Chapter five
"A dream becomes reality."
And since then Jackson had been waking up early everyday, starting off with some push ups on his knuckles, and then he would head out to the dojo, as him and Miguel were then standing there in pads with a pitching machine in front of each of them "ready?" Jackson's dad asked "yeah." Jackson and Miguel told him, as Jackson's dad pressed the buttons, two balls came flying out as Miguel and Jackson brought their arms up deflecting it and sending it away and as they did, Jackson's dad then pressed the buttons again as two more came flying out, Jackson hit his while Miguel didn't see it coming and got hit by it.
Then Jackson's dad had him in a choke hold, as Jackson was kicking his legs out from underneath him, as Miguel watched them with wide eyes "what does a cobra do? What do a cobra do?" Jackson's dad asked him, as Jackson hit his hand against him, trying to tsp out, because he couldn't breathe "there's not tapping in karate." Jackson's dad told him, as Miguel's eyes went wide, not looking forward to it being his turn.
Then Jackson and Miguel were sparring, as Jackson threw punches at him, Miguel blocked them, but then Jackson kicked his foot up and got Miguel in the stomach as he hunched over, Jackson's dad nodded.
And then Jackson and Miguel who headed off on runs together, leaving from there apartment building and running all the way across the valley to a hiking trail they had found.
Then Jackson had thrown a kick at Miguel, he ducked away from it as he went under his arm, Jackson turned to him and kicked his foot out which Miguel blocked and then he spun around and elbowed Miguel in the face as he fell over "get your arms up." Jackson's dad told him "my arms were up." Miguel told him "and Jax, you need to move a little faster. If you keep going slow, those guys are gonna get the jump on you." Jackson's dad shared, as Jackson nodded, he bent down and grabbed Miguel's hand helping him up.
Where Jackson and Miguel were then sparring as Jackson was throwing punches Miguel was blocking them, but then Jackson kicked his foot out causing Miguel to stumble back and then with the pitching machine, Miguel was looking at Jackson as he hit the ball coming at him away, Miguel didn't see his as he got hit in the stomach just like Jackson.
And months were flying by as it was already December, where Jackson and Miguel were both good at deflecting the balls that came flying at them, neither of the two getting hit or distracted, as Jackson was then in a chokehold by his dad "what does a cobra do?" he asked, as Jackson brought his dad arm down and slithered out from underneath it as he held onto his right arm "slither!" Jackson voiced "not bad. Miguel your turn." Jackson's dad said, as Jackson stepped away Miguel stepped up.
And from there, Miguel and Jackson were actually capable of competing with each other, where their sparing became more of a challenge for each of them to hit each other, and the deflecting of the balls from the pitching machine became like second nature, where in sparring Miguel had blocked all of Jackson's hit's but when he shoved him back, Jackson knew what his next move was as he dropped down first and knocked Miguel's feet out from under him before he could do the same to him, but then Jackson's dad then pressed the button for the pitching machine as the ball came flying out, it hit him in the face.
"Ow! Okay, I don't realize that there was a second guy." Jackson shared "cause you can't always think your enemies are gonna play by the rules. Cause what if that baseball was your enemies friend waiting his turn where once his friend was down he punches you in the face. You have to be prepared for everything." Jackson's dad shared "is my nose bleeding?" Jackson asked, moving his hand away from it, as his dad and Miguel looked at it "yeah, it might be broken." Miguel shared "it's fine, just don't be a baby." Jackson's dad told him, as the door to the dojo opened and a bunch of women walked in "hello." the one women said.
"Aw, shit." Jackson's dad said "it's five o clock. Twilight is upon us." the women shared, as her and the others walked further in "twilight? What the hell does that mean?" Jackson asked "yeah, what's going on?" Miguel asked "uh, I had to sublet the dojo for a few hours. Just till we get more students." Jackson's dad shared "we need to change the energy in here." the women said, as three of them put up a sign that said, namaste, as they all then grabbed mats rolling them out "oh, so you rented it to a bunch of yogis." Jackson realized, as him and Miguel turned walking off, Jackson's dad followed them.
The next day, Miguel had pads on as Jackson was throwing punches at him "what's the second rule of the way of the fist?" Jackson's dad asked them "strike hard." Jackson and Miguel told him, as Jackson spun around throwing a kick at Miguel, Miguel moved back "that's right." Jackson's dad told them, as Jackson began throwing punches again "there's only one reason to hit someone. To inflict pain. Striking hard is about giving your all." Jackson's dad shared, and as he did, the door opened as he looked away from them "what the hell?" he asked, as Jackson waved his hand, Miguel put down the pads, he turned around looking at what Jackson and his dad were which happened to be Aisha.
"No, yoga till five. No matter how bad you need it." Jackson's dad told her "um, I'm actually here for karate. Someone had been putting notes in my locker everyday to check out the website, and when I checked it out, I realized it only could've been you doing it Jackson. And it said there was supposed to be a session today." Aisha shared "I appreciate you coming in but there are no girls in cobra kai." Jackson's dad shared, as Jackson and Miguel furrowed their brows looking to him for different reasons "why not?" Aisha asked "same reason there aren't women in the army. It doesn't make sense." Jackson's dad said.
In which Jackson laughed "okay, um, Aisha will you give us a minute?" he asked "a minute? Why do we need a minute?" Jackson's dad asked him "because I need to talk to you in your office." Jackson told him, as he turned walking off the mat, so did his dad, as the two then bowed and turned heading inside of it, his dad sat down on his on his desk, while Jackson stayed standing "don't you give me the sexist bullshit too. I'm just saying that women aren't meant to fight. They have tiny, hallow bones." his dad told him "oh my god." Jackson voiced, as he ran his hands through his hair, and took a deep breath "remember back when we thought the dojo was over and I was telling you that how even if we didn't have Miguel, I knew this girl at my school who would be a good fit for our dojo?" he asked.
"Yes, but this isn't a knitting class. This is a dojo." his dad told him "and at the time you didn't listen to this part but people at school make fun of her and call her names." Jackson mentioned "that's what happens when you eat a box of Twinkies every day." his dad told him, causing Shawn to huff "okay, um, but..but the part that you did remember from the conversation was how she was rich! And she want's to pay you, yet because of you gender your gonna let all those dollars just walk right back out that door?" he asked him, as his dad nodded, he got off his desk and turned walking out as Jackson followed him.
"Ok, take off your shoes hop on the mat. Miguel step off." Jackson's dad told them, as Miguel walked off and over to Jackson, while Aisha took her shoes off and stepped onto the mat, Jackson's dad walked up to her "ok, after further review, I've decided to allow female students. But if you wanna be a cobra kai you can't act like a girl." Jackson's dad told her "what do you mean? How do girls act?" Aisha asked "oh, don't give me that. All emotional, loud, complainy. Never letting you finish a sentence." Jackson's dad shared 'well, I know a few guy who act just.." Aisha was telling him.
"Quiet!" Jackson's dad yelled, as Aisha stopped, Jackson's dad began to pace "my student tells me you've been harassed at school." he told her "yeah. Mostly online. Um, I get mean texts and emails sent to me. Makes me not wanna go." Aisha shared "and who send's you these messages?" Jacksons' dad asked "well, they're mostly anonymous. These kids create fake accounts, and they tell me thing's like I'm ugly and that I should kill myself." Aisha shared, Jackson and Miguel's eyes went wide, as Jackson's dad stopped in front of her "oh my god. A bunch of pussies." he voiced, as he began pacing again.
"Back in my day, if you wanted to tease someone, you did it to their face. There was honor, respect." he shared, making Jackson and Miguel furrow they're brows "these geeks hiding behind there computers, what a bunch of spineless losers. You're not afraid of these losers, are you?" Jackson's dad asked Aisha as he stopped in front of her "no." Aisha told him "you gonna take shit from these losers?" Jackson's dad asked her "no." Aisha told him "good, because when I'm done with you, you're gonna be sending a message back. Only it's not gonna be with your keyboard. It's gonna be with your fists." Jackson's dad shared, as he brought up his fists, Aisha smiled.
The next day, Miguel was standing next to Jackson's dad as Jackson was on the mat, Aisha was across from him "all right, let's see what you got Ms Robinson. Face me. Bow." Jackson's dad told them, as the two turned to him, all three of them bowed "face each other. Bow." Jackson's dad told them, as Aisha and Jackson turned back to each other and bowed "Mr Lawerence, show her everything you've learned." Jackson's dad told him, making Jackson furrow his brows "whoa? What?" he asked looking to him "what do you not understand?" Jackson's dad asked him "why am I showing her everything I've learned when she hasn't learned anything yet?" Jackson asked him.
"Yeah, this is my first day." Aisha shared "your enemies don't care what day it is. They prey on weakness. If you wanna beat them, you've gotta conquer your fears and jump face first into the fire. Now you ready, Ms Robinson?" Jackson's dad asked her "I guess." Aisha told him "Mr Lawerence?" Jackson's dad asked him "yes." Jackson told him "fight!" his dad then yelled, and as he did, Jackson looked to Aisha as he got into fighting position and went toward's her, he kicked his foot out, hitting her in the stomach and sending her down to the mat "wow, Jackson, you didn't even give her a.." Miguel was telling him, as Aisha got up and grabbed Jackson, picking him up off the ground and throwing him down onto the mat.
"Good job." Jackson told her, as he gave her a thumbs up, but Aisha wasn't done as she jumped in the air and landed down on him with her knees, Jackson groaned, as Aisha stood up, Miguel's eyes went wide "the girls a natural cobra." Jackson's dad shared "told you..feisty personality." Jackson said as he winced, fighting could be heard from next door "all right, students, wait here. Jax, you're in charge." Jackson's dad told him, as he turned walking out, Aisha and Miguel walked up to Jackson, helping him up "I'm sorry." Aisha told him, as Jackson sighed "nah. You were just doing the first rule, striking first." he told her, as he motioned to the wall "yeah, you didn't hit me first, but you didn't wait for me to hit you again before you came at me so that's a good start." he shared, as all three of them chuckled, Jackson's dad came walking back in.
The next day, at school, Jackson had waited on line and gotten his lunch with Miguel, Demetri and Eli as the four were walking toward's there table "hey, guys!" Kyler voiced, getting everyone in the cafeterias attention including Jackson and his friends as they all stopped "you know that billboard with that big ass dick on it? I guess Sam takes after her dad." Kyler shared, and as he did, the entire cafeteria laughed, Jackson then huffed, remembering how he had done the same thing to Cherry, as he began walking over to them "yo, Kyler!" he yelled, tossing his tray down on Aisha's table, Kyler and all of his friends along with Sam looked to him.
Jackson walked over to them "why don't you stop with the lies already and tell everyone the truth, and how the only way you'd ever get a girl to go out with you is if you forced yourself onto them and when they tell you to fuck off? You and your small weaner decided that the only way to keep your reputation is to come up with a bunch of lies just to compensate." he shared "ooh!" the entire cafeteria voiced, as Kyler and his friends all stepped toward's him "you want another beat down, Jackson?" Kyler asked him, as he shoved him back, Jackson chuckled as he caught himself on Aisha's table as she stood up "actually, what I recall is me giving you a beat down, seeing as last time, you could barley fight me off." he shared.
And when he did, Kyler felt embarrassed as he threw a punch at him, Jackson caught his fist "kind of like this." he told him, as he then punched Kyler in the face "oh!" everyone in the cafeteria voiced as Kyler stumbled back and when he touched his nose, he then ran at him, grabbing Jackson and throwing him down onto the table and then grabbing him again and spinning around throwing him down onto the other table as he then put him in a headlock and pulled him off the table "remember this?" Kyler asked him, and when he did, Jackson elbowed him in the chest and got out of it, twisting Kyler's left arm, as he then punched him in the face and as he stumbled forward, he then kicked him in the back, sending him falling into the table in front of him.
"No mercy!" Aisha and Miguel yelled, as Jackson quickly turned around, Brucks was coming for him as he dropped down, knocking his feet out from under him and then when he got back up, one of the guys was right on him, as he elbowed him in the stomach he hunched over, as Jackson then kicked the one coming toward's him in the stomach, he then spun around kicking the one hunched over in the face and seeing that they all were getting back up, he looked back in front of him and ran forward, flipping over a table, he grabbed a lunch tray, as one of them was coming from the left side, he kicked the chair out and sent it sliding over to him knocking him over, as he then turned hitting Kyler in the face with the lunch tray.
He then turned around shoving Brucks back with it, as he then turned around again and hit the other boy twice with it as he fell down, Jackson turned around and elbowed Brucks in the chest and as he doubled over, Jackson then slammed the lunch tray down onto him and as he fell over, Jackson saw that Kyler was getting back up as he laughed "you just don't give up do you?" he asked, as he quickly turned around and ran, dropping the lunch tray, he then jumped onto the cafeteria table, Kyler ran up to him, as Jackson spun around kicking Kyler in the face and sending him onto the floor.
And as he did, everybody around him cheered, which to Jackson, he was starting to have deja vu, as this moment was like the dream he always had where he would take down Kyler and all his guys and as he turned to everyone, he noticed many of them were recording, as he held his arms out "cobra kai!" he voiced "cobra kai!" Miguel and Aisha voiced, as Jackson chuckled, his eyes then found one person, Sam LaRusso, who was looking right at him and she even smiled, but like always before he could even interact with her, something always ruined it, although this time it wasn't his alarm "hey! Get down from there, right now." Counselor Blatt told him, holding her hand out to him "aww." the entire cafeteria said, as Counselor Blatt pulled him down and out of the cafeteria, where people were still cheering.
And after school, Jackson had headed straight to the dojo and into his dad's office, as he was pacing telling him all about it "I mean, it was the best thing ever, I mean I took down all four of them on my own before but usually Kyler get's back up and takes me out, but not this time, the second time he got up and came at me, I took him down." he shared "all four of them? Even that big dumb one?" his dad asked "oh yeah, and dumb definitely fits the bill on that one. I mean, I was doing everything you taught me, I blocked, I anticipated, and when Kyler tried to get a chokehold on me at the start I used that new trick you taught me and got out of it easy!" he voiced.
"Yeah, not to ruin your excitement but the school called me and when they realized I was proud instead of upset I told them that I wanted to hear you tell me about it in person." his dad told him as he stood up "you took all the lessons I taught you, and you used them, to straight up beat this shit out of those punks?" he asked "yep." Jackson told him "follow me." his dad told him, as he walked around him, Jackson turned around and followed him out of the dojo.
The two headed over to his Pontiac firebird and as they did, his dad opened the trunk and in it was a white karate gi "I wore this when I was training for my first tournament back in 81. I want you to have it." his dad told him, as he leaned down grabbing it, he turned handing it over to him "whoa, whoa, dad I..I can't take this from you." Jackson told him "hell yeah you can. You've earned it." his dad told him, holding his hand out of a handshake, Jackson gave him his hand, but then pulled him in for a hug instead, his dad then patted him in the back, as the two then separated his dad then shut the trunk "so does this mean your gonna give me your car soon too?" Jackson asked, and as he did, his dad scoffed "in your dream's." he told him, as he ruffled Jackson's hair, Jackson smacked his hand away, laughing and as he did, his dad then pulled him into a hug again.
And the next morning, Jackson and Miguel had arrived at the dojo before school and when they did dozens of kids were waiting out front and as they were they all seemed to know who Jackson was "okay, what in the comic con is going on here?" Jackson asked, as Miguel furrowed his brows "I think they're here because of you." he shared "me? What did I do?" Jackson asked, as Jackson's dad walked up to them and saw how a group of kid's were watching the video of Jackson fighting in the cafeteria, he then made it over to Jackson and Miguel "looks like we're in business." he told them, as he unlocked the door, the two walked in after him, and everyone else soon filed in.