"So let's all go over this just one more time," Namjoon instructed, and several audible groans answered in protest. "What are we not going to do?"
"Throw the basketball at people's heads," everyone responded with varying degrees of enthusiasm. There were several eye rolls and more than one glare pointed in Yoongi's direction, not even so much for injuring Jungkook the other day, but for being the reason behind Namjoon's impromptu "Safety Session."
"Great," Namjoon responded without batting an eye. "Now, our first game is this Friday. I'm not concerned about winning, but this is a good opportunity to test out our team. Right now, we're weak in our offense because we only have one person-" He glanced at Jimin. "-who has even made a basket."
"I can shoot," Yoongi immediately argued, crossing his arms defensively.
"You can shoot, you were just too busy yelling at your teammates and throwing things at people to do so," Namjoon agreed. "Pardon my run-on sentence, but we're still weak on offense, and our defense lacks coordination. The first week was about getting used to moving around and understanding the general rules, but now we need to actually exercise a bit of strategy."
"So, we're not great at offense, and we're not great at defense," Jungkook summarized slowly. "So...we're definitely going to lose Friday, right?"
"Probably!" chirped Hoseok, looking somewhat excited by the thought. "But hey, maybe Yoongi will injure someone on the opposing team this time. That'll be a plot twist."
They all bickered amongst themselves – Jungkook mostly watching – until Namjoon's phone began ringing. He paused and checked the caller ID before heading for the gym doors. "I need to take this. You guys start – I don't know – practicing making baskets." He slipped out the gym doors, and there was a small click as they shut behind him.
"You heard the man," Hoseok announced, picking up the ball from where it had been lying on top of Namjoon's jacket. "First one to make 10 points wins."
By the end of 10 minutes, the score was 0-0-0-2-6, Jimin in the lead and Yoongi having made one basket in the small window of time where he hadn't been yelling at or otherwise antagonizing another team member. Jin's shots had all been airballs, and Hoseok had spent most of the time just trying to block Yoongi, infuriating the older.
Jungkook hadn't made any baskets, but he'd only had 2 attempts. He was still a little too shy to ask the others to pass him the ball when he knew he was going to miss anyway.
He was starting to wonder what had happened to Namjoon though, and seeing as he wasn't really a vital part of the exercise, he wheeled away slowly, heading for the gym doors. Once he got there, he ran into the awkward situation of trying to push open the door while in his wheelchair, and after a minute, he decided to just get up and do it. Oddly enough, it felt weird standing up after being in a wheelchair for a while.
He pushed open the door a crack, ready to call out, but he saw Namjoon's back to him, phone up against his ear.
"The application isn't due until the end of the month," Namjoon said, his voice tense. "No, I'm not slacking off on my studies. I've been working hard; I'm just-" Namjoon sighed, looking up at the ceiling in vexation. "Yes, I know how important this is to you." He winced as the voice on the phone picked up in volume. "And to me too, yes, I know. I know, Dad. I won't let you down."
Jungkook hesitated before easing the door back shut. He remembered seeing the open tabs on the student council room computer. Namjoon was a senior, and he should have been busy filling out applications for college admission, but here he was, coaching a wheelchair basketball team. It had sounded like that was why his dad was upset, at least.
