Rebound: A 2nd Chance

The week passed by quickly and uneventfully. Jason and the team didn't have a game the entire week so they spent their days practicing and training.

Some media outlets attempted to drive a wedge between Jason and the rest of the team as they showed up to the school to interview Kyle and some of the other players.

One interviewer asked Kyle "Seeing as how you are seen as the second best player on the team does Jason's reckless way of handling things undermine your authority on the team?"

Another reporter asked "Kyle, how do you feel about the negative image that your team has been given as of late? Do you resent Jason's actions at all?"

Without even giving him a chance to answer one question they were bombarding him with multiple more.

Kyle glared at them "Jaya is the heart and soul of our team. As the team captain none of us question his decisions."

He then walked away and made his way to the locker room. Scenes like this happened everyday as the reporters tried interviewing DJ, Matt, Vince, and Nick.

They thought that at least one of the players that had been on the team since last season would have at least one complaint about Jason.

But what they weren't expecting was that each of the guys that had been on the team last year would scornfully shoot down all of their attempts.

They either gave short and direct answers making sure that they didn't get any good soundbites, or in Vince's case curse them right in their faces.

"Huh? What kind of bullshit question is that? Why the hell would anyone be upset with how Jaya's runnin the show?

Are all of you guys blind or just a whole new level of stupid? Jaya's the reason why the team managed to turn into one of the strongest in the state."

But despite the cold treatment that the media personal received from all of the players on the team their efforts didn't wane.

Things got to the point to where the principle had to change the school's policy for allowing media personnel on campus.

They would now be screened and processed by Coach Swendel, who unbeknownst to everyone on the outside looking in allowed Jason's input to heavily influence his decisions.

Kyle's mom also organized all of the other parents to file formal complaints against a bunch of the media outlets for their unprofessional behavior.

And because of their fierce approach and unrelenting behavior spearheaded by her a lot of local media outlets were forced to tone down their coverage of Jason and the team.

But while this was effective against the smaller local channels and media outlets it didn't do much to deter the larger major programs.

However, even with all of this going on around them the team seemed as though they were in their own little world as they continued to go about their everyday lives.

Once again Jason's influence on the team showed as they were able to focus in and tune out all of the noise around them.

Because of his lead by example attitude and amazing work ethic Jefferson now had a tangible culture that wouldn't be easily shaken.

Their days started with practice in the morning and after school they ended their days with even more practice.

Even Jason himself was unaware that he was setting the team up to have a bright and successful path through the culture that he was helping to establish.

And so the days passed until it was finally the fateful moment. As soon as Nate got out of school he picked up the bag that he had packed previously as he and his family got into their limo.

He couldn't help but sweat and fidget as numerous thoughts raced across his mind. His dad looked at him and laughed.

"What are you so nervous for Nate? This might be your first time visiting Riverside but we've been down to California a bunch of times."

He looked to be a bit taller than Jason's dad as he appeared to be 5'11 (1.8m) but he had the same slender build.

His short black hair was styled in a combover going to the left and he was dressed in a light blue polo shirt with a pair of dark blue denim jeans.

His wife leaned her head against his shoulder as she smiled "He's probably just nervous being away from his computer for the weekend.

You know how kids these days are. All they want to do is play their videogames and livestream with their friends."

She then gave Nate a knowing wink. Although she didn't know just what exactly her kids were up to she knew them well enough to know when they were planning something.

In fact her alarm bells had gone off from the very moment that her daughter had suddenly asked for them to take a mini family vacation in Riverside.

But she trusted her kids and knew that they weren't the types to plan anything bad or too crazy so she went ahead and played their game.

But even though her wink was meant to comfort Nate and help him relax it only helped to do the opposite.

'Oh god, she know! We are so screwed! I'm so screwed! Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe I really did overstep my boundaries with all of this.

I don't even know how dad really feels about his brother. Maybe he only talks about him in a positive way because he doesn't want to shit on someone that's not there to defend themselves.'

Just as his nerves were about to get the best of him the image of Jason popped into his mind. His hands stopped shaking and his breathing went back to normal.

'No, I can't get cold feet now. I know that dad misses his brother. And I know that he wants to reunite with him.

I've known that and that's the reason why I even tried to meet up with Jaya in the first place.' Luckily he managed to steel his resolve just as they had arrived at the airport.

After being dropped off by their driver they carried their bags a short distance as they then handed them over to the airport workers.

They then flew comfortably in first class for a few hours as they were served a variety of drinks and offered multiple different choices for their onboard snack.

After passing through LAX's security they found a man dressed all in black holding up a sign that read 'Yang family'.

The driver loaded all of their bags into the limousine as they all got on. Nate's dad smiled as he got comfortable.

"You really out did yourself this time Lily. Normally whenever I leave the planning to you we end up calling an Uber."

Lily smiled before tilting her head toward her daughter "As nice as it is to hear you say that I can't take any of the credit.

For this trip Leslie was the one that planned everything. From the tickets to the ride even down to the Airbnb she was the one that organized everything.

All I did was give her your card haha." He smiled before stretching his neck as he reached down and gave her a small kiss on the cheek.

It took them another hour and a half before they were able to reach Riverside. The limo then drove deeper into the city as they came to a stop at an apartment complex.

Their dad was clearly a bit confused as he scratched his head "Uh..... Not that I'm complaining or anything but this is a little different than what we normally get."

Leslie smiled as she nodded her head "I know that it's not exactly what were used to dad. But trust me, this was a deal too good to pass down."

He nodded his head before picking up his and his wife's bag. The four of them then walked into the apartment complex after Leslie dialed in the code for the front door.

They walked up a few flights of stairs before finally stopping at a door. Leslie turned her head to look at her dad.

"Go ahead and knock dad." He looked at her with a confused expression on his face "What do you mean knock? Is there someone else in here?"

Leslie just smiled as she shook her head "Just go ahead and knock dad." Despite having a few questions in his mind he reached out and knocked on the door a few times.

The door slowly opened and what David saw stunned him so much that he dropped the bag that was just in his hands.

Jason's dad smiled "Hey David. It's been a while."