Rebound: A 2nd Chance

Practice was done and the boys had already taken a shower and changed out of their practice gear but unlike everyone else that was heading home Jason was sitting across the desk from Coach Swendel in his office.

He was running his hands through his short blonde hair as he leaned back into his chair. The stress that he was feeling was evident.

Meanwhile Jason was calmly sitting in his chair as he nonchalantly snacked on a roll of kimbap that he had kept in Coach Swendel's mini fridge.

Coach Swendel took a deep breathe before turning his attention to Jason "Let me get this straight. You want me to bet on playoff games for you?"

Jason nodded his head "Yeah. I give you the money and you make the bets for me. Of course you'll get a cut of the winnings.

Considering that there really isn't much of a risk for you and that all you'll have to do is place the bet I think that ten percent sounds fair."

Coach Swendel rubbed his face hurriedly with both of his hands "Not much of a risk!? What you're asking me to do is illegal Jaya!

If we get caught it could be serious issues for the both of us! I could lose my job and you could lose your pro eligibility!"

Jason looked at Coach Swendel as though he were crazy "I don't know what you're talking about Coach.

You're going to be betting your own money on games that you don't have any inside information on. Maybe you'll ask me for my opinion before placing your bet but there's nothing illegal about that.

You'll win a ton of money but for some reason you will only touch ten percent of it. The rest you will leave in another account in your name.

Today I came in to your office to simply talk about some of the plays in our playbook and make some adjustments. Nothing more nothing less."

Coach Swendel instantly understood what Jason was saying. On paper this meeting never happened.

This discussion about betting money on games never took place. The hidden meaning was obvious, as long as you keep your mouth closed who would know about this business deal?

The money would all be in an account under his name and the betting would solely be something that he did in his own personal time.

The more he thought about it the more it made sense. As long as he didn't leave any paper trails of him giving money to Jason who could prove that he was making the bets for Jason?

Coach Swendel wiped the sweat off of his forehead with his hand as he stared at Jason "Of course this discussion never happened.

But if it did I would ask you why you were trusting me with this? Hypothetically speaking if I were to follow along with this nonexistent plan it would be easy for me to keep all of the money for myself.

You wouldn't be able to say anything if I were to choose to stab you in the back considering that your plan in and of itself is illegal.

You wouldn't be able to run to the police or try to get your money back in court." Jason smiled as he stared Coach Swendel straight in the eyes.

"The answer to your hypothetical question is easy. I know what kind of person you are Coach." Jason's words stunned him.

Jason continued "I know that you're the kind of person that can identify the best choice for long term success.

Isn't that why you threw away all of your pride and bowed your head to a little kid just so that he would join your basketball game?"

Coach Swendel gulped "I s-suppose that's accurate." Jason took another bite out of his kimbap before continuing.

"You wouldn't throw away a chance at long term success just to enjoy short term benefits. You're too smart for that."

Jason paused for a moment as his smile became warmer and gentler "And besides, the biggest thing is the fact that I trust you."

Coach Swendel was once again stunned by Jason's words. He continued "After spending more than a year with you and seeing how you operate I feel like I can trust you.

You did your best to protect me and the team last year when we had the whole drama about Trell happening.

And even though things were rough for you last year the first thing you showed to me and the rest of the guys on the first day was a bright smile.

You didn't complain about how you didn't get any credit despite being the head coach of a team that made it top eight of the state tournament.

Instead you smiled and asked us how our summer went. If this was all an act just to trick me into trusting you then there's nothing I can say.

But I feel like my chances are good enough that you're actually a decent guy. I don't mind rolling the dice with odds like this."

Coach Swendel felt a lump form in his throat as a gentle pulse of warmth began to spread throughout his body.

In the end despite his brain telling him that this was a ridiculous idea he couldn't help but feel a certain type of way when he saw Jason's trusting face look at him.

After a short moment of silence he sighed before looking at Jason. He had a helpless look on his face as he nodded his head.

"Alright. I guess I'll have to agree to this deal that was never proposed." Jason smiled as he tossed the last bit of his kimbap into his mouth.

He wiped his hands and his mouth with a towel before reaching out to shake Coach Swendel's hand "Pleasure not doing business with you."

After they came to an agreement Jason spent a few more minutes ironing out some more of the details.

He would start to slowly withdraw small amounts of money from the account where his Nike money was stored in order to avoid raising any suspicions from his parents.

Coach Swendel would hold on to any money that they made but would only get a ten percent cut of the profits.

He would keep the money in his account in order to avoid creating paper trails that could be traced back to Jason.

If he needed money Coach Swendel would slowly withdraw small amounts and hand them over to Jason in cash.

As they finished discussing the details of their plan Jason felt his phone ringing in his pocket. He pulled out his cellphone and saw that it was Samantha calling him.

He thanked Coach Swendel once again before heading out of his office. Seeing that there was no one else in the hallway he opened up his phone and called Samantha back.

"Hey Sammy. Sorry about missing your call. Did you guys decide what book to do our project on?" Samantha's sweet voice answered from the other side.

"Oh, I wasn't calling about the project. Kyle told us that you were hanging back at the school to talk about something with Coach Swendel.

We thought it would be better to talk about the project with all four of us participating in the discussion."

Jason raised his brow "Okay, cool. So what are you calling for? Not that I mind chatting like this but I can't imagine that you would call me for no reason."

He could hear Samantha snort annoyedly on the other side "You really don't have a sense for girls huh? Sometimes girls like to call just to talk."

Jason rolled his eyes before chuckling "I know that Sammy, but I also know that you're not like most girls. So what did you want to talk about?"

He didn't know but his slight compliment made Samantha blush from the other side of the phone. She cleared her throat in an attempt to regain her composure.

"For someone that doesn't talk all that much with other people you have a real silver tongue you know that?"

Jason laughed "Come on Sammy, just get to the point." Samantha laughed after hearing Jason's slightly annoyed voice.

"Alright. You weren't wrong. I do have a reason for calling you right now. The principal actually wanted to ask you for a favor."