Jason was sitting next to Marcus on one of the benches at the park. Jason was holding an ice cream cone that Marcus had bought him from one of the vending machines at the park.


    But despite the delicious looking ice cream Jason didn''t devour it like he normally would. In fact he had a stomach ache as he sat next to Marcus.


    Marcus was enjoying his frozen treat while Jason was feeling physically sick from his fear ''Please don''t shoot me. This might be my second life but I''m technically too young to die.


    Jesus, Buddha, Cthulhu, flying spaghetti monster, Chuck Norris, I don''t care who it is I hope you hear my prayer and keep me alive.''


    Marcus turned to Jason andughed "Don''t be so nervous. I already told you I ain''t nning on hurtin you.


    Go ahead and enjoy the icecream little man. It ain''t every day that I treat other people like this. You should count yourself lucky."


    Jason started eating the ice cream in fear of upsetting Marcus ''Just do what the crazy gang banger with a gun tells you to.''


    Marcus smiled as he saw Jason eating the icecream "Now what I wanted to talk to you about was your recent rise in fame."


    Jason looked at Marcus in surprise "Uh sure. What did you want to talk about?" Marcus finished up his icecream before taking a bite out of the cone.


    "I noticed that you a little too carefree. Take today for example. Not just anyone would walk around these parts the way that you did. I know that you know Tyreek.


    And trust me if it was just any regr dude from out here he would leave you alone as soon as you mention Tyreek. But Tyreek''s name only goes so far.


    And with your rising fame some these dudes might not treat you so nice. For some people ball is all they got. It might be they only shot at a better life.


    Those boys in San Bernardino don''t y. And some dem LA boys is straight demonic. Ain''t no way to know what kind of shit they willing to pull. If you don''t trust me you can ask Tyreek about that."


    Jason spent a few seconds digesting what Marcus said. Jason had an idea of what Marcus was going to say but he wanted to make sure. He looked back at Marcus "So what are you trying to say?"


    Marcusughed before finishing the rest of his cone "You seem like a smart kid Jason. I''m pretty sure you know where I''m going with this.


    Sometimes you gotta fight fire with fire. An eye for an eye type a thang. I can make sure you and your friends stay safe."


    Jason wanted to refuse Marcus on the spot. He didn''t want to have any dealings with these types of people.


    Jason didn''t know what his story was but Marcus seemed a little toofortable with having a gun to be a normal person.


    Jason was thinking of a way to politely decline Marcus but before he could Marcus passed him a piece of paper.


    "You ain''t gotta give me an answer now. Here''s my number. Go ahead and keep it just in case. And if you want Shania off the streets don''t worry. I''ll make sure she stays clean."


    Jason was surprised. Despite his better judgment he asked Marcus "Why are you doing this?"


    Marcusughed before standing up and dusting himself off "I like doing favors for people with potential. You could think of it as kinda like investing.


    But I only invest in winners. So if you want to make sure that Shania stays off the streets then you better keep on winning.


    Sometimes it''s real easy to close your eyes for a second. And that second is enough time for someone to get mixed up in some serious trouble" Marcus lowered his sunsses as he looked at Jason "You catch my drift?"


    Jason gulped before nodding his head. Marcus pushed his sunsses back up andughed "Hahaha alright. Let''s go ahead and get you back to school. And don''t worry about giving me an answer right away. I''m a pretty patient guy."


    Jason couldn''t refuse. He got into Marcus''s modified electric car which had a custom paint job and the back seats reced with speakers.


    The speakers were jumping with some heavy bass as they drove. Jason''s face was paler than usual as he suffered from a terrible stomach ache the entire ride back to Jefferson middle school.


    Jason wobbled into Ms. Yuller''s English ss right before the bell rang. He slumped down into his seat next to Samantha.


    As Ms. Yuller was taking attendance Samantha nced over at Jason and whispered "You okay? You look like you just got off a rollercoaster and now you''re about to hurl."


    Jason shook his head before pulling out his water bottle and taking a long drink "I don''t want to talk about it. Just some bad ice cream first thing in the morning."


    Samantha rolled her eyes before whispering back "I know you''re a pig but even for you that''s a bad idea. Who eats ice cream first thing in the morning?"


    Jason felt like he just got smacked in the back of the head with a frying pan ''You think I wanted to eat that ice cream!? I would give up ice cream for a year if it meant not having to deal with Marcus!''


    Jason felt too weak to reply to what Samantha said. Heid his head on the desk and prayed for the day to pass by faster.


    - - -


    As the bell rang for thest ss of the day Jason stretched and Yawned. Kyleughed as he walked over "This is the worst I''ve ever seen you. You look like you need a senzu bean."


    Jason looked at Kyle confused "A senzu what?" Kyle sighed "Nevermind. Why do you look so drained? Are you going to be okay for practice?"


    Jason packed his bag and stood up "Trust me I''ll be fine. In fact I think practice is just what I need to distract myself right now. I just have too much stuff swirling around in my head."


    The entire day Jason had been thinking about Marcus and his offer, about Tyreek, and about the mission.


    If Marcus said he was going to keep Shania away from gang shit then why hasn''t the system given him the missionplete notification? Was there still more for him to do?


    Anyways Jason was d that the school day was over. The only thing he had to look forward to was basketball practice.


    Jason hoped that he could distract himself and take his mind off things even if only for a couple of hours.


    Jason and Kyle came out of the locker room in their shorts and practice jerseys as they joined the rest of the guys.


    Jason changed theposition of practice. Instead of practicing their ybook for an hour and finishing off by spending thest hour doing defensive drills.


    Jason had them practice their ybook for half an hour, defensive drills for half an hour, and then thest hour was spent doing personalized training.


    Trell is a great athlete but in terms of a basketball yer he was very raw and unpolished. So his training was focused on building up his basics. Jason tried to fix his shooting form and teach him how to handle the ball.


    For Kyle and Vince Jason focused on teaching them how to box out and how to y better defense in the post. Jason taught them how to use swim moves and other techniques to fight for positioning in order to get rebounds without getting called for fouls.


    For Matt, DJ, and Nick Jason focused on improving their man to man defense out on the perimeter as well as improving their off-ball movement and off the catch shooting.


    After practice everyone was tired but they all seemed to be in high spirits. Jason got a ride home with Javier and Greg. During the ride home Jason brought up the topic of getting Tyreek to join the show.


    He exined the situation to Javier. Javier was silent for a few seconds before he turned his head back to Jason "Well if you managed to convince his niece to change and all he''s worried about is his living situation then we might be able to help.


    The station signed a lease for a property nearby for me and Greg to live in for the next two years as we film your journey in Jefferson middle school.


    There''s an extra room that''s currently not being used. I''ll have to ask the station if it''s okay first but I''m sure Greg and I wouldn''t mind having him and his niece stay with us.


    The house is in a pretty good neighborhood and if Tyreek stayed with us he wouldn''t even have to pay any rent or utilities."


    Jason was surprised by Javier''s suggestion ''If this works out not only will Tyreek join the show. Without having to worry about paying any bills Tyreek can drop his warehouse job and focus solely on basketball.


    He can end up a way better basketball yer than he was in myst life. I wonder how much better?'' Jason waved at Javier and Greg as they drove away after dropping him off at his apartment.


    - - -


    The next couple of days passed by quickly as the team had gotten used to their practices to the point where it became part of a routine. Everyone knew what to expect and what kind of work they had to put in.


    As Jasonid in bed staring at the ceiling he could only think about one thing ''Tomorrow is our first official game of the season. This one actually counts.


    Cider Grove I hope you''re ready to step into the doghouse. Because we''re about to bring our A game tomorrow.''