Rebound: A 2nd Chance

As the bus came to a stop Jason began to stretch his body 'Man, first we had the five-hour flight from LA to Chicago and then they stuff us into a bus.'     

After the rest of the passengers departed Coach Swendel stood up and turned to his players "Alright boys, we're finally here. It's starting to get late so let's get to the hotel and get ourselves situated."     

He then led the boys as they walked off the bus and to the hotel. As they entered the lobby Kyle and the rest of the players were in awe.     

"Whoa, this tournament arc is finally starting to feel real Jaya. I can't believe we actually get to fly out and stay at a hotel like this."     

The shiny tiled floors and well-dressed hotel employees may have been enough to wow Kyle and the rest of the boys but to Jason who had tons of experience being on the road as a college player this was nothing new.     

He simply nodded his head "Yeah, it's a pretty nice place. Middle school basketball has really come a long way compared to where it was just twenty years ago.     

Broadcasting rights and online streaming advertisements have really made middle school basketball popular enough for some people to make money.     

If you think about it none of that money goes to us. It goes to the association and the school. So putting us in a decent hotel is the least they could do."     

DJ bumped Jason from behind as he shook his head "Come on bro, you talkin like this ain't nothing special. You could at least pretend to be surprised like the rest of us."     

Nick shrugged his shoulders "You do know who you're talking to right DJ? I would be more surprised if Jaya had the same reaction as us."     

Vince went over to the duffle bag slung over Jason's shoulder and took a protein bar out of it "Nick's got a point, Jaya's stone-cold face and lack of reactions is kinda his thing."     

Just as he was about to rip open the protein bar Jason turned to look at him "I don't mind sharing my snacks but make sure you still have room for dinner.     

It'd be a shame for us to fly out all the way over here and not have some deep dish pizza our first meal to mark the occasion."     

Vince rolled his eyes "Add another thing to the list, Jaya's other trademark feature is naggin like a parent."     

D'lo yawned as he let out a chuckle " Would Jaya be Jaya if he wasn't actin like a small adult?" Alex slapped his brother on the shoulder "You got that right bro."     

As all the boys began to laugh at Jaya's expense. Luckily Coach Swendel walked toward them with a stack of key cards in hand.     

"Alright, alright, I don't know what's so funny but our rooms are ready so let's all drop our things off and get something to eat."     

All of the boys lined up as Coach Swendel began to give out their key cards. They would all be rooming up with two other teammates and all of their rooms were close to each other on the same floor. Only Coach Swendel got the special perk of getting his own room.     

It came as no surprise that Jason, Kyle, and Matt all got paired up to share the same room. Despite how many of them there were the elevators were big enough to where they only had to take two to get all of them up to the sixth floor where their rooms were located.     

Jason pressed his key card against the electronic lock and opened the door. The hardwood floors looked freshly cleaned and the smell of newly done linens filled the room.     

The black curtains were drawn back showing a lovely view outside their window. The bright lights of the city illuminating the otherwise dark night.     

Jason walked into the room as he tossed his duffle bag to the side and put his backpack down on top of the marble countertop.     

"Sweet, I thought they were just gonna give us a room on the inside of the building. Didn't expect them to give us one with a view like this."     

Kyle and Matt began to put their bags down as they took in their room. Kyle had a huge goofy smile all over his face as he walked into the bathroom.     

"Yo Jaya! The shower's awesome, it's got enough room for me to be able to stretch my arms open." Matt laughed as he sat down at the table "With how crazy your wingspan is that must be one big ass shower."     

He then picked up the remote control and turned on the TV. He was flipping through the channels before turning to Jason and Kyle who had just stepped out of the restroom.     

"Just one problem, there's only two beds here. And no offense to you two but no matter how cool we are I really don't want to cuddle."     

Jason walked over to the couch and inspected it for a bit "Looks like this is a pull out couch. You didn't think that they would give us a room with three beds right?"     

Kyle was in the middle of checking out the full-sized fridge that was in their room when he peeked his head out from behind the door "Wait, if we only got two beds then how are we going to decide who has to sleep on the couch?"     

A small smile appeared on Jason's face "We're hoopers man, how else would we decide? I heard the lady at the counter tell Coach that they have a full-sized basketball court in their gym.     

So after we grab a couple slices of pizza for dinner we just head there and play some one-on-one. Last place has to sleep on the couch."     

Kyle and Matt instinctively looked at each other and spoke out in unison "It's gonna be one of us." They shared a blank look for a moment before breaking into laughter.     

Jason shook his head weakly while smiling "You guys should at least show some fighting spirit." Kyle rolled his eyes as he tilted his head while looking at Jason.     

"And exactly how much fighting spirit are we supposed to show when we are literally going up against the best scorer and defender our age?"     

Matt nodded his head "Yeah man, you have the highest points per game and steals per game average in the whole national tournament."     

Jason gave them a cheeky smile "Haven't you been keeping up with the news? I'm not a high-level prospect. You're going up against a regular ol middle school hooper."     

Kyle and Matt let out annoyed groans. Jason walked over to the middle of the two of them and clapped them on their backs "Alright, enough talking. Let's head over to the lobby and meet up with everyone else."     

- - -     

Jason and the rest of the guys waited out front of the hotel as Coach Swendel pulled up in a rented minivan.     

They all piled in and began to drive off. Coach Swendel was all smiles behind the wheel "So what do you guys think about the rooms?     

Pretty sweet right? I know we may not have gotten a seeding like we deserved but I made sure to bug the hell out of the association to make sure that we got some real decent accommodations."     

All of the boys gave Coach Swendel a unanimous thumbs up. "Haha nice to see I did a good job. Now to lay out some ground rules.     

You guys are being trusted to not need any extra chaperones, and your parents put their trust in me that I would be enough to keep an eye on you.     

But just to get rid of any thoughts you guys may have to attempt any funny business tonight the hotel staff have been specifically instructed to be on the lookout for any wondering Jefferson players. So for all our sakes let's make sure to not get in any trouble alright?"     

The boys all nodded their heads in agreement. Coach Swendel gave a satisfied smile as he began to tap on the wheel of the car.     

"So now that the boring stuff is out of the way, where should we go for dinner? I know we're going for pizza but any of you guys have a spot in mind? Anyone do a little bit of food research before leaving?"     

Jason cracked a small smile as he gazed out the window of the minivan, turning his head to hide the complicated look in his eyes.     

"You know what Coach? I do have a spot in mind. Shouldn't be too far out of a drive." He then let out a sigh.     

'Kind of a wild coincidence that the first seeded team we'll face off against is here in Chicago. I wonder if he's in the mood for some pizza tonight too.'