Chapter 1

Aoife Power tried for what felt like the tenth time to turn the key in the tiny lock on her school locker. Why won't this work? she thought. Beads of sweat were starting to appear on her forehead as her twin brother Aidan appeared beside her.

'Is that lock sticking again?' Aidan took the key from Aoife and tried to turn it.

'Hey, Twin Power, the bell's gone, you're going to be late for class,' called their friend John.

'Not helpful, John!' Aoife shot him a stern look before turning back to her brother as he continued to work on the lock.

'My lock does that too,' their other friend Billy piped up. 'You need to turn it a tiny bit to the left and then turn it to the right quickly,' he advised.

'Thanks, Billy,' Aoife said sadly. 'We've tried that. Just leave it, Aidan, I'll share my books with someone and go and talk to the secretary about it later.'

'The maths teacher won't like that,' John whistled.

'Well, better to turn up to class on time than late and with no books,' Aoife snapped back, quickly gathering her school bag.

'Hang on,' came a loud voice.

Aoife turned and looked up at the tall sixth-year boy who had stopped next to them. He looked familiar; Aoife thought he might play for the Droichead Beag GAA minor team.

Aoife, Aidan, Billy and John all froze, certain they were in trouble.

With one quick movement, the tall sixth year banged the locker with his fist, then quickly turned the key and to Aoife's amazement it sprang open.

'Those locks jam,' he said in his deep voice. 'Sometimes a quick bang like that works. But you should go and ask for a new locker later,' he advised. 'That one is dodgy.'

'Thanks,' Aoife managed to stutter as he strode off. She quickly grabbed her books and sprinted towards the maths classroom with Aidan, Billy and John.

'I think that's Dáithí Keane,' Aidan whispered as they ran.

'The Droichead minor full back?' Aoife asked.

'Yeah, that's him,' Billy nodded. 'My cousin is friends with him. He's an absolute rock at full back.'

'See, Droichead people stick together,' John said sagely. 'Even when we're in school in Carrick.'

The Droichead gang as they were known - twins Aoife and Aidan Power and their friends Billy, Tina, Sara and John - were first-year pupils at Carrick Community College. Their home village of Droichead Beag where they had gone to primary school was just five kilometres away. The gang had started at Carrick Community College in September. It was now March and, dodgy locker aside, Aoife felt like they were getting into the swing of things in secondary school. The days, however, still felt very long, and Aoife was often exhausted in the evenings.

Later that day, once the bell had rung to signal the end of school, Aoife made the short run in the rain from the school door to the bus shelter with her friend Sara. Aoife stood and picked absentmindedly at a thread on the sleeve of her grey, woolly school jumper.

'I think it might stop raining soon,' Sara muttered optimistically.

'No, it won't,' Aoife replied sadly. 'It's been raining forever.'

'I think that's just the way it's going to be now,' Aidan laughed. 'We live in a country where it rains all the time.'

'Climate change,' John stated firmly.

'What do you mean, climate change?' Billy asked incredulously. 'Isn't that supposed to make it warmer?'

'We could do with a bit of warmth,' Tina grinned. 'Pity it's only March and so cold and wet.'

'Where is the bus?' Aoife wondered. 'I'm so tired. Secondary school days are long.'

'What are you Droichead lot moaning about?' asked a loud voice.

'Ugh, Tommy Doyle,' Aoife groaned.

Tommy Doyle from Droichead's neighbouring and rival club Gorman was fast approaching the bus stop, followed by Darragh, Ellie and Maeve, all also from Gorman. The four of them had their hoods up and were jogging to escape the rain.

'Climate change, Tommy,' Aidan told him, as the Gorman gang squeezed into the already packed bus shelter. 'All this rain, it's getting us down.'

'Well, we agree on something for once,' Tommy grinned. 'The rain is making pitches unplayable. I'm worried about the county league.'

'You should be worried with the state of that Gorman pitch,' Billy said.

'Your Droichead pitch isn't much better!' Darragh laughed. 'Pure bog.'

Aoife smiled to herself as she watched the interaction between her oldest friends and former sworn enemies, the Gorman gang. So much had changed in the past two years, and while she wouldn't exactly call Tommy Doyle or Ellie Ryan her friends, they certainly weren't her enemies anymore. When Aoife, Aidan, Billy, Tina, Sara and John had been in primary school in Droichead Beag, they had competed in a schools' football competition called Star Schools against Gorman school where Tommy, Darragh, Ellie and Maeve were pupils. The ancient club rivalry between Droichead Beag GAA and Gorman GAA had spilled over into the schools' football and had even continued off the pitch. Aoife shuddered when she thought of those days. So much had changed. Now she played football on the same team as Maeve and Ellie, on the combined Droichead/Gorman ladies' football under-14s team. Darragh and Maeve were good friends of the Droichead gang now. Since they had all started going to Carrick Community College, the old parish rivalries between the gangs started to change. They still wanted to beat Gorman more than anything else when they were on the pitch, but off the pitch, things were different now.

'It's brilliant that the county league has started, though, isn't it?' Billy began.

'We're in the big leagues now, boys,' John grinned. 'Under 14 football. When's our next game?' he wondered aloud.

'I think it's next week,' Aidan answered. 'I'll check with my dad.' The twins' dad, Pat Power, was a coach on the Droichead Beag under-14s boys' Gaelic football team. 'But Tommy is right,' Aidan added. 'The rain is going to be a problem; matches could be can-celled because pitches are unplayable.'

'We did all right the last day against Ballymore, good to keep our winning streak going anyway,' Billy smirked, looking in Tommy's direction.

'Don't go there, Billy,' Tommy frowned. 'I don't hate you anymore, but don't mention that match.'

Billy and Tommy were talking about the under 12s championship final the previous autumn. It had been an epic battle with Droichead and Gorman both playing the best football of their lives. It had been bittersweet as it was the last match that Aoife, Tina, Sara, Ellie and Maeve could play for their respective GAA clubs. Aoife, Sara and Tina had played for Droichead Beag GAA and Ellie and Maeve for Gorman GAA. In a final for the ages, that even went to extra time before the sides could be separated, Droichead Beag had come out on top as the winners. This was thanks in no small part to the combined skill of Aoife and Aidan Power, known to their friends as Twin Power. No one could remember when Aoife and Aidan had first been called that, but it was a nickname that had stuck firmly. When they played football together, they had a kind of twin telepathy going on. They both just seemed to know where the other would be and they instinctively knew what the other was going to do. It worked like a charm and Twin Power on the pitch were a POWERful sight to behold.

Sadly, now that all the gang were playing at under-14s age grade, boys and girls could no longer play together; after under-12s age grade, the girls had to play football on ladies' Gaelic football teams (LGFA teams). So Twin Power was no more. Well, at official matches; Aoife, Aidan and their friends still loved a kickaround on the green in Amber Fields, the housing estate where they lived. It was ideally located as far as the twins were concerned. It was a small horseshoe-shaped estate with just four houses. In those houses lived Billy Donovan, Tina O'Shea, Sara Novak and the Powers. Their other friend John lived on a farm a kilometre outside Droichead Beag village. Ellie, Maeve, Darragh and Tommy lived in Gorman. Further on again was the bigger town of Carrick where they all attended secondary school.

'The bus is here,' Darragh shouted. 'Phew, no more talk of the final that all of us...