VIRTUAL AEROBICS; eli moskowitz

27. {glory of love}

"shut up."

"are you going to tell him you like him?" aisha asked, "now that he's single."

"i don't. and even if i did, it would be disrespectful to ask him out, especially if he's just gotten out of a relationship." gioia sighed, "besides, i should talk to moon first."

"mhm, girl code." aisha nodded.

"exactly."

"everybody, fall in." johnny announced as he entered the room.

gioia took her place, in the front with hawk, miguel and aisha. johnny walked in front of them, taking a glance at hawk but not saying anything.

"today, we'll be learning one of the most important lessons a cobra kai could ever know." johnny explained.

"where's sensei kreese?" hawk asked.

"shouldn't we wait for the sensei emeritus before we get going?" raymond asked, johnny glared at him, "or not."

"emeritus?" gioia mouthed to aisha in confusion, and her friend shrugged:

"mr kresse will no longer be joining us." johnny told them.

everyone but gioia began looking at each other, it seemed like they had taken a liking to kreese and she didn't understand why.

"seriously?"

"i made a promise when i became your sensei. to always look out for your best interests." johnny told his students, "despite how hard this may be for all of us, he didn't have our best interests at heart."

"hmm." gioia agreed, she was always johnny's biggest supporter.

"john kreese may have founded cobra kai, but he no longer represents what this dojo stands for." johnny elaborated, "his cobra kai was old and outdated. he refused to move forward, and what happens when we do that, mr diaz?"

"you get stuck like cement." miguel nodded.

"exactly. to be a great fighter, you gotta learn to adapt." johnny taught them, "this creed on the wall, follow it to the letter, it'll make you strong. it'll make you formidable. it'll also make you an asshole."

STRIKE FIRST
STRIKE HARD
NO MERCY

"cause that's just black paint on a white wall." he said, pointing at it, "but life's not black and white. more often than not, it's grey. and it's in those gray areas where johnny lawrence's cobra kai sometimes shows mercy."

gioia glanced at hawk, who seemed entranced by his words, she thought that maybe this could lead to a change in his attitude.

"doesn't mean you can't be badass. it's still a requirement. but you have to learn to think, not just with your gut, or your fists, but to really use this." their sensei tapped his head, "which leads me to today's lesson."

he picked up a wooden plank and used his head to smash it in half, "headbutting. grab a partner."

"that was a smooth transition." gioia grinned, impressed.

"thanks, seafood." he nodded as he began to walk away, "give it all you've got."

"partners?" hawk asked the girl beside him.

"yeah, of course." gioia nodded.

the two stood opposite one another and bowed.

"any plans for tonight?" gioia asked the boy.

"not that i know of, why'd you ask?" he questioned.

she stepped forward and cracked her head onto his. the impact was brutal on both ends, but it wounded hawk more. he fell to the ground, holding his head in pain.