JT chapter sampler

Dump our bats and balls in the corner. I don’t think I cleaned it once. Sorry, Mum.

‘Hey, Johnny,’ Dad said, big smile on his face. ‘Reckon you can score a try today?’ I shrugged. ‘I’ll give you a dollar if you can,’ he said. My eyes lit up. ‘In fact, I’ll give you a dollar for every try that you score,’ he continued. ‘So you’ll get three dollars if you can get three.’ I smiled. ‘How much money you got?’ I asked. He laughed, at least until the end of the game. I scored nine tries. ‘You got a 10-dollar note?’ I said, hand out the moment the full-time whistle was blown. There was barely a speck of dirt on my oversized black-and-white jersey. ‘I’ll owe you a dollar until I score next week.’ Dad gave me the ten. ‘Just keep it,’ he said. ‘This was a one-time deal.’ Dad never offered me another incentive when it came to rugby league.

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