Project Wildfire

Chapter 1: Jason (Ashwick High School, Present Day)

          "Jason, when are you coming to the party?" a voice called out from somewhere to left. Jason nearly dropped the ball in his hands. He was so focused on practice that he forgot that there were people around him. He looked up the bleachers at the clock.

          "In a couple hours. Just wanted to get some more practice in," Jason replied to Josh, his best friend since childhood. Not that he was very close as much as Josh liked to think he was. Just closer to Jason than most.

          "A couple more hours? We've already been practicing for five! Plus the thing started about an hour ago," Josh replied looking annoyed. Jason just shrugged and threw the basketball into the hoop across the gym. It went in with a clean swoosh.

         "Man, you've been walling yourself up ever since coach made you captain."

          "Give him a break," called Alex, entering the gym already changed back into normal clothes, his hair still a little wet from the shower. "You know that coach will have his head if he even misses a three-pointer during practice."

          Alex Haynes had light brown hair that often looked like a mop although the girls seemed to like the way it looked on him and they obsessed even more over his dark brown eyes. They weren't anything better than Jason's piercing blue eyes in looks, but they seemed to carry so much emotion that when girls looked into them they felt like they could see his heart. And they loved it.

          Jason never really minded Alex. He was pretty good at basketball, although not nearly as good as Jason. There was a reason Alex wasn't the team captain after all. But Jason will admit that Alex was better than him in some things. Alex seemed to be able to lure people towards him without trying and it wasn't because he was the team captain or because he was super rich. He seemed to be able to morph into a completely different person when talking to certain people like the smart girl in the corner of the room or the rich, sophisticated guy with high standards. However, when he morphed back into the basketball player who liked having a little fun he carried a devilish smile equal to Jason's that made teachers immediately put them in the front row.

          "Jason would never miss a three-pointer," Josh mumbled under his breath. The two boys could barely hear him.

          "Come on, let's leave Jason alone. He can join us later," Alex said, walking backwards towards the door. Josh mumbled "See you later," and followed Alex to the door.

          Jason looked back at Alex, who was still walking backwards, and gave him a small nod of appreciation. Alex nodded back and then turned back around continued walking out the door.

          As Jason continued shooting hoops, he could hear them join the other guys in the hallways and their voices recede as the door clangs open and they leave the school. Eventually, it was completely silent.

          Jason continued to shoot hoops as he retained his focus. He really needed some time alone from all chaos and the partying and the shouting. The whole bad boy thing was starting get a little exhausting and he needed a break, however short it was.

          Jason kept on running, dribbling, and shooting as the time flew by. The ball bouncing against the ground was like a drum beating a tune he's known all his life. Every shot went in the hoop with a satisfying swoosh. But he wasn't thinking about that anymore.

          The last night's events were still etched into his mind. The way he got home late after practice, the way his father didn't seem to be cold and distant. He could still remember how his father, for the first time since the 5th grade, looked at him with an emotion other than anger and disappointment. He looked at him with a certain sadness. He didn't say anything. Just looked at him.

          Jason shuttered as he remembered asking where Mom was after noticing she wasn't anywhere in the big house. She still had all her stuff strewn all over the place, the little device that she was working on still sitting on her lab table, unfinished. Jason's father still said nothing. Just stared with those sad blue eyes.

          Jason missed a shot. The sound of the ball hitting the dashboard falling to the ground woke him up from his trance. He could feel his arms starting to go a little weak from the continuous dribbling and shooting. He warily looked at the time. It was already 11:07, three hours since the others left.

          Jason groaned a little. How could he have lost track of time so thoroughly?

          He picked up his bag and headed back to the locker rooms. He had a party he had to get to.