The man in the red shirt had been defending Jason up until now. He took a sip out of his cup that was on the table before continuing.
"Listen Jeff, I get that you're a little salty as a 3D fan but your hot take is just a tiny bit too hot for .
I get that Kyle was a huge part of Jefferson's defense. He locked down the paint and acted as a safety net for the rest of the team.
But Jason is the heart of their offense and defense. This kid is like a coach on the court whenever he's out there.
He sees plays before they even develop and he directs his guys on the best way to handle it. I get that their short roster is probably going to be their undoing.
But I think they can go at least two gas deep into the tournant. I think that Jason has that star player quality and that alone is worth at least two wins."
Jeff chuckled before waving his hands in denial "Hey hey cool it there Tucker. I might be a 3D fan but that doesn't an that I'm biased.
I'm a born and raised Riverside boy okay? If anything my bias would be in favor of Jason. But I don't let my biases affect my judgent unlike you and other people.
In my opinion Jason is just too small and he's just not athletic enough to force two wins at the state level."
Tucker put his hands up helplessly "Sotis talking to you feels like I'm talking to a stone wall. Let's make a bet out of it.
If Jefferson can get 2 gas deep into the tournant then you have to co on the show in a chicken costu."
Jeff laughed as he shook Tucker's hand "You know that I never run from a bet. Especially ones that I'm sure to win.
When Jefferson gets bounced out of the tournant after their first ga I want you to show up in a baby costu. Diaper and bottle, the whole thing. Does that sound like a deal?"
Tucker laughed as he shook Jeff's hand "Oh you got a deal. I hope you don't end up regretting this Jeff."
Tucker then looked at the cara "Thank you for tuning in folks. I hope you guys stay because after a quick break we'll be talking about the new fish slap challenge that's been blowing up online. New Trend or potential health hazard? Co find out when we get back."
- - -
The restuarant was silent as both the kids and the adults didn't know what to say after hearing what the Jeff had to say on the TV.
Udonis looked at Kyle and saw that he was staring at the floor with a sad expression on his face.
The rest of the guys were also feeling down as the conversations that had been going on previously were now dead.
Trell pounded on the table with both of his fists "What the hell! That dude looked like he ain't even touched the court once in his life. Why the fuck does he think he got the right to talk shit about us?!"
DJ tapped him on the shoulder before pointing to the table with the parents "Yo chill out bro. You need to watch yo language."
Trell looked over at the parents table before putting his hand up "Sorry Ms. Robinson, my bad."
Trell's attention went back to his own table. This ti he was talking a little more quietly "I ant what I said tho.
All the pro players had nothing negative to say about Jaya so why the hell does the guy with the huge beer belly think he can talk all this shit?"
Udonis laughed "Bro you know how it is. Real recognize real. All the people talking smack are just living room coaches."
After everyone's attempts Trell finally cald down a bit. It was just in ti too as the waitress began to bring in everyone's orders.
She had multiple plates stacked on her arm and shoulder as she walked around the table. When she got to Jason she was all out "Sorry hun I gotta make another trip for yours."
When she ca back she had another small mountain of plates on her arm and shoulder. She put all of them down in front of Jason.
She wiped the sweat off of her forehead with the small towel in her pocket. She then put the towel away and smiled at Jason.
"The boss told to bring out a few extra plates. He said that he's seen your appetite on TV and thought that you would appreciate it. It's all on the house of course."
Jason smiled brightly at the waitress "Wow! This is all for ?! And it's free?!" The waitress found Jason irresistibly adorable as she lightly pinched his cheek.
"You bet it is sweety. He also told that dinner was on him tonight. He said that we couldn't charge our own hotown hero.
He just wanted to ask if it would be okay to get a picture after you guys were done with dinner."
Jason didn't seem to mind the waitress' pinch as smiled and nodded his head. But after nodding his head he paused.
"The picture is alright with but I think you should double check with my parents just to make sure."
The waitress found Jason's thoughtfulness even cuter "I have a little boy and he just turned 3. I hope he turns into a fine young man like you when he gets to your age."
The waitress walked over to the parents table and told them about how the owner was a huge fan of Jason's and how he wanted to treat the team out tonight.
At first the parents objected. Even though it was nice to be treated out they were feeding a whole team of basketball players as well as themselves.
They had ordered a lot of food. But after so convincing on the waitress' part they agreed to having the owner pay for their dinner.
And when they heard that all the owner wanted was a photo with Jason and the rest of the team after they were done with dinner they happily agreed.
And so the whole team as well as their parents were treated to dinner by the owner of the restaurant.
The boys had a wonderful ti as they stuffed their faces with delicious Arican Italian food.
Afterwards the waitress even brought out so freshly made chocolate lava cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for each of the tables.
After everyone was done eating a man dressed in a white tee shirt and blue jeans walked toward their tables.
He was about 5'8 (1.72m) and his body seed to be in pretty good shape. His bald head shined under the lights of the restaurant almost as brightly as his sparkling white teeth.
He walked over to the table of the parents first. He smiled at them "Thank you guys for choosing Valentino's as the location for your celebration.
My na is Valentino Morelli and yes I nad the restaurant after myself haha. As a huge basketball fanatic and a born and raised Riverside kid I am a huge fan of Jason and Jefferson's team.
I hope that I'm not being too pushy but I would love to get a photo with Jason and the rest of the team. The photo would beco the pride of this restaurant.
Jason's parents as well as the others happily agreed to letting Valentino take a photo with Jason and the rest of the team.
He was clearly excited as he stood next to Jason along with the rest of the team. It almost seed like he was fangirling.
Afterwards everyone walked out of Valentino's with smiles on their faces as their stomachs were stuffed.
Everyone began walking toward their own rides. As Jason was about to walk with his parents to the car he realized sothing.
Trell had gotten a ride from the school to the restaurant with DJ and his parents. Jason walked over to Trell "You're not gonna catch a ride with DJ and his parents again?"
Trell smirked "Nah bro. DJ and his folks is from a nice neighborhood. I wouldn't want to give em a late night spook havin em drivin down to my place."
Jason frowned after hearing that "I know that you're tough and that you can take care of yourself Trell but you shouldn't be taking the bus this late at night by yourself.
Even if you got the body of soone that's grown you're still just a kid. Why don't you just get a ride with and my parents."
Trell shook his head "Nah dude don't do that. I'll just take the bus." Jason looked Trell straight in the eyes.
"Why don't you just let us do this for you? Rember what Coach Swendel and Udonis said? This team is a second family. And family always got each other's backs."
Trell sighed "Jason.... That's why I don't want you and yo folks to give a ride." Jason was surprised by what Trell had said.
Trell continued "You and yo folks have been nothing but great to . Sa thing with Kyle and his mom.
But that's even more of a reason for to not want you to give a ride. I didn't want to ask Kyle for a ride because I didn't want to remind him and his mom that I'm a street dude livin in a ghetto ass place.
And I don't want your folks to see where I ca from. I don't want them to see that part of ." Jason was caught off guard by what Trell had to say.
Jason was putting his brain into overdrive as he thought of a solution. After a few seconds a na popped into his mind.
Jason pulled out one of his phones and dialed a number "Yo Amare. How you doing bro? Nice nice, hey I know it's late but could I ask you for a favor?"
Jason got the quickest yes that he had ever gotten. After Jason gave his location Amare hung up the phone.
Jason looked over at Trell and smiled "I got you bro. One of my friends is coming over to give you a ride. And you don't have to worry about anything because he's from the sa neighborhood."
Trell nodded his head "Amare, that's one of Marcus' guys right? Sotis I forget that you got so of your own connections."
Jason waited for Amare to show up. After seeing Amare and Trell drive off Jason made his way over to his parents.
He smiled at them as he apologized "Sorry about that. Trell didn't have a ride and I didn't want him to have to take the bus this late."
Both of his parents smiled back before hugging him. Jason's mom patted him on the head "There's nothing to be sorry about sweety. You were just taking care of your friend."
Jason's dad nodded his head "There's nothing more comndable than a man taking care of the people that he values."
The three of them walked to their cars before driving off in satisfaction. On the way ho Jason couldn't help but look up at the sky through his window 'Wow. Does the moon always look this pretty?'
- - -
A few days later. The sounds of laughter and excited chatter mixed inside the arena as Jason laced up his shoes.
'First ga of the state tournant. Let's go Jaya. Let's show these haters what kind of team they were talking smack about.'
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