Lucy Zeezou's Goal Read Online Free

moved closer to comfort her, but as I took the first step, I noticed that my ballet shoes didn’t feel right. I looked down and realised I had another problem. If she saw me now, my life wouldn’t be worth living.
    How could I hide a pair of dirty football boots? I had to get out of here and change, or I could kiss my football dream goodbye. I slowly turned to leave but …
    â€˜Who’s there?’ Luckily she didn’t look up.
    â€˜Hi, Mama, it’s me. Are you okay?’ I asked hesitantly as I turned back. I was stuck a few metres away from her, hoping desperately that she wouldn’t look at me.
    â€˜Um, yes thanks,’ she mumbled. She took a deep breath and I could see her trying to pull herself together, sniffling and blowing her nose.
    I wanted to hug her and find out what was going on but it was too risky.
    â€˜Well, if you say so. I’m just going to jump into the shower.’ I tried to make a quick, casual exit.
    â€˜Lucia, wait …’ She buried her face in her hands. ‘It’s about your nanna in Australia. She’s been in a car accident and she’s in hospital in a serious condition.’ Mama started sobbing again.
    â€˜Oh no,’ I screamed. I was so shocked I just wanted to run away from the horrible news. I fled up to my bathroom, trying to hold back my tears. I couldn’t bear the thought of Nanna Betty being in hospital. She’d come to mean a lot to me, especially since Nonno Dino passed away.
    Nanna and I spoke on the phone nearly every week, since we hardly ever saw each other face to face. Mama had managed to fly my grandparents over to Italy for surprise visits and to give them a break from their grocery store in Sydney. But I still never saw them often enough. It was more difficult for us to travel to Sydney because Mama didn’t like to leave Papa behind, and he couldn’t get any time off during the football season. Even in the off-season he had commitments with the club. But he’d been promising that this year he’d find some time off for a trip to Australia. It was just as well. It sounded like my grandparents needed us more than ever.

We left for Sydney the next morning on Papa’s private jet. He couldn’t come with us, as he had to play a fixture that weekend and had other sponsorship commitments he couldn’t get out of. So at such short notice, Mama and I had to leave without him – and without poor little Gigi. It was all such a rush, I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye to my friends, not even Pino. I’d just have to call him when we landed. I was going to miss kicking the ball around with him and the boys in the park, but right now Nanna was my priority.
    When we arrived, Sydney was wet and miserable … yuck. I was expecting it to be sunny and warm but it was grey and dull, reflecting my mood, and the drive from the airport took us through heavy traffic into a bustling modern city. The people walking along the streets were dressed in extremely casual clothes, even thongs. I never saw that in Milan. It’d been so long since I was here that I really didn’t remember Sydney at all. I was just a toddler when I was last here with Mama for a brief visit.
    We finally got to Nanna and Grandpa’s shop in Kings Cross. It was set in a wide, tree-lined street with a mixture of large Victorian terrace houses and modern flats. Grandpa’s store was small, yet full of the largest and brightest fruit and vegetables I have ever seen gleaming from the front window. The driver opened the door and in an instant I was swept up in a huge, welcoming hug.
    â€˜Lucia, look at you! I’m so happy you came.’
    â€˜Dad, how are you?’ wept Mama, grasping his hand and reaching for a tissue.
    â€˜I’m holding up, and much better now that you’re here.’
    â€˜How’s Mum?’
    â€˜She’s all right. I can’t talk about it now.’ A tear slipped