You were in a complete daze the next day at school. Whenever the cobras were around, you couldn't help but let your mind wander to the occurrences of last night.
You were filled with an indescribable anger. This so called sensei of theirs, had been your uncle this entire time. He had been teaching his no mercy rules to them, creating monsters to do his will. They had no idea who they were following.
And it hurt you to see them all the same. To some, Kreese was the only sense of family they had. You knew that about Johnny first hand. You wanted to tell them all to run away, to never return to his dojo. But you couldn't.
You couldn't tell them the truth.
No matter how much it ate away at you, this had to remain a secret. How would they treat you if they found out? How would they react? You didn't want to find out.
"Did you hear me?"
Snapping out of your daze, you regained awareness of your surroundings. You were sitting in English class. Johnny was seated next to you, trying to get your attention.
"Sure."
He scoffed. "Liar."
"Okay so maybe I didn't hear you, my apologies." Sarcasm dripped from your voice. For a minute, you were fearful of how he would react to your attitude. You hadn't meant to snap at him the way you did, but you barely got a wink of sleep last night, letting your thoughts overwhelm you.
Luckily, Johnny took it extremely well.
"You're taking Rule #4 pretty seriously."
"Rule #4..." You pressed your lips into a thin line as you tried to remember your own rules, "our game must continue."
He fidgeted with his pencil, his eyes looking you over. "The attitude is certainly there. I've never seen that before."
"You have a lovely sense of humor."
"It's one of my best qualities."
As you turned to face forward, he fidgeted again. He leaned in, and immediately leaned back out, almost as if he were trying to ask a question. But he almost seemed afraid to cross a boundary. When he gained the confidence, he leaned over to your shoulder.
"But seriously... you didn't hear what I said."
"Not a word."
"Well hear me out this time, will ya?"
You rolled you eyes. "Spit it out, Lawrence."
He swallowed, his eyes darting off in every direction. It took him a moment before he made sure his gaze was steady on yours.
"You've seemed... distant today. Was the date too much?"
"No."
"Then what did I do?"
You looked at him and sighed. "You didn't do anything, Johnny."
"Then what's bothering you?"
You couldn't answer that question truthfully. Instead, you let out an exasperated sigh to fill the void.
"Fine," he scoffed, "be that way. I don't care."
This made you laugh. "Wow, Lawrence. You're really taking Rule #3 to heart. Stop being so dramatic."
He rolled his eyes and turned to face forward again, not saying another word. After a few taps of his pencil, he eagerly turned back to you.
"I have something that will cheer you up."
"And what's that?"
"You should come watch the boys and I practice after school." He put on his best puppy dog eyes, but you wouldn't crumble under the pressure.
"I... can't."
"Oh come on! You promised last night!"
Your eyebrows snapped together harshly. "I did not promise anything! You just told me I should go. And I can't."
He nodded his head in annoyance before huffing and turning back to face forward yet again. Mumbling under his breath, he rolled his eyes. "Coward."
"What was that?"
"I said you're a coward!" He raised his voice.
You hadn't realized how loud your voices had been raised until a stern voice from the front of the room called out both of your last names.
"You two. Detention!"
You immediately sunk back in your chair. Pressing your tongue into your cheek you rolled your eyes skyward.
"Well, princess," he hissed, "looks like neither one of us are going to make it to practice today."
"Rule #1: don't call me princess."
He shrugged, "well, it looks like we're breaking the rules already, aren't we?"
•••
After school detention was an absolute nightmare. There was only a total of five of you sitting in the library, two of which included you and Johnny. There was a whole library you could explore, admire the books, and read until the hours slowly slipped away.
But you had to stay put at your table.
You took a good look around at your fellow classmates. There was a jock, clearly a major one at that. You sat in the empty seat next to him and looked him over.
He wore a West Valley High School letterman jacket, and an ego on his shoulders the size of a weight bench. There was the brainiac at the next table over, top of the class, nerd who had nothing better to do then wear his sunglasses inside. You wondered what he was hiding behind those rims. Toward the back was the outcast girl, you recognized her in passing. She was quiet and shy, but her habits and tendencies made it known that she was used to being alone.
And then there was Johnny.
And you.
Luckily for you, he chose a completely different table to sit at. Of course it was the one behind you, but you wouldn't have to see him. You only had to look forward, paying no attention to anyone else in the room.
It was an odd bunch, but luckily you didn't feel the need to make friends with any of them. You had a lot on your mind, and you planned to let those thoughts consume you the rest of the day. You needed a way to take down Kreese from the inside, without telling Johnny or the other boys the truth.
There was just something about Kreese's story that didn't add up. Something your mother and Mr. Miyagi weren't telling you.
And you were determined to find out.
When the principal came in, you sat up a little straighter. You had detention before, but never like this. You assumed that perhaps getting detention outside of P.E. class was just run differently. There was no sitting the bench, this was real.
The principal's face contorted in anger and pain.
"Who put a thumbtack on my chair?"
Your eyes widened, this was not what you expected in the slightest. He looked around at the few of you before sending a smirk at a particular human sitting behind you.
"All of these faces are new in here... except for you Mr. Lawrence. Fess up about the thumbtack or it's Saturday detention."
You could hear the smirk in Johnny's voice without turning around. "I don't know what you're talking about, sir."
"Really? Because I think I would remember a thumbtack being on my chair before you walked past my office to come into this room. Yet somehow, after you showed up, it was miraculously there. Coincidence? I think not!"
You turned around to eye Johnny. He laughed, a sly grin on his face. He had his legs propped up onto the table as if he were making himself at home.
You turned back to the principal, who placed his hands on his hips in disappointment. "You're not fooling anybody, Lawrence."
Looking back to Johnny, you felt a glimpse of worry overtake you. But clearly looking at him, you could see that this was not Johnny's first rodeo. He mumbled something under his breath, which made the principal step closer.
"What was that?" The principal snapped.
Johnny pulled his legs from off the table, and instead, propped his arm up on the back of the chair. Sitting comfortably, he smirked.
"Eat. My. Shorts."
The principal did not hesitate to launch a finger into Johnny's personal space. "You just bought yourself a Saturday Mr. Lawrence."
He sighed sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Ugh, I'm crushed."
"You just bought one more right there."
"Well I'm free the Saturday after that!" Johnny cheered, "beyond that, I'm gonna have to check my calendar."
"Good! Because it's gonna be filled!"
Johnny's face fell then, his confidence wavering as he sat back in his chair. He sunk down into the cushion and wood as the principal continued to bicker.
"We'll keep going," he said satisfied, "you want another one?"
Johnny looked to the table.
"Say the words, just say the words," the principal snapped, "instead of going to prison, you'll come here!"
As Johnny folded his arms across his chest, he let out a sigh.
"Are you through?" The principal still had his finger extended in Johnny's direction.
"No!" Johnny said.
"I'm doing society a favor!"
"So?"
"That's another one right now! I got you for the rest of your natural born life if you don't watch your step! You want another one?!"
Johnny kept his gaze hard, his contemplation only lasting for one moment before he spoke. "Yes!"
"You got it!" The principal cheered, "you got another one, right there! That's another one pal!"
Before you could even think, you looked at Johnny with your eyes wide. "Cut it out!" You warned him.
When he looked to you, his eyes softened. You mouthed the word stop but he clearly wasn't done yet.
"You through?" The principal shouted.
"Not even close, bud!" He said through gritted teeth.
"Good! You got one more right there."
As they continued to bicker, the jock leaned over and stifled a laugh. Whispering to you, he let his laughter come out in quiet beats. "This would make for a great movie."
You grimaced at your classmate's comment. How could he be watching this and laughing? Johnny was making a complete fool out of himself, testing the principal like that.
Turning your direction back to the scene behind you, your heart dropped. The principal was staring Johnny down, his words finalized and undeniable.
"You're mine, Lawrence. For two months I gotcha. I gotcha."
Two months? But the tournament is in about two months! Oh no... Kreese will kill him if he misses any practices.
"What can I say?" Johnny snapped, "I'm thrilled."
"Oh," the principal challenged, "I'm sure that's exactly what you want these people to believe. You know something, Lawrence? You want to spend a little more time doing something for yourself, and a little less time trying to impress people. You might be better off."
He let his eyes wander over the rest of you. "Alright, that's it!" The principal yelled, "I'm gonna be right outside those doors."
You turned to look at Johnny, disappointed. As the principal continued to hound you all, Johnny mocked him. He mouthed along with his words, making you assume they were predictable. Either that, or Johnny had been here so often that he had memorized this speech.
"The next time I have to come in here, I'm cracking skulls!"