MY BEST FRIEND ELI ⁂ E.M.

CHAPTER TEN

Eli looked at his friend, debating what to say. "Let's just give it a chance. You saw the fight," he convinced. "Flossie kicked ass."

"And Miguel," Demetri added, making Eli blush, realizing what he had just said.

"Yeah, and Miguel," he clarified.

Sensei Lawrence entered the room, and it seemed like Flossie and Miguel were the only ones who noticed. The two, clad in their new Gi's, stood on the front of the mat with their hands behind their back.

"Quiet!" the Sensei shouted to get all the chattering kids attention, and almost all of the new kids jumped at his sudden tone. "Face front," he demands.

They all obliged as he started making his way through the group, surveying them. "Nice shirt," he said to Demetri, standing next to him.

"Thanks," Demetri replied.

"I'm joking," the Sensei clarified. "It sucks."

Flossie snickered at this, and Demetri shot her a rude glance, telling her to shut up. She rolled her eyes, turning back around.

"Word of advice: If you got shit for teeth, don't smile," the man walked around the room, chastising everyone. "My God, makes me feel like a virgin just looking at you."

Miguel looked at Flossie worriedly, and she only shrugged, deciding not to say anything about their Sensei's rudeness. "When I look around this dojo, I don't see Cobra Kai material," he carried on. "I see losers. I see nerds. I see a fat kid with a funny hat with his tits popping out."

Flossie cringed, playing with her hands behind her back in a nervous nature. "But my short time as a sensei, l've also seen some miracles," Sensei Lawrence proclaimed, looking proudly toward Miguel and Flossie who smiled brightly. "So maybe there's some hope for you yet."

Miguel gave Flossie a secret fist bump at this, and she laughed under her breath — trying not to catch the attention of the Sensei who was still talking. "First I need to see where you're at," he announced. "So everybody, fall in!"

Nobody moved and Flossie looked around confused, just as her Sensei did. "That means line up."

The group didn't seem to get it though, as they were quite literally lining up, and not getting into rows like the Sensei had intended. "No, not... not line up in a line," he tried explaining before looking to Miguel and Flossie tiredly.

"Iron-fist, line them up," he said to the girl exhausted and she turned around trying to hold in her giggle.

"He means rows," she explains as everyone seemed to make a noise of realization among their indistinct chatter.

Sensei Lawrence grumbled at this, "okay, nerd, thank you," he said to the girl and she turned around embarrassed. She definitely preferred iron-fist over nerd.

Now, with everyone facing the Sensei, he could finally begin the practice after all that nonsense that took way too much time. "Fighting position! Jab punch," Sensei called out and some people already started. "Nope wait 'til I say go," he clarified.

Flossie didn't pay much mind to Sensei Lawrence's constant degrading comments of her peers, only focused on her punching. But that was until she heard something that made her turn around. "Hey, Lip," he said to Eli and Flossie whipped around at this, in slight anger. "Yeah, you. The one with the freaky lip. Who do you think l'm talking to?"