fault - eli moskowitz

fourteen

i stood with everyone listening to sensei lawrence as he stood on a old car, we were in a junkyard, why? i had no clue. sensei took a sip of his beer before he spoke, "you've trained hard." he told us all. "you've gotten stronger, tougher, faster. you've done your best." sensei said. "you're ready for this tournamant, am i right?" he asked. "yes, sensei?" i answered with everyone but it came out of my mouth sounding like more of a question since i honestly wasn't sure. "wrong!" sensei yelled back as he threw his beer can onto the ground in front of us. "your best ain't shit!" he said. "if you wanna win the all valley under-18 karate tournament, you gotta give me better than your best." he pointed at us. "which is why from now on, you're gonna get my worst!" he told everyone. "do you understand?" sensei asked us all. "yes, sensei!" we all responded. "are you losers?" he asked. "no, sensei!" we yelled back. "are you nerds?" sensei asked us. "no, sensei!" we answered. "are you sure?" sensei asked. "yes, sensei.." i responded aside from everyone else who yelled no. sensei lawrence smacked his face with frustration.

we trained and trained and trained all day long, it was hell. after training we were dismissed and i was a sweaty mess, all i wanted to do was go home and take a nice cold shower, which i normally didn't like since my showers were always steaming hot but i was just so hot. i was walking over to the convenince store at the strip mall by the dojo, i was going to get myself a water before i went home. when i walked inside i saw hawk doing the same thing. i walked over and he turned around to look at me. "what're you doing here?" he asked me. "getting water." i said. "same." hawk replied awkwardly which was kind of strange for him. "cool." i answered and nodded, a smile on my face. hawk got out of my way and i bent down, grabbing a water bottle. 

"that was rough." hawk finally spoke up as we walked to the cashier. "yeah i know." i answered as i put my water on the counter. i reached into my pocket to get money but hawk stopped me, putting his hand on my arm. i looked up at him, "i got you." he said and reached into his pocket as he placed his drink on the counter, taking out his money. "thanks." i answered and looked back up to the cashier who had a bored expression on his face. hawk had paid and we both walked out of the store, i immediatly took a big sip from the bottle. "you wanna come to the movies later with a few of the others?" hawk asked me. "sure." i answered and shrugged. "alright cool." hawk answered with a smirk.