I lay sprawled out on my bed, Scrolling through Instagram. I'm watching a video of dogs making funny faces when I get a call. I look confused at Eli's name popping up on my screen. He normally never calls. I quickly sit up and answer the call, putting it on speaker.
"Hey Stranger." I say, trying not to sound too confused. I hear sniffling on the other side of the phone. "Hey, Liv. Can you come over?" He says, his voice groggy from crying. " Yeah, Of course." I quickly get up from my bed. "Thank you." He responds and before I can say anything else he hangs up.
I slip on my shoes and grab my skateboard. I rush out of my apartment and head in the direction of the familiar house, having spent countless nights having movie nights with Eli and Demetri.
Once I get there I walk up to the house and Knock on the door. After a few knock the door opens. "Hey, Mrs. Moskowitz. Is Eli Here?" I smile at the familiar face. " Hey, Olivia. Yes, he's just in his room." She steps to the side and gestures To the stairs that lead to his room.
I quickly walk towards the stairs " Okay, thank you." I give a small smile and head up the stairs. I walk up to his bedroom door and knock. I hear a muffled "Come in." And slowly walk in, closing the door behind me. I frown at the sight of Eli laying on his stomach with his face buried in his blanket.
" Hey, what's wrong? Was it those people online again? Y'know I could go to school tomorrow and kick all of their asses for you." I gently sit on the edge of his bed. He turns his head to look at me."No, it's okay. What they're saying is true. I am a freak." He gives me a sad look.
"Absolutely not. You are definitely not a freak. Kyler's the freak. You are so much better than the people who say that stuff about you, and I'm sorry no one realizes how perfect you are." I say turning to face him more.
He slowly sits up. " You really mean that?" he mumbles, looking down at his hands. I put my hands on the sides of his face and turn his head to look at me. " I mean it with every inch of my heart." He slowly smiles and I pull him in for a hug, and I spend the rest of the night making sure he isn't alone.
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I sit at our lunch table the next day, listening to a speech counselor Blatt is giving. "Cyberbullying is no laughing matter. Sending a cruel message to someone online can be just as hurtful as saying it to their face. I'm not gonna name names, but the other day a mother called me up because her son was crying After some kids online made fun of his facial deformity."
Basically every kid in the cafeteria started whispering and pointing at Eli. He reached up to hide his scar and I pulled his hand away and intertwined our fingers. He looked at me and I smiled at him. I could've sworn I saw his face turn pink.
"But today, our goal here is to make a safe space for all students." She continued.
"If you're sick of getting bullied, my karate dojo's looking for recruits." Miguel suggested. I smiled at him and looked at Eli. " It doesn't sound like a bad idea."
" Yeah, right. You hear that, Eli? A little karate training, and you're gonna kick some major ass." Demetri made poor karate chopping gestures. "Im serious, Demetri." Miguel shuffles in his seat to look at him.
"My sensei's the real deal. I'm sure I could get all three of you discounts." I nod my head at his words, really considering his offer. "As enticing as that sounds, I think we'd rather spend our afternoons Playing Crucible Control Than getting hit in the face." Demetri Turns down his offer. "speak for yourself." I say, already making up my mind. Demetri looks at me disapprovingly while Eli and Miguel smile at me.
I focus my attention back on Counselor Blatt "One last thing. While we're all looking forward to the Halloween dance, Let's make sure our costumes are culturally sensitive. For example, Instead of 'Sexy nurse,' maybe try 'gender-neutral hospital employee.'"
"what are you going as?" I hear Eli ask from beside me. I look over at him. "I haven't decided. I'm probably just gonna go as a witch." I respond. " I can't wait to see it." he says, giving a big smile.
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After school, I decided to go to Miguel's dojo with him. As we walked up to the building I saw the words 'COBRA KAI' above the building, and a cobra with the words ' STRIKE FIRST- STRIKE HARD- NO MERCY' around it.
" It looks very welcoming." I said as we approached the building.
"I promise you, it's better than it looks." He said, turning to look at me.
We stood in front of the dojo, seeing as it was locked and his sensei wasn't here yet. We stood there for what felt like hours. " Are you sure he's even coming?" I ask, moving to sit on the ground.
" He said to be here at five. I don't know what's going on." He says, sitting next to me.
After a few minutes, a car finally pulled up. Miguel stood up and I assumed it was his sensei so I stood up as well. The man got out of his car and made his way toward us.
"Hey, Sensei, you told me to be here at five, right?" Miguel asked his sensei.
"Yeah, but today's training's canceled." His sensei said, unlocking the doors to the dojo.
" So you're telling me I wasted my precious time for nothing?" I said, crossing my arms. Miguel lightly hit my arm. "Ow." I faked, rubbing my arm like it hurt. He just rolled his eyes and looked back at his sensei.
" What? Why?" He said sounding disappointed.
His sensei Opened the door to the dojo " 'Cause I said so." He entered the dojo, going to what I assumed was his office.
Miguel quickly rushed after him Pulling off his backpack. I slowly followed them.
" Wait, Sensei, There's something I wanna show you." Miguel unzipped his bag.
"Look, I'm really not in the mood." His sensei said, pulling out a beer
" But I think you'll like it." He pulled out his laptop and set it on the desk. He pulled up a website that had a cobra on it with the words 'Cobra Kai'
"It's a Cobra Kai web page, right? I made it in study hall. Click on the snake." He instructed.
His sensei clicked on the snake and it made a weird nose while the tongue moved out. A sign-in page sild onto the screen. "OK, this is the sign-in page. I was thinking, we can make an app where you track your progress, get a social media campaign going, get it out to the whole school. The possibilities are endless!" Miguel rambled. I could see his sensei smile at him as he was talking.
Miguel's phone suddenly went off. He reached into his pocket and silenced it " That was my mom. I'll, uh, call her back later." he went back to looking at his computer.
"Hey, was that just.." His sensei motioned to his phone. "Ratt? Awesome, right?" Miguel answered for him.
" I'm just gonna pretend I totally know who that is." I said pursing my lips.
"You don't know who that is?" They both turned their heads and asked at the same time.
" Geez, sorry I don't know every band or music artist that ever existed." I put my arms up in defense.
"I'll have to show you sometime." Miguel suggested.
" Its a date" I put up finger guns and winked. They both continued to stare at me.
" I feel very targeted right now." I crossed my arms.
"You should." Miguel's sensei said.
" Anyway, I went online and looked up Guns N' Roses and ended up going on this whole '80s-rock rabbit hole. That shit is dope." Miguel continued, turning back to his computer.
"All right. Meet me at the high school at midnight. You too." his sensei said, pointing at me.
" Why do I have to go? I haven't even started karate." I complained.
"Don't be late." He continued, completely ignoring me.
"What for?" Miguel asked.
" You wanna learn how to kick ass? First, You gotta learn how to kick." He finished and Miguel smiled and looked over at me. This would be fun.
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I'm Sorry Olivia doesn't talk much, I don't really know how to fit her in.