Kathleen has been impressed on how Miguel beat up Kyler and his friends. She kinda found him hot. He stood up for her, and Sam. She had to thank him and give him a little pointer on an error move he made that day. Or maybe she just wanted to speak with him.
She's never even paid attention to anyone but Miguel? Oh she really paid attention to him, she wanted to speak with him any chance she had.
Did she like him? Maybe?
She knew he had karate practice and Aisha had mentioned to her that the dojo was full of people wanting to join. She didn't want to interrupt his lesson so she just did what any other girl would do.
Stalk his social media.
She went on his Facebook page and scrolled down. She saw a couple of pictures of himself and then she saw him post a picture of him and his grandma. Well his YaYa, that's how he had it on the post.
She smiled to herself, admiring him a little more. Kathleen didn't have her grandmother visiting her anymore. Her fathers mother was in Peru but she would speak with her occasionally. She liked how Miguel showed his YaYa on his social media.
"KATLEEN NAYELI GOMEZ!" Someone shouted from downstairs. There was only one person who used her full name.
Her father. She was a daddy's girl. Everyone knew it, he would spoil her a lot, but what people don't know is that he would listen to her. He would always make sure she ate and would ask about her day. That's why she was so close to her father.
Kathleen loved her mother but she would ignore her most of the time whenever she was home. She has always loved Alex more, she wanted her first born to be a boy but.... Kathleen was born.
Her mother loved Kathleen but she was always rough on her. She always made sure Kathleen had the current trend of clothing, shoes, brand, whatever. She wanted to make sure her daughter was popular like she was in her junior year of high school. Didn't like that Kathleen would over eat. She thought she was doing a good thing, but it all just made Kathleen have an eating disorder. But deep down she has a soft spot for her daughter. She just had to reach deep down and show everyone that it was there.
Kathleen ran downstairs to see her father at the bottom of the stairs. Both of their smiles widened once they spotted each other. Kathleen rushed down and gave her dad a huge bear hug.
"What are you doing here? I thought you were in New York?" Kathleen asked her father.
"I had the opportunity to come home early, and I wanted to surprise you and your brother. But I'm guessing he's at LaRusso's home." Diego, Kat's dad, told the girl.
"Yeah he's been hanging with Anthony a whole lot more. He has to come home in a couple of hours, we have school tomorrow." Kathleen reminded her father.
"Right." He put his arm around his daughter walking her to the kitchen. "¿Has comido? He asked her making her sit down on the kitchen island chair.
"Yes dad. I already ate. I promise." Kathleen promised her dad.
"Okay. Just making sure my princesa has food in her stomach."
Diego was the best parent anyone could ask for. He always supported Kathleen in everything and the eating disorder she developed made him realize that she needed him more than ever. He made a promise to himself, to always be by her side no matter what.
•*•*•*•
Next day at school Kathleen walked up to Miguel and Demetri greeted them both putting her arms around them both.
"Hey nerds. How was your first day of karate practice Demetri?" Kathleen asked the boy to her right.
"Hey you got my name right." He was happy she finally said his name right but Kathleen just rolled her eyes letting go of him and moving to Miguel's left side. "And it was horrible I quit."
"Yeah, but you can't quit." Miguel told the boy.
"I got yelled at, got my ass kicked, and then gave him my money." Kathleen was confused on what Demetri was saying. Who beat the shit out of him, and took his money? "You know who lives like that?"
"Hookers." Both Demetri and Kathleen said. "Thank you." He reached over and tried to high five her but she looked disgusted so he quickly put his hand down.
"Yeah, but he's not that bad of a guy. You gotta give him a chance. You don't know him like I do." Miguel ushered to the boy.
All Demetri did was scoff at him and responded back. "That... that's hooker talk. Besides, I don't need to learn karate when I have you." He looked over at Kyler who walked down the stairs turning their direction till he turned the other way. "See? No one's gonna mess with you."
"Whatever. Hey Kat are you walking with us?" Miguel asked the girl beside him who didn't really talk.
"Uh, I have to go see Counselor Blatt. They switched my classes so I have to go get my new schedule. But I'll uh see you later." Kathleen waved at them and walked away.
•*•*•*•
"Dude you make it so obvious. Just tell her you like her already." Demetri told Miguel once they reached their anatomy class sitting together.
"You don't think I want to? She just makes me nervous and I barely see her. We don't really have classes together."
Demetri bumped his shoulder with Miguel's pointing to the class door. Kathleen walked in looking down at her schedule.
"Hey, everyone. Who let the pigs out? I did, because I ordered the fetal pigs." All the students softly chucked. "But seriously, get in your groups."
The teacher turned to Kathleen and introduced himself and the class he taught. He wasn't expecting to have a new student transfer to his class but was happy it was Kathleen. All the teachers knew her as the popular smart girl, everyone thought she was just rich, mean, and dumb but she was the opposite of it. Her parents were also very important in the community so they have respect for her and her family.
"We also have a new student, Kathleen. Who wants to take her in?" Mr. Palmer asked the class.
Miguel raised his hand. "We'll take her." He told him and turned to smile at the girl.
Kathleen grabbed her paper back from the teacher and walked towards the table. She accidentally bumped Demetri's shoulder making her look at it.
"Thank you. I'm gonna go grab a chair." Kathleen told Miguel.
"Yeah. No problem." He was a little nervous at the moment. While Demetri sniffed his shoulder exhaling deeply. No one knew but he did the same thing earlier after Kathleen walked away from them. He tried to sniff her scent while she was walking away.
•*•*•*•
Miguel was messing with the pig and Demetri was looking down at his sheet when Kathleen spoke.
"What were you thinking for sex?" She blurted out making both boys stare at her.
Miguel nervously spoke back stuttering. "Uh... uh... I mean, I've, I've..."
"Because in the male, this tract opens up near the umbilical cord. So I think ours is female."
"Yeah, um... Yeah, I concur." Miguel nervously said back looking back down to his paper.
"Why are you being so weird right now? You're stuttering more than usual." Kathy commented towards the boy.
"Oh. I.. uh, just feel weird about dissecting this pig." Miguel chuckled at the girl.
"Oh also thank you for helping Sam with the fight." Kat remembered.
"Yeah, someone had to take care of those assholes. And I also did it for you. I didn't like the way Kyler spoke about you." Miguel confidently told her.
Kathleen was trying not to get nervous and blush. "Thank you." She made eye contact with him. "But nobody else did." Once again staring at each other till he broke eye contact making it awkward.
"It was a pretty nice roundhouse. But you telegraphed the sweep. When you lift up your foot like that, it shifts the weight to your back leg. More windup, less power." Kathleen informed the boy.
"Wow. You really do know your stuff. Taking karate as a little girl and still knowing all that? Maybe I should be taking lessons from you." Miguel told the girl chuckling at her.
"Next time I'm going to need money up front. I gave you a freebie, this time." She joked, making them both laugh.
"Should we maybe focus on our work here?" Demetri alerted the two people at the table.
Kathleen was being nervous about the long conversation she had with Miguel just now. Maybe she really did like him.
"Hey Demetri. I'm sorry for being so rude to you before. I was a bitch." She really surprised the boy, he never thought the day that Kathleen would apologize will arrive.
"It's okay. I'm fine, and you weren't a bitch. Well maybe a little but it's all rumors now." He meant what he said.
Miguel felt horrible for people saying she was mean which he didn't believe. "Yeah, you shouldn't worry about it, it's all just rumors. Everyone are just assholes, I mean they call me 'Rhea so-"
Kathleen interrupted him. "Well, not anymore."
"Yeah I guess you're right. Not anymore." Both of them once again getting lost in each other's eyes.
•*•*•*•
Once Kathleen got home she rushed out to see where her father was. He left a note on the stairs railing saying he went to go pick Alex up from school and take him out. He promised to take her out another day. She was okay with it, she knew her father had to show Alex love as well.
Upstairs in her room Kathleen put her book bag down and got a notification from her laptop. She walked off to it and clicked on it. A pig popped up.
"Science is murder! Kathleen, why did you dissect me?" Miguel's voice was playing, making Kathleen laugh at his corny video which she actually liked. "I could've gone somewhere in life. I could've been bacon." Once again Kathleen laughed at his corny jokes.
"Just joking. It's Miguel. Let me know if you need the notes from today's class." Miguel finished.
Kathleen made sure to respond back telling him she did need them and telling him how horrible his jokes were, even though she did laugh at it. Or did she laugh at them because she likes him? She didn't know what was going on with her recently.
She knew he wouldn't respond, he had karate everyday after school. She did wish she could have joined but karate was in her past, she still liked it but she's always known Miyagi-Do karate. She didn't want to disappoint Mr. LaRusso, he taught her and he treats her like a second daughter.
Maybe she could just be friends with the Cobra Kai's but not join. She could be like Demetri, supporting from outside. If it ever did come to choosing Kathleen wouldn't know who to pick, maybe she shouldn't. Maybe she shouldn't join any dojo, it'll just make everything worst.
But deep down she would probably choose to be a Cobra. She was never meant to learn defense, she felt like she needed to be taught offense. That's what Cobra Kai has, that's what she needed.
•*•*•*•
The Gomez family except for Kate had their family dinner and after that they played a board game. Family time is always required in the home, family bonding is something they all need. It's all Kathleen wants, her family showing love and being there with her.
She wished her life had always been like that but it never was.
•*•*•*•