Our day at the beach club did not end so well yesterday...
Sam fell into a table full of food and everything on the table spilled on her, and Robby got hurt trying to stop some criminals from stealing wallets at the beach club. Mr. LaRusso had to help him out.
Later on, Robby told me that those criminals were those two stupid friends of his. Or rather, ex-friends. After that fight on the beach, those two guys got sent to prison. Not just for what they did that day, but also for all the bad things they have done.
But right now, I'm on FaceTime with Maya in my room, before I have to leave to meet up at the dojo.
"I wish I was there," I said.
"I wish you were here too... But hey, have you done anything fun? Started anything new?" Maya asked with a kind voice.
I thought for a moment... Should I tell her what I've been doing? Tell her, 'hey, I've been doing chores around a karate dojo, but not actually doing any karate—and all for free, might I add.' No, that sounds too weird. Maybe I can mention Robby? No, I know exactly what she would say about that...
THEN
"Has your project with Robby been going any better? Or is he still a douchebag that always shows up late?" Maya asked me as we walked down the hallway together. I tilted my head to the side, thinking.
"Well..." I sighed, "Maybe he isn't as big of a douchebag as I thought."
She looked towards me, her eyes narrowing. I looked back at her. "What?" I asked.
"You wouldn't stop complaining about him and now you're saying he's a good guy? You better not be falling for that Robby Keene charm. It doesn't end well. Just ask Audrea Campbell."
I looked at her with a surprised look on my face. "I am in no way falling for this 'Robby Keene charm'," I used my fingers as air quotes, "I also never said that he was a good guy. He still has a tendency to do anything else but actually doing work for the project when we're together."
"What?!" Maya asked loudly. "'When you're together'? So he's distracted by you!" She put her hands on my shoulders and shook my as she talked.
"No he's not!" I said, a little too fast. I pushed her hands off my shoulders. Maya stared at me for a moment, before bursting into laughter. I looked at her, confused.
"I'm just joking, I know you would never fall for that. He's just an asshole degenerate who only cares about himself," Maya said, before turning the corner into our science class.
I felt something in my chest... maybe it was relief? I'm relieved after Maya stops talking about what Robby and I think of each other? That doesn't sound right at all.
I took a quick breath and walked into the classroom after Maya. My eyes landed on my usual seat, then to the person sitting next to it.
Robby started showing up on time for class. He sat in the seat next to mine, his eyes following my movements. He had the faintest smirk on his face. "Hey," he said as I sat down. I greeted him back.
Robby pulled out more papers that he finished for the project. He put them on the table and slid them over to me. I picked them up and took a look at them.
"Monroe's tonight?" he asked.
I looked at him for a quick moment, before nodding my head.
NOW
"No, I haven't really started anything new," I answered Maya. "It's been pretty boring without you."
"Yeah, I understand that. I am pretty fun." She threw her hair back with a cocky expression. I laughed at her usual silly antics.
Suddenly, Maya turns her head to the side as of she's listening to something. She sighs and turns her head back to me. "Shit, I've gotta go. My mom's calling me."
"No problem. I gotta go too."
"I love and miss you," Maya told me with her usual sweet smile on her face.
"I love and miss you too." I smiled back.
We said goodbye and hung up. I checked the time, before slipping my shoes on and grabbing my bag. Then I borrowed the car and drove to the dojo.
When I got there, I walked around the side of the building and straight into the backyard. Sam was sitting on one of the decks, looking at her phone. Robby was looking into the koi pond with one of his hands lightly rubbing the back of his head.
I walked over to Robby, but he must not have heard me. "How's your head?" I spoke, breaking the silence. He got the injury from the fight at the beach. He turned around and faced me, dropping his hand to his side.
"Oh, it's fine." He put his hands in his pockets. "There's definitely a giant bump there, but it's not too bad," he said with a chuckle. I smiled at the good news.
"Hey guys," Mr. LaRusso yelled from just outside the house. "Come on over here."
Sam, Robby, and I all walked over, stopping in front of the deck.
"I know yesterday did not entirely go as planned. But, we are no worse off than we were before. I'm glad you three are here." He smiled at us.
Mr. LaRusso continued, "And I also know that we have a video of the altercation at the beach, which can, no doubt, bring in more students. But you have to remember: Miyagi-Do is about defending yourself and protecting others. Not seeking credit. Mr. Miyagi didn't recruit me. He wasn't looking for students. He took me in because I needed him. I came to him, not the other way around. It's time we be patient. Let those who need us...find us."
Mr. LaRusso paused, letting his words sink in. I thought about them. They made sense. Everything Mr. LaRusso as said has made sense so far. It makes me wish I had met this Mr. Miyagi guy.
"Excuse me."
We all looked to the voice. It was none of ours. Our eyes landed on some kid, who looked to be our age. He was tall, skinny, and he had dark hair. I also noticed he had a little bandage on his nose.
He walked towards us slowly. "Uh, it was unclear if the gate was the front door or if I was supposed to ring the doorbell." He stopped in front of us and exhaled some air. Robby and I exchanged a quick glance at each other.
The boy's eyes traveled to something behind us, and his eyebrows rose. He raised his hand and pointed, "Is that a koi pond?" We all glanced back at it, as the boy continued talking, "How much does it cost to maintain that?"
"May I help you?" Mr. LaRusso asked, slightly confused.
"Uh, yeah. I wanna... learn karate," he told us, his voice sounding a little unsure. But his tone didn't matter to us. We all looked at each other, smiles growing on our faces.
It's crazy how Mr. LaRusso just got done telling us to be patient and those in need will come, only for someone in need to show up literally ten seconds later.
"You have come to the right place," Mr. LaRusso told him. A small smile grew on the boy's face.
"Let's get you started," Mr. LaRusso said, jogging into the house for a moment, before coming back out with two paint brushes and a bucket of paint. "This fence here needs a fresh coat of paint."
I felt a feeling of relief that I didn't have to do it this time around. It might be a nice change of pace seeing someone else finish cleaning up around here.
My inner happiness was interrupted quickly, however, when Mr. LaRusso turned to me and said, "Y/n, why don't you join, uh..." He waited for the kid to say his name.
"Demetri."
"Demetri," Mr. LaRusso added. "Come on over, Y/n."
I stared at him, a stunned look on my face. "Are you serious? I've been coming here everyday for what seems like forever doing these stupid chores. Mostly by myself, too. There's no way in hell I'm staying to do all of it all over again." I turned on my heel and started walking back to the front. I grabbed my bag on the way.
Mr. LaRusso quickly told Sam and Robby to get Demetri started, before jogging after me and calling my name.
I heard Mr. LaRusso behind me. I shook my head and kept walking. "Y/n, wait," he said again. I stopped in the front by the cars, rolling my eyes as I turned to face him.
"All of your work was not for nothing, Y/n," he told me.
"Yeah, so you've said before."
"And it's true." He paused. "Put your bag down for a second," he told me. I sighed and put it down beside me. He waved me closer to him, so I took a few steps forward. "Get into fighting stance," he said, while he did so himself. I furrowed my eyebrows, but did as he said.
"Now, show me 'wash the windows," he said, before suddenly throwing a punch at me. I winced and moved my arm. I expected to feel pain somewhere, seeing as he never actually taught me any karate yet, but I didn't. I opened my eyes and looked at him. I had blocked his punch...
He threw another one, and I blocked the next one too, using the same movements he told me to use when I was washing the windows of the cars. "Show me 'wax on, wax off.'" He threw two more punches, yelling with each. I blocked these two as well, using the motions for waxing the cars.
"Show me 'paint the fence.'" He threw two more, and I blocked them once again. My eyes were wide as I looked at him. Suddenly, he started quickly throwing punch after punch, even throwing some kicks in there. Somehow, I was able to block them all.
When Mr. LaRusso paused and stood up straight, I looked at him in awe. I stood up straight too, looking down at my hands. "Holy shit..." I spoke quietly.
He straightened his posture, and so did I. Then we bowed to each other, just as he had with Sam and Robby.
It all made sense now. I wasn't just doing chores for the sake of doing chores... I was doing them to learn the movements of karate all along. My mind was everywhere all at once, never expecting this to be the outcome of it all.
"Y/n Y/l/n," Mr. LaRusso started, "Welcome to Miyagi-Do Karate." He held out his hand. I raised mine and shook his, my mouth still fallen open from surprise.
"Do you still plan on leaving?" he asked me.
Suddenly I felt guilty about my small outburst out in the back yard. "Sorry for how I reacted Mr. LaRusso. I'll stay, as long as it's ok with you?"
Mr. LaRusso smiled. "Of course it's ok. We want you here, Y/n. You have potential. I mean..." he glanced around, "you had to do way less chores than Robby," he whispered. I chuckled at his words.
Then we both went back to where everyone else was. I walked over to the fence where Demetri and Robby were painting the fence, stopping next to Robby. He looked over at me. "Everything ok?"
I looked and smiled triumphantly at him. "Never been better," I said, before taking the paintbrush from his hand and going next to Demetri.
Then, I started painting the fence alongside him.
I fixed his posture and movements here and there.
I never thought I would be so happy painting this stupid fence again.