Jungkook ate a cold dinner (mostly because his arms were too sore to lift the plate up into the microwave) and took out the trash because it was Thursday night. He checked the clock above the oven: 9:00. His mom would be working at the hospital for another 3 hours and probably wouldn't get home until around 1:00.
He washed up and headed to bed, but he didn't sleep. Meeting Jimin and Hoseok...they'd seemed so bright. So happy despite their lot. Jungkook felt like someone was trying to make him feel like he could be forgiven for what he'd done, but that was wrong, it had to be. Every night that he sat in bed and stared at the ceiling, he knew that there was another boy out there who was probably staring up at his own ceiling and hating Jungkook.
A door closed softly downstairs, signaling that midnight had come and passed and that they were already well into the early morning. It took Jungkook a while longer to get to sleep, and when he finally did, he wasn't thinking of a faceless boy in a car but rather of the strange new people he'd met that day.
--
Jungkook was jolted awake by his alarm at 6:30 in the morning, dreams of circuses and zoos melting away into the confused paradigm of reality. He got up and showered before heading down to the kitchen to find one of his mom's notes on the table.
Sorry if I woke you coming in last night. How was your first day back at school? Make any new friends?
How about the program? Is it all right?
Let me know what's on your mind.
Love, Mom
A small chocolate was left resting on the bottom corner of the paper, serving as both a paperweight and a soft apology. Jungkook understood; the hospital was a demanding job. There were some weeks where he'd only see his mom three or four times. But that was just how things were. They still talked, just not always in person.
Jungkook pocketed the chocolate even though it was surely too sweet for his taste before grabbing a pen and holding the cap between his teeth as he scrawled a reply.
· First day – okay, the teachers are kind of boring but the first day is always like that.
· Friends – not sure yet...will give you a status update soon.
· Program – not what I expected...but not in a bad way? I'll tell you more about it when we have time to talk.
He hesitated a moment, squinting at the paper, before adding the final line.
Love, JK
He popped the cap back on the pen, remembering belatedly that his mom would definitely yell at him when she saw the bite marks on it, but it was too late to do anything about it. He dropped it back in the pencil holder, hoping she would overlook it, before grabbing something for lunch and heading out for school.
--
Jungkook forgot to pay attention for the first four hours of school, and when he finally made up his mind to focus, he realized that he was in math, and he decided to try focusing later instead.
He showed up to the student council room at 3 before remembering belatedly that Namjoon had said to meet at the gym instead. He hurried down the stairs and across half the school, pushing open the gym doors two minutes later.
Hoseok looked like he was trying to set a record time for speeding down the court and back; smoke was practically coming off the tires. Jimin was next to Jin, a basketball in his lap, and he was tracing his fingers in a circle along the top as though trying to get a feel for the texture of it. Namjoon was at half court, a binder under his arm, a whistle around his neck, and sweatbands encircling his forehead, wrists, and ankles.
Standing next to Namjoon was a short guy Jungkook had never seen before.
"Jungkook!" Namjoon called, turning to face him and waving him over. Jungkook jogged to the middle of the court, eyes flicking briefly towards the newcomer before he looked back at Namjoon. "This is Yoongi. He-"
"...to tell you what a stupid idea this is," Yoongi was saying, hands on his hips as he stared at Jimin. "And look, it's okay. We all have stupid ideas. That's fine. But we can't perpetuate stupid ideas, and we certainly can't drag other people into our stupid ideas. That, in and of itself, is a stupid idea, don't you see that?"
Jimin just stared at Yoongi, arms crossed over his chest and eyebrow raised. "Great, are you done talking? Because we only have 55 minutes left of practice since you complained incessantly for the first five, so."
Yoongi gasped, throwing his hands up. "Practice? You guys call rolling yourself around in a wheelchair practice? Practice for what, being bullied relentlessly? Pass."
"The ball or the subject?"
Namjoon, who had cut himself off to look over at the two bickering kids, now looked back at Jungkook, blowing out a deep breath. "Yoongi was a star on the basketball team before he got kicked off for having a bad attitude."
"No, I got kicked off because the coach got sick of winning too many games," Yoongi immediately argued, turning on Namjoon now. "Because apparently, success is frowned upon at this educational institution."
"No, I think you got kicked off because you were mean to all of your teammates and never passed the ball," Namjoon corrected evenly. "Although I can see how you might have gotten things twisted around." Namjoon paused to set a hand on Jungkook's shoulder. "This is Jungkook. He'll be on the team as well."
"I already told you, I'm not joining this thing you call a team. I don't need to be laughed off the court," Yoongi said, scowling.
"Well, according to your coach, you won't be setting foot on a regular court for the rest of the year. Unless, that is, you participate in this program and I send a letter acknowledging your contribution to your coach," Namjoon said.
"Why does this feel suspiciously like blackmail?"
"It's not blackmail if it's for a good cause."
"I don't think that's how blackmail works."
"Well, it's nice to meet you," Jungkook offered uncertainly.
"Not really."
"Okay..."
And so the team – Jimin, Hoseok, Jin, Jungkook, and Yoongi – was set.
-updated 05/07/20 (mm/dd/yy)-
