Chapter Ten
FLIP THE SCRIPT
"When I look around this dojo, I don't see Cobra Kai material. I see losers, I see nerds." Sensei stopped at the front of the room looking over the students that crowded the dojo. "I see a fat kid with a funny hat with his tits popping out. But in my short time as a Sensei, I've also seen some miracles." He looked over at his three returning students who all now sported Cobra Kai gees. "So, maybe there's some hope for you yet. But first, I need to see where you're at. So everybody, fall in!"
No one moved and Mara realized that no one else knew what Sensei meant.
"That means line up!" Everyone started to form 3 lines behind Mara, Miguel, and Aisha, and they all facepalmed. "No, not line up in a line. Lines. Get in lines."
Demetri stuck his head out of Aisha's row. "You mean like, rows?"
Sensei covered his face with his hands as everyone reorganized themselves into rows. Mara was at the front in between Miguel and Aisha. Eli was a few rows over in the middle of his row and Demetri was beside him. Mara turned around to give both boys an encouraging smile and turned back to the front.
"Fighting positions!" Sensei yelled out. Everyone followed his instructions getting into position, some sloppier than others. "Jab punch." Some kids started to do it but Sensei warned them only to go when he said so. "Hiyah! Hiyah! Hiyah! Hiyah! Come on. Stand straight. Plant your feet in there. Hiyah! Are you sure you're right-handed? Hiyah! Hiyah! Come on, Tits, you can do better than that. You got weight use it. Ready? Hiyah! Hiyah! Hiyah! Hey, Lip." Eli looked around pretending to be confused but everyone already knew who sensei was talking about. Mara hoped Sensei didn't go too out of line.
"Yeah, you. The one with the freaky lip. Who do you think I'm talking to?" Mara inhaled sharply and bit her lip to keep from speaking out.
"Excuse me, uh, Mr. Lawrence," Demetri spoke up. Mara looked down knowing this wasn't going to end well.
"Sensei Lawrence!" Aisha corrected him from beside Mara.
Demetri just shrugged his shoulders. "You really shouldn't make fun of someone's physical appearance." Mara knew Demetri had Eli's best interest at heart but these were one of the times where he should try and not speak.
"Is that so? So, I'm not supposed to mention his lip at all?"
"Well, yeah." Demetri looked around to see if people would agree with him but everyone either looked away and dropped their gazes to the floor, even Eli.
"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." Mara knew Sensei was right. They joined Cobra Kai to get stronger so they could stand up against those people. The world was cruel and didn't follow the rules, so you have to be strong enough to go against it. "Alright. You hear that, Lip? If you can't handle someone making fun of you, how are you gonna handle an elbow to the teeth?" Although Sensei had the right message, Mara wished he couldn't deliver it without directly making fun of Eli.
"By calling the police," Demetri replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Mara covered her face with her hands while Miguel turned to the boy with an exasperated look. "Dude, knock it off." Miguel was starting to see what Mara meant in the argument between her and Demetri the other day. The boy talked too much and didn't realize that he didn't always need to give his input.
"What? He does realize the Nazis 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."
Mara knew that was the last straw. She and Miguel started backing up and Sensei started to walk closer to Demetri. Everyone started to back away from the boy and Sensei knowing that things were about to get ugly.
"Are you done? Hit me." Demetri started to back up slightly and Sensei shook his head. "Go ahead, hit me. Strike me right here." Sensei pointed at his face. Demetri threw a weak punch and Sensei easily slapped his hand away. "Harder." Demetri took a deep breath and threw a slightly stronger punch that was still easily deflected by Sensei. "Is that all you got, princess?" Demetri looks around now embarrassed but preceded to get back into position and throw another punch. This time Sensei grabbed his arm and flipped him over. Demetri landed on the mat, hard, and everyone winced as they heard the sound of his back colliding with the floor. Sensei looked around at everyone.
"Let this be a lesson to all of you."
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Mara walked down the hall with Miguel and Demetri, the latter was telling the two that he wasn't going back to Cobra Kai.
"Yeah, but you can't quit," Miguel told him.
"I got yelled at, got my ass kicked, and then gave him my money. You know who lives like that? Hookers."
Mara looked up from her phone and looked at Demetri. " I mean if you would've kept your mouth shut none of that would've happened. I told you that your words have consequences."
Demetri rolled his eyes at her and Miguel could smell an argument starting to brew up between the two again. "Yeah, but he's not that bad of a guy. You gotta give him a chance. You don't know him like I do."
Demetri scoffed. "That. That's hooker talk. Besides, I don't need to learn karate when I have you guys." He nodded over at Kyler who stopped when he saw Miguel. He had a black eye and his face was bruised. The boy quickly walked away from the three and passed Ryan who was at his locker. The two said a few words to each other before the Asian left her brother alone to continue scrolling on his phone.
"See, no one's gonna mess with you."
Mara looked down the hall to see Moon at her locker. The blonde girl had spotted her and was waving her over. They were going to walk to chemistry together.
"I'll catch up with you guys later." Miguel and Mara said at the same time. They gave each other a weird look before going their separate ways leaving Demetri in the hall alone.
"Hey guys! I'm still here!"
Mara ignored Demetri and linked her arm with Moon's so they could go. She looked back at where she saw Miguel walk off to and saw him talking to her brother. Weird.
"Ok, so I've been thinking." Mara turned back to Moon. "We should go shopping. Change up our style a little. I noticed you've been dressing differently lately so maybe we could go on a full shopping spree and completely change our wardrobe to fit our liking."
"I would like that. I have to run it past Eli first though. We usually hang out after karate."
"Well if you guys usually hang out then I don't want to stand in between you two."
"No, it's ok. He's really understanding. We'll just hang out before karate and then after I'll go shopping with you."
Moon smiled and the two took their seats. Mara liked that she and Moon were friends again. She could tell the girl was trying to be better. She had even started eating lunch at a different table. Her, Ryan, and Sam sat together now.
Mara didn't mind Sam. The girl was a teen. She was bound to make mistakes. It would be hypocritical of her to forgive Moon and then completely hate Sam. The girl just needed some better guidance to set her on track.
Mara turned to Moon and whispered, "Hey, do you have Sam's number?
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"Ok, everybody. Fall in." Mara and Eli gravitated towards Sensei Lawrence who stopped in his tracks at the lack of students today. "Where is everyone? Crater face? Nose ring? Slingshot?"
Mara spoke up. "They quit, Sensei."
"Are you serious? 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. Lip. Look. Even Lip's tougher than those guys. He's no quitter."
Mara looked over at Eli who looked upset at the nickname. Mara didn't blame him, he already had to deal with them at school he didn't need them here either.
"Can you please not call me that?"
"Excuse me, what?"
"Could you please not call me that?"
Mara stepped forward. "I'll warm 'em up, Sensei."
He put his hand up quieting her and approaching Eli. "No, Lip has something he wants to say. Sorry, speak up, Lip. Or is your tongue messed up too?"
Mara didn't like what Sensei was saying. Eli didn't need to be bullied more he just needed someone to teach him how to stand up to bullies.
"Are you one of those challenged kids?" Sensei asked.
"Um, the doctor said I could be on the spectrum," Eli answered nervously. His eyes were glued to Sensei and he couldn't find the strength to move them.
"I don't know what that is, but get off it pronto. All right? If you don't want me to call you Lip, 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 was starting not to like this guy and he didn't enjoy all of the eyes on him either.
"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."
"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 wanna be something other than a nerd with a scar on his lip, you gotta flip the script. Ok? Get a face tattoo or gouge your eye out. We'll call you 'Patch,' all right? No, don't do that one. You'll still look like a freak."
Mara watched as tears started to fill up in Eli's eyes. He shook his head before storming out of the dojo. Mara went to go after him but Sensei grabbed her by the wrist. "Where do you think you're going shortcake?"
Mara yanked her wrist out of his grasp and glared at him. "What kind of teacher are you? You're supposed to make us strong and teach us to fight against the bullies. Not bully us some more."
She ignored the shocked look on Sensei's face and stormed out of the dojo after Eli. She found him outside on the curve violently tapping at his phone, probably texting his mom to come pick him up. "Eli."
He turned to her and she saw the tear tracks running down his cheeks. She dived forward and wrapped her arms around him and he didn't hesitate to bury his face in the crook of her neck. She could feel him shaking and the feeling of his tears on her neck made her pull him closer. "He shouldn't have said that to you. I'm so sorry."
"E-everywhere I go I can never escape it." He sobbed. "All anyone sees when they look at me is a loser and a freak. I'm so tired of feeling like this."
Mara pulled away abruptly and grabbed his face with her hands. "Hey, don't say that. You are not a loser and you are not a freak. You are perfect just the way you are." She leaned forward and leaned her forehead on his.
"You're only saying that cause your my best friend. Maybe Sensei is right about flipping the script."
She backed away from him so they weren't so close but still kept a firm grip on both of his hands. "If it gives you confidence then I say go for it. But don't do something drastic just to get people to stop calling you names. Do it for you and to help you feel more confident in yourself."
"Ok." He wiped his tears and gave Mara a small smile. They heard a car horn and they looked to see Mrs. Moskowitz waving at them. " I think I know what I'm going to do. Thanks, Mara." He kissed her cheek and ran over to his mom's car and hopped in.
As they drove away Mara hoped he wouldn't do anything too crazy.
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Ryan stood beside his car in front of the address he was sent. He looked up to see a giant sign that read Cobra Kai. This must have been the karate dojo Miguel went to. The boy had told him to pick him up here. He approached the windows and looked inside to see kids punching the air. "This is some crazy shit," he thought to himself.
He looked around to see if he knew anyone other than Miguel and froze when he saw his sister in the front of the class right next to him. He didn't see the two other kids she hung out with but that was most definitely her. He quickly backed up and scrambled for his keys that were deep down in his pocket. He pulled out of his parking spot and parked farther down from the dojo so no one would see his car if they weren't specifically looking for it.
He reached into his glove compartment and pulled out his black beanie and slid it over his head. He then added some sunglasses to finish off the disguise. Kids started to flood out of the doors and he didn't see his sister or Miguel yet. He did see that one girl that Mara used to go to camp with and apparently used to be friends with Sam. Aisha, he thought her name was. She walked up to a white jeep, that he recognized as his sisters, and stood beside it.
He didn't know what was taking Miguel so long. He couldn't risk his sister seeing him here. A few minutes later Mara came out looking slightly upset. She turned around and looked in his direction and Ryan sank down in his seat to avoid being seen. He waited a few moments and peaked out of the window to see her jeep pulling out of the parking lot.
He let out a sigh of relief but jumped when a knock came at his window. He looked over to see Miguel looking at him with a weirded out expression. Ryan unlocked the door for the boy to get in and sat up in his seat. He took his beanie off and put his sunglasses away and adjusted himself in his seat so he was sitting normally again. He looked in his mirror and ran his fingers through his hair to put more volume in it after it being crushed by his hat.
He turned to the Hispanic boy who had already been staring at him. Ryan smirked. "So, where we goin?"
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After dropping off Aisha at her house, it took Mara a few minutes to get to her next destination and when she pulled up she saw a giant house with a grand design. She was definitely on the richer side of Encino. She pulled out her phone and texted a quick here to the number.
Not a moment later Sam Larusso came out of her house. She was wearing a dress and a jean jacket. Mara unlocked the doors so Sam could get in and the girl quietly hopped in and smiled shyly at her. "Thank you for this. I don't deserve your kindness."
"It's no problem. I just wanted to get to know you more before I make an unfair evaluation of your character. Damn, I sound like Demetri."
Sam giggled softly as Mara started down the road to Moon's house. "I wish I was as smart as you and your friends. I keep seeming to mess up all the time."
"It's ok to mess up every once in awhile Sam. I get it. You were offered the chance to be popular and you took it. It's not so fun on our side so I couldn't say I wouldn't have taken that offer too. I don't want this to come out the wrong way, but you're a follower. That's not necessarily a bad thing. You just have to learn when is the right time to step up and be the leader."
"Yeah."
"Moon was the same way. She was offered the chance to feel important and she took it. Everyone wants to feel important. Yeah, you laughed at mean jokes, but at least you weren't the one starting them right?"
"Right. That doesn't make me feel any better though. Laughing at them is still wrong."
"That's true but the way I see it you weren't nearly as bad as other people. It would be hypocritical of me to forgive everything Moon has done to me and then hate you for just laughing at mean jokes. Every single person has laughed at someone, whether it was on the internet or in real life, but because we don't know those people we don't call it bullying. I can tell you regret everything you've done Sam, but other people don't. I know it might seem hard or scary but the first step to making amends is apologizing. Aisha would forgive you or at least try to forgive you if you started with that simple step."
Sam nodded taking in Mara's words. "Thank you. I will as soon as I see her again. She kind of blocked my number."
"Yeah, I did the same thing to Moon," Mara laughed. "I mean at least it forces you to apologize in person. Text apologies are never as sincere." Mara leaned forward and turned the volume dial on the radio up. "Now how about some T Swift."
Sam smiled and laughed as Mara started belting out the lyrics to the song. She joined in eventually and the two girls sang along to the radio as they drove further down the road.
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The next day Mara stood in the dojo staring at the door waiting for Eli to walk through it. She hadn't heard from him since their conversation yesterday and she was worried. They had never gonna more than a few hours without talking to the other and he always came to school. It felt different not getting a goodnight text from him, not driving him to school, not walking him to class, not having anyone to exchange applesauce and pudding cups with. She felt empty without him there.
She could only hope that whatever he was doing was safe. She couldn't handle not knowing if he was ok.
"Hey, you ok?"
Mara looked at Miguel and gave him a slight nod. "I'm just worried about Eli. He hasn't answered any of my texts."
"I'm sure he's fine." Sensei came out of his office and everyone quickly lined up and stopped talking. "Three more absences, Sensei," Miguel told him.
"Bunch of pusses," Aisha spat harshly.
Sensei paced back and forth in front of the mirror."No, it's my fault. 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. Cobra Kai is about strength. If you're not strong on the inside, you can't be strong on the outside and right now, you're all weak. And I know that. Because I was you. I used to have no friends. Used to be the weirdo kid." Sensei pointed at a short kid with glasses that stood in the middle row. "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 door to the dojo opened and everyone looked to the side to see who it was. A kid with a blue Mohawk walked in, but what caught Mara's attention was how familiar he looked. Then it clicked. "Eli, what happened?"
He smirked at her and looked around the dojo. "I'm flipping the script."
Sensei looked shocked and walked closer. "Wait. Are you the kid with the lip? Nice cut, bro." Sensei pointed at Eli and turned to address the entire class. "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. Hawk. Fall in."
Hawk kicked off his shoes and walked onto the mat and stood beside Mara. He gave her a smirk and winked at her, causing her cheeks to flush red, before turning to the front and folding his arms behind his back.
Sensei stood in front of Hawk. "Fear does not exist in this dojo, does it?"
"No sensei," Hawk replied confidently tilting his chin up.
He moved on to Mara. "Pain does not exist in this dojo, does it?"
"No Sensei."
Lastly, he moved in front of Miguel. "Defeat does not exist in the dojo, does it?"
"No sensei."
Sensei turned to face the mirror. "Class, are you ready to learn the way of the fist?"
"Yes, Sensei!"
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⚠️!VERY IMPORTANT AUTHORS NOTE. PLEASE READ!⚠️
So with wattpad changing owners to a new company, naver, and a new TOS(terms of service) being implemented there is a possibility of some accounts or stories being deleted if they violate the new TOS. I don't write too much smut if not any so my account shouldn't be affected, BUT if it is I recommend following my wattpad Instagram or tik tok to get updates on this story or anything having to do with my account.
My Instagram - sedabxbe.wp
My tik tok - minisamurai_ Or sedabxbe.wp
(I'm more active on the first account)
If my story happens to be deleted or my account happens to be deleted I will publish it on ao3 under the same username until I can make a new wattpad account. Nothing should happen but these are my plans if something does.
Now about the chapter. I really wanted Mara to reach out to Sam in some way and have a conversation with her even if it was a short one. I wanted to try and dive into Sam's thoughts and what I believe she was thinking in season 1. I really focus on analyzing her character(and others) and really portraying her to the best of my ability and how I think the writers wanted her to be portrayed. I think it's really important for Mara to develop some kind of relationship with most of the characters so that's why I don't heavily focus on her and Eli's relationship all the time.
As always if you liked this chapter don't forget to vote and comment. Feedback is always appreciated!