Queensland’s Prodigy

• Wade Kangan, Grade 11
• Short Story
• 2017

Heart rate increasing by the minute, blood racing through my veins as I listen to the roars of the sold out stadium. 52,500 people were loud enough to make Suncorp’s speakers sound like a slight mumble in comparison. As I stand up to begin warming up for the game I begin thinking, I can’t believe that I’m playing in the State of Origin and both previous games have been tied up.
Before I knew it, 4th tackle is called as I run up into the line, time slows down in my mind. I say to myself ‘Come on Conner, you’ve got this!’
I see the ball spiralling through the air to my teammate Thurston, thrashing through any drop of water that fell on it almost as if it were a bullet. This rain was now ridiculous I could barely see ten metres in front of me and all I could hear is the crowd as I ran down the field. All of a sudden, the siren for half time goes off.
It wasn’t much longer and we were back on the field ready for the second half, covered in mud. The rain didn’t help one bit it only weighed us down, blocked our vision and lessened our grip. For the next half hour, my mate Tamua and I kept at each other, each time harder than the last. Every time either of us got the ball though I would have a flash back and it would remind me of the times we would be in the back yard playing a one on one match just diving. The last few minutes were in play, I called for the ball. My heart begun pounding intensely as I ran, Tamua ran forward ahead of the line at me, now I had no other choice and my mind was set on this moment, so I did the same. Both of us were running flat out at each other, muscles aching, barley a breath left in my body.
Crack… It went black.
When I woke up, all I could hear were the sound of the slightest beeping …
At first I couldn’t feel a thing.
The longer I’m here, the louder the beeping is, as the beeping gets louder the more aching develops throughout my body. The pain throughout my body is unbearable, like a hot sword is running through me. It takes some time for my eyes to adjust to the bright light and I soon realise I’m on a bed with a drip in my arm and cast on my leg. I must be in hospital, how did I get here?
All of a sudden, a man walked into the room looking as beat up as I am, his eyes lit up like the sun and a smile sprung to his face as soon as he saw me. He began shouting at me, “Conner you’re awake!! I’ve been waiting to talk to you.”
‘Who is this man? Am I Conner?’