Rebound: A 2nd Chance

Jason turned on the lights as he welcomed Samantha into his home with the most pretentious voice he could do "Welcome to the Yang residence. Please do remember to take your shoes off before entering"

Samantha pretended to curtsy as she responded with a impersonation of a southern belle "Why thank you kind sir"

Samantha took her shoes off as she walked into the apartment. She looked around "So this is the lab that created the monster"

Jason sighed "You really have to stop it with the weird comparisons. I'm pretty sure most people would be offended if you call them a monster"

Samantha took a seat on the comfy leather couch in the living room "I meant monster in a good way. Don't you sports guys always say someone's a beast if they are doing good?"

Jason sat down on the couch leaving a spot empty between him and Samantha"For some reason it doesn't feel like a compliment when you're the one saying it."

He grabbed the remote and turned on the TV "So you want to start the movie?"

Samantha pulled out her phone from her pocket so that she could stream the movie to the TV "I'll start it from where we left off"

They got thirty minutes into the movie before Jason stood up from the couch "Hey Sammy. Can you pause it real quick?"

Samantha paused the movie before turning to Jason "What's up?" Jason started walking towards the kitchen "I'm going to make some popcorn"

After a few minutes Jason came back with a bowl of freshly popped popcorn. The smell of melted butter filled the living room.

Samantha frowned "You still want to eat? Didn't we just have dinner?". Jason sat back down as he scooped up some popcorn and shoveled it into his mouth "I need the nutrients. My body's growing"

The two of them resumed watching the movie. Samantha sneaked a few glances and Jason before she scooted towards him.

Jason turned to Samantha "hmm? What is it?". Samantha reached her hand into the bowl of popcorn "N-nothing. Just wanted some popcorn is all."

Time passed as the movie played. Eventually the credits started to show signaling the end of the movie. Samantha sighed with a disappointed look on her face.

Jason turned to her "What's wrong? You didn't like the ending?" Samantha blew a lock of hair out of her face with an annoyed look "Yup. I definitely didn't like the ending. It wasn't what I was expecting that's for sure"

Jason nodded "Yeah it wasn't really my type either. I mean why would a vampire sparkle in the sun? I don't know why Ms. Yuller would have us read this book anyways."

Samantha was messing around on her phone "She said it was a piece of classic literature. Something about it 'embodying the emotional currents that shook the youth of that generation'" She mockingly said in a Ms. Yuller impression.

Jason shrugged his shoulders "Or maybe she just has a thing for vampires. Especially the handsome ones"

Samantha laughed "I'm more a fan of the 'I vant to suck your blood' type vampires myself" Her bad Transylvanian accent made Jason want to cringe.

Jason washed the popcorn bowl in the sink before coming back out "So which scene did you want to do? I kinda liked the part where he stopped the car with one hand"

Samantha's face started to brighten up thinking about the project "I liked the part where he carried her on his back and climbed the tree"

Jason laughed "Unless you're gonna be the one doing the carrying you can count me out". They talked back and forth for around ten minutes before deciding on a scene.

Jason was standing still with Samantha right behind him "Tell me again why you get the guy's part?" Samantha laughed "Because it'll be hilarious having you pretend to be a chick. Besides you have the same emotionless expression that the actress had for most of the movie"

Jason rolled his eyes "Whatever. Let's just get it over with". Jason closed his eyes before taking a deep breath as he tried his best to get into character.

They began rehearsing their lines. Samantha stood close behind Jason as she asked "Are you afraid?"

Jason turned around "No"

Samantha then paused for a second "Then ask me the most basic question. What do we eat?" Jason answered "You won't hurt me"

That was her cue. Samantha grabbed Jason's hand as she began pulling him from one side of the living room to the other.

Luckily she was the one in front pulling him because her face was bright red 'I'm holding his hand. It's no big deal. Just holding hands'

Unfortunately before Jason could recite his next line the door slammed open "Hey Jaya! I heard you won the-huh!?"

Tory barged in and the first thing she saw was Samantha with her tomato red face holding Jason's hand. And it looked like they were on their way to Jason's room.

Tory was stunned for a moment "Boy. You weren't kidding when you said new school new you..." Samantha felt like her heart was about to burst though her chest.

Just as she was thinking of a way out of this situation her punk rock ringtone went off. She pulled her phone out so fast that her hand was like a blur "Oh you're here!? Okay I'll be right there"

She waved at Jason "Thanks for having me over. We can practice again some other time." As her frantic steps lead her towards the entrance she stopped and waved at Tory "Nice to meet you. Bye" And she bolted out the door.

Tory had an amused smile on her face "Our little Jaya is all grown up. Look at you bringing a girl home. Just try and take it slow. I think it's a little early for you to be bringing a girl to your room while your parents are out"

Jason rolled his eyes "That's not what we were doing. It was for an English project" Tory laughed "Are you sure you were working on English? Cause it kinda looked like you guys were focused on Chemistry"

Jason sat down with Tory as he explained the situation. Tory nodded her head "Alright. I get it now. Sorry I ruined your practice session" Jason waved it off "That's okay. We have until Monday. We can practice during the weekend."

Tory asked about the game and gave a play by play recap. After he was done Tory pulled him into a hug as she ruffled his hair "Look at this kid. Just joined the team and you're that good? I'm going to have to go to your next game for sure. When is it?"

Jason had an annoyed look on his face but he didn't fight very hard to get out of her hug "Our next game is in three weeks. We're going to play against one of the schools close by. I think it was Cider Grove middle school?"

Cider Grove middle school was in the same tier as Jefferson although not as bad. Out of all the schools in the county they constantly placed towards the bottom of the rankings for basketball.

Jason wasn't worried about the game at all. He was even excited 'Playing against a weaker team can be a great way to boost the other guys' confidence. It might even help with team chemistry.'

Tory got up "Alright Jaya. I'm going now. I just stopped by to ask you about your game and to drop off some side dishes my dad made. Sorry again about ruining your practice thing"

With Tory gone it was just Jason in the apartment 'Now that I'm alone it's the perfect chance to open the random gift from the system.'

Jason opened the system and selected the random gift. It looked like a stereotypical wrapped birthday present with a tag.

As soon as he touched it the top opened up.

[Congratulations! You have unlocked the Recovery Boost function!

Recovery Boost: For the cost of one Body Configuration point you can triple the effectiveness of your night of sleep. During your sleep any damage caused by training or playing will heal three times faster. The cost is per night of sleep.]

Jason thought that this was a perfect reward. The cost didn't bother him too much. During the week before his practice game Jason discovered something.

As long as he worked out our practiced Jason would earn Body Configuration points at the end of each day. The amount of points earned seemed to change depending on how he much worked out and what kind of activities he did.

Jason found that by pushing himself as hard as he could go he could earn 6 points a day. Jason had saved up his points during the week. Right now he has 36 points available.

He decided to put 30 points towards his height and he kept the 6 to use for the Recovery Boost. He was currently 50 out of 100 points for his next inch of height increase.

Jason's parent's came back after their date night. He told them goodnight before taking a shower. Afterwards he got ready for bed and called it a night.

Jason woke up feeling great. He had tried out the Recovery Boost function last night. He couldn't feel any soreness or fatigue from yesterday's game.

He got up and brushed his teeth before walking to the kitchen, He saw his dad flipping pancakes and frying some bacon while his mom was on her laptop as usual "Morning Mom. Morning Dad"

Jason's mom lifted her head up and smiled "Morning Jaya" Jason's dad turned to him "Good morning superstar. How are you feeling? I wouldn't be surprised if you were sore till tomorrow. You had it pretty rough yesterday"

Jason stretched and Yawned "Surprisingly I am not that sore. I actually feel really good this morning. Hey is it okay if I go to the mall after breakfast? I want to go get a haircut"

Both of his parents were a little surprised. Jason had never cared about his hairstyle or appearance before. Jason's mom agreed "Sure go ahead Jaya. Ask Tory if she can take you. She's been looking for any excuse to drive ever since she got her license."

Jason's mom pulled out her wallet "I'll give you some money so that you can go shopping for some new clothes while you're at it" She handed Jason 40 dollars.

Jason called Tory "Hey Tory. If you're not busy right now do you want to head down to the mall? I'm going to get a haircut and get some new clothes for school"

Tory let out a long yawn. She sounded like she just got up "Sure. I don't have anything going on today. I'll be there in fifteen minutes"

Jason sat in the living room dressed up in his khaki shorts and blue collared. He played on his phone as he waited for Tory.

After a few minutes Tory came in dressed up in her grey sweatpants and white T-shirt. She said hello to Jason's parents before putting down a plastic bag on the counter.

"Hey Uncle. Hi Aunty. My dad wanted me to drop off some more side dishes" Jason's dad wiped his hands dry and left the dishes that he was doing as he walked to Tory.

He hugged her "Thanks Tory. You tell your dad that we loved the kimchi he gave us last week. It might have been the best that he's made so far"

Jason's mom smiled "You be careful on the road okay? And make sure you keep an eye on Jaya." Tory and Jason waved as they left the apartment.

The car ride to the mall was filled with Tory's tone deaf singing as she sang along to the same few songs that played on the radio.

While they were driving Tory asked "So new haircut huh? What kind of look were you thinking?" Jason answered "I don't know yet. I just know that I want something other than this bowl-cut"

Tory pulled into the parking lot. It took a few minutes but they were eventually able to find a spot. Tory stepped out and started complaining "I know it's the weekend but sheesh. It's more packed then usual"

Jason nodded "You're right. Maybe they have something going down at the mall." The two of them began walking towards the mall.

After a bit of walking they saw a banner. There was also a section of the parking lot that was closed off with a bunch of people standing around.

Tory saw the banner "So that's what it was. They're shooting for the new TV show" Jason turned to look at her "New TV show?"

Tory answered "Yeah. You know the new show being filmed by one of the big networks. It's supposed to be about basketball. I think it was called Through the Hoops?"