𝑨 𝑳𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑴𝒚 𝑶𝒘𝒏 | | 𝑱𝒐𝒉𝒏𝒏𝒚 𝑳𝒂𝒘𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒙 𝑶𝑪

𝐀 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬

The air seemed especially warm this morning as I stood outside of my new karate class dojo. The warm morning breeze was refreshing and helped to calm my jumpy nerves. It blew gently on my face, causing my light brown hair blow into my eyes in the process.
I sweeped the strands of hair out of my face with my hand, recalling last week when my mother decided to send me here.

"BUT MOM!- I like my karate class that I have NOW. Why do I need to change to a different one?!" I whined to my mother. I hated how childish I sounded, but I couldn't help it. This whole situation was so frustrating.

"Well, this one is closer to our new house, and it's a hell of a sight cheaper, sweetie. Besides, this is the only other thing that's changing! At least you don't have to change schools too!" My mom tried to reason with me.

I groaned in frustration. I loved the class that I had NOW. Everyone there was so kind to me, and my Sensei, Ms.Young, was so sweet! She would bring in snacks everyday. AND I was at the top of my class! I didn't need to start all over again in a new class, though I doubted I'd have no trouble in rising up above my peers.

Glancing over at my mom again, I noticed a look of sadness and guilt on her face. I could tell she was having a hard time as well.

'Maybe I'm being a bit selfish' I thought.

"...Well maybe I can give it a try, it might not be so ba-" I began, before my mom cut me off with a tight hug.

"Oh, Thank you, baby! I'm so happy that your willing to try new things This is a great opportunity for new insight and experiences!" She excitedly explained. She planted a kiss on my forehead and went back into the kitchen, marking the calendar for the day I would begin my new classes. She was practically glowing at my acceptance of the idea.

Anddd here I am. Standing outside the 'Cobra Kai' dojo. It looked kind of small, but I guess I expected that, considering that it was a part of a mini-mall. I recalled my mom making me promise to never tell my uncle Daniel about going here, though I wouldn't dare to do it anyway.

Apparently he has beef with the Sensei here or something. Everyone in our family never heard the end of it, though I mostly ignored him whenever he talked about his high school experiences. They just weren't that entertaining to me.

Class would be starting soon, and I was waiting  patiently outside the door, not knowing if I should head in or not. My mom had already left for work, leaving me alone at the entrance with my duffel bag in hand. It was getting kind of heavy, so I shifted it over to my other shoulder.

As I waited, I looked over at a red, old school car in the parking area that caught my eye. A Thunderbird.

I whistled and raised my eyebrows as I looked at it. It was nice.

Checking my phone, I figured it was time to head in. It was 10 a.m on Saturday, so I was right on schedule.

I drew in a breath of the warm morning air before heading into my new dojo.

...

Well it wasn't much, that's for sure.
It looked like your average dojo, with an American flag, a logo, and the dojo's slogan, each on different walls.

The saying said:

'Strike First. Strike Hard. No Mercy.'

Wow. That's kinda violent. I thought, going over the ridiculous saying in my head as I kicked off my shoes to stand on the giant in the dojo.

It seemed just a tad bit agressive.

I turned away from it and scanned the rest of the room, taking all of it in.