Chapter eight
"A trip out into the woods."
Wearing a blue long sleeve shirt, Shawn headed downstairs where his siblings were sitting on the couch, Sam was on her phone while Anthony was on his gaming device that Shawn had given back to him sometime last week, as Shawn walked right up to the door just as the doorbell rang "grandma!" Anthony voiced, getting up off the couch, but Shawn already opened the door, having a huge smile on his face "hey, grandma!" he voiced "oh! Shawn you're getting so tall!" their grandma voiced, as she leaned in hugging him, Shawn hugged her back "you know you've always been my favorite, don't tell the others." their grandma told him.
As Shawn laughed, he stepped back "hey, cutie, give me a hug!" their grandma voiced as he hugged Anthony "oh, Sammie! When are you gonna stop getting so pretty?" their grandma asked as she hugged her, their uncle Louie walked in, as Shawn punched him in the arm "ah! The big idiot!" he voiced, as Louie furrowed his brows "big idiot? Whoa, whoa, I thought I was the coolest guy you ever knew?" he asked, as Shawn furrowed his brows "I never said that." he told him, as he began walking off, he passed his dad "Shawn, can you.." he went to ask him "already set the table!" Shawn voiced, as his dad patted him on the shoulder "that's my boy." he told him, chuckling.
Where once greetings were all done, everyone was sitting outside on the patio, as their dad was grilling along with their uncle Louie while the rest of them except their mom who was bringing out the rest of the food that didn't need to be grilled were sitting down watching them, although of course the topic of conversation had to be karate, but more specifically Johnny Lawrence and his cobra kai "you know, it's bad enough that this monster is teaching kids. Now he's somehow convinced the all valley board to let cobra kai back into the tournament." their dad shared "oh, that's horrible. They can't let them back. Oh, they're nothing but a bunch of bullies." their grandma shared.
And as she did, Shawn raised his brows knowing he had a helping hand in the resurgence of cobra kai, seeing as he was the one bullying half the kids who are in it now "they can't all be bullies, right?" Sam asked "trust me, sweetheart, you don't know the half of it." their grandma shared "oh trust me we do! I mean dad told us everything! Including the time he got pushed down the hill on his bike!" Shawn voiced, as their dad turned around "okay, I know you've heard it all but you don't got to say it like that!" he voiced, as Shawn raised his brows "no, I do." he told him.
"I thought it was a cliff?" Anthony asked and as he did, Shawn scoffed "know if it was, dad would be dead right now and none of us would be sitting here." he shared "he would be dead!" Anthony voiced, as their dad turned back from the grill looking at Shawn "nice one." he told him, as Shawn shrugged "it's the truth!" he voiced, as their dad huffed turning back to the grill "you want some pasta salad?" their mom asked their grandma "oh, no, thank you. I don't like that prepackaged stuff from the store it's, ugh!" their grandma shared "oh, well, I would've made some, but I got home late from the dealership." their mom shared as she sat down.
"It's fine, mom." Shawn told her, knowing how this was gonna go "oh no, that's ok, I get it. It's tough being a working mom, but at least you have a partner." their grandma shared, as their walked over to the table with the burgers and hot dogs "remember how I used to come home from work, and then started cooking from scratch?" their grandma asked, as their dad sighed as he sat down "yeah, ma." he told her, trying to comfort their mom, while their uncle Louie cracked open his beer on their patio furniture "you know, that son of a bitch has a lot of nerve entering the tournament." he shared, as he sat down.
"Especially after everything he's done to you. And you fixed his car for free." he added on, as Shawn raised his brows "actually I fixed the car." he told him, as their uncle looked to him "then I say we get the car back. You know I can find out where he lives." he shared, as Shawn hummed "so he could kick your ass too?" he asked "hey language!" their mom voiced "it's the truth!" Shawn voiced, as Sam huffed "dad, what if cobra kai's changed? I mean, there's some kids from our school who are in it and that doesn't automatically make them bad right?" she asked "please, cobra kai, will never change. Promise me you'll stay away from the kid's who are associated with it?" their dad asked her.
As Shawn chuckled "I just choose to pretend they don't exist!" he voiced, eating his food as his sister scoffed looking to him "that's because if you didn't you would beat them all up like you used to." she shared, and when she did, Shawn's eyes went wide "whoa, what?" their grandma asked "nothing, Sam doesn't know what she's talking about." Shawn told them, as their grandma turned to him "no, no, you've been beating people up?" she asked "no, no, no." their mom said, as their grandma chuckled "well now I'm confused. Daniel, you've been letting your boy beat kids up? Like how those cobras used to do to you?" she asked "ma, we handled it." their dad shared "handled it?" their grandma asked, as Shawn huffed, glaring down his sister as his dad and grandma continued talking about him like he wasn't sitting right there.
But soon it was dessert as the conversation had changed "hey, I heard you've gotten back into karate." their grandma mentioned to their dad "yeah, it had been too long. That's actually how I got Shawn back on the right track, and now there's this kid Robby, who works at the dealership. All three of us train together. Ma, I tell you, I just didn't realize I missed it so much. Missed him so much." their dad shared "Mr Miyagi. He was so good to us." their grandma shared "oh, ma, the best." their dad told her, as their mom came walking out, sitting down next to Shawn, seeing as they all had switched spots after dinner "well, I just got a call from the dealership. Sheila, just said that a couple sketchy guys rolled up on motorcycles looking for Louie and how Travis had to scare them off." she shared.
As uncle Louie looked at them all "oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. I met these bikers when I was at the auto convention in Vegas. We got hammered at the palms. We were drinking boiler makers. It was a sick time. Anyway, long story short, when they found who I was, we came up with this great idea. LaRusso luxury motorcycles." he shared "what are you talking about?" their mom asked "yeah, we don't make motorcycles." Shawn told him "well, that's why I told them we'd start with four and then work our way from there." uncle Louie shared "Louis, what did I say about using my name to make deals?" their dad asked him.
As their mom sighed, Shawn shook his head "I'm sorry, cuz." uncle Louie said as their dad groaned "I'll make it up to you, I promise." uncle Louie said "where have we heard that before?" their mom asked "hey, be nice. He just made a mistake." their grandma told her "a mistake is forgetting to lock up work, which he was done several times." their mom shared "or how he forgot when he came into the garage that he had put the car in reverse and told me to under it, almost running me over." Shawn shared "exactly! And this once again interfering with our business, so just stay out of it." their mom told their grandma.
"Stay out of it? Yeah. That's a very nice way to talk to your mother in law." their grandma told her "ma, she didn't mean it that way." their dad told her "no, no, I meant it that way! Just like how I meant it when I told her that Shawn was my son and not her's! No matter how much she likes to tell me that what I'm doing is wrong! Like before when she got all bent out of shape about him bullying some kids? He's sixteen! Boys fight and they get over it! And? If it wasn't for her, we would've never hired Louie in the first place." their mom shared "Amanda." their dad told her "hey!" Louie voiced "he's family, and you always take care of family." their grandma told them.
As Shawn furrowed his brows "my dad was gonna disown me because he said I was too much like Johnny Lawerence!" he voiced, as their dad chuckled "I wasn't gonna disown you!" he voiced "we do take care of family." their mom said, as Sam huffed "because not only did we hire Louie, we gave Shawn his own job and let him buy his own car so he could learn to take care of himself and beyond that! We also host thanksgiving, Christmas, easter..." their mom was telling their grandma "host? Oh, come on. It's easy to host when everything's catered." their grandma shared, as their mom gasped.
"Ma..ma.." their dad told her, trying to stop this "is this about the pasta salad? Or..or about how Shawn should be the one getting bullied instead of being king of west valley? I mean what do you want, Lucille? Whatever you want I will go into that kitchen and make it right now or better yet I will ground Shawn!" their mom voiced, as Shawn's eyes went wide "what?" he asked her "forget it." their grandma told their mom "uh, if you're going to the kitchen, I'll take a yoo hoo." Anthony said, and when he did, both his older siblings turned to him "oh my god, Anthony you make everything worse." Sam told him "yeah, what the hell is wrong with you? How about you get off your ass for once and do it yourself?" Shawn asked him "shut up." Anthony then told them.
"Whoa, hey don't say ass or shut up!" their dad voiced "don't say those words. I don't like those words." their grandma shared, as Shawn huffed "god, nobody at this table seems to like anything I've done! What I did happened months ago! And how come every conversation today has turned around and been about me?" he asked "because you love being the center of attention!" Sam voiced, making Shawn scoff "says daddy's little girl!" he voiced "momma's boy!" Sam voiced, as the two of them began arguing over their mother, who then started arguing with their grandma "you see what you did? Shawn has been great for months and you come here and trudge up all of his problems!" she voiced "me?" their grandma asked.
"Can I get another yoo hoo?" Anthony asked, and as he did, Shawn huffed as he turned around grabbing the empty glass and throwing it across the patio "Shawn!" their dad voiced "hey!" Anthony voiced "look at that! He's bullying his own brother!" their mom voiced "he's not bullying him!" their mom voiced, as they all began arguing over each other, their dad put his hand over his face realizing it was never gonna end.
That night, Shawn had been sitting in between his mom and grandma as the two continued arguing about him and how he should be acting, which Shawn was just looking at his dad as he was standing across the table trying to stop them from arguing "he is my son!" his mom yelled "well maybe you should stop babying him and he'll stop acting like such a child!" his grandma voiced "a child? He's captain of the basketball team! He usually works full time at the garage unless he has school or basketball!" his mom voiced, as their dad huffed and turned walking away to go get their sister "he looks after his brother and forces him to not just look at his video games all day or to learn to do things on his own although to you it just looks like he's lashing out because your not around to see it!" his mom voiced.
"Well maybe I should!" his grandma voiced "no!" Shawn and his mom voiced, knowing that was an awful idea "no, what do you mean, no!" his grandma voiced, as his mom through her arms out "I'm over this! Shawn, go!" she voiced, as Shawn turned to leave "no, Shawn stay!" their grandma voiced as Shawn stopped, his dad came walking back "Shawn can go!" he voiced, as Shawn huffed, walking away and up the stairs, he went into his room and shut the door behind him, and as he did, he huffed, falling face first onto his bed, knowing how this was how it was gonna be the whole weekend.
Although as he was lying there, someone then knocked on his door, as Shawn rolled over "come in!" he called out, as his dad opened the door, he quickly came in, shutting the door behind him "look about dinner..." he was telling him, as Shawn shook his head "no, I should've expected it, you and her both have expectations of me and I failed so I get yelled at." he shared, as his dad huffed, knowing he's been there before, but he wasn't exactly sure if he wanted to tell him about his past right now "look, how about tomorrow, me, you and Robby head out to the woods for some training but more so get away from all the yelling?" he asked.
And when he did, Shawn smiled "yeah." he told him, as his dad chuckled "okay, cool." he told him, as he turned going to walk out the door "but I'm not gonna go easy on you." he told him "oh! I wouldn't expect you too!" Shawn voiced, as his dad chuckled "alright, see you tomorrow." he told him, as he walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.
Where the next morning, Shawn had dressed for the woods, as he and his dad packed up everything they would need, the two came walking out of the dojo, seeing Sam and Robby talking to each other, Shawn was caring the bag while his dad was carrying the cooler as the two walked up to them "oh, look at this. One of my former students and current student. You know, if you wanna join us, Sam, there's still time." their dad shared "I'm actually going to the mall with mom and grandma." Sam shared, as Shawn whistled "wow, um, just make sure if they're in the shoe section to not let them picking up high heels? Or else they might actually start throwing them at each others heads." he shared.
"Yeah, text us if there's any bloodshed, one of us will answer you. Robby, give me a hand with this. We're gonna take the SUV." their dad shared, handing the cooler to Robby "bye bye, sweetheart." he then told Sam "bye, dad." Sam told him, as Shawn turned watching their dad go, he then turned back to Sam "if it's get's too much for you just run." he told her, as Sam started laughing "get out of here!" she voiced, as Shawn turned around and walked off after their dad, and as he did, Robby jogged over to him "tree? What tree? Where are we going?" he asked, as Shawn sighed, putting his arm around him "you know? I would tell you, but..I don't wanna give away the surprise." he shared, as he chuckled "come on." he told him, as the two of them began walking off.
In which Shawn's dad was driving the SUV, heading out of the valley and further into the woods, as Robby sat in the back, they then made it to the woods, as they all were trudging through it "when I was a kid, Mr Miyagi took me to this beautiful lake up north to train. I tried to take Shawn and Samantha there once, but after the drought it's become more like a puddle. So I found this spot instead. You hear that? Hmm?" Shawn's dad asked, as they came to a stop, he turned and looked at the two of them "you hear that? I want you both to close your eyes and just listen." he told them, as Robby and Shawn did.
Shawn smirked, knowing this was exactly what him and his dad needed "what do you hear?" Shawn's dad asked them "um..nothing." Robby told them "exactly." Shawn and his dad told him, as he opened his eyes "no phone calls, no internet, no family arguments. Just you and mother nature. That's why we're here. This is what Miyagi do karate is all about. Come on." Shawn's dad told them, as he turned around and continued walking, Robby and Shawn followed after him.
Having gone further into the woods, the three of them started off with doing some kata on the board walk that overlooked a lake where they also added in some kicks, and then they worked on their punching while standing on some rocks, then Shawn's dad had some baseball gear on as he stood in front of them "ok, like I told you, make a strong front stance. Ok?" he asked "yeah." Robby told him "when you throw, you're gonna twist yours hips, snap the punch." Shawn's dad shared, as he held his fist up "all the power right here, in this one inch, ok? Show him, Shawn. Aits!" he voiced, as Shawn threw a punch "Hai!" Shawn's dad voiced, as Robby then threw a punch.
And then soon when they got that down, the three were then walking through the woods again "wow. I feel like I'm, like Jackie Chan." Robby shared "eh, I've gotta admit, you're more of a natural then I was although Shawn's still got you beat, Mr Miyagi used to say he was quick and fast." Shawn's dad shared, as Shawn furrowed his brows "yeah and I was eight! And if you get to cocky someone always how's up to knock you down and then you realize that there's always another lesson to learn." he shared "is that a Mr Miyagi saying?" Robby asked him, as Shawn scoffed "no, it's just something I've been realizing but if you think it is then I must be getting somewhere, huh?" he asked, as his dad chuckled "you wish!" he voiced.
"So, are we headed home?" Robby asked and when he did, they then stopped walking "oh, speaking of you wish!" Shawn's dad voiced as he turned to the two of them "training ain't over yet. You may know the moves, but none of that matters unless you have balance." he shared "I balance on my skateboard every day." Robby shared, as Shawn furrowed his brows "he's not talking about physical balance. He means balancing your life." he shared, and he knew after their talk from the other night, that this one was gonna be hard for him "look, Robby..I know it's hard growing up without a dad, believe me. Mine died when I was young, so I know. But when those bad feelings all weigh you down, you gotta..you gotta search inside for the good stuff, you know, and just.." Shawn's dad shared, as he held both hands up like a scale, balancing them.
"Cause then you can find some balance in your life. Understand?" he asked, dropping his hands "it's not easy, but you'll do it." he added on, as Shawn scoffed "when?" he asked him, feeling like he himself can't even find balance lately "aw, Shawn.." his dad said as he sighed "Mr LaRusso, I..I need to tell you something." Robby told him and when he did, Shawn turned his head to him, knowing in the middle of nowhere in the woods was the worst time to tell his dad what he was going to tell him "sure. What is it?" Shawn's dad asked him "no." Shawn mouthed to him and when he did, Robby looked to him and then to Shawn's dad as he smiled "thanks for teaching me." he told him.
"No, don't thank me yet. You're about to hate me. Shed that duffel bag and.." Shawn's dad was saying, as Shawn turned around and walked over to the tree, climbing onto it, as his dad turned looking at him, chuckling "and follow Shawn's lead and get up on this tree right here." he said, as Robby took off the duffel bag and tossed it down, climbing up after him "alright, now find your guys balance." Shawn's dad told them as the two did "you know, getting up here is a whole lot easier now that I'm taller." Shawn shared, as his dad laughed "alright, now show me what we learned today. Let's start with a front kick." he shared, as Robby and Shawn both easily did one.
"Not bad, try a round kick." Shawn's dad told them, as Shawn and Robby brought up their left legs and kicked them out twice and then looked down at him "is this supposed to be hard?" Robby asked "yeah, cause I thought you said you weren't gonna go easy on me or us?" Shawn asked as he motioned between him and Robby "alright, hotshots. Show me a hook kick." Shawn's dad shared, as Shawn scoffed "hook kick, easy." he said, as him and Robby turned around, putting their backs to him, they spun around, kicking their foot out, but as they did, the two then yelled as they fell off the tree and down to the ground below, groaning.
"There it is. You two all right?" Shawn's dad asked, as Shawn and Robby sat up "okay, falling off of that?" Shawn asked, pointing at the tree as Robby stood up "is scarier then I remember." Shawn said, as Robby held his hand out, Shawn took it as he let him help him up "what do we do now?" he asked "we go back up." Shawn told him, as Robby's eyes went wide "what?" he asked "yep, you get back up, and you try it again. You let me know when you can do all the kicks without falling." Shawn's dad shared, as he pulled out his phone.
Robby hit Shawn in the arm "what?" Shawn asked him, as Robby motioned behind him, Shawn turned around and watched his dad start to walk off "um, where are you going?" he asked him "the devils are playing the islanders on the east coast. I'm gonna move to a spot with better service." Shawn's dad shared "but this was supposed to be about disconnecting!" Shawn voiced "hockey doesn't count." his dad told him, as he continued heading off, Shawn scoffed "you've gotta be kidding me." he said.
As Robby chuckled "he actually just left us?" he asked, as Shawn raised his brows "left us?" he asked, turning to face him "dude, if you opened your mouth and told him that you were Johnny Lawerences son? He would've left you here to find your way back home." he shared, chuckling, as Robby furrowed his brows "no he wouldn't." he told him, as Shawn raised his brows, he didn't answer him, as he climbed back on the tree.
"He seriously would've left me?" Robby asked him, as he turned following Shawn onto the tree, Shawn chuckled "dude, my dad was literally bitching about him yesterday all because his dojo's getting to compete once again in the all valley tournament." he shared, as Robby furrowed his brows "are we gonna do that?" he asked him, as Shawn chuckled "no. If we did, my dad would literally stop at nothing to destroy them, whether we lost.." he shared, as the two did a front kick "or won." Shawn added on, as the two then did a round kick "but if we did, you think you could win?" Robby asked him, as Shawn furrowed his brows "huh.." he said, as the two did a hook kick, they spun around and kicked their foot out but almost fell again, yet quickly caught their balance.
"I never thought about that. I mean I used to when I was eight, but now? It was mostly just basketball championships." Shawn shared, as the two tried the hook kick again and this time they landed it, where the two then did it again "well there would no harm in trying for a karate one, right?" Robby asked him, as the two did the hook kick again and landed it, in which Shawn chuckled "getting my dad to agree to it would be impossible." he shared, as the two did a hook kick again "and harm? That would depend on if your dad loses his mind over you being apart of Miyagi do and if the cobra kai's fought fair rather then dirty." Shawn shared, as him and Robby did a hook kick again and landed it.
"So, it's not a no?" Robby asked him, as the two sat down on the tree, Shawn shook his head "no, it's a no! It's just..I don't know." he told him, as he shrugged, Robby chuckled "you don't know?" he asked him, as Shawn shook his head "I don't. And speaking of I don't know. I don't know where my dad is so we should go find him before he actually forgets that he brought us here and leaves us behind." he shared, as the two hopped off the tree, they landed on the ground as they began walking off, Robby grabbed the duffel bag as he followed Shawn.
The two were walking aimlessly in the direction they had seen Shawn's dad go but with no actual direction or service to find his location, it was a bit hard until they found him in a hand stand, moving one of his arms out, as the two furrowed their brows "dad?" Shawn asked while Robby said "Mr LaRusso?" in which Shawn's dad opened his eyes "huh?" he asked, as he then fell over, the two quickly ran over to him, as Shawn's dad huffed, sitting back up and hanging his feet over the rock "I almost did it." he told them "what, almost break your neck?" Shawn asked him "yeah, what were you doing?" Robby asked him.
As Shawn's dad sighed "one of the last things Mr Miyagi ever taught me. The most powerful kick in Miyagi do karate." he shared "how do you do it?" Robby asked "yeah, you never told me about that." Shawn told him "I wish I could show you guys. Only Mr Miyagi could do it. You have to balance your whole body on one hand, which free's up two legs for the kick. I almost did it once when I was in my twenties, so the fact that I got this close today. Pretty damn awesome. How'd you two do on the tree?" Shawn's dad asked, as Robby chuckled "we did all the moves without failing." he shared.
"Good. Now that you two have mastered that, you're ready for the next challenge." Shawn's dad shared, as Shawn raised his brows "really? Cause I thought that was finding you, I mean this place is huge." he shared, looking around them, as his dad hopped off the rock "it's worse than that. We have to find the car. And you're driving." he told Shawn, as Shawn chuckled "great." he said, as Robby chuckled, the three of them started walking off.
It was dark as they finally made it back home, Shawn parked the SUV in the driveway "alright!" Shawn's dad voiced, as he got out of the car, Robby and Shawn followed after him, as the two walked up the driveway side by side, Shawn and Robby kept bumping into each other and soon bumping turned into shoving, as the two of them were laughing as they headed inside, Shawn's dad turned to them "easy you two. Don't need anything in here to get broken because of you two rough housing." he shared, chuckling, as he turned back, the three all then walked into a surprisingly happy kitchen, as mom and grandma were laughing, not at each other, but with each other.
As the three stopped in the doorway, Robby put down the bag "ah, look who's here. Come on in." Shawn's grandma told them "hey!" Shawn's mom voiced "Amanda and I are making dinner." Shawn's grandma shared, as his mom turned holding a tray "yeah, your mom made her famous chicken cacciatore." she shared, putting it down on the table, as she turned around walking back towards his grandma "yes, but with the help of your beautiful, wife." she told her, handing her a wife glass, the two clinked them together and drank from them, as his dad walked away from him, Shawn sighed "god, I'm starving." he said, as he turned to Robby "you hungry?" he asked him "yeah, but I don't.." Robby was saying.
As Shawn turned to his family "Robby's staying for dinner!" he voiced, as he then turned hitting him in the arm "come on. You'll love it." he told him, chuckling, as him and Robby walked over, they grabbed their plates, Sam walked up to Shawn, reaching over him to grab her's "you just gonna ignore me?" she asked him, as Shawn raised his brows "well I was helping our guest Sam." he told her, as he turned to Robby "Robby this is my twin sister Sam, I know you've met her already but don't let her fool you, she seems all sweet and nice but she's actually really mean." he shared, as Sam hit him in the back of the head, Robby started laughing.
And not long after that, they all were sitting out on the patio eating dinner, as Sam laughed "you two had to have fallen off more than once." she shared, as Shawn shook his head "no, no, I'm telling you the truth the only time we fell was when dad was there." he shared, sitting in between her and Robby "he's right, we slipped once, but we caught ourselves, so it doesn't count." Robby shared "no, that totally counts as falling!" Sam voiced "no, no, no! Falling is if actual fall of the tree and land on the ground, slipping is when you almost fall but your smart enough to catch yourself. But you would know that if you ever actually stayed on the tree." Shawn shared, as Sam hit him in the arm, Shawn and Robby started laughing again.
"Dad, you have to tell them about the handstand." Shawn told them all "I almost did it this time." their dad told them "oh, you did?" their grandma asked "I was this close." their dad shared "yeah, this close to breaking his neck." Shawn shared, as their dad scoffed "alright, enough of you eat your dinner. And hey! Maybe you and Robby could shoot some hoops after and maybe I'll join you guys." he shared, as Shawn raised his brows "you and basketball?" he asked, as their mom winced "yeah, I don't know about that, honey." she told him, as their dad's eyes went wide "oh, come on! It could be me and Anthony versus you and Robby, how about that?" he asked, as all of them laughed.