Catch that Ball

Quick shot of Jayson, Brandon and Dom; all former students of mine.

Jayson is an intellectual, always interested in movies and screenwriting.
Brandon is a trickster, with a grin that could get him out of any trouble anywhere.
Dom is a truly honest and compassionate guy with a short temper. He feels deeper than anyone at school, but sometimes the other guys will bust on him for that.

This was at June camp earlier this year during the daily basketball game which I supervised.
Dom's team lost the game by a very short margin, and afterwards he lost control. Fuming, he stomped his way back up to the lodge. I knew if he reacted with Mrs. Cheney the headmistress, that he would spend the rest of the day in isolation, so I brought him aside.

"Leave me alone." he growled at me.
"Nah, it's ok." I said. I held up my hands to him. "Hit me."
He looked at me startled, then tried to shove past. "No. Leave me alone."
"I'm serious." I growled back, "Hit me."
He restrained tears, and balled up his fists. He beat at my hands furiously, until he had nothing left, then collapsed into my arms.
I walked back up with him arm in arm. "You feel better?" I asked.
"...yeah..." he sniffed, wiping his nose with his sleeve.
"Good." I smiled. "Stay like this, and you'll be fine for the rest of the day."

And he did it, too. We had a movie that night, and when other kids had to stay outside because they had been misbehaving, he got to go in.

~Orion

.:EDIT: Thanks for the Uknown Artist Feature [link] and also to ~kree8uvwon for his poem Last Wish [link] :.