Serendipity & the Sequel

Bananarama Mania

Johnny was barely awake when you got home that night. He was practically talking in his sleep, asking you if you wanted him to fry up some ham for a midnight snack. You simply ruffled his hair and planted a kiss on his forehead before he was out cold.

The next morning, you awoke bright and early. So early in fact, that the sun had not even risen.

You had a quick bowl of cereal and grabbed a bottle of water on your way out the door. Your workout gear clung to your body as the crisp morning air hit your skin and woke you up completely.

Last night, you had made a promise to Patrick that you would teach him what Mr. Miyagi had taught you about balance. But in order to do it properly, you felt as though you needed a solid refresher on how Miyagi-do really worked. And there was no better way of that then training with Daniel.

The two of you had talked arrangements over the phone a few days prior, making plans to do just that. And now that this opportunity with Patrick practically presented itself, you were even more ecstatic to get on that mat.

You pulled up to Daniel's house and stepped onto the driveway below on shaky legs. It didn't matter how many times you had visited him, his wealth still made your jaw drop. Granted, you hadn't been around since Daniel decided to jack up the rent on the dojo just to be petty. And even before then, you usually just stopped in to say hello to him and his wife, Amanda, at their car dealership. Especially after Johnny got spray paint happy a few months back...

You hadn't seen their kids in what felt like forever. It hadn't been extremely long, but it had been long enough. You knew that they would be sleeping but you figured you would be here for quite a long time.

And if things went smoothly, you would probably find yourself coming here more often.

Daniel had texted you earlier that morning, telling you to come around the back. As you made your way around the side of the house and toward the patio, you couldn't help but look around. With a big house like that you assumed there would be some sort of security system.

But when you saw Daniel standing by the pool, admiring something in his hand, you released a breath of anxiety you had been holding.

There was no need to be nervous. Sure things had changed around here since him and your husband decided to rekindle their rivalry for reasons you'll never quite understand, but you and Daniel were still friends through it all. Seeing him with Mr. Miyagi's headband around his forehead made your heart jump for joy. In that moment, you felt like a kid again.

"Good morning, Daniel!"

He turned to face you fully. "Oh, hey! Good morning!"

As he held up his hand to wave, you noticed a small scroll he held up in his hand.

"Whatcha got there?" You pondered, your curiosity getting the best of you.

"Oh," he looked at it intently? "This old thing? It's one of Mr. Miyagi's scrolls. I brought it out here to show you! Here, check this out."

As he placed it in your palm, a chill ran down your spine. With your heart in your throat, you peeled it open.

And you didn't understand any of it.

"What does it mean?" You inquired.

"I'm... not sure." Daniel responded in defeat, "but I'm dying to know! I mean, I just found it. Right before you showed up. Did I tell you I cleaned out the pool house and turned it into a dojo? I mean, it's still in the process but I'm finding gems like this everywhere. Even when Sam was a little girl and I trained her in there, I don't remember this being there."