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Return of the Cobra Kai	By : Saoirse Category: G through L > Karate Kid, The Views: 4207 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own The Karate Kid, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter II:
Kizutsuitari shinai! (I Won't Get Hurt!)
8:05 a.m. and Lara
strolled onto campus with 20 minutes to spare. Instead of loitering around the
quad as usual, she saw a charter bus parked at the curb outside the chain link
fence and the West Valley High gymnastics team dressed in their white and Kelly
green team jackets piling in, Coach Stubbs holding a clipboard checking off
names.
�Rick!� Lara hopped up and
waved to her best friend at the back of the line. He stood 6�1� with a built
physique, wavy dark brown hair and iridescent green eyes. He grinned ear to ear
when he saw Lara approaching, his pulse sped up slightly. �You�re leaving
already?� She hugged his waist.
�Yeah,� he sighed. �We
have qualifying rounds tonight, but the competition is this weekend.� Rick
looked less than optimistic, but he was always the worrying type.
�You�re going to beat them
all. I know it!� Lara encouraged him.
�Win? We�re going to be
lucky even if we place in the top 10. The All-State High School Gymnastics
Championships determine who�ll survive Nationals�� The confidence he built up
training all year was beginning to show cracks in the foundation.
�You�re talking like it�s
the Olympics, Rick.�
�Aren�t they being held
here next year?� Lara�s patience was thinning and she steered him onto the bus�
steps.
�Will you just scoop that
chin of yours off the grass and go kick some ass!� She pecked his cheek; Rick
inhaled sharply at the contact. �You�re gonna be great.�
�Thanks,� he whispered.
Rachel Jaffe and Cal Thorne who occupied front seats watched the entire
exchange from the window. They felt sorry for their captain.
�Good luck.�
�Bye.� The doors closed
just as Rick climbed the top step and Lara watched him take his seat as the bus
pulled away. Lara spotted Josie, Monica, Chucky and Freddy clustered by the
lockers and called out to them.
�Hey guys!� They looked in
her direction, apprehension suddenly crossing their features. Freddy scanned
the quad with his eyes in case anyone was watching. �Did you say goodbye� to�
Rick�? Lara�s friends walked off quickly as she approached them. �Freddy!
Josie!� She shouted to their retreating backs, she saw their faces in profile
pull taut with poorly suppressed guilt as they entered school. What the hell
was going on? Lara looked around, students milled around acting normally. A few
guys tossed a football under the lush green trees; there was a line at the
drinking fountains and a gaggle of girls with green and white pom-poms tied to
their gym bags screamed with laughter. Lara walked over to her locker, but as
she was about to unlock it something told her to take a step back. And when the
turquoise metal door swung open a load of trash spilled out. Laughter burst all
around her, Lara put her hand over her lips her eyes quivering with disbelief.
�What the fuck!� She swore not caring if a hall monitor or teacher was passing
by. Empty soda cups, crumpled chip bags, greasy paper take-out sacks and candy
wrappers littered the floor. The bell rang and she slammed the locker shut not
trusting it to hold her backpack.
-------------------
12:45 p.m., there was
roughly ten minutes until her lunch period was up. Lara opted to have her
sandwich in the vacant dance room; she never bought the school�s slop instead
frequented the deli near the bus stop. Their ham and Swiss on rye with
dressing, lettuce and tomato was her favorite. She cracked open the can of Diet
Sprite and sipped. It was warm despite buying it from one of the vending
machines. In the cafeteria it would have been refrigerated or in ice trays, but
she made it her business to avoid it. She looked out and saw the locker loggias
cleanly swept, Lara was relieved. Her first three classes went without further
incident, but Isabel, Mike, Billy, Chloe, Boom and Monica also avoided her like
the plague. Clearly they evaded making eye contact with her and were anxious
when she passed them. Lara stole sidelong glances at the Cobras, sans team
jackets, appearing to be wrapped up in their own selfish endeavors as they
always were, flirting with girls and kidding around. She couldn�t help but feel
that this was just the prelude one of their notorious psych jobs. Or was she
being paranoid? Lara made up her mind to give Freddy a call after dinner to get
some answers. Then again there was Sandy, and Lara hadn�t seen her anywhere all
day. Now that was strange.
She checked her watch, a Timex
piece with a purple leather band. Mr. Ortiz� AP chemistry class would be
starting in a few minutes. Jimmy would be there but he typically sat in the
front as Ortiz� seating arrangement went in alphabetical order. Lara was in the
middle. She deposited her trash in one of the steel bins in the hall when the
five minute passing bell rang.
-------------------
Jimmy seemed not to even
have noticed her the entire duration of class, just as Lara suspected. Not that
she trusted him. Thankfully she was exempt from P.E. since being a part of the
dance troupe and spent her gym period in study hall doing homework. She had
dance class after school, and Lara just remembered there was a soccer game
scheduled. There was a chance that Sandy might be at the game. Coach Ribisi had
a hard on for El Camino Real High�s soccer team, West Valley�s big rival so he
frequently held matches around this time of year.
It didn�t surprise Lara
that Carrie and her other friends in the troupe gave her the cold shoulder
either during dance class. After class broke up, Lara hung around watching the
game from Madame Loisel�s office window as it faced the athletic field. It was
15 minutes into overtime and the sudden death match ended in a tie so it was
down to penalty kicks. Many a World Cup final was decided by PK�s alone and
Lara watched carefully. Both teams would be permitted five kicks and freely
chose their strikers.
Having won the coin toss,
Team B went first dressed in their away game colors all white with green trim.
Adam Westerveld was tossed the ball and walked out onto the pitch. Lara nodded,
he was good under pressure. But Team A�s goalie was none other than Dutch, and
his nickname on both the hockey and soccer teams was �The Wall.� That ape. On
the sidelines, the cheerleading squad exuberantly whooped it up in their skimpy
green and white tank tops and accordion skirts chanting and gyrating led by
Amber van Houten. Her bottle blonde coif was teased with half a can of Aqua
Net held back by a green and silver Mylar ribbon. Adam dropped the ball
right on the box�s line and did some breathing exercises. Visualization was key to anything this psychologically stressful. And God was
Dutch stressful. The Cobra Kai badass hopped around stretching his legs,
rolling his neck and just antagonizing him. Adam looked to Team A�s bench and
saw the other karate jerks egging their buddy on. What assholes.
�Kill �im man! Kill �im!�
�Do what you gotta do
Dutch!�
Adam set himself up for
the blast coming at the ball from five feet away hooked his left leg and fired
the ball into the net. Dutch leapt attempting to block, but it was no good, it
landed behind the line. Team B scored its first goal. Cheers thundered and Lara
safely at a distance joined in. Revved up at the sight of Tommy going postal Adam scored a second goal. He was halfway there, but
just as Adam was making his third shot something happened and the ball bounced
off the net�s crossbar sending Dutch careening for safety. Mental
block? Lara stuck the top half of her body out the window and focused on
Adam who was suddenly looking very anxious and washed out. She pressed her lips
together in a line and turned her attention to the remaining four Cobras. They
were a little off to the side from the rest of Team A, whispering
amongst themselves. Lara thinned her eyes crossly, Adam must have seen them
smiling deviously obviously plotting over what they could do to him should the
outcome be less than pleasant.
Where the hell did they
get off? Of course Lara knew better, since this had nothing to do with the
game. If Team A lost without a doubt the Cobras would be pissed, but not enough
to incite their wrath. However if in the process of losing Dutch was made a
fool of, there would be hell to pay. In the end, that�s what the Cobras�
problems were. Everything had to be a competition, since their over inflated
egos were riddled with holes of insecurity big enough to drive Mack
trucks through. And Kreese�s indoctrination of machismo just aggravated
everything. Remove that equation and the Cobras would be relatively harmless,
but Lara knew there was something that was being overlooked. Adam�s fourth and
fifth kicks were half-hearted and subsequently missed both times. With two
goals out of the five PK�s Team B�s chances of winning were slim. Chucky took
Dutch�s place at the net and out came Johnny dressed in the school�s home
colors white shorts and green jersey to the ecstatic cheers of his team�s
supporters.
�GO JOHNNY! WHOO!!!!� Amber leapt wildly shaking her pom-poms.
Lara knew Johnny to be the
team�s best striker, also the most aggressive, and if his objective was five
goals he would make them all. Secretly all her friends worshipped the Cobras
and their Encino ilk. And why shouldn�t they? They had chi-chi mansions in the
Hills, the best bikes, coolest cars and wore brand name everything. Lara saw
them numerous times in the mall toting bags with the Foot Locker and Nike
logos. Jimmy would occasionally mix it up with khakis and crew neck sweaters
and Dutch taking some style sense from his Hollywood dad would wear slacks and
a silk shirt now and again. Johnny was sporting these gray leather jeans
lately, skinny of course. Then again he did have the legs for it� Lara cringed
and nearly slapped herself. Where the hell did that come from? She needed a
cigarette and badly. Unfortunately her reverie prevented her from seeing Johnny
make all five goals and heard the ruckus of the cheering crowd. Coach Ribisi
knew who he was putting in his first string for the new season. Lara saw a
familiar face in the crowd beginning to climb down from one of the bleachers,
it was Sandy dressed in a royal blue long-sleeved cashmere sweater, white
slacks and moccasins. Her hair was done up in a half ponytail. Lara knew that
she would be going back to her locker to get her bag so she decided to wait
until the throng dissipated to a trickle to catch her alone. She pulled on a
white sweat jacket over her pink leotard and left Loisel�s office.
On the field Amber, Ginger
and Terri emptied the green Igloo cooler of Gatorade to dump the
water.
�So Kristi Norbert�s
showing me this charm bracelet her dad picked up at McPherson�s- y�know by the
Cobra Kai dojo?� Terri gossiped.
�Uh-huh!� Amber and Ginger
nodded ardently.
�Anyway, she says that the
diamond pav� heart charm is still being made since the diamonds have to be
flown in from West Africa or something.� Ginger and Amber made a disapproving
droning noise.
�That�s sort of like
saying she�s buying on layaway from Zales.� Amber decried their
classmate.
�Y�know that�s just like
her to say some crap like that,� Ginger complained. �I mean, who knows if
it�s-� Ginger stopped yakking dead in her tracks when an evil grin spread
across her face.
�What�s wrong, Gin?� Amber
asked.
�Look,� she gestured with
a flick of her head. Ginger�s friends turned around and saw Lara emerge from an
entrance hiding behind a cluster of lockers looking for someone. The three
cheerleaders exchanged the same malignant smiles. Are you thinking what I�m
thinking? As one they picked up the cooler and trotted to the shed where
the custodian kept the gardening equipment.
Giving up on waiting for
Sandy outside, Lara retreated indoors steering clear
of passersby and waited behind the cafeteria doors. It took Amber and her
wrecking crew more time to lug the nearly overflowing cooler to the second
floor than to fill it with the garden hose. They carefully set the cooler on
the landing�s ledge and waited. Lara decided to return to Loisel�s office where
she had her bag and wanted to change. It looked as though she might have to
wait until tomorrow morning to confront Sandy.
Terri, acting as the
lookout saw Lara coming up the corridor heading towards the breezeway.
�She�s coming!� She
exclaimed.
�Wait for it�� Amber commanded
looking out the front doors watching the soccer team and their effervescent
friends bantering on approach. �Wait for it�� Amber�s voice vibrated with
anticipation. Lara rounded the corner passing under the landing just as the
doors opened to admit the crowd, with the Cobras in the lead. �NOW!� The threesome opened the cooler�s lid and tipped it
over unleashing a waterfall.
�AAAHH!!!� Lara screamed at the shock she
received from the painfully frigid water that drenched her from above. She felt
the reverberation of dozens of voices laughing at her, the Cobras were in
stitches. On the landing Amber and her best girlfriends high
fived it, congratulating each other on a job well done. Lara�s friends
while looking guilty, made no move to assist her, and then she spotted Sandy.
The Encino square peg was on the verge of tears, but she like Lara�s other
friends afraid of reprisals turned tail and weaved through the crush and off
the campus. So that�s how it was, disgusted Lara ran away slipping and sliding
on the slick tiles, her satin toe shoes sopping providing no traction. Flying
up dim stairwells she made it to the second floor and isolated herself in
Loisel�s office. Not wanting to turn on the light fearing she might attract
attention she sat huddled beneath the window shivering with her leotard
plastered to her body. Luckily Lara put on her jacket at the last minute, or it
would have become a goddamn burlesque show. And wouldn�t Johnny just love that?
She reached up to shut the window and drew the tattered tan shade, then walked
over to Loisel�s closet and pulled out the space heater. Plugging it in Lara
hunched near it and turned it up to its highest setting. It would be a while
before she would be comfortable enough to get undressed.
-------------------
After showering and
changing the soccer team remained in the locker room to endure one of Coach
Ribisi�s renowned post-game speeches, which quickly metamorphosed into play
reviews.
�Hey, wanna kill time at
Golf n� Stuff before going to dojo?� Tommy suggested as the Cobras walked onto
the car park. The other guys agreed and were preparing to mount their bikes
when Tommy saw a cigarette butt seemingly fall from the sky. He tapped Jimmy�s
shoulder that was standing nearest to him putting on his gloves.
�What?� Tommy pointed to
the butt on the ground, the embers burning themselves out. �So
what?� Jimmy grunted.
�It came from up there.�
Tommy elucidated pointing to the sky.
�What is it now?� Johnny
scowled impatient to try the Double Dragon game.
�Tommy says that the
cigarette butt there fell out of the air.� Jimmy said. Dutch and Bobby guffawed
in unison.
�What have you been
smokin�, Tommy?� Dutch asked.
�Hold it!� Johnny pushed
through his buddies to examine the butt. It had a faint lipstick print on the
filtered end. He looked up squeezing his eyes against the afternoon sun, took
several paces back onto the grass and walked the length of the loggia to the
end by the fence. �It came from up there.� Johnny pointed to the roof; he
looked back at his friends his intense eyes narrowing.
�And who do we know that
smokes on the roof?� Bobby asked, though everybody knew the answer.
The high school was only
three stories high and built like a U-shaped layer cake. Outside the second
floor dance room, Lara sat on the gravel strewn roof atop her white backpack in
her stonewashed jeans and a purple shirt with the sleeves rolled to her elbows.
Her hair partially damp hair felt like static silk frizzing at the ends, she
was glad they weren�t splitting or she would have to hack off about an inch.
Her leotard didn�t fare as well despite the fact she tried drying it with the
towels she scrounged up from the dance room�s closet. But it was the toe shoes
Lara feared for, the thin leather soles were worn down from the abuse her
teachers subjected her to. And she wasn�t sure how the satin was going to hold
up after being waterlogged. Just as she was going for another cigarette she
heard a broken tune sung in the distance.
�Kurai ukiono
konouramachi wo. Nozo utsumetai
umurebi yo.� Lara
crunched her cellophane cigarette pack into her pocket and ascended the flimsy
metal ladder bolted to the wall for the third story roof, unwittingly leaving
her gold lighter on her backpack. Crushing more gravel underfoot, Lara followed
the nasal humming and saw a slight Asian man approaching the school�s front
entrance. He was balding with salt and pepper hair and a matching goatee,
garbed in a handyman�s khakis. What made Lara crook her eyebrow was the bonsai
tree he carried. Appearing out of thin air behind the glass was Mr. Uenohara,
the school�s custodian. Animatedly Uenohara unlocked the doors and took off his
uniform�s grey cap.
�Keisuke-kun!� Uenohara greeted his friend.
�Yasuo-kun,
yasashii buri ja ne!� It�s been awhile, Yasuo, Lara mentally translated. But her recollection of
the Japanese she�d learned was elementary, if that. They bowed at the waist and
shook hands heartily before vanishing into the school. Judging by their
behavior, Uenohara and this Keisuke were old friends possibly from the same village
in Okinawa as she recognized the song to be an old Okinawan love ballad. What a
couple of hicks. Reaching into her pocket for another cigarette, she felt
around for her lighter and discovered she forgot it. Shrugging, Lara ran back
to the end of the third floor�s roof and carefully maneuvered her body over the
ledge to climb down the ladder. She vowed never to hang around campus this late
after hours again; it was hunting time for the weirdoes. Lara dusted her jeans
off and looked down for the gold lighter to see it absent from her bag.
�Y�know, I remember
Principal Wicker saying something about suspension if anyone was caught smoking
on campus.� Lara�s insides iced over at the sound of that smug voice. She spun
around and saw Johnny playing with her father�s gold lighter, flanked by
equally complacent Jimmy and Bobby.
�You
bastard!� Lara
proceeded to rush Johnny when she was restrained by Tommy and Dutch, each
taking an arm. She put up a valiant struggle, but all these guys put time in
the weight room.
�Tiger! Tiger!�
Dutch taunted. Tommy just brayed. The Cobra�s antics were childish, however
caught in this position Lara was intimidated.
�Oooh! And a filthy mouth to boot!� Bobby
hooted.
�Tsk, tsk Miz Czako.�
Jimmy mockingly wagged a finger in her face. Another chorus of laughter at her
expense again.
�Well,� Johnny pocketed
the lighter enjoying the Lara�s repulsed expression it educed, �we could be
nice and let her off easy.�
�What�s �nice� Johnny?�
Tommy snickered.
�She could apologize to
us.�
�An
apology!� Lara
spat. She almost broke free of Dutch and Tommy�s grasp only to have them
reinforce their grips. Lara began laughing herself, it was hilarious.
�Apologize for what? If anything you should be apologizing to me and the rest
of the planet for being assholes!�
�An apology,� Johnny
repeated, �for not minding your own business!�
�Sandy is my friend,� Lara
exclaimed. �It is my business!�
�See Johnny,� Tommy said,
�geeks fly together.�
��Birds of a feather flock
together.�� Lara expounded. �You�re such an idiot Tommy! See, that�s why you�ve
flunked English since sixth grade.�
�Shut up!� It was the only
retort he could think of. Lara laughed in his face, she was on a roll.
�You gonna apologize?�
True to form, Johnny was not about to let up. He was also invading her personal
space, his nose not six inches from hers. That was mistake number one.
�Hell
no.� She smiled
then brought up her knee, sharply connecting with Johnny�s crotch. Lara took
advantage of Dutch and Tommy�s distraction and freed her arms. She slammed an
elbow into Dutch�s solar plexus and threw her fist into Tommy�s jaw sending him
off his feet. Jimmy rushed Lara but she delivered a round kick right into his
chest, Bobby despite being unprepared to do anything Lara jump kicked him right
in the breadbasket. Her gold lighter having fallen out of Johnny�s pocket in
the scuffle she scooped up, grabbed her bag and shimmied down the first gutter
she saw.
Off the campus she
sprinted down the street, through the empty grassy lot and met the chain link
fence segregating the South Seas apartment complex. Lara shook the fence
desperately; the Cobras� shouts and cursing in the distance telling her that
they were hot on her heels. Just as all hope seemed lost there was a rusty
creak and one of the fence�s unchained gates swung open a little. Lara dashed
right through, the little empty car stalls could provide no adequate shelter
and she knew her Reseda friends who lived in the complex wouldn�t hide her. A
warm breeze blew and she heard a hollow wooden clanking sound, it came from a
bamboo owl wind chime hanging from a shelf with a couple of potted plants
beneath a narrow window. Lara approached a set of bright teal louver doors and
peeked in; the room was dark and empty. Closing the doors softly Lara pushed
past the screen door and entered what looked like the superintendent�s
workshop. There were several workbenches laden with tools, piles of assorted
junk, a small fridge that hummed loudly in the silence and a couple tall metal
stools. What made this seemingly normal workroom odd were the bonsai trees but
the moment she heard Bobby�s shouting all that was forgotten and Lara ducked
under a workbench squeezing herself between a broken Stanley
carpet cleaner and the wall.
�Johnny! Johnny! Get outta
there! We�re trespassing!� Bobby yelled.
�Shut up Bobby!� Dutch
said pushing past his friend and into the complex. The five of them looked
around, the Sepulveda bitch vanished. Or did she? Johnny stealthily homed in on
the super�s workshop doors, his Nikes barely making a scuffle on the
concrete.
�Leave it alone man!�
Bobby insisted fearing that they could be spotted by a tenant somewhere. Johnny
turned to glare over his shoulder at his friend, though Bobby stayed quiet
because he didn�t want to get the cops called on him more than anything else.
Lara held her breath and tried to make herself smaller
as she saw sunlight flood the tiny vestibule. An old woman dressed in a
tropical print muumuu walking her dog going to the main courtyard saw the
Cobras. She knew every kid and their friends in the complex, but these four had
no business being here.
�Hey! You kids! Hey!� The
Cobras turned and saw the old lady fussing, her dog began barking.
�Oh damn!� Jimmy said.
�Let�s bolt!� Said Tommy.
�Johnny!� Bobby shouted
following the others. Johnny sprinted from the open door and ran out the gate.
�Damn kids!� The old lady
shouted. �Get outta here! I�ll get the cops if I see your ugly mugs again!� It
took a few minutes for the dog to calm down; Lara heard the old lady make
soothing kissing noises to her beloved pet. �It�s okay, precious. Mommy�ll make
you a nice T-bone when we get inside.� The metal gate rattled open and closed,
the old lady making her way to her first floor apartment. Lara warily emerged
from her hiding place and jogged out of the complex onto the street where the
bus was approaching. She considered herself lucky, but Monday morning was
unavoidable.
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Return of the Cobra Kai