𝘛𝘙𝘖𝘜𝘉𝘓𝘌. Eli Moskowitz

thirteen

"WHERE is everyone? Crater face? Nose ring? Slingshot?"

Miguel cleared his throat awkwardly. "They quit, Sensei."

"You serious?" Johnny stared at the few students who stayed. "I mean, good. That was a test. I wanted to see who the quitters are. Not you guys. You're in it to win it. Right, you could be at home, playing your iComputers, playing your video games, eating candy. Instead you're here, doing pushups, learning how to fight."

Johnny stopped talking for a moment and pointed straight at Eli.

"Lip! Look," he called out. " Even Lip's tougher than those guys. He's no quitter."

Before Violet could say anything, Eli spoke for himself.

"Could you please not call me that?"

"Excuse me, what?"

"I said, could you please not call me that," Eli repeated. Violet tapped her foot anxiously. She didn't want this to spiral out of control again.

"I'll warm them up, Sensei—"

"No, no, no. Lip has something he wants to say," Johnny cut her off. "Sorry, speak up, Lip. Or is your tongue messed-up too? Are you one of those challenged kids?"

Violet was appalled. How could Johnny be saying stuff like this to someone?

"Um, the doctor said I could be on the spectrum," Eli stammered.

"I don't know what that is, but get off it pronto. Alright?" Violet sighed at his ignorance. "If you don't want me to call you Lip, then don't have a weird lip. Can't you get surgery for that?"

"I was born with a cleft lip. This is the scar from the surgery," Eli explained.

"You mean it was worse before that? Or did the doctor just screw up? Because if this is the after photo, that sucks, man. You should sue, man."

"Can we just please change the topic?"

"You don't think I want to? It's tough when it's right in front of me. If you want to be something other than a nerd with a scar on his lip, then you gotta flip the script, okay? Get a face tattoo, or gauge your eye out. We'll call you Patch, all right? No, don't do that one. You'll still look like a freak."

Eli took a last look at an angry Violet, before swiftly walking out of the dojo.

"Great, really? Another quitter?"

"That one's on you," Violet spat, sending one last glare Johnny's way before chasing after Eli.

"Eli! Eli, wait!"

Eli stopped abruptly and spun around. "What?" he shouted.

Violet stepped back. She'd never seen him look so upset.

"Look, don't listen to what Sensei was saying, okay? There's nothing wrong with you—"

"Yes, there is." There were tears rolling down his face, but he only looked angry. "Yes, there is. Otherwise, people wouldn't make fun of me all the time. That never would've happened!"

Violet's heart hurt for him, but she didn't know what to do or say. God, she wished she wasn't so bad at this type of thing. "Eli—"

"No. No, he's right." Eli had calmed down a little. "Just— just let me go, alright? I need to do something."

And so she let him go.

"Three more absences, Sensei."

It was Saturday now. Violet had been ignoring Johnny since the incident.

"Bunch of pussies," Aisha spat.

"No, it's my fault," Johnny admitted. Violet finally looked at him. Was he finally going to apologize? "Since you joined Cobra Kai, I have been hard on you. I've called you names. I've humiliated you. Some of you I've hit. And for that, I don't apologize."

Never-mind.

"Cobra Kai is about strength. If you're not strong on the inside, you can't be strong on the outside." Violet was realizing that he did have a point. "And right now you're all weak. And I know that because I was you." Now that she wasn't expecting to hear. "I used to have no friends . . . Used to be the weirdo kid. Not that weird, I still hooked up with babes and all, but . . . The point is, I wasn't always the badass sensei I am today. Just like a cobra, I had to shed my loser skin to find my true power. And you guys will too."

The bell on the door chimed, signaling that someone had entered the dojo. The first thing Violet noticed was the blue mohawk the boy had, but when she looked at his face, she realized that the boy was Eli. And damn, he looked really good.

"Welcome to Cobra Kai," Johnny welcomed, not realizing that this was the kid he'd harassed earlier in the week.

"Eli?" Violet asked.

Miguel looked just as shocked as her. "What happened?"

"I'm flipping the script." Eli spoke confidently, something that also shocked Violet.

"Wait, are you the kid with the lip? Nice cut, bro," Johnny complimented him. He then pointed at Eli, using him as an example. "You see that? Doesn't matter if you're a loser or a nerd or a freak. All that matters is that you become badass!"

Eli was smirking throughout Johnny's speech, and Violet? Well, Violet was just having a hard time paying attention. He caught her stare and winked. Violet was surprised she didn't pass out right then and there.

"Hawk," Johnny gave him a nickname. "Fall in."

Eli, or Hawk now, took his place right next to Violet.

"Fear does not exist in this dojo, does it?" Johnny asked Hawk.

"No, Sensei."

"Pain does not exist in this dojo, does it?" he asked Violet.

"No, Sensei."

"Defeat does not exist in this dojo, does it?"

"No, Sensei," Miguel answered.

"Class, are you ready to learn the way of the fist?"

"YES, SENSEI!"