MARIA AND JOHNNY TOOK Miguel home. When his mom answered the door, she was not happy.
"Oh! Miguelito!" She cried out. "I don't want you ever coming near my son again, do you understand me?" She said to Johnny.
"I'm sorry. I should have never gotten involved." He apologized.
Maria and Johnny went to walk out the door, when they heard Miguel say, "No! Cobra Kai never dies!" The door then shut.
"I'll see you later, Maria." Johnny said to her as they went their seperate ways.
"See you later, Sensei."
THE NEXT DAY, MARIA was going out to get the mail, when she saw Miguel walk up to Johnny. "Hey, Sensei, my mom says that I can't train with you anymore, but I had this idea that maybe if we went to the dojo before—"
Johnny cut him off. "You don't get it, kid. There is no dojo. I'm closing it up. It's over."
Maria walked over to them. "You're closing the dojo? What about us? We...we need you." She said sadly.
Johnny sighed sadly. "Sorry, Maria. I gotta go." He said to her and walked away.
"SO, THAT'S IT? NO more karate?" Demetri asked them. Him, Maria, Miguel, and Eli were studying in the library.
"I guess so." Miguel answered.
"It's probably for the best. It was starting to boost your confidence."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Maria asked in confusion.
"No." Demetri replied. "What has confidence ever gotten anybody except for a black eye and their backpack thrown in the trash?"
"Well, I thought it was kind of cool how you stood up to Kyler." Eli piped up.
Maria smiled, but it faded when Demetri started to talk again. "Are you insane? Let me ask you. What is the best superpower anyone could have?" He asked them.
"Super strength." Maria and Miguel answered in unison.
"Wrong. Invisibility. A distant second would be super speed to run away fast." Demetri explained to them.
"Run away from who?" Kyler said as him and his friends appeared behind Eli.
"Whom." Brucks corrected him. "It's the object of preposition. Remember English class."
"We were just leaving." Miguel said to Kyler as they got up and grabbed their things.
When Eli got up, Kyler grabbed his neck. "Hey, where you going? Oh, look at this freak." He grabbed his face and looked at the scar above his lip. "What kind of girl would ever kiss this shit?"
"Leave him alone, Kyler." Miguel said to him.
"What'd you say?" Kyler walked up to him. "You haven't had enough, Rhea? Huh?" He pushed him by the head. "Get the hell out of here man." Him, Eli, and Maria ran out of the library. Demetri went to follow them, But Kyler grabbed his backpack.
"Hey, you don't want this shit." He said to Demetri.
"No, come on. Not the trash. I just threw a...yogurt in there." Demetri said as Kyler threw his backpack in the trash.
"Now, it's double dip." Kyler said. Demetri grabbed his backpack and walked away to catch up with the three.
MARIA AND MIGUEL WERE walking out of school to get on the bus, when they heard Carmen honking on her horn. "Miggy! Miggy!"
He sighed in embarrassment and turned to Maria. "See you later, Maria."
She laughed. "See you later, Miggy." She teased. He flipped her off playfully and went to his mom's car. She then began to walk home.
When Maria got home, she heard her Maeve talking to someone on the phone in the kitchen. She hung up her backpack on the hook and took off her jacket and her sneakers. She walked into the kitchen and saw her with tears filling her eyes.
Maria's heart sank. She knew something was wrong. Maeve saw Maria, exchanged a few more words with the person on the phone, and hung up. She turned to Maria took a deep breath.
"What's going on?" Maria asked, her trembling voice barely above a whisper.
Maeve's heart broke even more. How could she tell Maria this? How could she be the one to shatter her niece's world with just a few words?
"Maria...your father...he..." Maeve couldn't finish her sentence. She couldn't bring herself to utter the words.
But Maria was smart, and she put the pieces together. The color of her face drained, and her body began to tremble.
She couldn't believe it. She wouldn't believe it.
She shook her head as she pleaded, "No...no, Maeve...don't say it...don't you say it."
Maeve started to silently sob as she said, "He's gone, Mimi."
Maria stumbled back a step. The room was spinning, and she felt her heart pounding against her chest like a war drum. She couldn't believe it. Her father, her protecter, her rock, was taken from her.
She heard the voice of him in her head. She heard the now empty promises he had made, she heard him say how much he loved her, how he would always protect her.
"You're my pride and joy, Maria. I'm so proud of you."
"No harm will ever befall you as long as I'm here, sweet girl."
"I love you more than words can express."
"You're a fighter. Never forget that. Never stop fighting."
It soon became too much. She collapsed to her knees and started to sob.
She couldn't think. She couldn't breath. She couldn't move. She couldn't do anything. All she could do was begin to mourn the loss of the person who meant everything to her.
THE NEXT MORNING, MAEVE heard a light knock on the door of their apartment. She reluctantly got up, and when she opened the door, she saw Miguel standing there.
"Hey, Miguel." Maeve mustered up a smile.
"Hi, Ms. G, is Maria around?" Miguel asked. "I haven't seen her in a few days, so I just wanted to check up on her. Make sure she's okay."
Maeve hesitated. "She's going through some things right now, and she's having a pretty rough time. I think she just needs a little time."
Miguel didn't know exactly what she was talking about, but he was smart enough not to pry, so, he simply nodded. "Okay. Just please tell her that if she needs anything, I'm always here for her."
Maeve nodded. "Thank you, Miguel."
Miguel nodded back and walked away as Maeve shut the door.
Maeve then slowly made her way towards Maria's room, which was right down the hallway. She lightly knocked on the door. "Mimi?" She called out. "An féidir liom teacht isteach, a ghrá?"
"Can I come in, love?"
She didn't hear a response, so she slowly opened the door, and saw Maria laying down on her bed, enveloped in the covers, looking up at the ceiling.
Maeve approached her cautiously. "Hey, Maria." She greeted softly. "Miguel just stopped by. Wanted to check up on you. He's worried about you. He hasn't heard from you in a few days."
Maria remained silent, and Maeve understood. She leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on Maria's forehead. "Whenever your ready, milseán (sweetheart), I'll always be here for you." After a moment of silence, she spoke again. "I'm going to get started on dinner. I'll bring it up."
She shot her a small smile, then got up and left the room, softly shutting the door behind her.
Behind the door, tears started to flood her eyes. She was incredibly worried about Maria. The lifeless look in her eyes, her pale face, the bags under her eyes, all broke her heart.