New Boy | Miguel Diaz

Saving The All Valley

While walking to my first class, a pair of hands appeared on my waist.

"It's just me." Miguel chuckled.

"You scared me." I kissed his cheek.

"Hey, where were you this morning? You weren't at your apartment."

"Oh, uh- I went with my dad to pick up Robby. He got out of juvie today."

"You don't seem so happy about it."

"Mr. LaRusso was also there. They all kind of had a little argument."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

I shook my head. "I understand why Robby would feel that way though."

From the side of my eye, I saw Yasmine and Demetri. Making out?

"Demetri?" They panicked when Yasmine quickly stepped away from Demetri.

"Hey! Um... we were just, uh-"

"Doing study work." Yasmine shrugged.

"So you two are...?"

"What? Ew. Ew. No. Like I would ever date this freak." She patted Demetri's chest before walking away.

"Whatever, Cruella. Why don't you go kill a bunch of Dalmatians?" He turned to face Miguel and I. "I am 101 percent in love."

When the school day ended, students from Eagle Fang Karate met at the park.

"Good, Bert. Remind me not to piss you off. Assface, you're next."

"Does my nickname gotta carry over from the previous dojo?"

"You wanna be penis breath?"

"Assface is fine." Mitch got into his position and kicked the Frisbee out of Sensei's hand.

"Good, penis breath. Alright, Diaz, you're up. Imagine this is the guy I stole this Frisbee from, alright?"

"You stole it?" I asked.

"Shut your face, pay attention." He looked around, avoiding my question.

Miguel stood, with his arms in front of him, and weakly kicked the Frisbee.

"Alright, good hustle. Who's next?"

"No, I can do it, Sensei."

"Miguel, It's fine."

"I got it."

Sensei sighed, and decided to give Miguel another try. "Alright, get in a side stance. Use the balls of your feet."

Miguel tried again, but this time, he fell.

"Miguel, are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Alright, everybody. Take five, go get some water. But not from the fountain, I saw some meth head wipe his ass in it."

"Gotta be shitting me!" Mitch randomly yelled.

"What? What happened?"

"They canceled the All Valley."

-

Everyone's attention were on Miguel and I now that we've sort of made an appearance.
We decided to make ourselves known, and give our opinion on the All Valley.

"Our names are Miguel Diaz and Ava Lawrence. We were both in the school fight. I was the one that got kicked off the second floor. You know, uh... I thought I was gonna paralyzed. I relearned how to stand. I relearned how to walk. And we both want the tournament to continue."

"We are very happy for your recovery, young man. But I'm afraid you don't understand-"

"Yes, he does. We're the ones getting hurt. We're the ones fighting. Our voices should matter the most. And we want a place where we can compete, fairly and safely." I spoke with Miguel.

"When I first moved here, I was bullied. And I realized that there's no escaping it. There's always gonna be a kid who wants to steal your lunch money, or give you a wedgie, or give you a swirly."

"A swirly?"

Dad had stoop up from his seat. "It's when you dunk someone's head in the toilet and flush it. Pretty funny, actually."

"Sensei."

"Instead of burying your heads in the sand, pretending that bullying doesn't exist, or that you could just get rid of it, what you need to do is teach kids how to defend themselves."

"Physically and mentally. Because sometimes the scars you can't see are the ones that hurt the most." I stated.

Sam walked to the front next to me. She looked at Miguel and also spoke. "Karate is about discipline. It's about inner strength. It's about confidence. Lessons that you can use for the rest of your life."

"Look, I don't know where I would be today, or who I would be today, if it wasn't for my sensei. We don't need this tournament to do cool kicks or to sell tickets, we need it to show the bullies of the world that we're not afraid. It's called the All Valley because it's for everyone, to give everyone the chance to show what they can do, to fight, to become a champion. And we deserve that chance."

The lady up front looked around the people to her side, seeing if they agree before speaking. "To be honest, I don't get the Valley's fascination with karate. But, if it means that much to all of you, and you're willing to sign waivers stating that the city is not liable, then... the All Valley Under-18 Tournament is officially back on."

Everyone cheered and I wrapped my arms around Miguel as he lifted me up, hugging my waist.

"I guess we all got what we wanted. But be careful what you wish for." Kreese finished and walked away.

"Come here, kid." I turned to Dad and hugged him tightly.

By the time I turned around, Sam and Miguel had pulled away from a hug. But for a second, I could've sworn it didn't look like just a friendly hug. Almost like there was more of a meaning.