Specky Magee by Felice Arena

find out what Christina was talking about. He was also excited that she had given him her number. He smiled at the thought of them becoming closer friends. He had never felt this way about a girl before.
    Specky logged off and ran downstairs to look for the paper.
    ‘Mum, where’s today’s newspaper?’ he shouted.
    ‘I didn’t get it!’ came her response from the kitchen.
    Specky hurried to the milk bar at the end of his street. He picked up the newspaper and quickly flipped through the pages—there was the article. It read:
HELLO, DADDY?
    Is former Geelong champion Blade ‘Bazza’ Furlington a father? Well, the AFL legend turned world champion kickboxer, part-time film actor and regular guest on Australia’s number-one footy show, Sensational Stuff!, is accused of being many things—it comes with the role of being a high-profile celebrity. But could the former Geelong legend, and Australia’s most eligible bachelor, also be a dad?
    Well, Beverly Yam of Fernsville thinks so. The elderly woman claims that her daughter, who was killed in a car accident 10 years ago, once dated Furlington and gave birth to a boy before she passed away. The boy’s father? Our beloved Bazza!
    Ms Yam states that she wasn’t on speaking terms with her daughter back then, and that the two-year-old baby boy was later adopted out by other family members. She claims that Furlington didn’t want to take the child in, fearing it would damage his career and sex-symbol image. Ms Yam believes that somewhere out there is a 12-year-old boy who belongs back with her and that Furlington should financially support them both.
    When approached by us, Furlington denied the claim as ‘outlandish’. ‘I get a dozen of these accusations a day from people wanting to make a quick buck,’ he said.
    Specky gasped. Could Blade Furlington, one of the most famous sporting figures in the country, be my father? he wondered.

18 BULLY PLAY
    When Specky got back home he decided not to call Christina straight away. Instead, he wandered into his backyard and decided to toss a ball to Sammy a few times. So many thoughts were swirling around in his head.
    Specky decided that it all made sense—he was dressed up in Geelong gear as a baby in that picture because his real dad played for Geelong. And the whole thing about Specky’s biological mother being killed in a car accident. And the fact that he’s good at footy. The pieces all fitted together. He must be Blade Furlington’s son!
    Specky wasn’t sure how he should feel. Excited? Relieved? Both?
    Eventually he went inside and called Christina.
    ‘I can’t believe it!’ said Specky.
    ‘That’s what I thought. I remembered you telling me about the picture and your biological mum. When I first read the newspaper, I thought it sounded like the woman in the article had just made it up—but it’s too much of a coincidence, don’t you think?’ asked Christina.
    ‘I don’t know what to think,’ replied Specky.
    Christina could sense that Specky was feeling overwhelmed.
    ‘Hey, having Blade Furlington as your dad isn’t such a bad thing, you know. You said you were hoping your biological dad was into footy—well, you can’t get more of a footy father than Blade.’
    Specky let out a nervous laugh. But his conversation with Christina was cut short because his sister entered the room.
    ‘Can you get off the phone?’ she ordered. ‘My mobile’s flat and I need to make an important call!’
    Specky whispered back into the phone. ‘I’ll talk to you later. Bye.’
    As soon as Specky put the phone down Alice started interrogating him.
    ‘What was all that about?’ she asked.
    ‘Nothing,’ replied Specky.
    ‘Yeah, sure. Who were you talking to? You’re hiding something, aren’t you?’
    Specky was a terrible liar, but there was no way he was going to let his sister in on what he had just been talking about.
    When it came to Robbo and Danny, though, that was another story. The three boys were