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The next day of school had almost been a repeat, although this time around I had no intention of sitting through an hour of awkward silence between me, Tommy, and Johnny. While jogging the track alongside Ali during gym, I intentionally avoid any possible run-ins with any of the boys.
"Are you planning to go to the dinner at the country club this weekend?" Ali asks and I shrug, not having any clue what she's referencing.
"Country club? Doesn't sound like my ideal Saturday night, no offense."
"None taken, my parents are just dragging me with, but having another person I know there would make it much more bearable." She tilts her head down to convince me.
"Resorting to guilt tripping now?" I ask and she laughs,
"Please just consider it. Practically everyone in Encino goes every year."
"Everyone?" I ask and she sighs.
"You're going to have to speak to him eventually, Sam." She adds, disregarding my question. My eyes revert to the green field that the track wraps around and easily find the group of boys chasing after a soccer ball.
"Not necessarily..." I reply in a sing-song tone.
"It's so clear he's just jealous. You rejected him and now you're driving around with Tommy."
"I didn't 'reject' him. You make it sound bad when you say it like that." She tilts her head to the side. "Okay, I rejected him, but what else was I supposed to do? Tommy just needed a ride and Daniel and Erik would've killed me if I-"
"Did you want to kiss him?" She interrupts and I gaze at Johnny who obtains the soccer ball from a black haired boy, quickly scoring a goal right after.
"No, obviously not." She groans at my response, hoping I'd admit to something else.
"You're absolutely insufferable, the both of
you."
"I'd consider it more honest." I grin as I watch Johnny score another goal, catching his eye for a moment before I turn back to Ali.
"And what if he asks to dance at the country club?"
"Then I guess I'll dance, it wouldn't mean anything. And I probably won't even go, anyways." Ali rolls her eyes playfully at my response.
"You say that now." She giggles and the gym teacher blows his whistle to lead us back into the school.
I go through the motions the rest of the day and Daniel refuses to look in my direction, putting in even less effort than yesterday. Once English rolled around, I didn't even make it to my seat before I asked for a pass to the nurse's office and left the classroom without a trace.
I lounge in the nurses office the rest of the period and actually had time to rest for once, not having to worry about anyone else. Somehow, in the past month I haven't experienced one day that everyone was civil with each other. There's always someone mad at someone else and due to that, the exhaustion had finally set in as I shut my eyes.
Currently, I'm on the outs with Daniel and Erik, but I have no idea where to categorize Johnny into that. We were fine yesterday during school, but training was another story. Who knows if he'd even show up to our private lesson today.
"You almost done with those potholders yet, Sammy?" My mom asks with a cheerful smile as she meets me at the front door, kicking off my shoes lazily.
"Yeah, we should be finishing them up this week." I fib and silently curse myself knowing I'd have to find some time to buy a set for her.
"And how's Ali?" She asks while I follow her into the kitchen. A sweet aroma coats the air I inhale as I spot the freshly baked goods lounging on top of the oven.
"Good, she actually mentioned something about a country club this weekend. Apparently everyone in Encino goes, have you heard about it?" I take a bite of a chocolate chip cookie that she hands me wrapped in a napkin.
"Yeah, her mom actually mentioned something like that this morning. She invited us to come with; I assume it's only appropriate now that all those people are our neighbors now. We should be attending events of that sort." The nerves are apparent in her sigh while she slides the remaining cookies into a large container.
"You actually want to go?" I question, not fully grasping the concept in disbelief.
"Yes, and I want all of you guys going as well. We should be making a good impression. And you'll have Ali to spend time with if anything." She raises her eyebrows.
"I know we don't live in a two bedroom apartment anymore, but I have no idea how to fit in with people like that." I attempt to reason, but she only points the serving spatula in her hand at me.
"Well, you'll have to figure that out sooner or later. You might as well get it over with now." I drag myself off of the chair I lounge in and trudge up to my room in dread. "And you've already made good friends with Ali, I'm sure you'll be fine, hun." She adds from down the hallway.
I never had anything against people who were financially stable and well above that, but they clearly lived a different way. I'm not used to the whole white knee length dress and legs crossed type of lifestyle although I always wished I was. Even living in Encino now, it still feels like I'm just here to visit and I'll be on a plane back to Chicago in no time.
As the clock strikes seven o'clock, I lean against the bumper of my car in the vacant Cobra Kai parking lot as my patience rapidly diminishes by the second. If Johnny wanted to be a half hour late, the least he could've done was call and let me know even if that meant no other conversation following. I refrain from even batting an eye when he pulls into the parking lot a couple spots down.
"Fashionably late?" I remark with a blank expression, and he shrugs it off with an edge of carelessness.
"What's it to you?" He asks as he shuts his car door with a bang.
"Nothing aside from the fact I've been waiting for the past thirty minutes. A call would've been nice." I scoff and he rolls his eyes in response.
"God, get a grip Emmerik. You ditched english today without saying anything. Not everything revolves around you." He begins making his way to the front doors while he spins the key around his finger.
"Your little mood swings have been giving me whiplash the past few days so I wouldn't think of myself so highly if I were you." I drop my bag down against the wall and he just grins to himself, clearly attempting to control his tongue from muttering something in response.
"Whatever you say," He taunts me in a monotone voice before grabbing his gi and going to change in the back rooms.
Eventually, we began training like usual, but the tension didn't subside. Once in a while, there'd be little snippy comments from either one of us in response to the other and overall, the session wasn't what I'd call smooth sailing to say the least.
As we spar, mostly to work on my offensive skills, Johnny decides to hit back and slams his foot against my abdomen.
"Shit," I mutter sharply, feeling the effects of the impact against my sore muscles from the previous day's punishment. "Was that really necessary?"
"Go complain to Tommy, I don't have time for this shit." He throws up his arms in irritation and I finally snap at his rude comments.
"I don't get how I could've been blind enough to not believe everything Daniel's been saying about you." I spit back and at an instant, the entire mood of the room flipped. I almost regretted what I said when he glared back at me, although I meant every word.
"Yeah, you are fuckin' blind and apparently no better than he is." He retorts, stepping forward with his features stone cold.
"What changed between Saturday and now that made you into such an asshole?" I question and he throws back his head in amusement, as if I didn't pick up on something I was supposed to. "If this is because of what happened after-"
"It's not." He interrupts truculently.
"Okay, so then is it? Tommy?"
"Maybe it is, but you apparently can't fucking see that." He shakes his head, lowering his face to mine as if to intimidate me.
"I just didn't expect you to be sensitive about something that doesn't concern you! And you say that I think everything revolves around me? You're unbelievable, Lawrence."
"He's obviously fucking into you!"
"Even if he is, that has nothing to do with you whatsoever! You're acting like a prick over something you have no right to be mad over!"
"Right, okay, go fuck your boyfriend, Emmerik." He seethes, his lip raising slightly upward as he scans my stern expression.
"Good idea." I shoot back in a low tone and when I thought he'd already reached his breaking point, he grasps my wrist as I go to turn away. "What do you want?" I ask seriously, pronouncing every word individually.
"I want you stop entertaining him." He states, his grip tight around the skin of my arm, but my attention is only on his eyes that bore into mine; his azure corneas almost appearing like sharp crystals dancing around his pupils. I almost felt weak under his gaze, although I knew I could put up a decent fight against him in reality.
I study his state: the tips of his hair are damp with sweat and his gi is slightly parted, due to the abrupt movements during sparring, exposing his glistening upper chest. A part of me that I always presumed was subconscious, or didn't even exist for that matter, could stare at his features for hours on end. I knew the urge was there at times, but I never expected there to be a point at which I was going to be tempted to act on any of those feelings.
"Apparently, you're just as 'blind' as me." I reply calmly and I yank my wrist from his grasp. I snatch my backpack from the ground and without another word, I shove open the doors, leaving Johnny alone in the dojo.
'Entertaining' whatever Tommy has had in mind won't be on my checklist anytime soon. I never even formally responded to him asking me out, not that I owed Johnny that information.
As soon as I get home, I rush into my room and begin pressing the buttons on my phone and quickly raise it to my ear as I begin to hear it ring. Before I even think to say hello, I have another question in mind.
"Can we meet somewhere?"