MARISSA MET ROBBY KEENE HER FIRST DAY IN CALIFORNIA. Coincidentally, her mother had rented their apartment in the same building as Robby's and while they were unloading things from the car, he had offered to help. From then on, Marissa and Robby found themselves talking to each other on a regular basis with her either going up to his apartment or him coming down to hers. He was her first official friend in California and she cared about him, maybe more than she cared to admit.
Since the move, she has kept to herself and tried not to make any close friends but Miguel and Robby were exceptions. Aisha and Tory were recent additions that list. One of the only things Marissa could control was who she put her trust into and she had already misplaced it within her father and she hoped she would not make the same mistake with anyone else.
When Marissa arrived at the dojo the next morning, it was to her surprise that both Sensei's were demonstrating on the mat with students observing. It also became aware that she was late. She slipped off her shoes, dropped her dance bag and slid in discreetly next to newcomer, Tory.
"What did I miss?" She whispered lowly.
"Not much. They've just been holding each other," the two-toned teenager responded.
"Ok, pay attention," Sensei Lawrence panted. His eyes found Marissa and the girl realized she hadn't been as discreet as she thought. "He's got my neck. I've got his elbow. If I try to dig out..."
Johnny attempts the move with Kresse gaining the upper hand. "I dig in and put him to sleep," Kresse explains as his chokehold on Johnny deepens.
"If I try to go for his ribs..." Johnny pills his elbow back in attempt.
"He completely exposes his chest." Kresse brings his knee up to tap his chest before they both go back to their original position.
"Two difficult choices. What do you do?"
Marissa saw an obvious answer to the question but she didn't speak, in fear of it being rhetorical or being a know-it-all. She stayed silent as she watched the men execute her minds words on the mat and they both fell to the ground, getting back up free from the other.
"You damn the consequences and power forward," Johnny speaks as he stands.
"You may get hurt but nobody wins by not doing anything," Kresse chimes in also leaving the mat behind.
"You make a choice. You make a move. You go...all in." Johnny's, somewhat dramatic, words seemed to cast a shadow over the students as they all seemed to view their skills differently. For some, Marissa included, it was something that was going to solve an ongoing problem in their personal lives. "Alright, dismissed."
Marissa stood from floor and tried to walk away before Johnny's words stopped her. "Not you, tiny dancer. In my office."
Miguel gave her a wary look indicating he'd wait for her outside the dojo. They made plans with their friends to go out after practice but they would now be held up. She waved the rest of them off, letting them know it was okay for them to go and mouthed 'Thank you' to Miguel.
She retreated into the dingy looking-and smelling-office awaiting Johnny's scold. "Why were you late today? You missed over half the lesson."
"I was...busy," she had said, trying to evade telling the truth.
"Busy? Doing what? You're, what, like thirteen?"
Marissa frowned slightly before mumbling, "Sixteen but whatever."
"Same difference. The question is where were you? How do you expect to be the badass ballerina if you miss class? I'm doing this for free, for what?" Johnny's irritation was justified in Marissa's eyes. He might have thought she was taking advantage of free lessons and just showing up when she wanted to because she could.
"It won't happen again." Marissa assured. "I promise."
"Well...it better not. Get out of here, kid."
When Marissa walked out of the office, her one conclusion was that Johnny needed to get better at the scolding part of the job. He had, so far, seemed to be the cool, administrator in his business. Something was telling her that with Kresse now playing a role, the atmosphere of the dojo would soon change.
***
MARISSA HADN'T STAYED AT THE RESTAURANT LONG. After her scolding from one of her teachers, she remembered how her ballet teacher had been reminding her for the last four days to get a black tutu for her audition. Madame Wells was not one to play favorites with her students but she understood Marissa's home life and everything she's been through, so she guided her a bit more than others.
She arrived at The Valley Mall and ventured to the only dance store around town that wasn't expensive. She had just collected her check from the drugstore and needed to splurge on herself before handing the rest to her mom for the apartment.
Marissa left the store with the tutu and a new water bottle with just over 300 dollars left over. That had been more than enough for her mom and she was ready to prepare for her audition in two weeks.
She was about to turn the corner when she saw Demitri, a friend from school, run past her with a speed she had never seen from him. "Hi, Marissa!" He breathed tightly, continuing in his pursuit. It took not one minute before Marissa saw spikes of red hair and three other henchmen from Cobra Kai, running in the same direction Demitri had gone. Like they were chasing him.
She stood stuck on what to do. Hawk and Cobra Kai were her teammates but Demitri was her friend. Her mother always told her to do the right thing and damn the consequences. If you're going to help someone, don't do it halfway. She recalled her mother's words before she also took off, chasing after Hawk chasing after Demitri.
Marissa had chased them into the food court and when the running ceased she let her eyes dance over to the people standing protectively in front of Demitri. "Robby?" She questioned, seemingly forgetting Hawk and company were present.
"Marissa?" The long haired boy replied, just as--if not more so--shocked to see her there.
"What the hell is going on?" Marissa asked, her eyes darting from the group of three to the group of four and back again.
"Ask them." Robby inclined his head toward the menacing stares of the Cobra Kai group. "They just chased Demitri through the entire mall."
"He knows what he did." Hawk speaks up scornfully. "And now he's gonna pay."
Robby and Sam, who had been the other person protecting Demitri, took their fighting positions which caused Hawk to scoff. "Five against three? More like two-and-a-half."
"Hawk, what are doing?" Marissa questioned, placing her bag down on one of the food court tables. "Leave him alone."
"You can help or we can take you down too." He turned away from her and assumed his fighting position, the goons behind him following his actions.
"Or I can take you down." Marissa looked at Robby and Sam, almost as if asking them for permission. She didn't know Sam as much as she would like to but she knew Robby and Demitri well enough but before she could get an inclination of an answer, Hawk kicked Robby in the stomach, or at least tried to, and utter chaos ensued.
Marissa and Demitri were left standing and watching Sam and Robby beat the crap out of Cobra Kai without having to resort any tricks. To keep the attention on the fight at hand and not Demitri, Marissa ran over and pushed him away from the middle, however, in her haste, she was kicked in the back and almost fell to the floor.
A hand enveloped her waist and pulled her flush against their back. She blew her hair from her face and turned in their hold. "Thanks." She breathed when she saw it was Robby who'd stopped her faceplant.
"Don't mention it," he replied before letting her go and bouncing back into the fight.
From the corner of her eye, she could see Mitch, a fellow Cobra Kai newbie, gunning for Demitri. Marissa takes a swift kick to his gut and as he kills over in pain, she remembers a mantra of Cobra Kai. She pushes of her back foot, shifting the power to her right and her left foot connects to his jaw. He was out.
She looked up and realized all the other Cobra Kai's had joined him and the fight was over. "Thanks." She heard Demitri say from beside her.
"No problem," she breathed. She took in the way Sam and Robby were looking at her as if her fighting had been wrong but she tried not to read into it. "I'm gonna go now."
"Wait!" Robby jogged up to her, plucking her bag off one of the many discarded tables. "I'll walk with you." He turned to Sam and Demitri, "I'll see you guys back at the dojo."
***
"YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO WALK ME," Marissa acknowledged as they continued down the route to her building, Robby having moved into the LaRussos' home.
"I wanted to." He assured. "Thanks for jumping in. Even though you kind of just got a crumb, I mean all the heavy lifting was handled."
She let out a scoffing laugh, "Okay, you play Prince Charming once and your ego doubles its size."
A comfortable silence settles between them as the sun begins to set over a peaceful Valley. Robby still occupied her bag as the crossed yet another street on their commute. "Can I ask a question?" Robby says, breaking the lull in conversation. Marissa looks to him expectantly, waiting for his question. "Why did you join Cobra Kai? I mean, you just... aren't like them. It's not you."
Marissa sighed, "I knew this would come up sooner or later." She turned her head to him shortly. "I need to be a more aggressive dancer." She looked forward. "At least, that's what I keep telling myself."
"So what's the real reason. Come on, Marissa, it's me you're talking to."
She shakes her head, scoffing slightly, "There's still a lot you don't know about my life before California. A lot I can't tell you."
"What is that supposed to mean?" He took her silence as her answer and continued on with his original thought. "I don't want to see you turn into someone you're not. I don't want my dad to do that to you."
"Look, I don't know what Mr. LaRusso has been telling you, but that was the old Cobra Kai." They turn down her block. "It's not the same as it was thirty years ago. Your dad isn't the same."
"Really?" He asked rhetorically. "Because what Hawk tried to do to Demitri sounds exactly like what Mr. LaRusso said Cobra Kai was like."
"Well, Hawk is an idiot. You can't use him as an example." Marissa turned and stood in front of her building, pulling her keys from her dance bag. "I better go. My mom doesn't want me out after dark."
Robby handed her the bag from the store, stuffing his hands in his jeans. They stood there, both with words that would remain unspoken as a car across the street peeled off in a roar, drawing Marissa's eye. She noticed the scraped trunk and unclear license plate which prompted a look through the window but all she caught was a glimpse of a blue ball cap.
"Good luck at your audition."
"You're still coming, right? Because my mom can't and I really need someone there."
"I wouldn't miss it for the world." He threw her one of his signature smirks and removed his hand from his pocket to move a stray piece of hair from her face. "Bye, Marissa."
"See ya, Robby."
gabbys note. the way marissa and hawk hate each other is so comical to me bc i'm having a blast writing it
also, who was in that car👀
marissa not knowing sam even she dated her best friend is killing me
please don't be a ghost reader!