The Mysterious Enemy

The Mysterious Enemy: Chapter 2

"I think I'm bleeding!"

A devious grin slipped onto my face as Luke cried from my hit. "Come on, make a move already!" I encouraged, waiting for him to strike back. Luke, backed into a corner, was afraid that I would assault him.

He tried to kick me but lost his balance, easily allowing me to evade and kick the back of his legs. Luke groaned as his body hit the mat. He breathed really slowly, as if he was having a heart attack. I didn't hit him that hard...I think.

"Can't you go easy on me?" he whined, pushing himself into sitting position. Droplets of sweat covered his forehead. Meanwhile, I wasn't even breaking a sweat.

"I did go easy on you," I protested. "You suck." Extending my arm, I helped him up to his feet. "Practice, that's what you need."

Luke trudged over to his bag for a water bottle. "First day of vacation and I'm spending it by getting beaten the crap out of by you," he muttered. "Fun."

Max, our taekwondo instructor, walked into the room carrying a box of new mats. "Lila's right, you need practice." He smirked. "If you guys don't mind, I need to switch these mats." Max nudged the ones currently on the floor. "These ones have been sweated on for quite a while." Both Luke and I cringed, thinking about the dried up sweat we were currently standing on. "You guys can leave now, unless you want to help me?"

Luke slowly shook his head. "Uh no. I think I'll call it a day for now." He picked up his bag from the floor, hitching it over his shoulder. "I'm going to bring the car to the front."

As I waited for the car, I helped Max change the mats. Max's uncle was the owner of the place, but Max was one of the instructors here. At only age nineteen, Max was a local college student and black belt. The first time I had stepped into the studio, Max made me an offer that if I took him down, I would get free membership. He didn't think I could beat him, but with the experience I got from fighting crimes, I actually did.

"What are you smiling about?" he questioned, quirking up an eyebrow at me. "I know I'm really dreamy," he rolled his eyes, "but can you focus on putting these mats down?"

I slightly thumped him with the mat in my hands. "Shut up," I laughed. "I was just thinking about that time I whooped your butt when I first came here."

Max scratched his head. "Yeah, and you still haven't told me how you learned how to fight like that."

"Can't say. It's a secret." I heard Luke honking from outside. "Bye, Max!" I waved at my favorite brown-eyed instructor. He nodded his head, stopping his work to crack a smile at me.

Once I was securely buckled, Luke started driving. "Want to get some ice cream before I drop you off?" he asked, glancing at me as he drove.

Rolling down my window, I noticed that there was a hand print on it from the outside. It hadn't been there before when I first got into Luke's car to go to the studio. I knew it also wasn't me who planted that there. Luke also kept his car spotless, not a smudge was allowed on his car. Weird.

Blinking, I realized that I didn't even answer his question. "Yeah, only if you're paying." I beamed as if I was a spoiled five year old child that got a pony for Christmas.

Luke rolled his eyes. "I'm forever buying you food."

We were coming up to a four-way stop where cars were passing through very smoothly. I was expecting Luke to slow down the car, but he kept going. Looking over, confusion covered his face. He pressed his foot down on the brakes, but the car didn't stop.

"Why aren't you stopping?" I shouted, hitting his arm. "You're going to run the stop sign!"

"My brake pedal is stuck!" Luke squealed. He started thumping his horn, alerting the other drivers. Luke tried kicking the brake free while honking his horn.