Living in Reseda

By Caroline1954

2.3K 84 4

Hazel Lopez has lived in her small Reseda apartment with her mom and Abuela for as long as she can remember... More

Author's Note
Chapter 1: Churros
Chapter 2: New kid
Chapter 3: Meeting the Neighbors
Chapter 4: Pepto Bismol
Chapter 5: Opening a Dojo
Chapter 6: Demetri and Eli
Chapter 7: Walking With Miguel
Chapter 8: Empanadas
Chapter 9: Dinner at the Larusso's
Chapter 10: Kicking
Author's Note
Chapter 11: The Halloween Dance
Chapter 12: No More Karate
Chapter 13: Closing the Dojo
Chapter 14: Making up
Chapter 15: The Third Student
Chapter 16: Cafeteria Fight
Chapter 17: Larusso Auto
Chapter 18: Lip
Chapter 19: Dating Advice
Author's Note

Chapter 16: Enrollment Surges

55 2 0
By Caroline1954

Hazel's POV

Miguel and I walked to the dojo together quickly so as not to be late, only to notice they weren't the only ones there. 20 or so kids were standing outside the glass doors chatting and watching the video of Miguel and Hazel fighting Kyler that had gone viral a few days ago. They were all talking excitedly about how they were going to learn to do what Miguel and I did. Miguel looked at me with a large grin on his face and it was obvious he was thinking the same thing I was: Johnny was going to love this. Just as the thought crossed my mind, his beaten up old Firebird pulled into the parking lot and in front of the dojo. He opened the door of his car with a look of shock spread out across his face he approached Miguel and I smiling like a mad man.

"Looks like we're in business," He said.

When Johnny unlocked the doors to the dojo, the kids rushed in looking around like they were just transported to a new world. Miguel, Aisha, and I rushed to the bathrooms to change into our gis and when we came back the kids were still looking around.

"I'm gonna go get Sensei," I whispered to Miguel. He nodded and I headed off to Johnny's office. I knocked softly on the door before I walked in.

"Hey Sensei," I said teasingly, bringing Johnny our of his thoughts. "You ready? You've got a full room of students out there," I added when he didn't turn around. He nodded.

"Are you ok?" I asked when he still didn't face me. He cleared his throat and finally spun around.

"Let's go do this," He said with determination. I smiled and stepped out of his office with him following behind.

"Ok. Today we begin..." Johnny started. The kids just kept chatting and looking at their phones. Sensei looked to me for help but I just nodded in encouragement.

"Quiet!" He yelled and the talking stopped immediately. I jumped a little and Miguel silently laughed at me.

"Face front," Johnny said and thee kids turned slowly. Johnny started walking in between all the kids and observing them. "Nice shirt," He said to Demetri.

"Thanks!" Demetri said taken aback.

"I'm joking. It sucks," He said before continuing down the line of students. He stopped in front of a kid with long hair and glasses. The kid smiled at him.

"Word of advise, if you got shit for teeth don't smile," Johnny said and the kid's lips dropped from his grin. Johnny continued to look at the kids and when he came across a pale short kid he snorted.

"God, makes me feel like a virgin just looking at you," He said before making his way to the front. "When I look around this dojo, I don't see Cobra Kai material," He said addressing everyone. "I see losers, I see nerds, I see a fat kid with a funny hat with his tits popping out," Johnny said looking at someone a few feet away from me.

"But, in my short time as a Sensei, I've also seen some miracles," He said glancing at Miguel, Aisha, and I. "So, maybe there's some hope for you yet. But, first I need to see where you're at. So everybody, fall in!" He said the last part louder than the rest. The kids looked at each other whispering and trying to figure out what that meant. Miguel, Aisha, and I moved to start forming lines.

"That means line up," Johnny said when he saw everyone's confusion. The kids started forming a single file line behind Aisha and Sensei sighed. "No, not... not line up in a line. Lines! Get in lines."

"You mean like rows?" Demetri asked.

"Ugh," Johnny said, placing his head in his hands in annoyance. This was going to be a long process.

When everyone was formed into neat lines (or rows as Demetri said) we had to start practice.

"Fighting positions! Jab punch! Nope, wait till I say go," Johnny instructed. "Hiyah!" The kids punched. Sensei kept yelling while he walked up and down the rows criticizing students and correcting their form. "Come on. Stand straight. PLant your feet there. Are you sure you're right-handed?" Johnny asked fixing a kids stance. He kept moving down the rows. "Come on, tits, you can do better than that. You got weight use it," Johnny added before walking up to the front. "Hey, Lip!" He yelled talking to Eli, Miguel's friend. Eli stared at Sensei blankly. "Yeah, you, the one with the freaky lip. Who do you think I'm talking to?" He asked mockingly. Eli looked down embarrassed.

"Excuse me Mr. Lawrence?" Demetri pipped up.

"Sensei Lawerence," Aisha corrected.

"Ok," Demetri said chuckling, "You really shouldn't make fun of someone's physical appearance."

"Oh, is that so?" Johnny asked sarcastically. Demetri nodded. "So, I'm not supposed to mention his lip at all?" Sensei asked mockingly while eyeing Demetri up and down.

"Well, yeah," Demetri said as Eli looked at him with a worried expression.

"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. You hear that Lip? If you can't handle someone making fun of you, how are you gonna handle an elbow to the teeth?" Johnny said.

"By calling the police," Demetri said somewhat condescendingly.

"Demetri, knock it off," I snapped surprised at my tone of voice.

"What? He does know the natzis 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," Demetri rambled, mater of factly. I pushed my lips together in a straight line and my eyes got wide. 'Oh god Demetri,' I thought as I looked at Johnny. The muscles in his face twitched slightly as he walked towards Demetri his eyes not once leaving the boys face.

"Oh shit," Miguel whispered next to me, closing his eyes and grabbing my hand. This was definitely not the first time Miguel and I had held hands but my heart skipped a beat and I mentally told it to stop. The kids in front of Demetri stumbled back to move away quickly so as not to be near Johnny.

"Are you done?" Johnny asked annoyance laced through his voice.

"What?" Demetri replied nervously.

"Hit me. Go ahead, hit me. Strike me right here," Johnny instructed, pointing to his nose with two fingers. Demetri rolled his eyes and got in a sloppy fighting stance before slowly throwing a punch at Sensei. He knocked it away easily.

"Harder." Demetri huffed and got back in his stance throwing another sloppy punch. Johnny knocked it away harder this time. "Is that all you got princess?" Johnny mocked. Miguel shook his head and clenched my hand tighter. Heat rose to my cheeks and I looked at Miguel to see if he noticed the effect he was having on me but his eyes were on Johnny and Demetri. I turned my attention back to them as Demetri threw another punch and Johnny flipped him over onto his back. He threw a punch and stopped in centimetres away from Demetri's face. Sensei stood up and slowly turned around the circle of kids to address everyone.

"Let that be a lesson to all of you," Johnny said pointing at everyone. The kids nodded and scrambled to get out the door when Johnny signalled class was dismissed. Miguel left quickly after looking at his phone saying his Yaya needed help with dinner but I stayed behind for a bit to talk to Johnny.

"How did I do?" Johnny asked looking at me while he opened mail in his office.

"Hmmm. Well, are you asking about the part where you threw a kid down on the mat or where you threatened them? Or maybe the part where you insulted a bunch of kids in the beginning?" I said jokingly. Johnny rolled his eyes at me. "I'm just saying! Maybe dial it down a bit or you might have some unhappy parents at your door," I said.

"Yeah, yeah," Johnny said as the phone rang. He picked it up and started a conversation as I headed out the door. I picked my backpack off the floor and got a text from a number I haven't seen for a long time.

Mr. Larusso 🎋🌸

Hey Hazel! It's been a long time since I last saw you! How have you been? I was wondering if you could come by the dealership after school tomorrow? I've got something to talk to you about!

Hazel

Hi Mr. Larusso! I've been good! How have you been? I will stop by tomorrow.

Mr. Larusso 🎋🌸

Great!

I smiled as I walked out the door with my bag. Things were about to get interesting.

____________________________________________________________

Author's Note!

Hey! As promised here is the second chapter of the day! I've got a good plan for the next chapter and there may or may not be a very cute new character who will be introduced! I have three things to say about this chapter! First, if it wasn't clear the emojis after Hazel's name when she's texting someone change depending on the person she is texting. For example in Hazel's phone Miguel is this: Miguel 🥋💕 and in Miguel's phone Hazel is this: Hazel🦋💙.

Second, the emojis after Mr. Larusso's name were the closest I could find to a bonsai tree and a Miyagi-Do sort of flower. I am on my computer today because my phone is restarting and taking forever so the emojis are different on my computer then my phone but if you find better ones let me know! Same goes for other characters!

And lastly, Johnny says a lot of body shaming things, insults about appearances, and rude comments about people. That is not ok at all to say about yourself or others. You are beautiful and you should love your body and yourself no matter what!

If you liked this chapter please consider voting/commenting! Thank you for almost 500 reads!!

Continue Reading

You'll Also Like

8.2K 155 34
All her life, Taylor had only been living with her mom and aunt since her father was absent. Meeting him just a few times was clearly enough times fo...
179K 8.2K 23
-๐’๐‡๐„'๐’ ๐„๐€๐’๐˜ แต‰หกโฑ แตแต’หขแตแต’สทโฑแต—แถป '๐™„ ๐™ฌ๐™ž๐™จ๐™ ๐™ฎ๐™ค๐™ช ๐™˜๐™ค๐™ช๐™ก๐™™ ๐™จ๐™š๐™š ...
15K 319 15
When Nicole moves back in with her dad in Reseda, California, she meets a group of kids that attend her father's school for karate. The bond by learn...
3.7K 114 21
Being a young professionally trained figure skater, Flynn Wilder already had enough on her plate. But when Miguel Diaz brings karate creeping back in...