Living in Reseda

Chapter 16: Enrollment Surges

When everyone was formed into neat lines (or rows as Demetri said) we had to start practice.

"Fighting positions! Jab punch! Nope, wait till I say go," Johnny instructed. "Hiyah!" The kids punched. Sensei kept yelling while he walked up and down the rows criticizing students and correcting their form. "Come on. Stand straight. PLant your feet there. Are you sure you're right-handed?" Johnny asked fixing a kids stance. He kept moving down the rows. "Come on, tits, you can do better than that. You got weight use it," Johnny added before walking up to the front. "Hey, Lip!" He yelled talking to Eli, Miguel's friend. Eli stared at Sensei blankly. "Yeah, you, the one with the freaky lip. Who do you think I'm talking to?" He asked mockingly. Eli looked down embarrassed.

"Excuse me Mr. Lawrence?" Demetri pipped up.

"Sensei Lawerence," Aisha corrected.

"Ok," Demetri said chuckling, "You really shouldn't make fun of someone's physical appearance."

"Oh, is that so?" Johnny asked sarcastically. Demetri nodded. "So, I'm not supposed to mention his lip at all?" Sensei asked mockingly while eyeing Demetri up and down.

"Well, yeah," Demetri said as Eli looked at him with a worried expression.

"Maybe, that's what they teach you in school, but in the real world, you can't expect people to do what they're supposed to do. You hear that Lip? If you can't handle someone making fun of you, how are you gonna handle an elbow to the teeth?" Johnny said.

"By calling the police," Demetri said somewhat condescendingly.

"Demetri, knock it off," I snapped surprised at my tone of voice.

"What? He does know the natzis lost the war, right? Why should I be scared of him? Because he's got a snake on his wall? It's not like he's a teacher who can give us a bad grade. We're paying him. He works for us. It's not like he can actually hurt us," Demetri rambled, mater of factly. I pushed my lips together in a straight line and my eyes got wide. 'Oh god Demetri,' I thought as I looked at Johnny. The muscles in his face twitched slightly as he walked towards Demetri his eyes not once leaving the boys face.

"Oh shit," Miguel whispered next to me, closing his eyes and grabbing my hand. This was definitely not the first time Miguel and I had held hands but my heart skipped a beat and I mentally told it to stop. The kids in front of Demetri stumbled back to move away quickly so as not to be near Johnny.

"Are you done?" Johnny asked annoyance laced through his voice.

"What?" Demetri replied nervously.

"Hit me. Go ahead, hit me. Strike me right here," Johnny instructed, pointing to his nose with two fingers. Demetri rolled his eyes and got in a sloppy fighting stance before slowly throwing a punch at Sensei. He knocked it away easily.

"Harder." Demetri huffed and got back in his stance throwing another sloppy punch. Johnny knocked it away harder this time. "Is that all you got princess?" Johnny mocked. Miguel shook his head and clenched my hand tighter. Heat rose to my cheeks and I looked at Miguel to see if he noticed the effect he was having on me but his eyes were on Johnny and Demetri. I turned my attention back to them as Demetri threw another punch and Johnny flipped him over onto his back. He threw a punch and stopped in centimetres away from Demetri's face. Sensei stood up and slowly turned around the circle of kids to address everyone.

"Let that be a lesson to all of you," Johnny said pointing at everyone. The kids nodded and scrambled to get out the door when Johnny signalled class was dismissed. Miguel left quickly after looking at his phone saying his Yaya needed help with dinner but I stayed behind for a bit to talk to Johnny.

"How did I do?" Johnny asked looking at me while he opened mail in his office.

"Hmmm. Well, are you asking about the part where you threw a kid down on the mat or where you threatened them? Or maybe the part where you insulted a bunch of kids in the beginning?" I said jokingly. Johnny rolled his eyes at me. "I'm just saying! Maybe dial it down a bit or you might have some unhappy parents at your door," I said.

"Yeah, yeah," Johnny said as the phone rang. He picked it up and started a conversation as I headed out the door. I picked my backpack off the floor and got a text from a number I haven't seen for a long time.

Mr. Larusso 🎋🌸

Hey Hazel! It's been a long time since I last saw you! How have you been? I was wondering if you could come by the dealership after school tomorrow? I've got something to talk to you about!

Hazel

Hi Mr. Larusso! I've been good! How have you been? I will stop by tomorrow.

Mr. Larusso 🎋🌸

Great!

I smiled as I walked out the door with my bag. Things were about to get interesting.

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Author's Note!

Hey! As promised here is the second chapter of the day! I've got a good plan for the next chapter and there may or may not be a very cute new character who will be introduced! I have three things to say about this chapter! First, if it wasn't clear the emojis after Hazel's name when she's texting someone change depending on the person she is texting. For example in Hazel's phone Miguel is this: Miguel 🥋💕 and in Miguel's phone Hazel is this: Hazel🦋💙.

Second, the emojis after Mr. Larusso's name were the closest I could find to a bonsai tree and a Miyagi-Do sort of flower. I am on my computer today because my phone is restarting and taking forever so the emojis are different on my computer then my phone but if you find better ones let me know! Same goes for other characters!

And lastly, Johnny says a lot of body shaming things, insults about appearances, and rude comments about people. That is not ok at all to say about yourself or others. You are beautiful and you should love your body and yourself no matter what!

If you liked this chapter please consider voting/commenting! Thank you for almost 500 reads!!