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  He even shook hands with Rajesh. “Let’s forget what happened before,” Josh suggested. “Friends?”

  Rajesh gave a shrug. “Maybe,” he replied. “For now, anyway.”

  Rajesh soon stepped forward to receive the trophy, along with his individual medal. The rest of the squad followed to receive theirs, too, each showing a Divali garland with a little diva lamp glowing inside it.

  “Champions!” cried Mr Williams as the players posed for photographs.

  It made them all laugh and provided an excellent picture for the local newspaper.

  Westgate’s success had indeed been a real team effort, but it had needed their star player, Josh, to provide the magic final touch.

  On the Run

  No one saw Josh at school the following week. He was kept at home to recover from his cold and so he was delighted when Matthew turned up on his doorstep at the weekend.

  “Thought I’d b..best come round to see how you are.”

  “OK now, pretty much,” Josh said and then grinned. “A week off school does anybody good!”

  “Yeah, guess so,” Matthew replied. “You fit enough for a b..bit of a kickab..bout on the p..park?”

  “Sure,” he said, looking round quickly to check his mother wasn’t listening, in case she disagreed. “Just give me a minute to get my trainers.”

  “And a b..ball!”

  “Yeah, right.”

  Josh reappeared in less than a minute, his trainers still untied.

  “Let’s go,” he urged, tossing a football to Matthew and closing the front door quietly. “Before Ma finds out!”

  They set out for the park on the trot, tapping the ball between them until Josh tripped over his own laces.

  “Hold on!” he cried, kneeling down. “Let me do these up.”

  “That happened to m..me during cross country this week,” Matthew told him. “Nearly lost m..my shoe in the m..mud near the lake.”

  “Cross country?”

  “Well, just round the p..park, like. We always do some running this time of year. Enid reckons it helps us keep fit over the winter. C’mon, race you to the p..park!”

  Josh hadn’t even finished tying his laces. “Hey! Wait for me!” he cried as Matthew set off. “That’s not fair.”

  He almost caught Matthew up at the traffic lights, but Matthew still beat him to the park gates.

  “The winner!” cried Matthew, laughing.

  “Huh!” Josh panted. “Only cos of my cold. And I was carrying the ball.”

  “Looks like you’ll have to do some training if you want to m..make the team,” Matthew grinned.

  “What team?”

  “For the Area Championships,” Matthew told him. “I came tenth last year in m..my age group.”

  “Tenth? Is that all?”

  “Well, it’s not too b..bad. There were over a hundred runners.”

  “Fair enough,” Josh conceded.

  He kicked the ball on to the grass and sprinted after it. “C’mon, slowcoach!” he laughed, catching Matthew off guard. “We can practise our footie and running at the same time.”

  They had a lively, boisterous game together over the next half an hour. They hardly noticed how messy their clothes had become until they stopped and sat on a bench for a rest.

  “Look at m..my jeans!” moaned Matthew, examining the mud stains all down one side. “M..mam’ll do her nut.”

  “Ma won’t be best pleased, neither,” admitted Josh, pulling a face. “She don’t even know where I went.”

  “C’mon, let’s get b..back,” said Matthew, standing up. “It’ll b..be dark soon.”

  They reached Josh’s house first and parted at the garden gate.

  “Good luck!” said Matthew.

  “And you.”

  “Yeah, I’ll need it,” he grunted. “See you at school next week – if we’re b..both still alive!”

  “Take it nice and steady at the start,” Mr Blyton told the runners. “Don’t charge off too quickly. Just go at your own pace.”

  The teacher always gave the same sort of advice before any training run, but he suspected that this time his words might fall on deaf ears. The children knew that a good performance would earn them a place in the school squad for the Area Championships.

  Mr Blyton set them off and Josh immediately surged into the lead, well ahead of the main pack. He felt back to full fitness and wanted to prove it to everyone, including the teacher.

  Over the past fortnight, Josh had been doing secret training sessions on his own around the park and knew the course very well. They needed to cover the perimeter of the park twice, plus an extra circuit of the lake, and Josh was setting a hot pace out in front.

  “Not so fast, Joshua,” Mr Blyton called out to him. He wasn’t sure whether the boy had heard him or not, for Josh showed no sign of slowing down. The lead, if anything, was increasing, and no one else seemed willing to try and close the gap. Most of the others were still bunched up, running shoulder to shoulder, with Matthew almost jogging along and keeping plenty of energy in reserve for the later stages.

  On the second lap of the course, over on the far side of the park, Matthew put in a little burst of speed to overtake a number of runners. He was feeling comfortable and confident, and had Josh in his sights, when all of a sudden his world turned upside down. He had been tripped from behind and hit the ground so hard that all the breath was knocked from his body.

  “You OK, Matt?” someone asked, pausing briefly to check.

  Leela was standing over him as he knelt up and nodded. “Yeah – thanks – you carry on,” he gasped.

  Most of the runners had surged past him by the time Matthew got groggily back to his feet. He began to stumble forward, determined to continue, but it took a while for him to find his usual rhythm.

  Meanwhile, out in front, a tiring Josh glanced over his shoulder to see that some people were not too far behind. His legs felt heavier and his breathing became more ragged. “C’mon!” he urged himself. “Keep going!”

  He was on a downward slope and was able to coast for a short distance until he felt more comfortable. But his lead had now been cut considerably and the chasers were closing in.

  Josh saw Mr Blyton ahead of them, signalling for the runners to turn right and go round the lake.

  “Keep it up!” cried the teacher to all of them as they passed him. “Not far to go now.”

  It was still far enough, however, for plenty of places to change as some of the children faded and others found a late surge of energy. Mr Blyton stayed there long enough to ensure that even the backmarkers knew which course to take and then he jogged away towards the finishing area.

  The mud around the lake took its toll upon many weary legs and some children were reduced to walking part of the way. From experience, Josh knew how to avoid the worst areas, but the nearest chasers followed him and there was nothing he could do to prevent two of them from overtaking him.

  “Got you – at last!” gasped Joe.

  Anil didn’t say a word, but the smirk on his face forced Josh to keep going. Somehow, he managed to stay close behind Anil as the leading trio rounded the eastern edge of the lake and made for the finish.

  Matthew would normally have expected to be up at the front, too, but because of his fall he was some way behind. Overtaking some runners, he heard a familiar voice. “

  Enjoy your trip?”

  Matthew suspected it might have been Raj who tripped him up and he was sorely tempted to give him a dose of his own medicine. With difficulty, he resisted barging into him and ran on instead.

  “B..best revenge is to b..beat him,” he muttered to himself.

  There was certainly no way that Rajesh was going to catch Matthew now, and the same was true for Josh as far as the frontrunner, Joe, was concerned. But Anil was another matter entirely. Anil had been mentally unprepared for Josh to come back at him and could not respond when, with the finish in sight, Josh pounded past him into second place.

 
They were the first three boys’ names written in Mr Blyton’s notebook, half of the team of six needed for the Area Championships. Those did not include Matthew, who could only finish eighth, just behind the first girl, Leela.

  “Bad luck, Matt,” Josh said, knowing that Matthew would only be picked as reserve. “I was expecting you to catch me up.”

  “Yeah, m..might’ve done, if I hadn’t b..been tripped,” he scowled.

  Josh was angry when he heard what Rajesh had done and tried to persuade Matthew to tell Mr Blyton what had happened.

  Matthew shook his head. “Too late now – and, anyway, I’ve got no p..proof. Raj would only deny it.”

  Josh sighed in frustration. “So that bully-boy gets away with it again. One of these days...”

  “What?”

  “I don’t know yet,” Josh said with a grimace. “But one of these days he’s really got it coming to him. I’ll see to that.”

  Touch and Go

  As winners of the Divali tournament, Westgate had been invited to take part in the annual County Sevens. It was an honour for the school and the soccer practices were now being used to prepare the squad and work on their tactics.

  “Touch and go!” cried Mr Blyton.

  The players were training in small groups in the ten-metre square grids that had been marked out on the park. The teacher wanted to improve their quick-passing skills, allowing them only one or two touches before moving into new positions to get the ball back.

  “Give it and go!” shouted Mr Blyton.

  Josh gave it and went, picking up Matthew’s return pass and then knocking the ball on to Leela. They were playing three against one and were giving Jay the run-around. The trio’s movement and inter-passing was so good that he just couldn’t get the ball off any of them.

  “Come on!” Jay moaned. “Give me a chance.”

  Leela flicked the ball away from him towards Matthew and laughed. She, too, had been ‘piggy-in-the-middle’ and knew how it felt.

  “Up to you, Jay,” she giggled. “Go and get it!”

  Jay expected the ball to be switched to Josh, but Matthew wrong-footed him by sliding it back to Leela. Jay was becoming more and more frustrated and when Leela underhit her next pass to Josh, Jay seized his chance. He and Josh both met the ball at the same time, but Jay’s boot also made contact with Josh’s left ankle.

  Josh yelped in pain and hobbled a few metres before crumpling to the ground.

  “Sorry Josh,” Jay apologised. “Didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  “Save those sorts of tackles for the opposition, not for teammates,” Leela told him crossly.

  “I said I’m sorry,” Jay retorted. “I was just fed up chasing the ball.”

  “Still no need to go crunching in like that.”

  Matthew bent over Josh in concern. “How’s it feel?”

  “Sore,” Josh grunted.

  Mr Blyton pressed gently on the boy’s ankle, making him wince.

  “Let’s see if you can stand up, Joshua/’ he said, holding his arm in support. “Take your weight on the other foot at first.”

  Balancing on one leg, Josh gingerly put his left foot to the ground and then immediately pulled it back up.

  “Rights go and sit over there on the bench and rest for a while/’ the teacher told him. “Help him, please, Matthew.”

  “How b..bad is it?” said Matthew when they reached the bench.

  Josh yanked off his boot and rolled down his sock, spilling the shin pad on to the grass. There was a long red graze across his ankle bone.

  “Bad enough,” he said, rubbing it gingerly. “But I’ll live.”

  “Good – so I’ll leave you here to suffer,” Matthew smiled. “I want to get b..back into the action.”

  Leela was a little more sympathetic. “You’ll need some cream and a plaster on that,” she said. “It’s bleeding a bit.”

  “You can kiss it better, if you like,” Josh grinned.

  “You’ve got to be joking!” she retorted. “Not with your smelly feet!”

  As the practice session carried on without him, Josh stood up a couple of times, but he still found it too painful to walk.

  “Don’t much fancy hopping all the way back to school,” he muttered.

  He wasn’t very keen on the alternative either, but when the session ended, Mr Blyton gave him no choice. Much to Josh’s embarrassment, and to the great amusement of the other players, he was given a lift, piggyback-style, through the streets on the teacher’s back.

  It was only the following day that it became clear that Josh’s injury was no laughing matter. He hobbled into the school playground, his left ankle tightly strapped for support.

  “Ma reckons I’ve twisted it or something,” he told Matthew as the bell rang. “It’s still really stiff and sore.”

  “B..but what ab..bout the Area cross country?”

  “Bad news for me, I guess, but good news for somebody else.”

  “Who?”

  “You! You’re reserve.”

  The penny suddenly dropped. Matthew had been too concerned about Josh to realise what the injury might mean for himself.

  “Oh, yes – right,” he murmured. “Well, I hope so. I m..mean, if you can’t m..make it, like.”

  “C’mon, let’s go and tell Enid.”

  Rajesh and Anil blocked their path into the school building.

  “Here he comes!” Rajesh sneered. “The wounded hero!”

  “No way you’re goin’ to be runnin’ on Sat’day,” Anil said, looking at the ankle strapping and sniggering.

  “Dead right, Anil,” Josh replied, then grinned. “But Matt will be now – and he’ll beat you, too, just like I did. Cos Raj won’t be there this time to trip him up again.”

  “Never touched him!” Rajesh snorted, but gave away the lie with a smirk.

  That was all the proof Josh needed. Rajesh did not even see the punch coming, but he certainly felt it. Josh’s right fist smacked into his face and Rajesh sprawled on the ground, too stunned to get up again and try to hit back.

  Anil was in no position to help either. As he made to move forward, Matthew grabbed hold of him from behind, pinning his arms to his side.

  “Got anything else to say?” Josh demanded,

  standing over Rajesh who made a feeble attempt to kick out at Josh’s bandaged foot. “No? Didn’t think so. C’mon, Matt, let’s go in.”Matthew pushed Anil roughly away and followed Josh into the school. “Wicked p..punch!” he grinned. “Thanks – b..but I can fight m..my own b..battles, y’know.”

  “Sure you can,” Josh agreed, opening and closing his right hand to ease the ache. “But I don’t reckon either of us will be having any more bother from him.”

  It had happened so quickly that hardly anyone else witnessed the playground drama. But there had been at least one spectator. Passing a second-floor window inside the school, Mr Blyton had spotted Josh’s arrival and paused to see how the boy was walking. He also saw more of the punch than Rajesh.

  Right, it’s about time I took some action, he decided and went down the stairs towards his classroom.

  Leela had already told him about Matthew’s trip during the race – and also who had done it. She wasn’t normally one to tell tales but she felt on this occasion that it was justified. She was fed up of Rajesh and his gang throwing their weight around.

  “Good morning, lads,” the teacher greeted them when he met Josh and Matthew in the corridor. “An interesting way to start the day, I see.”

  The boys glanced at each other.

  “How do you mean, Mr Blyton?” said Josh, trying to look innocent.

  “Are you thinking of taking up boxing as well, Joshua?”

  Josh gave up the pretence and looked guilty instead.

  “I don’t believe that’s the right way to settle arguments,” said the teacher.

  “Sorry, sir,” Josh mumbled.

  “I know what was behind all that nonsense in the playground so we’ll say no more about it �
� as long as that’s the end of it,” Mr Blyton said sternly.

  Joshua nodded.

  “Good,” said the teacher and then turned to Matthew. “Joshua is clearly unfit to run in the Area Championships, so you will take his place. It seems that you deserve to be in the team, anyway, Matthew, and I’m sure you’ll do well.”

  Mr Blyton spoke to Rajesh in private, warning him about his future behaviour. He also carried out his previous threat and stripped Rajesh of the soccer captaincy, which reduced the goalkeeper to tears.

  “I’m sorry, Rajesh, but it has to be done, for the sake of the team. I can’t have the captain behaving like you have done.”

  “But Josh thumped me!”

  “Yes, and he knows that was wrong too. It won’t happen again.”

  On the next Saturday morning Matthew ran the race of his life.

  It was a hilly course, but he was extra determined to do well – for himself, for the team and for his friend. He suspected that Josh was perhaps not as badly injured as it seemed, especially when Josh kept popping up at several different vantage points to cheer him on. Gone, too, he noticed, was the strapping on his foot.

  Another incentive for him was the fact that his mother was watching.

  Matthew had been amazed – and delighted – by her sudden decision to travel to the Championships with the party from the school

  “Are you sure you want to go, M..mam?” he said. “I m..mean, it’s not like a football m..match. Just a load of kids running around.”

  “That’s all football is to me, too, boy,” she told him and then smiled. “I just want to see how good you really are.”

  His mother cheered and clapped as she watched Matthew go by on the second circuit of the course, well placed behind the leading group.

  “Go on, Matthew!” she screamed. “You show ’em, boy!”