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Miguel and Kalon stood side by side with each other in front of Johnny in the middle of the mat. "So am I going to get the Karate pyjamas too?" Miguel asks causing Kalon to bite the inside of her cheek so she wouldn't laugh. "Quiet!" Johnny yelled in his face making him flinch slightly while Kalon didn't. She'd been in screaming matches with her father before, usually about his drinking or about Robby, so the harsher tone of his voice had no effect on her anymore.
"The student only speaks when spoken to. Is that understood?" Johnny stood in front of Miguel, glaring down at him. "Uh, yes," Miguel responded hesitantly, Kalon mentally facepalmed. "Mini Lawrence, how should I be addressed?" Johnny stood in front of his daughter. "Sensei," Kalon responded in a strong tone. "Is that understood?" Johnny stood back from the two. "Yes, Sensei!" Miguel and Kalon spoke in unison with strong tones.
"These aren't pyjama's. This is a Gi. And you'll get one when you've earned it like Mini Lawrence," Johnny explained in reference to his first question. "All right, are you ready to begin your training?" Johnny asks the two teenagers. "Yes, Sensei!" The two responded instantly. Johnny nodded to his daughter who smirked before turning to Miguel before he could react, she grabbed under his arm and his waist, using her leg to hook it behind his and throw him to the ground.
Miguel groaned in pain as he looked to Kalon who stood tall with her hands locked behind her back. "Lesson one, strike first. Never wait for the enemy to attack," Johnny says as he holds back a proud smile. "You could have gave me, like, a warning," Miguel groaned out. "Quiet!" Johnny yelled again. "We do not train to be merciful here. Mercy is for the weak. Here, on the street, in competition, a man confronts you, he is the enemy. An enemy deserves no mercy," Johnny explained before turning to Miguel.
"What is the problem, Mr Diaz?" Johnny asks as Miguel shook his asthma pump. "There's no problem, Sensei. She punched me, and I have asthma, so..." Miguel trailed off as Johnny grabbed the inhaler and threw it aside. "Not anymore. We do not allow weakness in this dojo. So you can leave your asthma and your peanut allergies and all that other made-up bullshit outside. Is that understood?" Johnny stepped forward.
"Yes, but those are real medical problems..." Miguel trailed off when Kalon nudged him, a serious deadpanned expression on his face. "Yes, Sensei, understood," Miguel spoke softly. "Cobra Kai isn't just about Karate. It's about a way of life. Take that first lesson. Striking first is the initial step towards victory," Johnny says before standing in front of Miguel. "Okay, like when you're at a party and you see a hot babe. Yeah. You don't wait for some other guy to go talk to her first, do you?" Johnny questioned the teenage boy.
"I mean, I've never been to a party, so..." Miguel trailed as he looked to Kalon who smiled at him before looking forward again. "You aren't missing much really," Kalon spoke before focusing again. "Big surprise. All right, look... Striking first is about being aggressive, all right? If you're not aggressive, then you're being a pussy, and you don't want to be a pussy. You want to have balls," Johnny explained but Miguel looked to Kalon before looking back at Johnny.
"Don't you think you're doing a lot of genderizing?" Miguel asked causing Johnny to look at him confused while Kalon sighed, she agreed but her father had a way he was trained and that was conditioned into his head and she knew that she and Miguel will help him but for now, they needed to follow his lessons. "What?" Johnny asked before Miguel repeated the question except ending it with 'Sensei' like he was told.
"No, what the hell are you talking about?" Johnny asks him while Kalon builds air in her cheeks before huffing it out. "Oh, uh, my guidance counsellor says that certain words perpetuate the sexist worldview that can trigger..." Miguel attempted to explain but Johnny cut him off, "Quiet!" Miguel went silent while Kalon let out another breath, she just wanted to learn more about Karate. "From now on, you won't listen to your guidance counsellor. You're going to listen to me. Is that understood?" Johnny demanded.
"Uh, yes, Sensei. Good," Miguel replied before steadying his stance. "Now stop yapping like a little girl and give me 50 push-ups on your knuckles," Johnny ordered, Miguel followed his order while Kalon glared at her father for a moment. As she moved to follow the order, she elbowed her father forcefully in the side before dropping to the ground. Kalon flawlessly began doing the push-ups on her knuckles, a routine she did most mornings.
Miguel attempted a push-up as he looked over to Kalon who was having no issues. "All right, just do some crunches. Don't you have gym class or something?" Johnny asks Miguel. "Yeah," Miguel responded just before the doorbell jingled. "Howdy, there, Mr, uh, Lawrence," A new voice spoke. "It's Sensei," Miguel corrected. "Miguel, shut up," Johnny told him off before approaching the new person.
"How are you doing that?" Miguel asks her as he panted. "I've been doing push-ups since I was eight, trained in Karate basics till I was eleven then my dad stopped teaching me and now... here we are," Kalon explained to him as she continued. "Wow... Why didn't you tell me that before?" Miguel pondered. "Because Miggy, you can't learn everything about your friend straight away. Gotta have some surprises here and there," Kalon teased with a smile.
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After Johnny learned he needed a certificate for insurance before he can open, he got the two teenagers to work cleaning the place. Well, he had to force Miguel to help while Kalon did it before anyone said anything. Kalon put her earbuds in and listened to her mix of music that jumped from Punk Rock to Sweet Pop to Classic Rock, she bopped her head along until the words left her lips.
"Looking good. Make sure you get both sides. And after you're done with that, you can take care of these exposed wires," Johnny told Miguel before looking over to his daughter, her sweet voice distracting both of them. "Yeah, but what does any of this have to with Karate, Sensei?" Miguel asks as he snaps away from Kalon's singing. "Do not question my methods. Just be thankful you're not a sumo wrestler. Those guys have to wipe their Sensei's asses," Johnny joked.
One of Kalon's earbuds had fallen out and she heard her father's words, she rolled her eyes before moving to clean the windows. Kalon listened as Miguel and her father spoke about the past All Valley tournament and about Miguel's mother thinking he was on the debate team with Kalon, which made her laugh. "Yeah, what about your dad? Is he okay with you getting your ass kicked up and down Reseda Boulevard?" Johnny asks.
"Oh, I never, uh, really knew my dad, so..." Miguel trailed off and Kalon looked over to him with a sympathetic smile. She loved her father, she couldn't live her life without him even throughout the drinking, the fighting and the lack of nurture in most of her life but she still made it to where she is. "All right, well, stop standing there. Go back to training," Johnny ordered. "Okay, yeah, sorry. Okay," Miguel spoke before stepping away from the office door.
"And change that ringtone. Get some Guns 'N' Roses or something," Johnny told him causing Kalon to start humming Sweet Child O' Mine. "What's Guns 'N' Roses?" Miguel asks making Kalon gasp before walking towards him. "That's disgraceful! We need to change that," Kalon told him before shoving one of her earbuds into his ear and changing the song to Paradise City. Miguel smiled and bopped along to the song before the two went back to work.
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Rosemary Speaks
Next chapter, Kalon makes a change. And remember, this story is about TEENAGERS therefore, shit is hella dramatic and the choices they make are immature. These are legitimate things I've witnessed as a teen so don't judge the characters for making mistakes and learning from them.
Thoughts on this chapter?
See you in the next chapter!