fault - eli moskowitz

thirty

i had just got my drivers license earlier that day so i was just enjoying it. my mom had let me use her old car since she got a new one like a month ago so it was nice. i was just taking a drive around town, enjoying everything when u got a call on my phone. i answered it as i stopped at a stop sign, it was moon. "i just broke up with hawk." moon told me. "oh im sorry." i said. "he's just been such a dick to everyone lately." moon said, she wasn't wrong. i don't know what was going on with him but he's been such an asshole to everyone. "yeah i get it." i told the girl. "you wanna come to my place, we can talk if you need to." i asked but moon declined, "i think i just need to be alone but i'll see you at school?" she said. "yeah of course, night." i said. "night." moon said before i hung up.

i had hung out with moon during lunch and she just let it all out, and i just sat there listening. sometimes that's what people need, for someone to listen to them. 

later that day i went to karate but i didn't mention the break up to hawk, i didn't want to make him more upset than he clearly already was over it. miguel and hawk were fighting in the center of the mats as everyone observed from the ground. they were about to start a new round when the door bells jingled and some guy walked in, i had seen him around before but i just couldn't think of where. that's when i realised, he was at the tournament. 

everyone got up off the floor and sensei lawrence walked forward, "what the hell do you think you're doing?" he asked the man. "like you don't know." the guy replied. "take your shoes off the mat, you're disprespecting my dojo." sensei told the guy. "you're seriously gonna talk to me about disprespecting dojos after what you just did to mine." the guy said, that's when i realised, he owned that car dealership, he was sam's dad. i knew sensei and him had a weird rivalry. "what are you talking about? i didn't do anything to your dojo." sensei lawrence replied, i could tell he wasn't lying. "just like you didn't slug one of my employees, huh?" mr.larusso said, sensei didn't say anything. "you know, part of me actually felt bad for you at one point, but you make it so easy to remember who the bad guy is in all of this." the man said. 

hawk had walked over to me and i whispered in his ear, "what are they talking about?" i asked. i noticed hawk had tensed up as he replied, "no clue." i shrugged before turning back to the two men. 

"you call yourself a sensei? you don't even know what a sensei is." mr.larusso told sensei. "a sensei mentors. a sensei elevates. he doesn't teach destruction and disprect! he yelled. sensei lawrence walked closer, "i already said i don't know what you're talking about, larusso." he told the man. "and you don't know what you're talking about either." mr.larusso looked sensei in the eyes, "yeah well i know you don't..you don't earn the metal of honor by stealing it." i saw hawk look down to the ground, looking like he sort of felt bad. "let me tell you something about your sensei." mr.larusso told us all. "he might teach you how to fight, but he doesn't know a thing about what it takes to truly win at life." he said. "if you want to help yourselves before it's too late, the doors of myagi-do are wide open." i furrowed my eyes at that and scoffed. "you think you can come in here and poach my students?" sensei spoke up as he walked closer to mr.larusso. "and what are you gonna do about it?" mr.larusso replied. "you know i'm not gonna strike first." he told sensei. "i'm gonna be the bigger man." sensei said as he started to step back. "yeah. we'll see about that." mr.larusso replied before walking out. 

next thing i knew a bunch of students were leaving, to join myagi-do.