four-Dork who don’t even have basic skills?” one of the students called out in a sneering tone.

There was an immediate reaction from a couple of other guys, with one being grappled to stop him from reaching the student that spoke.

Mr. Hardwick, the senior sports teacher, stepped forward. “Frank, if you don’t want to participate, you can leave. Liam, take one more step and you can go, too. Settle down, everyone and sort yourselves out.”

Roger nodded his thanks to the teacher and then addressed the crowd. “Neil’s not training. I asked him to join us to help me since I’m not as mobile as I should be. That way you guys can all get the most out of the clinic, and my dodgy ankle won’t cut into my teaching time.”

Roger heard the murmurs from the students as almost all of them turned to stare at Neil. It became obvious that Neil was standing close to Roger, Jim, and Oliver.

“Who’s taking which group?” Liam asked as he shrugged off the student who had held him back from Frank.

Roger smiled. “Normally, I’d take the advanced group, and Jim and Ollie would alternate between the other two groups. However, since I’m injured, I’ll be taking the basic group, Jim will be taking the advanced, and Ollie the intermediate.”

The students quickly sorted themselves out.

“Sorry about that,” Mr. Hardwick muttered to Roger while the groups were organised. “I’ll make sure the teachers keep an eye on Frank and Liam.”

“Thanks, though I don’t expect there’ll be any problems. At this age, they’re generally here because they want to learn something. They wouldn’t have signed up for this clinic otherwise.”

Mr. Hardwick chuckled. “Or they’re trying to avoid learning something else in another class.”

Roger grinned. “True.” His forehead wrinkled as he realised that one of the girls had moved into the advanced group and the rest were in the middle. “You know everyone. Do they look like they’re in the right groups to you?”

The teacher frowned slightly as he scanned the students. “Looks about right. A few might be overestimating their abilities, but you said earlier you’ll sort that out at the time.”

Roger nodded and then raised his voice. “Jim, Ollie, take your groups away. Everyone else, we’ll stay here and start with some basic warmup routines.” He turned to his side. “Neil, I need two lines of witches’ hats straight across the middle of ground, six hats in each line, spaced about three metres apart.”

“Gotcha.” Neil ran over to where the equipment had been placed earlier and picked up a stack of the small traffic cones.

“You guys have been good for him,” Mr. Hardwick said as he watched Neil.

Roger glanced at the teacher. “He’s a good kid.”

Mr. Hardwick smiled. “I know, but he’s always been very much a loner. He’s coming out of his shell now. The grapevine says that that’s because of the Leopards.”

Roger shrugged, but with a group of fifteen students staring expectantly at him, he couldn’t waste time continuing the conversation with the teacher.

“Okay, everyone. I want two groups. We’re going to begin with some simple agility work, weaving through the witches’ hats that Neil’s laying out. As you get warmed up, we’ll add in extra requirements to stretch and improve your skills...”

* * *

“Liam, focus! You need all your attention to be on the football and your target.” Jim glared with frustration for a moment and then moved onto the next student.

“He’ll still be there when we finish,” Doug whispered. “Jim’s here because you asked him to be. Don’t be an arse by ignoring him.”

Liam sighed as he dragged his attention back from Neil to the football and the small target ten metres away. It was nominally a handball target, but Jim was making them stretch their kicking accuracy by telling them to hit the centre with a simple drop-punt kick. A couple of the guys in the group had scoffed at the idea until Jim had demonstrated that it was possible: five successive kicks all hit the target, three of them dead centre. The level of respect from the students had risen noticeably after that.

Liam’s kick went high, soaring well over the target. Doug took the next shot and pumped his fist when the football hit the top edge of the target. “Yes!”

Liam chuckled, though with little enthusiasm. “You’re supposed to hit the middle.”

“Hey, at least I hit it.” Doug shook his head. “I’ve spent so long trying to kick long and hard, this accuracy stuff is tough.”

“Yeah, and Jim didn’t help when he said that this is the easy exercise.” Liam turned slightly so he could watch Neil helping Roger with the lower skilled group. “But the difficult tasks are still worth doing.”

Liam’s attention was snapped back to what they were doing when Doug slapped the back of his head. “Stop it!”

Liam picked up another football and waited his turn for another shot. He noticed that about half the group were hitting the target some of the time. “Do you think Neil would like me if I was a better footballer?”

Doug rolled his eyes. “I don’t know, but it’s worth a try. Now, how about focusing on becoming that better player?”