Rising Star Read online

  “Sorry, brah, I didn’t mean to sound cranky.”

  “That’s OK, man,” he says, shining the torch up at his face. He looks like the boogieman.

  “You know how you wanted to talk about secrets?” I say.

  “Don’t tell me you’re still in love with that lady from the hair-removal ad?” giggles Justice. I grab the torch off him and shine it up into my face, so that he can see how serious I am.

  “Just listen. It’s a secret about my curse. I haven’t told you the whole truth.”

  Justice sits up in his sleeping bag. After a moment, he asks, “The ladies’ hair remover has cured the curse?”

  “Just shut your gob and listen,” I tell him.

  CHAPTER 6

  LAKE MOONDARRA

  Mum was pregnant with me in Mount Isa. Back then, Dad was still alive and was worried about having a baby on the way. He needed some time out, just to get his head together. He went walkabout, all the way to Lake Moondarra. On the first night, he set up the campfire and started fishing. He put the radio on and was listening to some Johnny Cash tunes. Mum reckons Johnny Cash was Dad’s favourite.

  The first cast, Dad got a few nibbles. After the second cast, Dad’s rod bent over and he had to pull back hard to jag the fish. Just as he pulled his line back, the night sky suddenly exploded from black to orange. From behind him, a huge fireball zoomed over Dad’s head – WHOOSH! The heat of it was hotter than the campfire. Dad dropped to the ground, thinking the world was going to end. Seconds later, something exploded into the lake. About fifty metres offshore, something had landed in the water, sending a small tidal wave in all directions. Dad was drenched but he didn’t care.

  Dad looked around. He checked to see if he still had all his body parts. Everything seemed to be in the right place, so he picked himself up off the wet sand and looked out to the lake. There was a bright red light bubbling up from the depths of the water. He dived in and started swimming towards it. The closer he swam, the warmer the water became. Finally, he stopped swimming when the heat became too much. It felt like he was swimming in a pot of water that had been left on the stove to boil. Only twenty metres in front of him, a huge, glowing meteorite lay at the bottom of Lake Moondarra.

  Dad trod water for awhile. Beneath him, he could see the same red glow, and then he noticed the smaller pieces of red. Dad dived down towards them. As he got closer to the bottom, he could see it more clearly. The red glow in front of him was the shape of a small stone. It was a fragment from the meteorite. Dad stuck out his hand and grabbed it from the lake’s floor. It felt warm and rough and no bigger than a twenty-cent coin. After reaching the surface and catching his breath, Dad swam back to camp with one hand clenched firmly around the red stone. The glow had gone but Dad knew he had found something special. Something secret.

  CHAPTER 7

  THE RED ROCK

  Justice hasn’t moved. He is listening to my story with his eyes as wide as dinner plates and his mouth open like a fly-trap. When he realises that I have finished, he blinks once.

  “Is that for real, man?” he asks.

  “Yeah, brah. I’m just sorry I didn’t tell you the whole truth earlier – I feel bad.”

  “You feel bad? I’m sorry for saying that you were in love with the lady from the hair-remover ad. She’s ugly as, bro.” We laugh and lie down, snuggling into our sleeping bags. Just as I close my eyes and start to drift off to sleep, Justice speaks.

  “So, what’s Mount Isa like?”

  “It’s my home,” I reply. “It always will be.”

  Justice rolls over and faces me.

  “Yeah, but is it a good place?” he asks.

  I think about his question. I think about my cousins still living there and the fun we used to have. Even though I am happy where I’m living now, I still get homesick. Tonight the homesickness is kicking in. Thinking about my cousins makes me think about Dad’s grave. I used to visit it with Mum. A tear rolls down my cheek. The torch is off, so Justice doesn’t see me cry but he’s waiting for my answer.

  “Mount Isa’s a really good place. I’ll take you there one day,” I finally say. The tear falls off my cheek and lands on my pillow.

  “Sweet!” says Justice. “Hey, do you think that meteorite is still at the bottom of Lake Moondarra?” It’s a question I don’t want to answer, so I pretend that I’m falling asleep. I move my hand inside my shirt. I am clutching something precious. The red stone attached to a leather band feels warm in my palms. In my heart, I know that Dad is with me.

  CHAPTER 8

  SONNY BILL GOLDFISH

  It’s the start of another school week. It sounds crazy, but Monday morning is always fun in Mr Barwick’s class. We have a footy-tipping competition and we always like to find out who is winning. Of course I picked the Broncos against the Cowboys, so there’s no chance of me getting a perfect score. As usual, Mr Barwick is at the top of the leaderboard. He is the footy-tipping king!

  When we walk into the classroom, Mr Barwick has just finished cleaning our class mascot’s goldfish bowl. The fish’s name is Sonny Bill Goldfish. Sonny Bill Goldfish swims around happily, looking at us with his big googly goldfish eyes. After everyone has checked the footy-tipping chart, Mr Barwick climbs up onto one of the desks, ready to do his victory dance, still holding Sonny Bill’s bowl. The whole class claps a beat and our teacher wiggles his bum, swaying the fish from side to side. As the claps get louder, Mr Barwick gets more carried away. He puts his hands in the air as water splashes from the top of the goldfish bowl. The ceiling fan spins dangerously close overhead. Everyone is caught up in the moment.

  Suddenly, a blade from the fan hits Sonny Bill’s bowl, smashing it to smithereens. Shards of broken glass fall at Mr Barwick’s feet. His dancing has stopped. Sonny Bill is launched into the air, flying dangerously close to another fan. The class stares upwards, eyes and mouths wide open, following Sonny Bill’s little wet, scaly-orange body. Will he end up being chopped sashimi? Will the class hold a teeny-weeny goldfish funeral and have to flush our mascot down the dunny?

  I could tell you what is going to happen, but you wouldn’t believe me even if I did!

  CHAPTER 9

  SONNY BILL GETS A BIG FRIGHT

  Inside the classroom, it feels like time has stopped. Nobody sees the person in the doorway – we’re all too worried about Sonny Bill. I can hear Justice’s voice beside me as we watch the goldfish nearly get a haircut from the ceiling fan.

  “Nooooooo!” he says in a slow-motion voice. “I – llllllooooove – yooouu – Sonnnnyyyy – Biiilll!” Justice pulls out his pencil case, thinking that he might catch Sonny Bill with it. But Sonny Bill is flying towards the door.

  Luckily, Sonny Bill has started to drop in altitude and isn’t as close to the fans. The slow motion seems to stop and things start to unfold at normal speed. My eyes dart away from Sonny Bill for a second. I recognise the person at the door. It’s Mrs Kellogg, the cranky year seven teacher.

  Sonny Bill is on a collision course for Rice Bubble. It’s like she’s frozen and can’t move. Her face looks on in terror as she watches Sonny Bill fly towards her. She shields her face with her hands – bad move. She has left the rest of her body unprotected. Sonny Bill crash-lands into her neck, leaving a wet, drippy, goldfish kiss. He then slides down her neck and into her shirt! Rice Bubble lets out a blood-curdling scream and moves her hands to her chest.

  “Agggh! It’s in my bra, it’s in my bra! Get it out!” Sonny Bill is probably more scared than she is. He flicks his tail up and down and moves his body from side to side, suffocating in Rice Bubble’s brassiere.

  No one knows what to do, so we turn to Mr Barwick, who is still standing on the desk with a look of horror on his face. Rice Bubble is now totally freaking out, jumping up and down and screaming, her hands searching for the goldfish. If she’s not careful, she’ll kill him! Suddenly, I have an idea. My Broncos water bottle is on my desk, half-filled with water. I screw the lid off and run over to Rice Bubble.<
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  “Here, Mrs Kellogg, use this!” I say. She doesn’t understand what I mean. “Put this up your shirt and let him land in it!” I say. Rice Bubble grabs the bottle and sticks it up her shirt. Luckily it’s loose fitting and no one can see her bra or we’d have nightmares for life. Shame job!

  With a “plop”, Sonny Bill lands in the water bottle. Rice Bubble pulls it out from under her shirt and hands it back to me. Red in the face, she turns around and stomps off. She’s probably going to Mr Woolly’s office to dob.

  “Oh man, you are in so much trouble, Mr Barwick!” says Justice. “She’s gonna be cranky as!” Justice is right. Rice Bubble will make Mr Barwick pay for this. I am still in the doorway, holding my water bottle, with Sonny Bill swimming around happily inside. Luckily goldfish only have short memory spans – it’s a pity humans don’t. I won’t drink from this water bottle again for the rest of my life.

  CHAPTER 10

  THE ASSIGNMENT

  Out in the playground, the excitement continues. Rice Bubble and her fishy bra is all everyone can talk about. The news has even spread down to the lower grades. Our usual game of touch footy has to be postponed because there are no teachers on duty. They’re all in the staffroom, gossiping about Mrs Kellogg and how much trouble Mr Barwick is in. When the bell rings for class, we line up and walk back inside. The broken glass has been cleaned up and Mr Barwick is trying to act cool. Everyone reckons he’s been in trouble with Mr Woolly, but Mr Barwick is showing everyone his new Nintendo 3DS, pretending nothing has happened. He’s totally gammin’.

  As we take our seats, Mr Barwick hands out sheets of paper. I see the words PHYSICS ASSIGNMENT at the top of the page. That sucks. Then I see BILLY CART DERBY underneath. That’s not so bad. Then I see GROUP WORK ONLY. That sucks. Then I see JUSTICE JONES beside my name. That’s great! Then I see TAYLOR NEILA next to Justice’s name. No way!

  Taylor Neila is the new girl. Justice might be keen on her but she freaks me out. I caught her looking at me funny the other day. One day she nearly followed me all the way home and only stopped when she got to my street. I’d rather have Jamie “Baked Beans” Fraser than Taylor in the group.

  “Oh no, that stinks, Mr Barwick!” says Justice, putting up his hand. “We can’t work with Taylor – she cramps our style!” Justice looks at Mr Barwick and then at Taylor. She has the assignment in front of her as well. Taylor looks back at Justice and me. Her stare is icy cold. I’m not sure whether she’s upset or if that’s her normal expression.

  “Those are the groups,” replies Mr Barwick. “Three to a group, no changing, swapping or killing group members, please.” Justice and I groan. How on earth can we make a cool billy cart with Taylor Neila in our group? “We’ll be racing the carts down Shank Street,” informs Mr Barwick. “You’ll need to have them ready in exactly two weeks’ time. All groups need to start designing their billy carts now.” Shank Street is one of the steepest and most dangerous streets in Flatwater. It’s sometimes called “Sharp Shank” because it turns sharply to the right. It won’t be easy to design a billy cart skilful enough to handle this corner.

  Justice and I look at each other.

  “C’mon,” I say. “We either do this or we fail.” We walk to the front of the room and sit next to Taylor.

  CHAPTER 11

  BUT NOTHING

  “Let’s call it the Deadly Dreamcar,” I suggest. Justice screws his face up.

  “Nah, man. What about Maori Monster-truck?”

  “Designing the billy cart before naming it is a much better idea,” says Taylor abruptly. She has long black hair with a short fringe, cut just above her shiny blue eyes. Her pale skin and sharp features make her look quite pretty – not that I’d ever admit it. She’s still weird.

  “That’s no fun!” Justice protests. “I want to put some cool tribal prints down the side, have a silver fern on it and make it all black and shiny!” Taylor blinks her eyes once and ignores Justice. She pulls out her physics textbook and turns to a chapter called “Forces in Motion”.

  “You both need to read this,” she says, pointing to the title.

  “But –” is all Justice manages to get out.

  “But nothing,” replies Taylor. “You’d better do some homework before we even think about continuing,” she says coldly.

  CHAPTER 12

  BAG UNDER THE BRIDGE

  At home, it’s just me and Mum. She fusses over me and makes my lunch, checks on my homework and irons my underwear but she lets me have a bit of free time too. This is when she thinks I’m off being a ball boy at the Broncos. Mum knows about the curse, she’s seen the ripped clothes and the busted shoes, but if she knew that I was playing for the Broncos, she’d skin me alive! “See ya, Mum!” I yell through the back door. “I’m off to help at training!” Lying to Mum still isn’t easy to do but the money going into my secret bank account will help her later on. That’s what I tell myself, anyway.

  “Done your homework?” she shouts back.

  “Yeah! I didn’t get to be the school spelling champ by doing nothing,” I say cheekily. I beat a girl called Katie Woods only last week. She’d won the school spelling bee for the past two years – this year she came second, but I don’t think she minded too much. She knew how much I’d studied for it. Mum sticks her head out the window and smiles.

  “Haha – get away with ya,” she laughs. I wave goodbye as I ride my bike down the road toward Justice’s house. Our pre-training routine is about to begin.

  Justice meets me out the front of his place. He always looks nervous before training. If his dad knew the truth, he’d go crazy and ban us from hanging out. We both ride to the shopping centre and lock up our bikes. At the shops, we catch a cab to the city. The Broncos give Deadly D taxi vouchers because they know he can’t drive. Our driver is always a short little Greek man called Mr Stavros. He can hardly see over the steering wheel but he is very nice. He tells us about how he used to play soccer for Greece and that he was a black belt in karate. We don’t know if he’s gammin’ or not, so we act polite anyway. We always get him to stop just before the stadium, near the bridge, which is our secret spot. Down by the water, there’s nobody to watch Dylan become Deadly D – or so we think.

  “Kalispera!” Mr Stavros always says as we get out.

  “Patja, Mr Stavros,” I call back. It means goodbye in Kalkadoon.

  “Ka kite Mr Stavros!” yells Justice.

  The sky is getting dark as we walk towards the bridge. Even before we get there, I can sense that something isn’t right. A faint meowing sound is coming from the dark shadows under the bridge.

  “Is your stomach making weird noises?” Justice whispers.

  “No, brah,” I whisper back. “Something’s going on under the bridge. Look!” We duck behind a tree and see something that makes me feel sick in the stomach. There is a grown man about to throw a large hessian bag into the water. The man’s face is hidden under his hat but the meowing is getting louder and more high-pitched. There are kittens inside the bag.

  “Someone should tell the RSPCA,” whispers Justice. “Those little pussy cats are goners!” Suddenly, the man swings the bag over his head and it lands in the water with a splash. Even in the dark, I can see him smile as he watches the bag float at first, before it slowly begins to sink. Whatever method Justice had planned to turn me into Deadly D tonight, we won’t be needing it. My fingers are already clawing the trunk of the tree and my biceps have torn through my shirt. Down below, my feet have exploded out of my shoes. As torn clothing hangs from my body, the anger rages inside me. Justice takes a few steps back when he sees my muscly body shaking with rage.

  CHAPTER 13

  HERE, KITTY KITTY

  “Raaargh!” I scream, running out from behind the tree. The shape and size of Deadly D takes the cat killer by surprise. He looks on in shock as I run towards the water. I remind myself that the most important thing to do is to save the kittens – I can deal with the man later. The bag has now sunk. I’m not sur
e how deep the water is, so I do a safety dive, feet first and off the bank. Before impact, I remember not to put my head under. If my head gets wet, I’ll change back to normal – and the kittens need the strength and courage of Deadly D. The water is dark and cold and I can feel my massive muscles contract as I grope around for the hessian bag. On the other side of the bank, the cat killer has legged it.

  “Swim to your left, Deadly!” yells Justice, pointing to a patch of water next to me. I paddle left and feel around with my feet. Sure enough, something large and soft is directly under me. I latch on to it with my toes and pull my knees up to my chest. I grab the bag and lift it above my head. The water drains from the sack. There is no sign of life. Four little bodies lie still in the bottom of the bag. I wade back over to the bank and open the bag. Justice rushes over. Even in the dark we can see the wet fur, all ginger and white, clinging to the deathly-still kittens. Their eyes are closed. Suddenly, Justice spots something.

  “Look, this one has a heartbeat!” he screams. He lifts the kitten up close to his eyes, watching the tiny vibrations in its chest. Its eyes are still shut.

  “Well, don’t just stand there,” I say in my deep Deadly D voice. “Do something!”

  “How?” asks Justice. “I’m not a cat doctor.”

  “You mean a vet,” I say.

  “I’m not one of those, either,” replies Justice.

  “Do you know CPR?” I ask. Justice thinks about it.

  “I’ve seen them do it on the telly.”

  “Well, give it mouth to mouth, then!”

  CHAPTER 14

  KISSY CAT

  “Oh that’s feral, bro!” Justice screws up his face. “I’m not kissing no cat!”

  “Do you want to save it or not?”

  Justice knows we must act quickly or the kitten will die. He lays the cat down and opens its mouth. Then Justice opens his mouth and prepares to touch lips with the kitten. “Just little breaths,” I remind him. I don’t want him to blow the kitten up like a balloon.