Chapter 1

“Bye Mum, see you later!” Sophia called to her parent as she jumped out of the car and violently shut the door behind her.
“Hey kiddo don’t slam the door! Think about its feelings!” her Mum grinned at Sophia from behind the wheel.
Sophia shook her head in amusement at her ‘hilarious’ mother. She turned her head away from the tiny car picking up speed as it zipped away and trooped up the path to her next netball class.

Sophia was a few minutes in on the scenic walk to training when she spotted a man with a dart board and multiple posters were being pinned against the board by the psycho man throwing the darts. Sophia stopped to stare. Not only because the darts but also because of how he was chucking darts with incredible accuracy while riding a tricycle and frying eggs on a pan.

Looking up from his madness the peculiar individual beckoned Sophia, “Come on over, I don’t bite.”
Sophia shook her head, perplexed.
Finding her voice Sophia mumbled a question, “What’s your name.”
“My name? Why it’s Ben Benny at your service my dear. Now I have something I want to know. What is yours?”
“S-s-Sophia.”
“Well S-s-Sophia nice to meet you, care for an egg?”
“Uh no thanks. I’d better get going, I’ve got somewhere to be.”
“See you around S-s-Sophia!”

Nervous, Sophia started to run to training. Every time she walks to training, Sophia plans the list of things they will do at training. Hannah, Sophia and the rest of the team train at the local netball courts so nothing really out of the ordinary happens. Warm up then passing, team talk, drills and then announcing team captain for the week.

When Sophia arrived at training, she was shocked to find NO HANNAH. Confused, Sophia asked her friend Emma.
“No idea, Alex said she was on holidays in Japan so maybe the fill in is late.”
As Emma finished the sentence, the bazaar man waltzed over.
“Hello young students of NETBALL. I am Ben and I am you’re instructor while Hannah is away.”
“Are you the Ben Benny I met while walking here?”
Sophia asked Ben.
“Why yes I am, and you must be S-s-Sophia.”
“It’s just Sophia.”
“Oh my I’m sorry Just Sophia.”
“It’s Sophia.”
“My my, make up your mind what your name is child!”

“Ok so children, what do you normally do first?”
“Warm up!”
“So go! Do that warm up thingy. GO!”

As the team were just finishing squats, a soccer ball appeared from the oval behind the courts.
“Everyone EVACTUATE! It’s a ball!”
Ben seemed very on edge about this one ball and Sophia figured it was because he hated soccer. Ben dug around in his overpacked suitcase and drew out a handful of razor sharp darts. Ben started hurling at the ball until his 7th hit the mark.
The poor boy running after the escapee ball started to cry.
“Oh don’t worry have an egg,” Ben comforted the boy as best you can after destroying someone’s ball.

Sophia glanced around the courts and noticed a small hole in the clubs window.
“I’ll be back!” Sophia called to her friends and hurriedly dashed into the clubhouse.
Sophia looked around the big meeting room where a dart had pierced through the window. Sophia looked around for anything out of place and her eyes rested on the clubs legendary ball signed by every single one of the players of the Swifts. In the side of the ball was a hole, slowly pressing the ball down to nothingness. The ball was punctured.

Sophia rushed outside again and over to the team. “The ball!......... Punctured!........... Darts!” Sophia was out of breath but the team understood quite clearly by seeing the crumbled mess in her hands.
“No!” We’re going to be in so much trouble when Hannah comes back!” Emma was in despair.
“We could replace it and fake the signatures?!” Alyssa desperately tried.
“Jeez, seriously, what did I do!?” Ben asked for the 7th time.
“It must be important so we shall make another one! Louie, grab the paper, Sophia the stick tape and Ryan all the players of the Swifts hands!”
The kids looked at Ben, completely dumbfounded.

Louie suddenly turned up with the paper, sticky tape and pictures of signatures.
“How’d you do that?” Alyssa whispered to Louie and then, without waiting for an answer, continued pulling Emma’s hair.

Ben got to work. He macheted the paper onto the newly inflated ball, then started sticking it all together. He stuck on the pictures of signatures and showed it to the team. “What a masterpiece!” he cried. Ben handed the mush to Emma. “Go and put it back where it was. No-one will ever notice the hole,”
Emma hurried off and re-appeared with a worried expression. “Kya’s seen the ball,” she murmured.
Now everyone in the team bore worried expressions.
“Seriously, why am I the only one who never knows what you guys are talking about!” Ben cried, exasperated.

Just then they heard a scream from inside the clubhouse; “WHAT IS THIS!!!!”
Kya strode towards the team, a furrowed expression on her face.
"What is the meaning of this!"
Kya bellowed at the team.
"Why, Kya, how lovely it is to meet you!" Ben exclaimed, extending his hand to shake. "For this very important date, we have made some eggs and bacon on toast! Roy, go and get them please."
Roy looked at Ben, perplexed.
"It's in my bag." Ben hissed in Roy's ear.
Intrigued, Roy reached into the bottomless bag and retrieved a colossal sized frying pan with 10 steaming eggs sitting atop of it and 10 thin strips of bacon.

And the toast please," Ben added another request to to his madness. Roy extended his hand into the bag again and pulled out his hand, revealing a plate of warm toast, piled high and coated with butter.

Roy hands the frying pan and plate of toast to Ben. Ben then reaches into his bag again and reveals a stack of plates. “Eggs on toast for everyone!” Ben cries, offering around the delicious morsels of food.
Delighted, the team and Kya tucked in. The only person unhappy was Sophia, standing away from the group, scowling. ‘I don’t understand why we couldn’t just have Hannah,’ she grumbled.

Kya left feeling full and relaxed, she couldn’t even remember why she was there in the first place! “Bye everyone, thanks for the meal!” Kya cried as she hurried off.

With Kya gone, the team started on their creative session of ‘knit your own uniform’ Tom hadn’t dropped the uniforms off, so it was their chance to be creative. Harry designed the boys uniforms while Alex was in charge of the girls. Harry created flashy top with their teams logo embroidered on the back of their fluorescent green t-shirts. The shirts were blue with stripes across the front. Alex had decided to stripe blue and green across the front of girls dress. Eliza finished first, so she made a coach top for Ben and Hannah. Finally, Ben signalled the end of training. “See you all on Saturday!” he called to the team as they packed up their new uniforms and left.
It was game day. Sophia had immense butterflies in her stomach. A new team a new year. She wasn’t sure how’d they go. Only three players in the team had played last year and the training session on Thursday was all but efficient.

Mum drove Sophia to the courts. The atmosphere was tense. This game was VERY important. Even though it was only the first, it would help aid the winning teams to victory.
When Sophia got to the courts, the team was in a huddle. She squeezed in, next to Heath and Zane. Sophia blushed as Heath glanced at Sophia and smiled. Heath was so cute.
“ok good luck out there guys and don’t forget to intimidate these fat-bellied pigs.” Bens pep talk was a little weird, but it got the team fired up.
Tweet! There goes the whistle. It was Sophia’s team, the Lions centre pass. Emma shot the ball across to Eliza. Eliza jumped, catching the ball before it landed in the oppositions hand. Eliza sent the ball spinning to Sophia where Sophia bent her legs and shot. The ball hit the mark, dribbling slowly into the goal. The play continued like that for a while until the opposing team realised their tactic. The lions didn’t realise the other team knew their tactic, so the Lions continued to attack like this.
Tweet! It’s half time. The Lions gather around Ben as he hands out eggs. “This time I want fighting, I want conflict. The only way to hurt is to inflict. Give it your all and let them gawk at you. Let them feel fear!” Ben shouted that last bit, earning curious glances from the spectating parents. The Lions strode onto the courts, ignoring the incoming glances at their immature uniforms. Unbeknownst to them, the opposing team had a few tricks up their sleeve. When it was the other teams centre pass, the opposing centre passed to GD much to the surprise of Emma, who had jumped down to base line to block WA. This wavered the Lions and they were hesitant to lash out, in case the other team had expected it. At the end of the merciless game, the scores stood 14-38 to the opposing teams way. No matter how much Ben tried to cheer the group up, it didn’t work and soon enough everyone had left for home.
Sophia woke feeling downcast. She didn’t want another training session with Ben. After Saturday she wasn’t even sure she wanted to play netball ever again! Sophia’s mum knocked quietly on the door. “Can I come in?”
“Sure,” Sophia didn’t really care. After all, what could her mum do?
Sophia’s mum plonked herself down on the edge of Sophia’s bed. “I know it was hard to lose the game, but you KNOW you have to go to school.”
“I know.” Sophia wasn’t keen to go to high school, but it wasn’t her choice. Her mum left just as quickly as she had entered the room. Sophia got dressed and headed out the door. “See ya mum!” Sophia called back into the house.
Sophia knew the only highlight to high school was Heath. A VERY cute boy that just happened to have an identical time table to Sophia's as well as being in the SAME netball team, The Lions.
But as cute as he was, Sophia couldn't spot him in the crowd of people as she usually does.

Sophia didn't need to worry. During first period, she noticed Heath in the chair in front of her. A notification pinged on her phone. Sophia hid her phone under her desk and opened her phone.

Sophia felt her face go red. The text was from Heath. It read, 'Meet me under the mistletoe during lunch.' Not many people went outside to eat here, most stay indoors so they can get seconds first. Sophi's mind was whirring. Did Heath want to kiss her? She sent an email back, 'Sure.'
"Miss Wollinsin why is your phone vibrating? I'll have that now."
it was time for Sophia's emergency plan to keep her phone. She pulled her fake phone Sophia made last year out of her drawer under her desk and placed her real phone in place of the fake one. "Here you go Miss.'

Sophia's point of view

"Thank you." Miss Leer tucked my 'phone' into the confiscated phone section.
I opened my drawer and pretended to look for something. I glanced at my messages.
A heart emoji lit up my screen. Another text from Heath! Squeeee! I, Sophia Wollinsin solemnly swear never to delete these messages. They are PRICELESS! A WA and a heart stopper. Heath is SUCH a charm.

Lunch.
I meet Heath under the giant mistletoe that grows in the foyer of our school. He smiles and grasps my hand. Lottie ‘loser’ walks past. “Losers.”
I laugh. I can’t help myself. It just came out without warning. At first Heath stares at me with worry. Then her starts to giggle. Then a chuckle. A laugh. Then a hysterical fit. He bends over and grasps his stomach. Then he lets go and looks up at me. “Sophia. Will you accompany me to the dance?”
I hold my breath. I know he’s waiting for an answer, but how can I give him one? The dance is held the same time as Rep tryouts and I was really looking forward to trying out. It was an impossible choice.
My crush or Reps? Just as I was about to confess, Heath leans over and pecks me on the cheek.

My stomach is churning. My first kiss.
I make up my mind on the impossible decision.

I arrive at netball with minutes to spare. Emma and Alyssa are shooting hoops while Alex, Roy, Zane, Harry, Heath and Eliza are passing balls. I join Alyssa and Emma.
“So, are you guys excited for try outs?”
Great. The one question I didn’t want to hear. Thanks Emma.
‘Um actually, I’m not going,” I glumly tell my friends.
“WHAT!”
“I’m going to the dance.”
“With who?!”
“Heath.”
“A DATE!”
“No just a dance.”
“When did he ask you?”
“At lunch.”
“What did he do to impress you SO much you backed out of Reps?”
“Kiss me.”
“WHHAAAAAAATTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
“Yea.”
“Come on girl friend, you gotta tell us this stuff. We’re your girls!”
“I know.”
“Did Lottie see?”
“Yep.”
HA HA HA!

“All right my little nincompoops. Ready for your second useless lesson?” Ben strode on courts, sporting a large bag with what seemed like wrenches inside.’’
“All right my little nincompoops. Ready for your second useless lesson?” Ben strode on courts, sporting a large bag with what seemed like wrenches inside.

"Today we will be shooting goals. My style." Ben pulled out a stack of those 'wrenches' out of his bag and exclaimed, "Who knows how to shoot?"
None of the kids put up their hands.
"Oh. That's disappointing. In my day, 13 year olds were taught to shoot daily. But never mind. We can learn."
Ben handed a gun to each child.