Rebound: A 2nd Chance

David was a mixture of nervous and excited as he made his way to the gym 'I can't believe I actually made the final cut for the team.

Sure I might not make varsity but I'm still on the team! But what if I'm the worse player among the new guys?

Was this just a mistake? Maybe I shouldn't have tried out after all, I might end up embarrassing myself by stepping on the court.

No! I can't get cold feet now. I transferred schools for this. And mom and dad were so proud when I told them that I made it.'

David took a deep breathe and steeled his resolve as he reached for the door. After opening the door to the gym everyone that was already inside turned their attention to him.

David felt as though all of their gazes were poking at him. Just as he was spacing out he heard a voice "Yo David!"

He looked for the source of the voice among the boys in the gym and found Sam's face with a bright smile on his face.

Sam ran toward David and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. He then began to jump up and down in joy as he held on to his friend.

"We made it bro! We're officially a part of the team!" David started to blush "Come on Sam. Don't do something so embarrassing in front of all the guys."

Sam stopped jumping but he laughed as he looked at David's embarrassed face "You're worrying too much man.

We were all celebrating. How could you not? I don't think you realize just how amazing of an opportunity this is.

We just managed to join the best middle school basketball team in the county! A team that managed to make it to the top 8 at the state tournament with a short roster!"

David turned his head back to the other boys. After seeing that none of them seemed to be judging him and Sam he let out a sigh of relief.

Sam dragged David to the other boys as he began to introduce him to them. David looked at Sam with admiration.

'He might be a little goofy and seem like the type that never acts serious but you have to hand it to him. When it comes to socializing he's like a fish in water.

We didn't really get a chance to talk to the other guys yesterday so that must mean that he just started talking to them before I got here.'

As the boys were talking among themselves the topic of Jason and the incident at the restroom ended up being brought up.

"Did you guys watch the news last night? They talked about Jaya at least four times." Another kid chuckled before responding.

"You need to be more specific than that bro. Damn near all the news stations was talking about Jaya last night."

Sam shook his head with a smile as he hopped in to the conversation "Last night? Dude, they were still talking about Jaya and the team this morning.

My old man was watching the news before I left for school and they wouldn't shut up about it." Thanks to Sam David felt more comfortable around the guys as he also joined in on the conversation.

"The worst part is that a lot of them are talking about it as though it were Jaya's fault. They're all trying to make him look like a bad guy."

One of the boys asked "Do you think the committee will end up doing anything to Jaya or the team because of this?"

Sam answered "Nah dude. This morning the committee issued a public statement showing their stance on this.

They said that despite all the outcry online and from the media all the video evidence shows that Jaya and the rest of the guys from the team only acted in self defense.

Even if they wanted to do something about it they literally can't. If they tried to force the issue and punish Jaya anyways he could take them to court.

So all of those people online and all of the news stations can talk as much trash about Jaya as they want. But it won't do a thing."

As they were talking the door from the other side of the gym opened and they all went quiet as they turned their attention in that direction.

Jason, Kyle, and the rest of the guys from last year's team walked in followed by Greg and Javier. They weren't wearing their official game jerseys as they were dressed in their practice gear.

But despite that the intimidating air around them wasn't any less intense than it was yesterday. Kyle was surprised as he saw the group of boys standing in the gym.

He pulled out his phone and checked the time. Kyle then turned to Jason and laughed "I almost thought that we we're late.

Turns out these guys are just a little excited." DJ clapped Kyle on his shoulder "A little excited? We're already ten minutes early and they still managed to beat us here."

Jason chuckled "At least we know that they're taking this serious. Looks like we won't have to worry about having the same problem that we had last year."

Even though Jason and the rest of the guys were casually talking and cracking jokes with each other Sam, David, and all of the new guys were nervous. Well, except for two people that is.

One of the new boys gulped as he spoke in a low "Now that I actually have a chance to take a good look at him Kyle is even scarier than I imagined."

Another boy nodded his head as he added "Tell me about it. He has to be at least 6'3 (1.9m) or 6'4 (1.93m). And that wingspan is crazy.

Add to all that his crazy bounce and agility it's no wonder why him and Jaya both made the California State Defensive team."

A voice added "But the award ceremony was pretty hilarious. Jaya and Kyle were both in crutches when they went up to accept their awards haha."

All of the boys went silent as they turned their heads at the boy who said that. Just as they were all nervously awaiting Jason's response the first thing they heard was laughter.

The turned their heads back at Jason and saw that he was laughing "Good to see that some of you have jokes."

Jason scanned the group of boys for a moment before smiling "I appreciate that all of you guys are taking this serious but you don't need to be so tense.

I get that you all might be nervous because you're all new and you haven't gotten a chance to get to know us yet.

But there's one thing that I want to tell you." All of the boys were focused on Jason as they didn't want to miss a word that he had to say.

Jason smiled "Some of you guys played for your last school while some of you are joining a team for the very first time.

I don't know how they did things at your last school but I'll tell you something that our last team captain, someone that I hold a lot of respect for, told us.

A team is like a second family. You might not get along all the time but you always have to have each other's backs and be there for each other."

All of the boys were stunned after hearing Jason say that. DJ jokingly whispered at a volume where only the guys around him could hear.

"Bro, the way you talkin bout UD you make it sound like he takin a dirt nap six feet under." Kyle and the others all struggled as they tried to stifle their laughter.

Jason ignored DJ as tried to stay serious. He then coughed to clear his throat.

"Anyways, I hope that you can all take those words to heart. Because I promise you that as long as you do the same to us we'll treat you all like brothers."

Jason paused for a moment as he looked at all of the boys' faces before smiling brightly "So welcome to the family guys.

I hope you're all ready because whether you make the varsity team or the junior varsity team this is about to be a hell of a year."