Chapter 180: Gratitude

After a month Jason went back to the hospital for his check up. The doctor was surprised to see that Jason had healed so well so quickly as he told him and his parents the good news.

But in all actuality Jason had been healed up after about two weeks thanks to the Recovery Boost function of the system.

He had just pretended to still be injured in order to lessen the suspicion. After getting the okay to take off the knee brace and the tape supporting his finger Jason felt refreshed.

Jason then opened up the system for the first time in a while. He had been focusing on spending time with his friends and family during his injury induced down time.

All of the games that Jason had played in the county and state tournament had given him a lot of points to use. And even though they lost the game against High Bridge did as well.

The reason that Jason hadn't paid all that much attention to the system during the tournament was that none of the systems functions could provide an immediate affect so Jason decided to focus on the games at hand instead.

With hundreds of points now at his disposal Jason decided to distribute them in the most effective manner that he could think of.

He spent a portion of his points increasing his projected height. Jason put in three hundred points.

[Estimated height a year from now: 5 foot 10 inches tall (1.77m)]

He then put everything else into his hand size and wing span. He was a a D rating in both subjects before putting any points into them.

After putting hundred points into his hand size and one hundred points into his wing span they both went up to a C- rating.

Then it took another one hundred points each to get them to a C rating and then another one hundred points to get them to a C+ rating.

Jason had thought that he had figured out the sytem 'Looks like it takes a hundred points to move it up by a single rating.'

But then he had to toss aside his theory after discovering that he had to spend two hundred points to upgrade his hand size from C+ to a B- rating.

'Jesus! This is taking up so much points! I only have three hundred left. If I assume that wing span will take just as many points to upgrade from a C+ to a B- then I will only have a hundred points left over.'

Jason was a little hesitant to use up so many points at first but then decided that it was for the best.

'These are the areas that I need the most improvement in. I can always earn more points later down the line.'

And so he put in two hundred more points into his wing span which caused it to upgrade to a B- rating.

[ Wing Span: B-

Hand Size: B- ]

Jason was happy to have made some improvements in the areas that contributed the most to all of his difficulties but he was also hurting from having spent so many points in one go.

'Damn! I spent one thousand points just on my hand size and wing span! Then I spent another three hundred points for my height.

I pretty much spent all of the points that I got as a prize for all the games that we played in the county and state tournament.'

He was then surprised as he got a notification from the system. It was a notificaiton telling him that one of his badges had upgraded.

[Ironman(Gold): Gives you a tougher body. You will be less likely to experience an injury as well as recover from injuries at an improved rate. Effectiveness decided by badge rank.]

He had a complicated feeling about seeing his Ironman badge upgrading after he had just healed up from an injury.

'It would have been nice to have this bitch at Gold rank back when I was playing against Hill Bridge.

Oh well, I guess I shouldn't be complaining. The upgrade is a good thing no matter how I look at it.'

With just one hundred points left in case of an emergency Jason was feeling poor. After a few moments though he soon got over it.

He was happy imagining what he would look like in the future. He envisioned himself with long arms and big hands perfect for playing defense!

- - -

Winter break was full of fun times and smiles for Jason as he spent that time healing up from his injuries and hanging out with friends and family.

Luckily for him the end of his winter break perfectly aligned with the date that he had gone to the hospital for his check up.

So Jason was able to make his return to school without the need of a knee brace or tape for his fingers.

With no more games planned for the team Jason had a lot more free time available. Jason and the other guys all still showed up for practice regularly but they had decided to remove the weekend practices. 

Because although working hard and putting in work was important it was also important to give the mind and body a chance to rest.

That is why the off season is so important for professional players. Yes it is a chance for them to work on their bodies and to improve their skills.

But it is also a great chance to rest and relax. Jason and the other guys all went to practice daily in order to not get rusty but they were now using their weekends to relax and rest their minds.

School became a lot more boring for Jason though. He was technically a thirty two year old inside of the body of a twelve year old so none of the classes could even challenge him in the slightest.

The only class that Jason actually found any bit entertaining/educational was Ms. Yuller's English class.

Although she had them read weird books from time to time she also had them do in-depth discussions and debates.

Normally it would be hard for Jason to find any merit in discussing and debating with a twelve year old child.

Not out of condescension or because Jason didn't think that they would have any valuable input. 

But many children at that age were not exactly the best at putting their thoughts together into a strong and compelling way.

However Kyle and Samantha both proved to be different as they were both very intelligent and able to eloquently present their thoughts.

The rest of the school year passed by quickly. During this time Jason either spent time with his friends, spent time with his family, or went to practice at school.

On the 24th of April Jason was completely caught off guard when he got home and found that the apartment was packed full.

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His parents were home like normal but there was also Samantha, Kyle and all of the guys from the team.

Tyreek was also there with his niece Shania along with all of the guys from Newberry including Ricky and Hash.

Tory was also there along with her dad who was standing with Kyle's mom. Everyone had pulled on their party poppers as soon as Jason had stepped through the door.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!"

Jason was first scared out of his mind when he heard everyone shouting and setting off their party poppers.

But then he was touched as he saw everyone there to celebrate his birthday. This was the first time he had ever had this many people over to celebrate his birthday with him.

Although it was cramped in their apartment everyone had a great time as they feasted on the food that Jason's dad and Kyle;s mom had cooked.

- - -

Months later. It was now June 10th 2041. Udonis, Trell, and all the other eight graders were sitting on chairs lined up on stage.

Jason, Kyle, and Samantha were seated down below in the section of 7th graders which was to the right of the 6th grade section.

On the sides were all the parents of the children as they watched on in excitement and happiness. 

Principal Morris began to walk his way up to the stage as some nice classical music came out of the speakers on the side.

He walked to the front of the podium and then turned around to face the kids. He smiled and waved at them before turning back around to face the other children and the parents.

"Thank you all for attending this years promotion ceremony. This time of the year is always one filled with contradictions.

The children and the teachers are all happy and yet sad. The children are happy as they can now say goodbye to going to class. At least for a little bit.

But then they are also sad as they won't be able to see their friends and favorite teachers for a small period of time.

The teachers are happy as they can take a break from grading papers and handing out assignments.

But they are also saddened as they will lose the chance to be greeted with the bright smiles of our future leaders first thing in the morning.

But this period of time is also happy and yet sad for the school as a whole. For although we are happy to congratulate all of our 8th graders for all the hard work that they have done to get here.

We are also sad to see them go. But you see this is the cycle of life. We can only truly cherish things because we know that there is no permanence.

The idea of an end is what allows us to treasure the beginning and everything in between. So I say to all of you here.

To all of the 6th graders, 7th graders, 8th graders, and parents in attendance. Let us not cry at saying goodbye.

But let us instead smile and cheer as we wish our 8th graders luck as they transition to the next stage in their lives."

After Principle Morris finished his speech he was followed up by the students with the highest GPAs and the leaders from the other clubs as they all gave a farewell speech.

After a few people had gone and had their turn it was now time for Udonis to step up to the podium as he rose up from his seat.

Udonis' chubby body was dressed in very formal clothes as he had on a bright white button up long sleeve shirt that was buttoned up all the way up to his neck.

He also had on black slacks that were tailored to fit his body and some well shined black leather shoes.

"First things first I would like to take this chance to thank all of the parents and students for attending this ceremony as all of us 8th graders get ready for the next step in life.

I also want to take this chance to thank all of the guys from the basketball team. They worked their hearts out and we managed to make my last year here a real special one.

I also want to thank my grandma for doing everything that she's done for me. She raised me respect others and to fear no one but the almighty maker himself.

Without her I wouldn't be the person that I am today. I am grateful for the time that I have spent here at Jefferson Middle School.

I was able to meet a lot of different people. People with different mindsets, beliefs, religions, and ways of life.

I am grateful to have made so many friends here at school. But I am also sad to say that I have lost some friends.

That's okay though because I think that this is just another part of life. Because of Jefferson Middle School and because of the basketball team I had the opportunity to meet some really amazing people.

The type of people that I don't think I could ever forget about even when I turn old and wrinkly.

Some people might think that because I'm the team captain I am the one in charge of the team and guiding everybody.

But I think part of being a good leader is knowing the areas that you lack in and letting the right people fill in to do the job.

And by doing this I in turn have had the chance to be the one to receive guidance and instruction."

Udonis' voice began to waver as tears began to form in the corner of his eyes "So while I tried my best to look confident and to act like a leader....

I feel like I am the one who received the most through my relationship with everyone on the team. Thank you guys for giving me the chance to be the voice and heart of the team.

Thank you for teaching and showing me what it means to really be a leader. Because you can call yourself a leader all you want but without anyone to follow you... you're just a single person.

Although it hurts me to say goodbye to the team and to all of the players there I am also happy.

I am happy to know that even after I leave the team that it will be in the care of great and capable hands.

Thank you students, thank you parents, thank you to all of the faculty, and thank you to all of my teammates. Thank you Jefferson."

As Udonis turned around and began to make his way back to his chair Jason began to clap his hands as he and the entire school joined in. Soon enough Udonis was showered with a thunderous wave of applause.

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