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Chapter 2 It was again Ion who first gained possession of the ball but, selflessly, he passed it to Jez who he knew was a better footballer. This time Ki was left out of the plans and instead stood and watched. Jogging, breathing heavily, Jez ran up the remainder feet of the pitch. Looking up occasionally to check on the goalie's position, he looked very professional to Ki's eyes. With awe and a flicker of embarrassed arousal, Ki watched as Jez drew back his right foot and kicked the ball squarely into the centre of the goal. Once again Laz was out-skilled and the game ended. Roars and screams filled the air once more and, again, Jez lifted his arms up high. His eyes turned quickly and instinctively to his two friends, wanting them - and only them - to share in his glory. Without hesitation, Ki broke into a run and threw himself at Jez. They tumbled to the ground together, hugging and cheering, laughing and making a lot of noise. "You did it!" Ki shouted, leaning down and kissing Jez's mouth in a quick peck. Embarrassed by his instinctive reaction, Ki buried his face down against Jez's chest and pretended that it had never happened. From across the room Ion watched with a knowing, affectionate smile on his lips. He raced across the room, throwing himself down on top of his two friends. "We won!" he shouted down at them. "We won!" Jez giggled and Ki raised his head. Rolling over, he tumbled off Jez and allowed Ion in on their celebration. It was then that Ki felt the shoe that had come loose. Looking down he saw that it was no longer attached to his foot but was instead lying on its side a few feet away. For some reason it made him laugh. Perhaps he was giddy because of the kiss he had just given Jez or maybe it was actually very funny. He laughed hard, pointing down at his shoe, causing his friends to giggle with him. "I lost…" he laughed out, unable to finish his sentence. "I lost…" he tried again. "What?" Ion laughed with him. "What did you lose?" |
"My … my…" he laughed. "My shoe!" Both men looked down and saw the bare foot that Ki was pointing towards. They did not know why it was funny but Ki's laughter was infectious. They were still lying on the floor, leaning in close to one and other, laughing, when Amma came in. Like a cold breeze that snuffed out the flames of a fire, the elder man froze everything that was in the room. The boys' laughter petered out and everyone shuffled uncomfortably. "What's all the noise?" he asked gruffly. Always he complained that they made too much noise. That their raised voices or laughter would bring on an attack from the other worlders. "Nothing," Bella said softly. "The boys are just excited that they won." She smiled across at the three boys. She loved them as if they were her own children. Their enthusiasm and youth always brightened her day. Amma's dark eyes fell on the three boys and a frown of unease settled over his features. Immediately colour rose in Ki's cheeks. He remembered the conversation that Amma had given him, only six months ago. One that had started with talk of guns and war and had ended with him saying that as boys grew into men they looked for companionship in others. Amma said he knew that there were no women in the family of Ki's age and that he might be tempted to look for it in friends and that he should resist that urge. Hormones, he had said, could rule and ruin a man. Ki was not an idiot; he had known what the old master was saying: he had seen the way Ki, Jez and Ion behaved towards one and other and it made him uncomfortable. That discomfort was present in his old eyes now. "Get up of the floor," he barked. Ion rolled his eyes and then sat up. It was he who had started it all, Ki wanted to whine at Amma. It was Ion who had made them so close. He was a very tactile person. Sometimes Ki liked to blame Ion for making him fall for Jez. It wasn't how it had happened but sometimes he liked to |