Time After Time 🌹 Daniel LaRusso [1]

Chapter 3: The Girl With the Beautiful Name

The two converse as they walk down the street. Daniel's goal is to learn as much as he can about the girl. Rosalía has the same goal for she is intrigued by him. They make small talk before building up to more personal topics. "So have you always lived here?" Daniel asks her. "I grew up here but then moved to Texas after freshman year. I just got back two months ago," she answers. Daniel takes in the information, confused by the strange situation. "Why did you leave then come back so fast?" he questions.

Rosalía shrugs and responds, "we have family there and my aunt had recently moved there from here. My parents wanted to be closer to them, I guess... but we didn't like living there so they finally decided to pack up and move back." She thinks back to her life in Texas. It's an absolutely different experience from California. She had some friends there but they didn't compare to her beloved friends here. "You don't have family here?" the boy pipes up.

"Oh, we do. To be honest, I prefer the family members I have here to the ones in Texas. You know because I grew up with them. Also because the ones in Texas are the fakest people I've ever met," she says, rolling her eyes at the end. A hint of a smile makes its way onto Daniel's face as he tries to contain his laughter. Well damn, he thinks as a snort escapes his lips. Rosalía looks at him and laughs when she sees him trying not to laugh.

They reach Daniel's building and he invites her to his apartment. Rosalía has been here multiple times. She has friends who live here, so she often comes over. She looks down at the dry pool as they walk by it. When are they ever gonna fix that? They walk up the stairs and Daniel unlocks his apartment door, letting her in. "I'll be right back," he tells her as he jogs into his bedroom to change. The girl nods and sits down on the couch as she waits for him. He waltzes into the living room not long after with a book in hand.

"What's that for?" she inquires as he cracks the book open and places it on the coffee table. "I need to practice some moves for next time," he responds before performing the kick demonstrated on the pages. Rosalía frowns as a wave of guilt washes over her. She hates that he has to watch out for Johnny and his cult, especially since the whole thing started over her. Daniel pauses his counting to ask, "did you live around here before you left?"

"In Reseda, no. I was born in Van Nuys and most recently lived in North Hollywood," she replies as she leans back into the couch, watching him. "You guys didn't want to live there again or what?" he asks. He stops practicing for a second when he speaks but resumes again as he awaits her response. "It's not far from here, it's still in the San Fernando Valley. We apartment hunted all over the valley and I guess this one was just the most decent," she explains. Daniel nods his head and a comfortable silence falls over them as he continues kicking. A knock suddenly sounds on the door and they look over to see the maintenance man.

"Fix faucet."

"Oh, yeah, come on in. It's the kitchen one," Daniel says before resuming his kicks. The man smiles at Rosalía and greets her, "oh, Rosalía-san. Did not know you in here." She smiles back at him and returns, "hi, Mr. Miyagi! How are you?" Since she hangs around the building a lot, she and Mr. Miyagi have crossed paths on many occasions. Additionally, her father befriended Mr. Miyagi after meeting him when they first moved into the next-door building. Rosalía loves their friendship so she's become fond of the man. "Good, thank you," he answers before eyeing Daniel.

"Ohhh, karate."

"3, 4- yeah. 5, 6..." Daniel keeps counting. Mr. Miyagi walks around him and comments, "very good. Learn from book?" when his eyes land on the book in front of the boy. "Yeah, and a few months at the Y in Newark where I lived," he replies without pause. The only thing Mr. Miyagi says is "ohhh" before walking over to the kitchen. He sets his toolbox down on the counter next to the sink as he continues to watch Daniel. He grabs some tools and bends down, disappearing behind the counter. Rosalía sees his head pop up and he asks, "what happened to eye?"