Rebound: A 2nd Chance

Saturday 5pm. David and Lily rode with Henry and Naomi to Jason's school while Nate and Leslie rode with Shania and Tory.

As they were making their way to the gym David was surprised to see the long line of people "Wow, are they all here to watch the game too?"

Naomi laughed "Yeah they are. Luckily you guys are with us. Not only do the parents of the players get to skip the line but we don't have to pay for tickets.

This year so many people started showing up to watch their games that the school had to start charging people for tickets.

If your kid doesn't go to school here you need to pay $15 for each ticket. The school thought that it would be enough to stop random people from showing up but all it did was make them money."

Henry lead the group as they skipped the line and went straight to the sections for player parents. David looked around as the bleachers began to fill up.

"This is crazy. It doesn't feel like a middle school basketball game." Tory smiled after hearing him say that.

She turned to Nate and Leslie "So what do you guys think? Pretty cool right? And this is what its like whenever Jefferson has a home game."

Nate was wide eyed as he looked at all of the people in attendance "This is so cool. It almost feels like a college game.

You normally don't see this many people even at high school games." Leslie wasn't as visibly shaken as her brother but she nodded her head.

"This is definitely impressive. I guess Kyle wasn't overexaggerating when he said that Jason was a local celebrity."

Tory shook her head "These people aren't just here because Jaya is super popular. The reason why so many people are willing to pay actual money just to watch some middle school basketball is because Jaya and the team always put on a hell of a show."

Shania nodded her head as she smiled "Jaya the only dude that could pull a crowd like this for a middle school game on a Saturday night.

If you tried to tell yo friends that you wanted to watch a middle school basketball game on a Saturday night they would think that you was on somethin.

But the second you mention Jaya and Jefferson they would be down in a heart beat. Hell, even some of the girls on my team been beggin for me to hook em up with free tickets."

Tory turned to her and tilted her head "They did? Why don't you ask Jaya? I'm sure that he would love to get you and your friends some tickets."

Shania laughed as she rolled her eyes "You kiddin right Tory? Ask Jaya for tickets so that I can give em to the girls on my team?

You know that those girls ain't really tryna to watch the game. I don't mind helping out my friends but I ain't tryna get on Sammy's bad side.

Not only is she my best friend but she the only rich trust fund baby that I do not want to fuck with. You ever seen her at a concert? That girl can ain't never turned down a chance for some moshing."

As the four teenagers were talking and having fun Kyle's mom and Tory's dad finally arrived as they sat down next close to Henry and Naomi.

Seeing the two of them arrive Henry smiled as he introduced his brother and his wife to them. Kyle's mom thought nothing of it as she smiled politely and greeted them.

Tory's father however seemed a little surprised as it took him a split second to hid his shock as he shook hands with the two of them.

As they all talked and caught up with each other the lights in the gym all turned off as silence and darkness filled the room.

Then a single spotlight shined at the side where the entrance to the locker rooms was. The light was shining on Matt as all of the players stood in a straight line behind him.

A deep voice began to play through the speakers "Introducing number 3 your starting Shooting Guard.

The sniper elite with a fro so good he would make the 70s disco era jealous, give it up for Mathew Cohen!"

Matt smiled as he waved at the cheering crowd before jogging his way to the center of the court, his brown and puffy Jew-Fro bouncing with each step.

Principle Morris had only done this last year back when it was the final game to decide the county champions.

But this year since the basketball program became so popular that it actually began to generate some extra money for the school he decided to splurge a little bit for the last stretch of the regular season.

The lights then shined on Alex as the voice continued "Now introducing number number 2. One half of the talented Silva twins and your starting Point Guard.

Give it up for Alex Silva!" The crowd all clapped as they cheered him while he made his way to the center of the court.

The next person up was Danilo as the lights then shined on him "Introducing number 0. The other half of the talented Silva twins and your starting Power Forward.

Make some noise for Danilo Silva!" Danilo smiled as he waved at the crowd and made his way to the center of the court where Alex and Matt were standing.

The lights then shined on Kyle as he goofily smiled at all of the nearby people in the bleachers while he waved at them.

"Now introducing number 12. They call him a high flyer and a boy that walks on air. He's a shot rejecter, dunk machine, and highlight maker.

He was on the all state defensive team last year and he's your starting Center Kyle Robinson!" The entire gym felt like it was shaking from all the noise that the people in attendance were making.

The crowd was clapping, whistling, and cheering as they watched Kyle confidently make his way to the center of the court.

Kyle high fived Matt, Alex, and Danilo as stood with them. Then a subtle drumroll began to play as the spotlights moved around a bit before shining on Jason.

As soon as the lights were on him the crowd went wild as they made even more noise than they had made back when Kyle was introduced.

"Hearing all the noise he probably doesn't need one but I'll give him one anyways. Introducing number 17.

He's known by many names. Some call him The Reaper, some call him Young Buckets, and some just call him Jaya.

But you all know him as the hometown kid. The defending county player of the year and a all state defensive player.

He's your starting Small Forward as well as team captain. Make some noise and show some love for Jason Yang!"

Jason simply held his hand up as he nodded at the crowd. Once he looked at the players parents' section of the bleachers he flashed a quick smile before making his way to the center of the court.

The lights in the gym turned back on after the announcer was done introducing Jefferson's starting lineup. They then began to shake hands with the players from the opposing team.

Back in the bleachers Nate's hands were shaking and his body trembling as the excitement felt overwhelming to him.

And although Leslie looked to be in better shape even her face was slightly flushed as the energy of the crowd felt infectious.

Lily on the other hand was joining Naomi as she screamed her head off "Go Jayaaaaa! Go Jefferson! Kick some ass!"

David smiled as he shook his head. He then turned to look at his brother "Damn. That was quite the show Henry."

Jason's dad smiled before turning his attention to his son who was standing on the court "If you thought that was good just wait until the game actually starts."

Even though the crowd in attendance had enjoyed the show that the school had put on for the players introduction not everyone felt the same way about it.

Some of the players on the away team's bench were held their fist tight and ground their teeth and even the head coach who was shaking hands with Coach Swendel had a sour look on his face.

Tonight Jefferson would be playing against Nashton Academy. The school that 3D had previously played for.

And despite the fact that they lost their best and most talented player in 3D they had gone against everyone's expectations as they remained one of the top teams in the county.

After they lost 3D they changed their playstyle up completely as they no longer operated their offense from the inside out.

Now they utilized a mixture of off ball perimeter movement along with isolation plays and high post ups to run their offense. 

One player in particular had a fairly ugly expression on his face as he tightly squeezed Jason's hand before turning around without saying a word.

'Let's see how much longer you can keep that smug look on your face. You might have beaten us last year but now that we don't have that tub of lard 3D slowing us down we'll show you what we can really do.'