Playing Up (2 page)

Davey nodded and smiled, soaking up the adulation. Cricket glory, fans, playing for a rep side – it was all within his reach. Davey and his bat Kaboom were going places.

‘Warner!' a familiar, cranky voice snapped Davey out of his daydream. ‘
What
is so amusing?'

Davey came back to earth with a painful thud. Mr Mudge's face was just centimetres from his own. The teacher didn't look happy, and his ears, which peeked out from under lank wisps of grey hair, were rapidly turning a shocking pink.

Davey remembered – maths. ‘Yes, Sir?' he asked innocently.

‘We're waiting for the answer, Warner,' Mudge drawled.

The answer?
Davey didn't even know the question. Something to do with a boat? He looked at the board for clues but it was just a mass of squiggles and equations. He made a show of studying his notes, but the page in front of him was full of cricket bat designs.

Mudge crossed his arms impatiently. ‘We're waiting.'

Just as Davey opened his mouth, there was a knock at the classroom door.

‘Saved by the bell, Warner.' Mudge scowled at Davey. ‘Don't move a muscle. I'll be back.'

The school principal was standing in the doorway.

Mudge gave her a welcoming smile. ‘Lavinia – I mean, Mrs Trundle! What can I do for
you?' He hurried over to join her and they were soon deep in conversation.

‘Phew!' Davey stretched out his legs in front of him.

Davey still had sore muscles from a weekend of cricket. His foot kicked his backpack, which was on the floor in front of him. Davey knew that sticking out of his bag was his cricket bat, Kaboom. It was his lucky bat and had been signed by two of his heroes, Ricky Ponting and Shane Warne. The signatures were important to Davey – if he was in a tight spot on the field, he would think of his heroes and it would help him find his focus.

Davey's hands itched to touch the willow. He glanced at Mudge. Davey could have sworn he saw him blush, although it was hard to tell, because the teacher's ears had changed back from shocking pink to just pink.

Mudge was still laughing and talking to Mrs Trundle. Davey could hear snatches of conversation about,
yawn,
lawn bowls and,
double yawn,
class grading.

Davey pulled out his bat and held it in his hands.

‘Hi, Kaboom,' Davey said quietly.

Kaboom was made from beautifully balanced English willow. Davey had put on his own grip and he oiled the bat carefully at the start of the season, giving the face and edges extra care and attention. It was well worn in now, especially since it had so many dents and cherries from hitting sixes out of the park.

The call to play was bigger than Davey, and he just couldn't help himself. He slipped out of his seat and adopted a stance at the crease,
demonstrating one of his favourite shots, the square cut.

He looked around at his friends Sunil, George and Kevin, who were each sitting in different corners of the room, specifically so they couldn't talk about cricket all day. ‘This is how Ricky would deal with a short ball outside the off stump,' Davey whispered rather loudly.

Sunil scrunched up a piece of paper into a tight ball and pitched it across the room to Davey.

Every other student in 6M watched in silent awe as the paper ball flew high into the air. It seemed to move in slow motion as it bounced off the top of Mudge's balding head and landed on the floor beside him.

Davey sucked in a breath.
Uh-oh!

‘Now you've done it,' said Bella Ferosi, the school captain who sat next to Davey. Her brown ponytail flicked back and forth as she looked from Mudge to the soon-to-be-shark-bait Warner.

‘Warrr-nerrr!' If Mudge had been blushing before, he now looked set to blow a fuse. His ears had gone purple, and crimson red blotches had appeared all over his face.

‘You're dead meat, Shorty.' Mo Clouter sat on Davey's other side and was perhaps Davey's least-favourite person.

Mrs Trundle's eye twitched. Davey knew that meant she was about to lose it. Clearly unimpressed, she quickly took her leave, but not before throwing Mudge a look that could have killed a cat.

Mudge turned on Davey. ‘When I get my hands on you, Warr-nerrr . . .' he spluttered and tiny sparks shot out of his ears.

Davey held Kaboom out in front of him in mock defence.

‘Give it here.' Mudge reached a hand out for the bat.

‘Ah, this is my lucky charm, Sir,' Davey said. ‘I can't play cricket without it.'

‘GIVE IT TO ME!' Mudge spat out the words with such force that little bobbles of spit flew from his mouth and landed on Davey's shirt.

‘Please, Sir! I'll do detention, anything . . .' Davey pleaded.

‘The bat!' Mudge grabbed hold of Kaboom and pulled.

But Davey couldn't let go. It wasn't that he was a show-off, but Kaboom was his most prized possession. Together, Davey and his bat had plans. They'd made a pact to not only win the season but to show the selectors the art of batting and that they had a place on the rep side.

Mr Mudge didn't see it quite the same way. ‘Let it go,' he seethed.

There was a short and vicious tug of war before Davey finally gave up. Mudge cleared his throat, smoothed a strand of oily hair over his scalp and placed the bat on his desk with a clunk that made Davey wince.

George, Kevin and Sunil gave Davey looks of sympathy.

‘How long will you have it, Sir?' Davey asked meekly as he sat down.

‘Not sure, Warner,' Mudge said. ‘Long enough.'

Mo sniggered. ‘You gonna cry now, Shorty?'

Davey slid down low in his seat. He hated to admit it, but for once the boneheaded bully was right. He did feel like crying.

‘I can't believe I've been out-Mudged by Mudge,' Davey said glumly.

Davey opened his lunchbox, stared at the contents and replaced the lid. He was usually starving by lunchtime, but today he was too churned up about Kaboom to eat.

‘He's really got you by the goolies,' Sunil agreed, crunching on an apple. He dug in his bag and held another one out to Davey, who shook his head.

George, Sunil, Kevin and Davey were eating lunch in their usual spot near the row of oleanders which lined the school playgrounds. It meant they could eat and then get back to playing cricket, which was how they usually spent their lunch hours – rain, hail or shine.

‘How long do you reckon Mudge'll keep Kaboom?' Davey asked.

‘He confiscated Anh Nguyen's trick yo-yo for six months,' George said.

‘And he still has Luca Panas's game cards,' Sunil added.

‘So, like forever?' Davey groaned. ‘That's the rest of the season!'

He fell back on the grass and closed his eyes. Then he remembered. ‘We've got training this arvo.' He sat up abruptly. ‘What am I going to do?'

‘You can borrow my bat,' George said.

‘Thanks, Pepi.' Davey sighed. He appreciated the offer, but no bat in the world could replace Kaboom. Davey knew the bat so well it was like an extension of his own body. It was as if Mudge had cut off his left arm.

‘I got a bad case of the Mo Clouter blues,' Kevin murmured.

Davey looked up to see Mo and his friends, Nero and Tony, approaching. The best way Davey had found to deal with the meatheads
was to ignore them. Davey lay back down on the grass and closed his eyes. Before too long, Mo's hulk of a body blocked out the sun and Davey was cast into shadow.

‘Oi, Shorty . . .' Mo looked down at Davey. ‘What'll you do without your
lucky bat,
you poor little peanut?'

‘You losing sleep over me, Mo?' Davey asked, with his eyes still closed. ‘I never knew you cared.'

‘Not likely,' Mo retorted. ‘I never think about you cricket kooks.'

‘You don't think, period,' Davey shot back at Mo.

‘You'll never see your bat again!' sneered Mo.

‘What would you know?' Davey replied.

‘Mudge took my lucky cap a year ago and never gave it back,' Mo said bitterly.

‘Thanks for the intel.'

Mo pulled a face when he saw what George was eating. ‘Urgh!'

‘Want one?' George offered up a lunchbox full of neatly wrapped vine leaves.

‘No way!' Mo backed away. ‘Freaky foreign food! Come on, boys, something smells off here.'

The hulk and his cronies ambled off.

‘And we were having such a great chat,' Sunil called after them, giving them a friendly wave.

‘Mo's right,' Davey said. ‘Mudge will never give Kaboom back willingly. He hates cricket. He'd be loving this.'

‘What can you do?' Kevin asked.

‘I have to get it back myself. Whatever the punishment, I don't care. Kaboom is mine and Mudge has no business taking away my stuff.'

‘Go, Warner!' Sunil said, clearly impressed.

‘Where do you think he'll keep it?' Davey asked his friends.

‘Staffroom?' Sunil suggested.

‘Classroom?' Kevin added.

‘Sports room?' George said, through a mouth full of food.

‘We just have to keep looking,' Davey said. ‘I'm getting Kaboom back, if it's the last thing I do!'

When Davey made up his mind about something, he stuck to it.

Mudge made a point of leaving Kaboom lying on top of his desk for the rest of the day. Confiscating Davey's bat seemed to have given the teacher a new lease of life. He talked non-stop all afternoon with something close to enthusiasm.

Mo had long since drifted off, but the rest of the class were in a state of panic. Enthusiastic Mudge was even
worse
than normal Mudge. The man would just not shut up.

Davey sighed and scratched his head.

Even Bella Ferosi, who was not only school captain but 6M's most diligent student, appeared to be having trouble keeping up with Mudge as she furiously scribbled down notes.

Sunil had had enough. He shot up a hand.

‘Yes, Sunil?' Mudge looked a little peeved at being interrupted.

‘Uh, Sir, the bell went ten minutes ago.' Sunil smiled so that his dimple showed. ‘I'd be happy to stay, but I have to get to coaching college.'

Davey rolled his eyes at his friend's ability to suck up, and Sunil shot him a sly grin.

‘Look at that!' Mudge exclaimed, glancing at the clock. ‘Yes, of course, Deep. Mustn't hold you kids up from your extracurricular activities!'

He dabbed at the layer of sweat on his forehead and chuckled to himself.

Kids?
Davey mouthed. Mudge never called them
kids.
Monsters, abominations probably, but not kids. And he
never
agreed with them.

‘Off you go, then!' Mudge called after them, with something close to affection. Who had taken Mudge away and replaced him with this imposter? Davey wondered.

Davey hung back as the rest of 6M filed out of the classroom. Sunil's fib had given Davey
an idea. He'd tell Mudge that the bat belonged to his Uncle Vernon.