Specky Magee by Felice Arena Page B

the right thing.
    Simmo lined up his kick, glanced over to his father (who gave him a proud nod), then aimed for the goal. The ball went right through the centre of the goal posts as the umpire blew his whistle to signal that the game was over. Specky’s team had won another match, but only just.
    Back in the changing rooms, Coach Pappas took Specky aside.
    ‘I’m very proud of you today, Speck. I noticed you settled Simmo’s nerves out there. It was very good of you, especially since I know you would’ve preferred it if I’d kept you at full-forward. There’s a reason I switched you with Simmo today.’
    The Coach looked around to see if anyone else was listening. Nobody was. Danny and Robbo were flicking towels at ‘The BombayBullet’ and ‘Smashing Sols’, while Simmo was getting a huge hug from his dad. Coach Pappas continued.
    ‘The reason is, Simmo’s father recently found out he’s got cancer, and Monday he begins chemotherapy. This will last for weeks, possibly months. Anyway, he won’t be able to come out and see Simmo play footy again—not for a while, at least—so he asked if I could put him at full-forward. His dream was to see his boy kick a goal, and he got his wish, thanks to you. You helped make that happen.’
    Specky now felt guiltier than ever for originally thinking that Simmo’s dad and Coach Pappas were involved in some kind of match-fixing conspiracy. He was glad and relieved that things had turned out the way they had.
    ‘So, are ya ready? Maggies, here we come!’ shouted Danny.
    He and Robbo had ended their towel fight and were now eagerly waiting for Specky to get changed.
    ‘Hurry up, Speck. Dad’s waiting for us in the car!’
    In no time at all, Specky was ready and seated beside his friends in Danny’s father’s four-wheel drive. As he strapped his seat belton, he noticed Simmo and his dad waving to him as they made their way across the parking lot. Simmo mouthed the words ‘thank you’. Specky smiled and gave him a thumbs-up in return. Danny and Robbo hadn’t noticed.
    ‘Carn the Pies!’ shouted Danny.
    ‘Here we go, here we go, here we go!’ chanted Robbo.
    The two whooped and whistled. They were bursting with excitement, while Specky quietly continued to observe Simmo and his father from afar.
    He imagined for a moment what they’d say to each other on the way home, and how Simmo’s father would be so proud of him—proud of his son playing footy. Specky sighed as he watched them get into their car and drive off.
    He turned his attention back to his friends. Now it was his turn to get excited—he was off to the MCG!

14 MAGNIFICENT MCG
    It dawned on Specky that the last time he had visited the hallowed home of Aussie Rules—the Melbourne Cricket Ground—was at least a couple of years ago, and that time he had also been with Danny Castelino and his family.
    ‘Okay, okay, settle down!’ ordered Danny’s father from behind the steering wheel.
    Danny and Robbo were getting a little out of hand in the back seat, belting out the anthems of their footy teams at passing traffic. Danny’s younger brother, Phillip, sat in the front passenger seat and was giggling at his brother’s antics. Specky smiled. He loved hanging out with Danny and his big Italian family. They were all die-hard Collingwoodsupporters—actually, they were avid fans of most sports.
    Specky remembered staying overnight at Danny’s place one time and they hadn’t gone to bed until five in the morning—Danny and his family were all up watching the World Cup Soccer, telecast live from overseas. He had so much fun watching Danny’s dad, uncles and cousins jumping up and down around the lounge room every time Italy kicked a goal. It was certainly a different world from his family. This made him wonder about his biological dad again.
    Dad and I would never stay up all night and watch a sporting event together, but I bet my other dad would, Specky mused.
    Danny’s father pulled into the parking