Hit for Six (4 page)

Max had gone crazy – now that he was free he was tearing around in circles, barking in a frenzy. But the real problem was that, every time he changed direction, he tore up big tufts of green turf which flew into the air like confetti.

Max was like a dog possessed as he zigged and zagged across the square green.

A crowd had gathered from inside the club room. Horrified
oohs
and
ahs
soon drowned out Mo's maniacal laughter.

‘Max, you monster!' Davey tried to grab Max, but the foxie was having none of it. He dodged and weaved like a football pro. At one point he stopped and, for a second, Davey thought he had a chance to grab him.

But the dog began to furiously dig a hole in the green. Then he dropped the small white ball neatly into it.

‘Max!'

Then, to top it off, Max cocked his back leg and peed into the hole.

It brought everyone to a standstill. There was a horrified silence which was broken by the sound of Mo laughing again.

Davey buried his head in his hands.

The crowd burst into stunned but slightly admiring applause at the audacity of the small dog.

‘WARNER!' Mudge erupted. He was positively apoplectic. His ears were almost black. ‘Get that dog off the green NOW!'

Sunil, Kevin, George and Davey closed in on Max. The mad mutt lay down and rolled over, completely tuckered out. Sunil picked him up and tucked him firmly under one arm. He gave Davey a look of sympathy.

Max had done a lot of damage in a very short amount of time. Now the green was less a green colour and more a brown patchwork pattern. Aside from the clumps of dirt, Max had dug two decent-sized holes.

Mudge walked around the green muttering to himself. Then he went unusually quiet.

The excursion was cancelled.

Davey was doomed.

‘There, there,' crooned Bella with delight, patting him on the back.

Mo was still laughing.

Back at school, Davey had to suffer through Mo and his cronies' endless sniggering, Bella's superior smiles and general loathing from the rest of the class. He was officially an outcast, as the whole of 6M blamed him for ruining a day out and having to be back at school before lunchtime.

‘I want a word with you, Warner,' Mudge drawled as the bell finally rang for the end of day.

It was the first time the teacher had spoken to him since they left the bowls club.

Good luck
, Sunil mouthed to Davey as he and the others filed out of class.

‘As punishment for your dog's appalling behaviour today' – Mudge spoke so quietly that Davey strained to hear him – ‘you will volunteer at the bowling club every day for the next two weeks.'

Davey opened his mouth to protest, but thought better of it. He would still have time to practise cricket before school.

‘By every day, I mean before school and after school,' Mudge continued.

Davey whimpered. He thought about his two bets and how impossible it was going to be to win either.

‘I have already spoken to your mother,' Mudge continued, looking at his desk. He was so angry he couldn't even look at Davey. ‘Personally, I don't want you anywhere near my club, but it was their decision. You will start work tomorrow morning.'

‘Mr Mudge . . .' Davey began.

‘Are we understood?' Mudge brought his fist down hard on his desk with a thump.

Davey jumped.

‘Yes, Sir!'

Davey left the classroom and made his way over to the nets for cricket practice. The team had already begun having a hit, but their coach Benny was nowhere to be seen.

‘What's the punishment?' George asked.

‘I've got to spend the next two weeks at the bowls club.'

Sunil's eyes grew round. ‘Mate, you have no chance of winning the bet. Call it off with Mo now.'

‘No!' Davey said stubbornly. ‘I don't give up on a bet.'

‘Suit yourself,' Sunil answered.

Just then, Benny arrived. ‘Gather round, lads,' he called, trying to get his breath back.

The team gathered around their coach.

‘Our next game is a bye and then we have the big one with Shimmer Bay.' Benny stuck a porky finger into one nostril and had a good dig.

‘We have no chance. I just want you guys to do your best. It's all we can hope for.'

‘Do you have a strategy, coach?' asked George.

Benny stared off into the distance. ‘Not as such. Just watch out for that Josh Jarrett. He's a player to watch. Going places he is.'

Davey kicked at the dirt with his foot.

Benny glanced at his watch. ‘Is that the time? Got to get home for tea.' He waddled off in the direction of his shop.

Sunil rolled his eyes at Benny's departure and the team went back to their cricket practice while it was still light enough to play.

‘What are you going to write for your lawn bowls assignment?' Practice was over and Sunil was packing up his kit.

‘I thought I'd write about the bias,' said Kevin.

George shrugged. ‘I liked the team spirit.'

‘Warner?' Sunil asked.

Davey shook his head, ‘Dunno, Deep. I really haven't given it much thought.'

‘You should,' Sunil replied, ‘if you want to beat Bella and win a merit award. It's our last major assessment for the term.'

‘Thanks for the advice . . .' Davey muttered. He grabbed his Kaboom bat and marched off home.

Davey was about to spend all his spare time at a bowling club. The last thing he wanted to do was think about Mudge, or anything to do with lawn bowls, for that matter.

Davey had made sure to set his alarm for an early start the next morning. It would take at least half an hour to ride to Penguin Palace Bowling Club and they wanted him to put in a full hour of work before school.

When he wheeled his bike inside the club gate, Davey shuddered at the sight that met his eyes. The green looked as if a herd of elephants had stampeded across it. He had a flashback to the sight of Max peeing in the hole. The horror!

‘You must be David!' a tanned, grey-haired man wearing faded green overalls greeted him.

‘Everyone calls me Davey,' Davey replied, ‘except Mr Mudge, of course.'

The man straightened up from weeding the flowerbed and smiled. ‘And what does Vernon, I mean Mr Mudge, call you?'

‘WARRR-
NER
!' Davey replied, giving his best impersonation of Mudge.

The old man chuckled.

‘Nice to meet you, Davey. I'm Trevor and I'm the greenkeeper here.'

They shook hands. Trevor glanced at Davey's backpack.

‘Is there a dog in your bag, by any chance?'

‘Uh, no,' Davey squirmed, ‘not this time, anyway.'

‘Made quite a mess, he did. Some of the members were very upset,' Trevor continued.

Davey shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at the ground. ‘I – I – I'm really sorry,' he stuttered.

‘Thanks Davey.' Trevor lowered his voice. ‘This lot need stirring up every now and then, if you ask me.'

Davey looked up. He wasn't sure, but he thought he saw a twinkle in the old man's eye.

‘Do you like lawn bowls?' Trevor asked.

‘Yeah?' Davey sounded about as convincing as Benny did when asked if the Sluggers had a chance.

Trevor nodded. ‘It's not for everyone. Grab some gloves and get to work weeding with me. I'm sure you're not too pleased to be here, but I'm grateful for some help. My back's not what it used to be.'

Davey thought Trevor looked really fit and strong for his age. ‘What about the green?' he asked.

‘We'll get to that. Plenty of time.'

Davey picked up a pair of gardening gloves and got to work. He hadn't even noticed the gardens when he was here for the excursion. The bowling green was surrounded by garden beds filled with flowers and small shrubs.

Weeding was boring, but after a while Davey kind of zoned out and didn't mind it so much. Trevor whistled as he worked and it was nice to be outside in the fresh air. It was better than being in detention or picking up rubbish at school.

‘You'll probably want to get off to school soon,' Trevor said when they had finished the final garden bed.

Davey stretched. His shoulders and back ached. He'd never realised gardening was such physical work. ‘See you this afternoon, then,' he said and picked up his bag.

He was wheeling his bike out when he noticed a familiar face.

It was Josh Jarrett. He was walking to school with a few other boys from Shimmer Bay Primary.

Davey thought about turning around, but it was too late. Josh had seen him.

‘Warner?' Josh called. ‘Given up on cricket, then?'

‘You wish,' Davey retorted.

‘Maybe it's time for you to retire. Lawn bowls might be more your speed!' Josh erupted in fits of laughter.

Trevor and Davey shared a look.

‘I heard about your little bet!' Josh continued. ‘Warner here reckons he can hit six sixes during our game,' he explained to his mates.