Sold. Blair Denholm
the opposition’s hard-tackling forwards throughout the game. He finished without a single scratch on his body.
That afternoon after school Foss insisted on walking his teammate to his home – a Queenslander with peeling yellow paint, a riot of weeds and long grass in the front yard. Gary asked Foss to come inside for a cold drink.
‘My foster father might act weird when he sees us,’ said Gary. ‘Just ignore him, okay?’
Foss nodded.
The exterior of the house was repellent enough, yet Foss wasn’t prepared for the squalor inside. Gary’s foster father dozed in a recliner, beer bottles and dirty plates scattered on the floor. The lounge room stunk of stale beer and tobacco.
‘Don’t look at him.’ Gary beckoned to Foss with a sideways nod. ‘Come into the kitchen.’
Foss was a stocky lad all those years ago, and taller than his peers. The deadbeat in the chair didn’t scare him. He walked up and poked the man hard in the chest.
‘Whassup kid?’
‘If you hurt Gary again I’ll report you.’
The man snarled and staggered to his feet, but the 12-year-old boy stood his ground.
‘I mean it! Stop hurting him.’ Foss shoved the man with all his might and sent the foster father flying to the floor.
Gary’s foster dad continued to be an abusive prick, but Foss never saw any more bruises. After that, whenever Foss visited Gaz’s place he gave the bastard the evil eye. He knew it saved his friend from a number of hidings.
He and Gaz remained inseparable right up to the end of high school when their interests diverged.
Foss turned away from football, discovering he liked maths better. He wanted to make a success of his life, so knuckled down and studied hard. The payoff – a Bachelor of Business and Commerce with honours.
Gary struggled academically. He stopped playing sport, started drinking and smoking. Pot sometimes. Despite Foss begging Gary to stop, the stubborn little fucker wouldn’t be told. Now Gaz was in a deep pile of excrement and needed a hand.
Foss had to help, because that’s what mates do.
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