The game is coming to an end. The boys on both sides are visibly tired. Peter’s attention is also waning, shaken by the recent incident with Rob. He stumbles towards the edge of the field, sees Rob still crying, leaning against Wendy she puts her arm around him, stroking his shoulder comfortingly.
\nThe opponents have taken possession: Hank sets Grant off, who dribbles across the field, he is clearly not tired yet, and there is no one to stop him. Peter finally gets there, tries to trick it, but fails: Grant sends a masterful curled ball towards the top left corner. Peter looks on resignedly, watching Jacob with bated breath as he hurls himself in the right direction, but can’t seem to catch the ball…
\nOr can he! He has saved it! He falls to the ground with the ball, while Peter and the boys cheer. What a masterful save! Grant could not believe his eyes.
\nFive minutes left to play. Peter clenches every muscle, trying to get the others to move faster. Nibs loses the ball, Colin runs towards goal with it, shoots… Hits the post!” “From a catch, John sets Lachlan off, who passes to Tootles, on to Michael, who is surrounded, and so passes back to Tootles. Tootles runs forward, but Hank stands in his way. Tootles pauses for a moment dodging Hank.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s it!\u201d Peter exclaims happily.
\nThe whole field is heading for the Pirates’ goal with renewed vigour.
\n\u201cLet\u2019s score from this play,\u201d Peter begs himself, \u201cthey’re about to call full time!\u201d
\nThe air is getting thicker around Tootles, he\u2019s surrounded on every side. Suddenly he stops, as if he has run enough, his eyes searching for Peter, who is almost at the goal. A well-directed pass arrives from Tootles, Peter takes it over and then shoots between Dylan’s legs, scoring a goal.
\nCheering erupts, many people jump up from the benches, and the referee blows the final whistle. Two-one! They won! The boys ambush Peter and Tootles, knocking them both to the ground and pile on top of them! Wendy, Teacher Tinkerbell and the other children all rush onto the field. ” “Peter was beside himself with joy. It had been like professional footballers playing a professional match. But it was them, he and his friends, the Lost Boys. Though now, he did not feel lost at all.
\n\u201cWill the team\u2019s name have to be changed?\u201d He laughed to himself for a moment.
\nWhat a great match this had been! And the end, when Tootles emerged as a dark horse! Peter still couldn’t believe that it had really ended two-one. How happy the boys were, too! Peter had never been so proud to be team captain. Once he was finally free of the boys’ embraces, he gladly received congratulations. Teachers and counsellors also came to shake his hand. The younger children were jumping around, asking questions, and some brought their own little ball and asked Peter to sign it. Suddenly he caught the smiling gaze of Wendy, who was standing nearby. He was overwhelmed with gratitude, not caring what any of the others, the teachers or even Wendy would say, he ran up and hugged her.” “Teacher Tinkerbell came over and ruffled Peter’s head.
\n\u201cI am so proud of you,\u201d she said, and Peter felt that this praise was not primarily for his performance in the match, but for the way he had behaved with the others. The teacher smiled when she saw that Peter understood this, then nodded towards the bench, where Rob sat with his head bowed, still unable to get up. Peter nodded and ran to the bench.
\n\u201cCongratulations!\u201d Rob looked up at him.
\nPeter said nothing, but offered his right hand for a handshake. Rob accepted. Peter sat down next to him. He noticed Rob’s eyes searching through the gym, but he couldn’t find what he was looking for. He closed his eyes again, looking at the ground. Peter knew he was looking for his teammates, but there was no sign of the Pirates or their coach.
\n\u201cThey left you behind, that\u2019s so unfair,\u201d he said sympathetically.
\nRob didn’t say anything, just nodded.
\n\u201cDoes it hurt a lot?\u201d Asked Peter, glancing at Rob’s ankle.
\n\u201cI might not even be able to play football with it anymore. But I have no team to play for anyway\u201d.
\nHe suddenly turned his head away, but Peter knew well that he was fighting back the tears.
\n\u201cYou can join our team\u201d. ” “Rob was happy to play football with them as soon as he could get on his feet. The boys even showed him the playground.
\n\u201cThis zipline is really cool!\u201d \u2013 Rob couldn’t get enough of it. He slid down it at least thirty times.
\n\u201cYou’ll let me slide too, won\u2019t you? Hopefully today\u201d.
\nRob’s injury wasn’t as serious as they thought while on the field. And now it felt really good that Peter and he were friends again. They even vowed to train together from now on. And the playground no longer had to be accessed by sliding under the fence \u2013 the teachers soon realised that Peter and his friends were sneaking through and had it repaired \u2013 but Teacher Tinkerbell regularly came over to play with them. They were all there that time as well. The teacher talking to Wendy and the boys playing catch with Nana.
\nJohn and Michael arrived back from school; Peter waved to them with a smile. Then he got onto the swing and watched Rob slide down the zipline for the fiftieth time, screaming.
\nPeter looked at his sweater. The number twelve was a little worn out, especially the bottom part of the number two. He would ask the Teacher or Wendy to sew it back on later. Or sew him a new one. Only a week to go until his birthday. Number thirteen. But he was no longer afraid of it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1195,"template":"","class_list":["post-1197","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n