Chapter 22: The hospital

Jason's parents turned to Giorgio after hearing his voice. Seeing that he had their attention Giorgio continued "I know that this isn't the best conditions to be meeting under but first things first I would like to make sure that something finds it's rightful place."

Giorgio pulled out a check from the inner pocket of his suit "Here you go" He then handed the check to Jason's dad.

Jason's dad had questioning look on his face as he observed Giorgio. He then glanced down to look at the check "5,000 dollars? What is this for?"

Giorgio kept his smile up "That is the prize money your son won fair and square when he managed to beat someone that is a top 20 ranked high school player as well as the number 1 ranked sophomore"

Tory was still in the embrace of Jason's mom as she looked up in confusion "But you already gave Jason the check for the prize money? And wasn't it only supposed to be a thousand dollars?"

Giorgio smiled as he scratched his head "You're right sweetheart! I guess I'm just being forgetful today. I forgot that the prize was only a thousand dollars and I forgot that I already gave Jason the prize. Well you might as well keep it. And don't worry about the hospital bill we'll tak-"

He never got to finish his sentence. Jason's dad had the collar of Giorgio's white dress shirt and suit gripped tightly in his hands as he used them to choke him.

The veins on his arms and neck bulged as he spoke "The first thing you say to us after putting our son in the hospital isn't about how concerned you are about his health or how sorry you are for doing this-"

His nostrils flared as he continued "But about prizes and money? You don't need to worry about making sure that the check finds it's rightful place"

Giorgio's face was changing from red to purple as Jason's dad spat the words through his teeth "You're going to have to worry about making sure you can still breath without a machine helping you. Because if anything bad happens to my son. Today will be the first time I have ever been to the hospital and police department in the span of one day"

Tory was shocked. This was a side of her uncle that she had never witnessed in all the years that she had know him.

Jason's mom however wasn't surprised. She knew what kind of man she fell in love with. She knew that underneath the warm and caring layers of her husband was a line that couldn't be crossed. She knew about the fierce and unyielding spirit that existed underneath his cheerful and loving energy.

Giorgio's vision began to darken. Just as he felt like he was about to lose consciousness Jerome jumped in.

He faced Jason's parents and apologized in a shaky voice "I-I'm so sorry. It's all my fault. I know that I can't say anything to excuse what I've done"

He wanted to look them in their eyes and sincerely apologize but his head felt like it was chained to the ground.

All he could do was stare at the floor "I shouldn't have even suggested playing a game against him. With the difference in our age and size you could even call it bullying instead of a game."

He continued "But something about your son drew me to play against him. He's special. He's got a real talent. I'm not trying to make excuses for myself-"

He hesitated for a moment before continuing "But your son pushed me to the point where I forgot I was playing against a middle schooler in the parking lot of a mall. I felt like I was competing against real competition at a tournament."

He then looked at Giorgio before finally being able to look up at Jason's parents "And I'm sorry for how Mr. Giorgio introduced himself. He is actually a very nice man if you get to know him."

Jerome continued "It's just that ever since we've started scouting for this show a large number of the parent's we've met have been the kind that just wanted to know how big of a check could they get in exchange for their kids."

Jason's dad didn't want to forgive them so easily. These were the people who brought harm to his family. Physical harm to his son and emotional harm to his wife as well as himself.

But seeing the guilt ridden face of a kid who didn't hesitate to wear his heart on his sleeve softened him up. Especially since Jerome was only a few years older than his own son.

Giorgio's face returned to a normal color after Jason's dad let go of his collar. Jason's dad took a deep breath "Let's just wait to hear from the doctors"

Giorgio glanced at Jerome and gave him a thankful look. Jerome and Giorgio moved away from Tory and Jason's parents to give them some space.

After a few hours of waiting a doctor came out. He walked over to Jason's parents "Mr. and Mrs. Yang. The results for the scans have come back and-"

Kyle was sitting at the dinning table helping himself to some of the meatloaf that his mom had just made. There were still boxes here and there but the house was beginning to feel and look more like a home.

The TV was on but Kyle and his mom weren't paying much attention to what was on. Kyle smiled as he talked with his mom "And that's when Jason passed me the ball. I was wide open and I managed to score with a layup"

Kyle's mom smiled as she listened to her son talk about the game "Wow! Good job baby. Momma's so sorry that she couldn't watch your first game. But I already told the hospital that I needed to be off in in three weeks. I will be there to cheer on my little hooper"

Kyle smiled after hearing that. Kyle's mom took a bite of her cooking before continueing "I really need to thank this Jason boy. He seems like he's been a great influence on you in the one week that you've been friends."

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She drank some water "You know that I support you and your internet hobby baby. Heck I even help you with your wigs. But I'm glad that you're getting some exercise instead of just dressing up like cartoon characters all day"

Kyle groaned "Mom! I told you it's called cosplaying. And it's anime not cartoons. I stopped watching cartoons a long time ago"

Kyle's mom laughed and apologized "Right. Anime and cosplay. Sorry about that baby. But my point still stands. I'm also happy that you have a friend you can actually invite over for dinner one of these days. Not that I don't like your internet friends."

As they were chatting and eating their meal Kyle turned to the TV after hearing his school get brought up.

A woman in a blue dress was on the screen as she presented the news "Good evening everybody. Our story for today is about a local Riverside city middle schooler from Jefferson middle school."

The video with Jason playing one on one on his first day as well as a video of what looked like the game against Mt. Vernon played on screen.

The lady continued "This middle schooler had been gaining fame recently from these two videos that showed off his amazing abilities with a basketball."

Kyle's mom saw Kyle in the video of the game against Mt. Vernon "Wasn't that you and your school on the TV Kyle?"

Kyle smiled and boasted "Yeah. I was in one of the clips. But that's the friend I was telling you about, that's Jason. It looks like he has a whole story about him on the news"

But the smile on his face soon disappeared. The news then showed a video of Jason hitting a three pointer against Jerome and the one on one game they played after that.

The news anchor continued "Jerome Bonner the star Point Guard for McDaniels high school in Los Angeles was with the crew of an upcoming TV show called Through the Hoops.

Through the Hoops is a docuseries focused on young talented basketball players one of whom happens to be Jerome Bonner.

Jerome Bonner and the crew were in Riverside today to film promotional material for the show. But after losing to a middle schooler Jerome seemingly loses control of his emotions.

He challenges the middle schooler to a rematch that unfortunately ended with the young boy being sent to the hospital. We have yet to receive any updates on his condition at this time."

Kyle was speachless. He just gazed at the TV. The news station had blurred out Jason's face in all the videos that they showed but Kyle knew. He knew it was Jason.

And even though they blurred Jason's face Kyle still saw the pool of blood that had collected under his head.

Kyle's mom knocked down her chair as she hurriedly got up. She hugged her son as she rested her head on top of his "Its going to be okay Kyle"

Samantha was in her room sitting in her chair in front of her desk. The wall behind her was empty but on the floor were a bunch of posters and pictures of Punk Rock bands.

She was dressed very differently than how she normally did when she went to school. Instead of her standard graphic Tees and ripped up jeans she was wearing a green dress that matched her light green eyes.

On her computer screen was a middle aged man who had the same green eyes as her. He was slightly tanned and had short blond hair that was combed over to the side.

Samantha drowned out the man's voice 'Oh my god. How long is he going to yap for. The calls been going on for over an hour now' Samantha blew a lock of her red curly hair out of her face in frustration.

The man said "Make sure you take your school work seriously. You need good grades if you don't want to end up as a bum." Samantha modded her head before coldly answering "Yes father"

He began talking again after hearing Samantha's response. Samantha continued to block out his voice as she played with her phone out of the camera's view.

She stopped as she noticed a trending topic 'Jefferson middle school's basketball star gets sent to hospital'

Coach Swendel was dressed in nothing but his white boxers that had pink hearts all over. He was sweating as he cooked in the kitchen section of his studio apartment.

He leaned over the pot as he mixed the instant ramen "Fucking hell! I'm sweating my balls off. Stupid landlord. I know the rent is cheap but the least they could do is fix the AC"

He was cooking when he saw the same news segment that Kyle did. He started smiling after he saw the first two videos "Haha That's my golden ticket. We're going to be known as a powerhouse school with him as our secret weapon"

But after the news got to the part where Jason and Jerome played one on one the smiled disappeared from his face. And after they showed Jason's blurred out face with blood pooling underneath his head Coach Swendel fainted. His body crumpled to the floor.

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