The Karate Kid 🥋 (Daniel LaRusso)

ch.1

"Are you getting out then?" My dad asked blankly. I stared out the car window at my new school. My eyes landed on the huge sign that read 'West Valley High School'. "I had a school already. You didn't even ask me how I felt about moving" I said with a hint of annoyance. "I couldn't miss a job opportunity like this just because you don't like change" he replied, tapping the steering wheel impatiently. 

We sat in silence for a few minutes. "The principal told me she will talk to you soon to see how you're settling in" he added. "It's a headteacher. We're British if you forget already" I quipped. "Whatever they're all the bloody same" he scoffed. I got out of the car, watching him drive off. Then I walked into the school.

Students bustled about the halls noisily, most of them chatting with their friends and I felt even more alone. I had no clue where my class was to top it off. Whilst walking, I pulled out my timetable to check the number when I bumped into someone, knocking my books with theirs to the floor. We both bent down to pick up our stuff and I sighed, I hadn't even been there five minutes and I was already messing up. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you...-" I began when my voice trailed off.

Staring back at me was the most beautiful boy I'd ever seen. He was wearing a red checkered shirt with khaki green jeans and black sunglasses that sat on top of his jet black hair that fell slightly over his forehead. He had darkly tanned skin, he was taller than me and had soft, wood brown eyes.

"Don't worry about it, where are you from? You have an accent" he replied curiously. His voice was just as attractive, slightly deep but sweet and he sounded different to the others around us. "I'm from England, I just moved from London" I answered. "I'm from Newark, New Jersey. I moved to Reseda about two months ago" he conversed. "I'm in Reseda too," I said slowly.

The boy's face lit up with excitement. He went to reply when the bell rang loudly. "I've gotta go, but I'll see you around?" He said with a glint in his eyes before he walked off. I watched him until he turned the corner. Something about him was interesting and I couldn't help but wonder about him.

As the day went on, I didn't see the boy again until the fifth-period gym class. I was standing on the edge of the field with the rest of the girls in my kit watching the boys play football. I noticed his cheeky smile first as he called out to his friends. He was the best out of all the guys at playing football, especially with his kick-ups. He would swap the ball from his foot to his knee and I watched him, impressed with his skills.

"Boys hand over to the girls" the teacher called out sharply. Their game finished and the boys trudged over to the bleachers. When he saw me, he waved and I gave him a little nod. The girls took position on the field and our game started. I didn't care about football or many sports. Because I was still moody, my head wasn't in the game and I could sense hostility between me and a few others.

I knew I was right when a girl grabbed the back of my shirt, pulling me to the floor. Looking up, I remembered her from my English class. She made snarky comments when the teacher introduced me and from that, I already didn't like her. I quickly stood up and brushed myself off.

"Hey, why did you do that?" I called out loudly making the class stop to watch the confrontation. In the corner of my eye, I could see the boys watching excitedly, but that one boy looked concerned. "Should've watched yourself, not my fault you're lazy" she sneered. I took in her words, nodding my head slowly. I punched her right in the face, knocking her backwards. She cried out in pain and I saw she had blood dripping from her nose.

I could hear gasps from the others and loud chatter. The girl's friends were holding her back as I was dragged back by the teacher who was furious. "Off my pitch, there's no space for that kind of wild behaviour" he shouted. "She started it!" I said defensively. "OFF!" he shouted again harshly. I glared at him and everyone angrily before storming off. "I hate this place, screw you" I shouted. I still didn't know my full way around so I found a bench near the locker rooms and flopped down.

I had a terrible temper, my parents always told me that. I knew why I was such an angry child, I just didn't like to face those facts and that made me spiral down even more. I kicked at the ground forcefully and didn't even realize the boy had followed me.

"The same thing happened to me when I first joined, some boy tripped me and I punched him too. Felt better than it looked" he said taking a seat next to me. I took a deep breath, locking eyes with him."Uh, yeah it's hard being the new kid" I replied, shaking my head. He laughed and I noticed he had the cutest smile. "You'll get used to it, easier if you find decent friends too" he explained. "Hmm, well I've probably blown it. Who wants to be friends with the mad new girl who just punched her way out of class" I said with a small shrug. "I do, I take first to volunteer," he said with a cheeky grin.

I looked at him deeply, trying to read his character. I could tell he was more genuine than the others and something told me to keep him close. "Do you wanna get out of here, I could lose some steam?" I said. He pretended to think hard and then nodded enthusiastically. "Let's do it, I know just the perfect place. Meet me in the car park in ten" he said, standing up. He pulled me to my feet and we went separate ways into the locker rooms to change our clothes. Ten minutes later I met him outside of a yellow 1947 Ford convertible and he drove us away from the school.

"Good choice," I said as we sat down together on the beach. The waves lapped onto the sand and birds chanted in the air as the sun beat down on us. "Right? It's my second favourite place" he said, playing with the sand with his foot. "What's your first favourite place?" I asked curiously. "Mr Miyagi's house," he said with a pure smile. "Who's Mr Miyagi?" I asked. "He's my apartment maintenance guy but also my karate sensei, he helped me win a tournament a few weeks ago" he explained proudly. I nodded my head slowly.

"You talk highly of him, he must be important to you," I said with a small smile for the first time. "Very, you should come with me to meet him. He'd like you" he replied. "Yeah, I'd be honoured. Maybe you can teach me some moves" I said with a jokingly raised eyebrow. "For sure, I'll be a great teacher" he grinned. "Well, Mr Teacher, do you have a name that you still haven't told me?" I questioned. The boy looked at me with wide eyes before he broke into a laugh.

"Daniel LaRusso," he said, holding out his hand. "Riley Cullen," I said, shaking it firmly. His touch was soft and comforting. After that, we hung out for hours and talked, even after the sunset. From then on, I realized there was only one person I would want to be in that moment with, and that was Daniel LaRusso.