So- they canceled the All Valley tournament…. What the fuck. Some people thought it was a blessing in disguise, others thought it was bullshit, I for one was on the fence about it. Did we really need another organized fight between all of us? At least there would be rules. Dad went to go to the City Council meeting, I said it was a bad idea because no doubt Mr. Larusso and Kreese would be there too, but he didn’t listen. I wouldn’t have listened to me either though.
“They’re g-g-gonna screw it up” I ranted, pacing back and forth in Miguel’s living room
“I know” Miguel sighed
“They’re gonna argue, and the tournament will be f-f-fucked!”
“Well- what’re we even supposed to do?” Miguel exclaimed “Drive over on your bie and make our own case?” I froze, turning my head over to look at Miguel. He gave me a look of pure confusion before it hit him. Miguel sighed, pulling himself to his feet “Alright, what’re we waiting for”
We both ran out of the apartment, jumping on my bike and heading down to city hall, hopefully we weren’t too late.
~~
Luckily with my driving we sped into the parking lot not even five minutes later, so hopefully the tournament wasn’t the first thing they talked about. Miguel and I jumped off my motorbike and made our way towards the building.
“Any plans?”
“N-nope” I shook my head
“Perfect”
We walked inside the hall, standing at the stop of the staircase just as Councilperson Roberts smashed their gavel against the table. My stomach sank, please please please don’t be over yet.
“Enough! Sit down” they ordered “All of you” the three men, the three men being Dad, Mr. Larusso and Kreese, did as they were told, ironically all beside each other, which almost made me laugh “It is clear this karate tournament is causing division and rivalry in our community. You gentlemen…. Have made an excellent case today as to why this tournament should not continue”
“Wait!” Miguel and I both shouted
Everyone turned to look at us, you should’ve seen the look on Kreese’s face, because it was priceless. We slowly made our way down the stairs, I stayed in pace with Miguel, even though I was running miles with adrenaline. We walked over to the stand, Miguel looked down at me, I gave him a reassuring nod. Here goes nothing
“My name is Miguel Diaz '' he started “This is Harley Lawrence, my best friend… We were both in the school fight. I was the one that got kicked off the second floor, Harley got her vocal cords damaged so bad she couldn’t even talk” Miguel sighed, losing steam but he picked it up “You know uh…. I thought I was gonna be paralized.... I relearned how to stand, I relearned how to walk… Harley relearned how to talk, and we want the tournament to continue”
“We are very happy for your recovery young man, and you young lady” they nodded to both of us “But I’m afraid you don’t understand-”
“Yes he does” I spoke up finally “We’re the ones getting hurt. We’re the one’s fighting… Our voices should matter the most” I affirmed “And we want a place, where we can compete, fairly and safely….” I finished, looking back at Miguel
“When I first moved here, I was bullied. I realize that there’s no escaping it. There’s always gonna be a kid who wants to steal your lunch money, or give you a wedgie, or give you a swirlie”
“A swirlie?”
“It’s uh- where you dunk someone’s head in the toilet and flush it” Dad piped up “Pretty funny actually-”
“Sensei!”
“Dad!” Miguel and I hissed “Oh boy…. Uh-” I tried to get back on track “Instead of burying your heads in the sand, pretending that bullying doesn’t exist, or that you could just get rid of it, what you need to go is teach kids how to defend themselves” I assured
“Physically and mentally” Sam spoke up, walking down the isles towards us
“Because sometimes, the scars you can’t see are the ones that hurt the most” I nodded, giving Sam a smile as she joined us “Karate is about discipline, it’s about inner strength, it’s about confidence… Lessons that you can use for the rest of your life. Look- I don’t know where I would be today, or who I would be today, if it wasn’t for my Sensei” I smiled, turning back to look at the man himself “My dad” I took a deep breath, something was happening, I didn’t even notice “I was in the school fight, I was in the fight at the abandoned building, and I’ve been in lots of fights before that…. Without karate, I wouldn’t be here, and not just because I could fight, but because I had the drive to keep going. I learned that drive from karate…. I met the people that I care about the most, at karate” I smiled up at Sam and Miguel “When I won last year, I smiled the least, because it was a win for my entire dojo. I didn't coven it, it was for all of us. But we don’t need this tournament to do cool kicks or sell tickets. We need it to show the bullies of the world, that we’re not afraid…. It’s called the All Valley because it’s for everyone. To give everyone the chance to show what they can do, to fight, to become a champion… and we deserve that chance”
“Harley….” Sam smiled at me in astonishment
“What?” I looked between her and Miguel, they were both giving me ridiculous smiles
“You didn’t stutter once” Miguel chuckled
My jaw fell, a wide smile spreading across my face, pulling the both of them into a tight hug. God even if we didn’t get the All Valley back, that was enough. The fact that we just did that was amazing!
“To be honest, I don’t get the Valley’s fascination with karate” Councilperson Roberts spoke up “But…. if it means that much to all of you, and you’re willing to sign waivers stating that the city is not liable… then…. The All Valley under-18 tournament is officially back on”
They even sealed it by hitting their gavel on the table. The whole room broke out into applause. I actually cheered, I couldn’t help myself. I turned to Miguel and Sam, all three of us pulled each other into a tight hug, I was smiling so hard my cheeks hurt. I pulled away to let Sam and Miguel have a moment, besides, there’s one person I really wanna hug right now.
I ran up, jumping into my dad’s arms, he lifted me off the ground, spinning me in his hold with the happiest smile I’ve seen on him in a long time. This was the victory we needed, this was the drive I was talking about.
“I am so proud of you” Dad smiled, looking me in the eyes “I’m so fucking proud of you kid!”
I smiled, holding onto my dad until my arms started to hurt and he set me down. But who had to of course try to set a chill down everyone’s backs.
“I guess we all got what we wanted” Kreese spoke to my dad and Mr. Larusso “But be careful what you wish for”
“John” I sighed, looking up at the old man “Get a life”
He frowned, turning on his heels and walking out of the city hall. Dad snickered, patting my back and giving me a smirk, that was the look of proudness I was used to. Dad and Mr. Larusso looked at each other, and I though they were gonna start arguing too, but they just turned to their kids and pulled them into tight hugs, and Miguel included me too.
“Hey, you guys wanna come over for a bit? Celebrate?” Sam asked me and Miguel
“Yeah sure” Miguel answered instantly
“Uh-.... I’ll p-pass” I nodded, sending them both a wink
Miguel and Sam both gave me a look. I chuckled, wrapping my arm around my dad as we walked out of the hall together. Now that…. That is victory.
~~
I sat on the kitchen counter as dad pulled out a Cors from the fridge. I pulled out a pack of cigarettes from my jacket, earning a look from my dad.
“Oh no, not with you asthma” Dad groaned
“Hey, you celebrate with beer, I celebrate my way” I smirked, picking up a lighter off the counter. I lit the cancer stick, taking a drag before- coughing my lungs up “Oh shit-”
“Mhm” dad nodded, having my inhaler already in his hand for me
I took it as dad went and made me a glass of water from the sink. I hacked up my lunges, taking a few puffs from my inhaler, my throat all scratchy like I had a cold or something.
“God- ugh, that’s new” I cringed “Fuck, guess I can’t do that anymore” I cughed a few more times “Fuck….. Fuck” I sighed
“I told ya” Dad chuckled
I rolled my eyes, taking a sip of water as dad went to open the apartment door. I didn’t even hear the knock, but when I saw Carmen on the other side a soft smile spread over my face and I jumped off the counter.
“Hey Johnny” She smiled “Is it too late?” she asked
“No” dad shook his head “No- no come in it’s alright, can I get you some juice or something?”
Carmen shook her head with a smile. Hah, that juice is like- a week old. Both the adults noticed me in the room, the energy in the room instantly changed, making me laugh.
“I think I’m gonna go for a drive” I smirked, heading out to the door, grabbing my- well, Robby’s, old leather jacket on the way out
“Oh no Harley it’s-”
“Nah” I waved off “I’m in the mood, plus it gives me a chance at payback”
“I-” Carmen instantly looked confused “Payback?”
“Yeah” I nodded with a smirk “Hey dad”
“What?”
Remember what happened the first time Hawk came to pick me up for our tattoo date? Yeah? Okay, good.
“Use protection” I smirked
Both their faces fell into awkward disgust and embarrassed uneasy laughter, perfect, that was the goal. Now we’ll see if dad remembers what I’m even talking about.
“Ah shit” Dad groaned “Goodnight Harley”
I smiled, shutting the door and walking out to my bike. I instantly burst out laughing, knowing full well they could hear me from inside the apartment, our walls aren’t that thick. I headed out to my bike, I didn’t really know where I wanted to go, I wasn’t totally paying attention either.
I didn’t even mean to, but I ended up outside the dojo. It was funny, after all the shit we’ve been through, and even if the dojo wasn’t technically ours anymore, it was still my safe space. I went into my pockets, pulling out my carton of cigarettes once again. I stared at them for a few seconds in debate, before chucking them as far as I could away from me. Letting go of the past, and moving forwa-
“Harley?”
I turned my head towards the dojo, seeing Robby walking out of the dojo alongside Kreese. My face twisted into confusion as I watched Kreese’s face twist into a psychotic grin.
“Ah Harley!” he preened “I’d like you to meet my newest student… though, I think you already know each other”
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