Rebound: A 2nd Chance

Jason's least favorite local news anchor was back at it again as she stared into the camera with her usual fake smile.

"Hello Riverside thank you for tuning in again. My name is Cassidy Nemwen and for today's story we have a name that has been creating some buzz recently.

Mr. Addison James Swendel or Coach Swendel as he has become fondly known as after making some regular appearances on the Through the Hoops show.

Mr. Swendell has been suspended from his position of head coach over at Jefferson Middle School.

We have also learned that he will not be allowed to attend any of their games for the remainder of this season and that he will not be credited with any of the success that the team achieves for during his suspension.

Meaning that his name will not be included in any banners, trophies, and or plaques that the team earns while he is suspended.

The cause of Mr. Swendel's suspension is due to the fact that he admitted to being the cause of Jefferson's recent troubles during an exclusive interview with another news station.

During his interview Mr. Swendel admitted to instructing his players to act in a manner that promotes showboating and disregards sportsmanship. 

And the most surprising part was that he seemed to have taken a couple of shots at the news stations and news anchors that covered this story.

He made personal attacks on their professionalism as well as their intelligence by calling said reporters uneducated.

Well I guess the joke is on Mr. Swendel now because those uneducated reporters still have a job while he doesn't.

I for one am glad that a negative influence such as him will no longer be instructing young children. Hopefully this suspension becomes a more permanent thing.

And just a piece of advice to Mr. Swendel. Maybe you shouldn't be calling news reporters uneducated when a majority of reporters such as myself have graduated from UCs or other state universitys unlike you who only barely managed to get a degree from a community college."

After the clip was done Jason felt like throwing his phone into the locker in front of him as hard as he possibly could 'Fucking bitch!'

But he knew that doing so wouldn't accomplish anything other than making him spend some money to buy a new phone.

Udonis walked up to Jason "You good bro? You look like someone just dropped your collection of kicks into a river or somethin."

Jason just shook his head and tried his best to smile "Nah bro I'm good. I'm just feeling some type of way because there are already negative comments on my post. Like how the hell can these haters be so fast?"

Udonis shrugged his shoulders "You know how it is bro. Haters is just another way to spell fans. They be the ones puttin in the most effort to stalk you and shit."

Jason nodded his head in agreement with Udonis. Kyle started yelling out in excitement "Yo guys hurry up and get ready!

My mom just texted me and she said that she's treating everyone out to some pizza!" Everyone started to move faster after hearing that.

Jason got ready as the whole team and their families went out for pizza that night.

- - -

It was four in the morning. Outside the windows the sky was still dark as not even the faintest traces of orange or yellow could be seen.

The sounds of sneakers squeaking and a basketball pounding against the hardwood were the only thing you could hear other than the almost silent sound of Jason's breathing.

Jason felt sorry for waking his parents up so early. Even though Jason had always wanted to maximize his time for practice he had never practiced so early before because he still wasn't able to drive himself and he didn't want to bother his parents.

But he made an exception today because his mind was just a mess. He hadn't been able to sleep at all last night.

He kept hearing Cassidy Nemwen's voice in his head and all the hateful things that she had said on the news.

His parents were surprised and concerned that Jason was asking to be taken to the school so early in the morning. 

Jason's mom wanted to ask her son if there was anything going on with him or if there was something on his mind but before she could say anything her husband gently held her hand and gave her a look.

Not a look of annoyance or of anger but a look that asked for her trust. After a brief pause she nodded her head.

Jason's dad smiled as he patter her on the head and told her to get some sleep. He said that he would drive Jason to the school himself.

The drive to the school was a silent one. Jason didn't say anything and neither did his father. As they pulled up into the parking lot and Jason stepped out of the car Jason's dad only said one thing. He smiled at his son "Good luck."

Jason wasn't sure what his dad meant but he felt as though his dad understood him. He then used his key card to get into the gym and the storage for the equipment.

The fact that he was so bothered made his mind even more of a mess. Jason had previous experience dealing with the media in his past life.

He had gone through his star teammates being criticized unfairly, his coaches, his trainers, and even himself.

He knew that her opinion didn't matter and that she was just saying whatever hot take she could think of that would get her and the station some more viewers.

And yet it bothered him to a degree that surprised even himself. It was too the point where he wished that she had just focused on him and left everyone else alone.

And the only way that Jason knew how to deal with and sort his emotions was by doing what he knew best: Basketball.

As he dribbled the ball and got into his shooting motion over and over again he gradually began to lose sense of himself.

Cassidy Nemwen's voice and face finally left his mind. And despite his breathing getting rougher and more labored his heart felt more at peace.

Jason's body and mind felt felt calm for the first time since yesterday. Even though he was working his heart out he felt even better than when he was resting.

After reaching that state Jason lost all sense of time. His whole world shrunk down to the gym. There was nothing other than him and the ball.

Udonis was heading to the gym when he saw that the lights were on and the doors were unlocked. He smiled 'Must be Jason. Sheesh, bro does not know how to chill.'

But the smile disappeared from his face as soon as he walked through the doors. He ran to Jason's body that was sprawled on the court.

Jason's clothes were soaking wet and his legs and arms were visibly trembling. Udonis was about to pull out his phone and call 911 when a sound caught his attention.

Udonis looked down and saw that Jason was snoring. Not only was he snoring he had the most relaxed expression that Udonis had ever seen on his face.

Udonis let out a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to get back up he heard someone shout "Holy shit!"

Udonis turned around and saw Matt running toward him and Jason. Udonis chuckled as he gestured for Matt to relax.

"Chill bro. I know how you feel. I damn near lost my mind when I saw him. But he's just sleeping."

Matt felt his legs go weak before falling on his butt. He looked at Udonis "Get that smile off your face UD.

This shit ain't funny. I was this close a fucking panic attack. After seeing the news clip from yesterday and seeing Jason like this so early in the morning my imagination kinda went wild."

Udonis looked back at Matt "Wait a minute. What news clip are you talking about?" Matt pulled out his phone and showed Udonis the news clip from yesterday.

Udonis sighed after watching the clip "This is probably what Jaya was lookin at last night after the game. Why didn't he say somethin?"

Matt replied "You know how he is. He probably didn't want to ruin the night for everyone. It was our first win without Coach Swendel."

Udonis had Matt help him as they made a make shift bed out of the foam mats from the storage room. They then carried Jason over to let him get some rest.

Jason was woken up by the sound of basketballs dribbling and some shouting and grunting. Everyone turned to him after noticing that he was awake.

Udonis laughed "Alright guys. Looks like sleeping beauty woke up just in time. We need to hit the showers and get ready. First period starts in fifteen minutes."

Jason and the rest of the guys went to the showers to get ready for school. After the intense workout and a nice refreshing shower Jason was feeling much better.

- - -

The day passed by quickly. Jason already understood all the material from all his classes so he spent most of his time drawing up plays or looking back at his memories from his past life to see if there was anything else he could use.

During lunch while he was hanging out with Kyle and Samantha the intercoms turned on again as Principal Morris called for the basketball team to meet up at the gym after school.

- - -

Jason and the rest of the team were eagerly awaiting Principal Morris' arrival in the gym as they sat on the bleachers.

Udonis asked "What do you think he wants to talk to us about?" Trell answered "You already know man.

He probably gon walk up in here with some wack ass dude that wants the coaching gig so that he can get some easy Ws."

Matt nodded his head in agreement "Yeah I think Trell is right on the money. He's probably going to walk in here with some douche bag that just wants to fill up his resume."

After a little over five minutes of waiting the doors to the gym swung open as Principal Morris walked in.

He wiped his round sweaty face with his handkerchief as he talked to the team "I know how tough things have been for you young men.

I thank you for giving it your all despite how hard this situation has been. I told you all that I would spare no expense in finding your replacement coach but it looks like I ran into some trouble.

Other than the temporary nature of the job there were some rustlings about why no one was interested in being our coach.

From what I have gathered a lot of the coaches available are hesitant to take up this position because if they lose they would instantly get all the blame.

While if they win they feel like all of their credit will be diminished as most people will give the large majority of the credit to Jason.

Non of the coaches are interested in working for us. Thankfully I was able to find a member of our staff that was interested in working with you young men just in time for tomorrow's game."

Jason then heard a all too familiar voice "I heard that there is a troupe in need of a director! Fret not for I am here and my services are available."