It was the morning after Jason had been on the news. Kyle was laying in his bed curled up in his blanket that had various anime characters on it. Underneath he was cuddled up with his waifu body pillow.
There was a cute chibi anime character shaped clock on the table next to Kyle's bed. As soon as the time hit 6:30 the alarm went off. The opening song from Kyle's favorite anime started playing.
Kyle rubbed his eyes and soaked in the Japanese lyrics as he gradually began to wake up. He started stretching out his arms and legs while under the blanket.
After a few more minutes he finally managed to get out of bed. He walked over to his chibi clock and patted it on the head which turned off the alarm.
Kyle brushed his teeth and washed his face before walking downstairs to the kitchen. He pulled out two pans. He started frying some rice in one pan and an omelette in the other.
Kyle's mom walked in through the front door. She heard some cooking sounds coming from the kitchen and smiled 'This boy.'
She walked into the kitchen "Morning baby" Kyle turned around and smiled at his mom "Breakfast is almost ready. It's still going to take a bit so you can go take a shower first."
Kyle's mom nodded "I wish I could hug you right now but I'm still in my scrubs. I'll go ahead and clean up. Thanks baby."
She went upstairs and got cleaned up. By the time she had walked back down in her pajamas Kyle had finished cooking. He made fried rice with an omelette on top. The omelette had a big heart drawn with ketchup on it.
He placed a plate in front of where his mom was sitting before getting a plate and taking a seat himself "I feel like this is the best Omurice that I've made so far."
Kyle's mom began eating "It's delicious sweetheart and I really appreciate you cooking breakfast for me. But do you think we can switch it up a little? Momma's starting to get tired of eating eggs and rice."
Time passed by as the two of them happily talked while eating breakfast. Kyle looked up and asked "Some of the guys from the team are going to visit Jason today. Is it okay if I go?"
His mom thought about it for a second before answering "Sure baby. Do you need me to drive you?" Kyle shook his head "No that's okay mom. I'll just use my bus pass. The rest of the guys are gonna take the bus too."
After they both finished eating, Kyle started cleaning up while his mom went to go sleep. After cleaning Kyle went back to his room and got dressed up to go out.
His closet was full of colorful costumes, different types of props and wigs of different colors and hairstyles. But he put on a regular pair of jeans and a brown hoodie over his white Tee-shirt.
Kyle walked out of the house with his wallet and bus card. He waited for the bus and got on when it arrived.
Kyle's hands were shaking and his leg was bouncing the entire ride. After fifteen minutes the bus stopped at Kyle's destination. He got off and started walking.
After walking for a few minutes he stopped at a familiar place. It was the basketball court where Trell had dragged Jason to.
Kyle nervously walked his way over. He saw Trell and some of the other kids from the neighborhood sitting on the benches in the park.
As Kyle approached them he was noticed by one of the kids sitting with Trell "Huh? Yo check it out guys looks like Kyle decided to drop on by. What happened Kyle? I thought you was too good for the hood?"
Kyle was nervous but he responded "I just moved fifteen minutes away guys. I'm still from here." The other kid laughed.
"Ten minutes can make a big difference Kyle. I heard you living it up with the rich people now. You probably too clean to rub elbows with grimey folk like us. You don't belong here Kyle."
Kyle stood still and looked at Trell. Trell noticed Kyle's look and sighed. He looked to the kid sitting next to him "Chill bruh. What you want Kyle? You should know better than to be walking up in here like this."
Kyle hid his shaking hands in his pockets "Udonis said that he couldn't reach you so I thought I would drop by and let you know that we were going to visit Jason in the hospital today."
Trell laughed "He couldn't reach me because I've been ignoring his calls and texts. Let me fill you in on something alright?"
Trell sat forward and looked at Kyle "I respect Jason because of his skills on the court. Same goes for you. You earned a little bit. But that don't mean we homies or friends okay?
I'll keep showing up to practice and the games because it's fun for me. But don't think we all buddy buddy now."
Kyle hesitated for a second "But we're a team. We are supposed to have each other's backs like Udonis said. A team is supposed to be a second family."
Trell started laughing "Wake up Kyle. Udonis might have said that but you know that the rest of the team don't fuck with us like that.
They see us as outsiders man. Even with how good Jason is you seen anyone of the team accept him? You had to have noticed it during the game versus Mt. Vernon.
Every time Jason stuck out his hand to dab up the bench while he was on the court they just gave him the cold shoulder. They left him hanging like crazy. Sometimes they ignored him while he was wide open.
We won that game despite the rest of the team. Not because of their help. If it was up to them they would ditch us in a heart beat."
Kyle left dejectedly after hearing what Trell had to say. He didn't want to believe what Trell said. He was beginning to feel like he had somewhere he belonged outside of his online group.
He didn't want that to turn out to be a lie. He texted Udonis that he wasn't able to get Trell. Udonis texted him to just meet up at the hospital.
After about thirty minutes of riding the bus Kyle managed to reach the hospital. He was excited to visit Jason and meet up with the rest of the team.
But the smile on his face quickly faded and the excitement inside him died down as he only saw Matt and Udonis. He remembered what Trell said 'They see us as outsiders man....If it was up to them they would ditch us in a heart beat'
- - -
Inside of a well decorated office sat a dark skinned man with an athletic build. He was dressed in grey sweatpants and a white shirt.
In front of his desk stood a white man in a suit. The man sitting behind the desk smiled as he extended his arm forward "Hey Jonathan. I wasn't expecting to see you today."
Jonathan smiled awkwardly as he shook hands "I wasn't expecting to be here today either Coach Butler. But I got a ton of calls last night and this morning."
He cleared his throat "Coach Butler. I know you're trying your best but the sponsors and school alumni who have been financing the team are running out of patience.
If you can't show any promise for improvement you might be done after this season. I really don't want that to happen. I was a big fan of yours when you were in the league.
I can try to get them to give you some more time but you have to give me something to sell them on."
Coach Butler sighed. This was his third year coaching the team. He was specifically hired to transform Beach Side Academy into a high school basketball powerhouse.
But each of the last two seasons have ended in failure. And this season wasn't looking to shape up any differently. Their current roster was weak in terms of talent and their chemistry was barely holding up.
Coach Butler sighed "I'll try my best to scout out some talent and recruit. Just try to buy me some more time." Jonathan nodded "Thanks Jonathan. I owe you one."
Jonathan left his office and Couch Butler sat in his chair in silence. He massaged his temples while breathing in deeply.
Although he said he would try to scout and recruit he wasn't all that confident. When he first started the coaching job he thought it would be easy to recruit talented players using his status as a retired professional player.
But things aren't always how you expect them to be. Nobody wanted to come play for him. No one wanted to risk playing for a bad school and end up ruining their stock on the college recruitment boards.
Beach Side Academy was located in Santa Barbara. Both the school and the city were not known for having excellent sports programs.
Just as he was feeling like he was standing on the edge of a knife Coach Butler got a text from one of his friends back in his hometown.
It was a link to a video. He tapped on it and a new segment about a middle schooler started playing. As the video went on Coach Butler's facial expressions went from surprised to serious.
'His ball handling is simple but tight. No flash but a lot of substance. His shooting looks lethal and his confidence to pull up without any hesitation is impressive. And his defensive is remarkable for a player his age.'
And then the video got to the part where Jason played one on one versus Jerome 'His defense raised to another level against tougher competition!? He has that dog inside him. I can tell he's hungry. Huh! he changed his shot mid air!?'
He watched the video all the way to the end. Afterwards he watched the interview as well. Coach Butler had a smile on his face "Jason Yang. I think I might have found my solution"