Chapter 14: The days pass by

Everyone was in shock. For a moment everything was silent except for the ball that was bouncing because Kyle forgot to grab the rebound.

Trell was the first one to come back to his senses "Hell nah man! You must be crazy. Just because I've been leaving you and your sidekick alone you think you can push it even further!? Man I'm out of here"

Trell turned around and walked two steps before he was stopped by Jason "I thought you were a man of your word Trell? Besides you only need to be on the team until you can beat me."

Jason continued "You know that thing you tried to pull earlier this morning at the park? I'll give a chance everyday after school to win back your freedom. Same rules as this morning. You win and you're free. I win and I get you for another day. Pretty simple if you ask me. That is unless you don't think you could ever beat me?"

Trell squeezed his hands in his pockets as he clenched his jaw tight. He turned to Jason with an intense look in his eyes "Deal. You're on"

And so two hours passed with the gym filled with the noise of balls pounding against the hardwood and sneakers squeaking.

Kyle spent the entire time catching rebounds. His sense of timing improved compared to when he first started. He could time his jumps better when he went for the ball.

Matt was practicing his three-point shot with Coach Swendel who would get the rebound on his missed shots and pass him the ball.

Jason and Trell spent the entire time playing one on one. Jason imposed a rule on himself to make it fair for Trell.

Jason gave himself only 4 dribbles before he had to shoot while Trell could play normally. After two hours passed everyone was tired.

Kyle was laying on the floor gasping for air. A small puddle of sweat forming around him on the ground.

Matt's arms and legs were shaky. His arms trembled as he struggled to wipe the sweat on his forehead. He wobbled as he walked to the water fountain for a drink.

Trell was in the best condition even when compared to Coach Swendel who didn't do that much. Trell had some perspiration on his forehead and sweat all around his body but his breathing was just slightly labored.

Jason on the other hand had taken his shirt off because it had become heavy with sweat. He picked up his shirt from the ground and use it to wipe his hair.

Drops of sweat were flicked out of his hair as he continued drying up. Jason was gasping for air 'Damn! I really need to start doing more cardio. I can't believe something like this is enough to get me winded. Back in college I could have done four more hours easy'

Coach Swendel couldn't help but look at Jason with some admiration in his eyes 'This kid has more than just the skills on the court. He has the qualities of a leader. Just the fact that he was able to make Trell show up and practice is a miracle on its own'

Coach Swendel looked around at Matt, Kyle, and Trell 'But the fact that he was able to push these guys into giving it a hundred percent effort. It takes a special type of person to pull the best out of others like that'

Jason had his soaking wet shirt thrown across his shoulder. He drank some water out of his bottle before pouring the rest over his head. The ice cold water made Jason feel refreshed.

Jason then turned to everybody with a rare smile "That was a good workout guys. Thanks for letting us do this Coach". Coach Swendel smiled "Any time Jason. Just let me know"

Jason nodded "Well you might as well get ready to prepare the gym everyday after school Coach. Because if we want to go from the worst team in the county to county title contenders and beyond then this needs to become a natural part of our lives"

Jason paused for a second before starting again "Just as natural as breathing and eating. If we can do that then something else will become natural too. Winning"

Everyone groaned in unison. They were all tired and sore but in each of their eyes was an undeniable glimmer.

The next few days passed by in a blur. Everyday was busy and packed. After the practices in the gym Jason would get home and do his own workouts in his room in order to build up his body.

Jason and Trell's one on one games continued every day after school. Trell was slowly improving on the defensive and offensive side of the ball but it still wasn't enough to beat Jason. Trell lost every single game he played against Jason.

Jason's parents were thrilled to see their son so passionate and engaged. Everyday they would ask about how practice went and about how the other boys were doing.

They were also excited and asked Jason about when their first game would be. Jason told them that they had a practice game against Mt. Vernon middle school. They were a middle of the pack team in the county.

They weren't one of the best teams in Riverside but they weren't one of the worst either. But they were a lot bettered compared to Jefferson middle.

It was just a scrimmage and it didn't count towards their record for the season but Jason thought this game was important.

'This game can help me evaluate where the team's at without worrying about it affecting our record. But most importantly depending on how this game goes it might set the tone for the rest of the season.'

Tomorrow was Friday. The day that Coach Swendel scheduled the first team practice of the year. And Just on week before the practice game against Mt. Vernon.

Jason and Samantha were chatting and laughing in Ms. Yuller's english class. They were assigned a project together and the teacher assigned the rest of class time to work on the project. So they could talk without having to worry about getting in trouble.

Samantha sighed as she blew as strand of her red hair out of her face "Ms. Yuller really had to give us this freaking project on a Friday. I was so ready to spend this weekend chilling"

Jason didn't pay attention to her whining. He continued reading the book in his hand as he answered "It's not that bad Sammy. You want to do Chapter four or five?"

Samantha pouted "I forgot I was talking to Mr. No life over here. Obviously you wouldn't mind having to spend your weekend doing this dumb project"

Jason put his book down as he looked at Samantha "What do you mean Mr. No life? I will have you know that I live a very busy life."

Samantha rolled her eyes "Dribbling a ball until you smell like armpits and sweaty socks doesn't count"

Jason cracked a small smile "Oh yeah? And what does our all knowing Overlord consider as fun". She smiled as soon as she heard that "I'm glad you asked"

Samantha pulled out her phone and searched something up before showing it to Jason "Ms. Yuller said we could either read two chapters from the book and write our own opinions on them or we could watch the movie adaptation and reenact a five minute scene"

Jason didn't seem as excited as Samantha "That sounds like a lot more work than just reading and writing a short paper"

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Samantha looked at Jason with a pitying expression as she patted him on the back "It's okay Jason. You don't know how to have fun. But you are lucky that you have me as your project partner. I will teach you all about having fun"

Jason gave up "Alright. I'll watch the movie tonight or tomorrow. Just let me know which scene you want to practice"

Samantha got worked up for some reason "Wait! You can't just watch the movie on your own! That takes the fun out of it!"

She pulled out a pencil and a piece of paper "Just give me your address and I'll stop by". Jason took the pencil from her hand and started writing which created a small smile on her face.

Samantha hesitated for a second but while Jason was writing she added "Y-you should probably put your number on their too. Just in case I get lost or something"

Jason thought 'I mean it would be pretty hard to get lost if you use gps but whatever' he still decided to write down his number.

Jason just realized "Hey. If you don't have anything planned for today you could wait for my game to finish and then we could just head to my place together. Just have your ride pick you up. If you can't then we can just watch the movie tomorrow"

Samantha shook her head "I don't have much planned for today. I can stay and watch your game. That way we can get this project out of the way sooner"

English class ended and Jason and Samantha made their plans to meet up after the game. During the day Jason would find time during classes to talk with Kyle about the game.

"So when I do this sign that means I want you to set a pick for me alright? If our defenders switch on the pick and roll I want you to dive to the basket and establish positioning for a post up"

"If your guy posts you up remember to bump him back whenever he tries to back you down. Don't body him too close because then he can spin off you. Use your forearm and your hands to help defend while giving you some cushion space. Remember to keep your hands up and active in the post."

Even during lunch all they talked about was basketball.

"If they send you to the free-throw line don't get nervous. Just try your best. You've only been playing ball for a week and we haven't really practiced free-throws. No one is expecting you to be amazing"

The day passed by like that. The bell range signaling that school was finished. Jason and Kyle walked towards the gym "Hey Jason. This is gonna be our first time meeting the rest of the team. Doesn't it feel kinda weird that we're only meeting each other right before our first game?"

Jason nodded "Yeah. We haven't even practiced with each other. This game might be sloppy" Even though Jason said that his voice didn't have a trace of nervousness or worry.

In fact it sounded rather nonchalant "But it doesn't really matter. We're still gonna win." Kyle turned towards Jason "How can you be so sure?" Jason took a look at his stats.

[Skills

Free throw: S (SS+)

Lay Up: A+ (SS+)

Dunking: F

Close Shot: A+ (SS+)

Mid Range Shooting: A+ (SS+)

Three Point Shooting: A+ (SS+)

Dribbling: A+ (SS+)

Passing: A+ (SS+)

Ball Handling: A+ (SS+)

Play Making: SS+

Post Scoring: C+ (A)

Rebounding: C+ (A)

Post Control: B+ (S+)

Perimeter Defense: A+ (SS+)

Post Defense: B+ (S+)

Steals: A+ (SS+)

Blocks: B+ (A+)

Athleticism: C+ ]

Jason shrugged "I can't even imagine us losing as long as I'm on the court" Kyle was surprised by Jason's answer.

He was stunned for a moment. It took him a couple seconds to recover "Hey wait up!" he started running to catch up with Jason.

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