Offside

  Chapter Four

  “Table tennis might be fun,” conceded Lisa doubtfully. “But I don’t know anyone who plays it.”

  “Nick goes sometimes with his friend Daniel. Daniel’s father is an A grade player and he runs a Friday night session for kids. Daniel’s really good at it and Nick did it for a while but he gave it up. He’s got a bat though, so I’m sure I can borrow it.”

  Nick burst into laughter when Maggie asked to borrow his table tennis bat.

  “Sure you can borrow it,” he spluttered. “But it’s harder than it looks, you know.”

  “I have to start somewhere” sniffed Maggie, and Friday night saw her arriving at the church hall with Daniel and his father.

  “You can help us set the tables up,” Daniel said, and showed Maggie how to tighten the nets with clamps onto the edges of each table.

  “What do you want to do Maggie?” Daniel’s father asked. “Do you want to watch tonight, or have a go?”

  “Have a go, please,” said Maggie confidently.

  “Ok, we’ll give you a turn at hitting around with another beginner first, then you can have a try in a doubles game if we need you to make up the numbers. You’ll have to wait a while though, while the regular players have their warm up games.”

  Maggie sat at the side of the hall and watched as the club members arrived. She recognised some of them. Chan, who was a friend of Lisa’s brother Sam, and Francis, a girl she had played with for a while at primary school. They both gave her a cheerful wave as she sat and watched.

  “I’m sure this will be easy,” Maggie thought as she watched the game at the table beside her.

  ‘And now we come to the last game between Sun Rise, the reigning world champion from China, and Maggie Johnson, the exciting new talent from New Zealand. Maggie's rise in the table tennis world has been meteoric. Seldom has anyone before seen such lightning reflexes. She plays in a completely unique style and her smashing serve has already been nicknamed the ‘Maggie’. Her fans are all wearing T-shirts with her photo printed on them and table tennis clubs all over the country report an upsurge in the number of players. It is rumoured that Maggie has been asked to tour China as a special guest of the Emperor. We believe he has sent her fabulous gifts including a golden box set with precious stones to keep her table tennis bat in.

  She’s about to make her final serve. The score is twenty - nil. Can she make it a clean sweep? Yes. She's wiped the floor with Sun Rise. He’s bravely shaking her hand, but his aged mother is weeping in the background. Sun Rise needed this money to buy her a new pig and save her from starvation. But wait – Maggie is turning down the money.’

  ‘I have enough,’ she said simply. ‘Please give the prize money to my valiant opponent.’ She turned a sweet smile on Sun Rise...

  “I said, are you ready Maggie?”

  Maggie started then smiled at Chan’s little brother Lee who was standing beside her. He looked about four years old and turned hopeful brown eyes on her.

  ‘They said you were a beginner as well, so will you play with me?”

  “Of course,” said Maggie kindly. They moved to an empty table and Lee passed her one of the bats he was holding.

  “I’ll hit the ball to you and you try to hit it back,” instructed Maggie. Lee nodded importantly and Maggie bounced the ball on the table before hitting it over the net. Immediately Lee’s bat shot out and the ball whizzed back at Maggie. She gasped and swung wildly at it, missing it completely.

  “Wow, that was a lucky shot,” she gasped.

  “Do it again,” demanded Lee, as Maggie chased after the ball to retrieve it from the end of the hall. Maggie carefully hit the ball again and this time she managed to return it when Lee hit it. Unfortunately it bounced beyond the table so this time Lee had to chase after it. They hit back and forth for a while – that is, Maggie managed a few feeble trickles of the ball while Lee smashed it, sliced it and spun it past her in every direction.

  “How long have you been playing?’ she asked in admiration.

  “Three months,” replied Lee, concentrating fiercely on the ball. “I’m not good enough to play against the others yet so I need lots of practise.”

  “Oh,” said Maggie feebly. “Were all young children like this?” she wondered.

  She made a great effort and managed to get five shots over in a row before Lee slammed the ball onto the table. The ball bounced up and hit her on the cheek, with a sharp stinging pain.

  “Ow,’ cried Maggie, dropping her bat to clutch her cheek.

  “Sorry,” called Lee. “Are you still going to play with me?”

  “Perhaps later,” mumbled Maggie as she rushed to the Ladies toilets to splash water on her red face.

  Daniel’s father called to Maggie as she came back into the hall.

  “Do you want to play a game of doubles, Maggie? You can be my partner and we’ll play against Daniel and James.”

  “Um, sure,” she said. “What do I do?”

  “Well, its doubles, so basically we take turns at hitting the ball. The main thing to remember is to get out of each other’s way. You can serve to start.”

  “Er, how do I serve?” Maggie asked shyly.

  He raised an eyebrow.

  “I thought young Lee would have showed you what to do. Just hit the ball so that it bounces on the table in front of you and goes diagonally over the net onto the table on the other side. You have five serves to James.”

  James, a tall gangling Year Eleven boy, waited patiently as Maggie served to him. The first time she was so nervous that she swiped at the ball and missed. The second time she actually hit the ball but hit the edge of the table at the same time with her bat.

  “Don’t worry, Maggie. You’re doing fine. We all had to start sometime,” Daniel’s father told her encouragingly.

  Her next serve bounced across the net to James who slammed it back. The ball travelled across the net at what appeared to Maggie to be the speed of light. She forgot to move back in time and collided heavily with Daniel’s father as he tried to return James’ shot. After that they fell into a pattern and Maggie even returned a few balls after Daniel and James were told off for hitting the ball too hard at a beginner. The boys rolled their eyes at each other and made a point of hitting soft little shots to Maggie before gleefully slamming them at Daniel’s father who would casually spin them back.

  Eventually, to Maggie’s relief, Daniel and James came round the table to shake her hand.

  “Thanks for the game,” they said.

  Maggie looked at Daniel’s father.

  “Is it over already? What’s the score? Did we win?”

  “No. We lost 21 – 12,” said Daniel’s father with a wry grin. “Look, why don’t you go over to that table in the corner and practise with Chan and his brother.” Maggie gulped.

  “Er, I think I’ll go and sit down for a while. It’s much more fun watching than playing,” she added, trying to sound convincing.

  Daniel and James were obviously relieved by this decision and went on to smash the ball at every opponent from then on.

  “Do you want to play in the handicap game?” Daniel’s father asked her later on. “You’d have more chance there, as the others will all have huge handicaps and you won’t have any.”

  ‘No thanks,” said Maggie firmly. Much as she hated to agree that Nick had been right, she could see that table tennis was not her scene. She wandered into the entry foyer and read the notices on the board there.

  ‘Helpers for Meals on Wheels wanted.’

  “Melanie could do that,” she thought. “She can skate really well now. I wonder how many meals she would have to carry at a time?”

  ‘Puppies free to good home,’ caught her eye, but she reflected gloomily that her parents would never allow it. The only pet they had was a geriatric cat named Smokey who spent most of the time lying in a patch of sunlight at the front door or else sneaking in to sleep on Nick’s bed.

  “They’re not likely to let me get a
puppy” sighed Maggie. “I wonder what else there is?”

  She saw with interest that one lady saved stamps for savages. “I wonder what they do with them?” Another wanted wool for knitting toys for accident victims. A small notice at the bottom of the board had her boredom change instantly to excitement.

  ‘Mountain biking, ’it said. ‘Those interested, turn up at the end of McDonald Road on Saturday at 2 p.m. Junior, Intermediate and Senior category races. Gold coin entry.’

  “Wow!” thought Maggie. “Biking. I can do that. I’ve been riding a bike since I was seven years old. I’ve even got a bike and a helmet. And it’s not expensive, only one or two dollars. This might be just the sport for me. I could be really good at it.”

  Her excitement helped her to smile at Daniel and cheerfully put away the tables and equipment.

  “I’m sorry it wasn’t a very interesting evening for you,” Daniel’s father said in a friendly way.

  “That’s okay,” said Maggie sincerely. “I’m very glad I came.” She beamed at Daniel’s father. Daniel gave her an odd look but didn’t say anything. Maggie hugged herself in excitement as she sat in the back seat of the car. Wait until she told Melanie and Lisa. Mountain biking. Wow. She knew she would be really good at it. She could see it all now.

  ‘Here is Maggie, the world famous mountain biker. Maggie – how does it feel to be the first to bike to the top of Mt Everest?’

  ‘It was nothing,’ said Maggie modestly.

  ‘What was the hardest part?’

  ‘When my back tyre blew. I had to blow it up myself, as the pump had fallen off, then mend the hole with chewing gum.’

  ‘ And what plans do you have now?’

  ‘I’m thinking of cycling around the world and spreading the message to all countries – Exercise is good for you.’

  “Here you go,” said Daniel’s father dropping Maggie off at her gate. “Do you want to come again?”

  “No thanks, but thanks for tonight.” Maggie rushed inside. “Mum, Mum, can I go mountain biking tomorrow?”

  Her mother looked surprised.

  “How was the table tennis. Did you enjoy it?”

  “Yes, no, it doesn’t matter,” said Maggie impatiently. “I want to go mountain biking. Please can I?”

  “I suppose so” agreed her mother doubtfully. “Do you think your bike will stand it? I thought the tyres were flat.”

  “I’ll pump them up in the morning,” said Maggie recklessly. “That’s great, thanks Mum. I’ll phone Lisa and Melanie and see if they want to come. Oh, I forgot. Lisa’s got cricket and Melanie's probably skating with Zach again.”

  “I’ll come with you,” said Nick casually.

  “You?” Maggie stared at her brother in astonishment. “You don’t go anywhere with me. You said I’d be dead if I ever went near you in public. You pretend I don’t even exist.”

  Nick laughed

  “It’s not that bad,” he said. “But I’m quite keen to give mountain biking a go. How about if I give you a hand to fix your bike then we go together.”

  “Great,” said Maggie. “I can hardly wait until tomorrow.”

  It took Maggie two hours the next morning to get Nick up and ready to work on her bike.

  “You said you’d help me,” she reminded him.

  “Yes I know, but I didn’t think you’d drag me out of bed at the crack of dawn to do it,” Nick grumbled.

  “It’s nearly half past nine,” exclaimed Maggie. “If I’d let you sleep in, you wouldn’t have got up until lunchtime.”

  “Sounds good to me,” grunted Nick, but he obligingly overhauled Maggie's bike for her, pumping up the tyres and oiling the chain and pedals.

  “There you go. All in working order,” he said cheerfully, and began to check over his own bike.

  “Do you use all those gears?” asked Maggie. Her bike didn’t have gears at all and the brakes worked by pedalling backwards.

  “Only one at a time,” said Nick.

  They set off for McDonald Road together after lunch, Maggie in a fever of impatience.

  “Slow down,” Nick advised her. “You’ll need all your energy for the ride.”

  They rode until the surface went from tarseal to gravel and eventually ended in a bumpy dirt area beside the bush. A large number of children and adults were standing around beside parked cars and bicycles, talking excitedly to each other. Snatches of conversation reached Maggie's ears as she and Nick found a clear space to dismount.

  “How did you do last weekend?”

  “That humping Nellie is a fair cow to go over.”

  “Thought I’d never reach the saddle.”

  “Did you hear about Jason? Busted his leg in two places.”

  Finally a red-faced man in a bright green checked shirt called everyone over to him.

  “Right,” he said, “give your names to Polly, here.” He indicated a slightly anxious looking woman in jeans and a blue sweatshirt. “The juniors first, that’s up to twelve. Intermediates are twelve to fourteen then seniors all the rest. There are three courses marked so make sure you follow your own course. We don’t want you mucking up the other groups.”

  Everyone slowly filed past Polly giving his or her name. Maggie was told she was Intermediate. “That’s the blue route, dear. Make sure you follow the blue markers.” Nick had spotted a group of friends and was standing talking to them, pointedly ignoring Maggie. Maggie looked around and saw a piece of tin marked with a splat of blue paint tied to a tree branch. She took her bike over beside it and watched the other Intermediates lining up. There were sixteen of them, mainly boys, with a few athletic looking girls. Maggie noticed that they all had bikes like Nick’s with gears. Most had drink bottles strapped to the cross bar and the kids themselves wore old jeans and sweatshirts. They all seemed to know each other and Maggie wondered if she was the only beginner.

  The man in the green checked shirt came over to start them off.

  “Follow the markers,” he said. “Best of luck. The track loops around and comes out further down the road. See you all later. Go!” he shouted and the children leapt on their bikes and rode off down the track.

  “I’ll stay at the front,” thought Maggie, but found that the track soon grew steeper as it climbed the hill. One by one the rest of the intermediates passed Maggie as she laboured slowly up the slope. Fortunately it was only a brief climb then she was swooping down a narrow winding path.

  “Aah,” yelled Maggie as she came to a corner. Her bike wouldn’t turn in time and she slid off into the bushes. “Well that wasn’t too bad,” she gasped breathlessly. “In fact it was fun,” she told herself sternly. Riding on again she came to another steep climbing part. This time she had to get off her bike and push it. “I don’t know how all the others managed this,” she thought. “I know I’m going the right way because that blue marker is right ahead of me.” Reaching the top she rode along again in a series of swooping curves then suddenly the track came over the brow of a hill and she saw what looked like a vertical drop below her.

  “Ohh,” yelled Maggie as her bike hurtled downwards and hit a large rock on the track. She catapulted neatly over the handlebars, biting her tongue hard in the process. Picking herself up gingerly, she reassured herself that nothing was actually broken and wobbled down the hill, keeping a foot trailing on the ground to slow herself down. A huge slushy mud puddle at the bottom brought her skidding to a stop. As she trod hard on the brakes, the bike slewed around and she slipped with a scream to land right in the worst of the puddle.

  Maggie decided at this point to give biking one more try. She climbed on again, only to find that her back tyre was completely flat. Grumbling to herself, she pushed her bike the rest of the way, feeling extremely hot and dirty. She arrived at the end of the track to find the others sitting around and laughing about their ride. Maggie collapsed thankfully onto the grass beneath a scrubby manuka and waited for another half-hour until Nick came out.

  “Wow, that was a blast,” he
said. “I haven’t had so much fun for ages. You should have seen the view from the top of the ridge. Hey what's up?”

  “My tyre’s flat,” complained Maggie, rubbing her leg where it had been scratched by the bushes.

  One of Nick’s friends bent down and unclipped a pump from his crossbar.

  “Here, have a go with this,” he called as he tossed it to her.

  “Thanks,” mumbled Maggie, and pumped up the tyre with what felt like the entire population of the world watching.

  “Thanks,” she said again, handing the pump back. “See you at home Nick.” Wearily she dragged her protesting muscles back onto the bike and started the ride home.

  “It was kind of fun,” she thought, “but I don’t think mountain biking is the right thing for me, even if I did have a proper bike for it. I’ll stick to biking round the streets from now on, and I’m definitely going to have a long bath when I get home.”

  On the phone to Melanie that night, Maggie described her experiences.

  “Sounds awful,” said Melanie. “What are you going to try next?”

  Maggie thought for a moment.

  “I think I’ll try judo,” she said.