The Foundation

NINE

The following day at the dojo after classes, I stopped Tory on the way out the door.

"I need to talk to you in private."

The two of us go to the green room.

"Tell me."

"I don't talk about this much, but do you know about the sudden deaths of the Dawson family?"

"Yes. What does that have to do with anything?"

"I'm their only child."

"That's nice to know, your life was probably good."

"No, you're wrong. Being an orphan sucks. You're constantly pitied or picked on because of what happened to your family. It's coming home to an empty house every day after school, knowing that there's nobody to greet you at the door. There's also another thing I don't talk about much; I attempted suicide once after my eighth-grade graduation."

"Why?"

"I couldn't afford therapy. Seeing no way out as nobody at the time would have missed me much if I were gone, I overdosed on pills. Downed a whole bottle of Tylenol. Three weeks in the ER and I was okay, but I was still mentally in the shitter."

"You're like me. People like us have to fight for every inch of what's ours."

"Indeed. But if you have those to protect on the side, only then will you be truly strong. You're one of the only people in the dojo I trust so far to tell you about this, so please let this matter be between us."

"I won't tell a soul." Tory responds before smiling at me; "now that you're done sharing the experiences that made you hardened by the world, let me tell you mine."

"I'm listening."

"I grew up poor, and my mother was a waitress. She had to work overtime a lot for us to have a meal on the table. To make matters worse, my mother got sick and I'm the only one who can take care of her and my younger brother."

"Unfortunately, one day, things didn't go as planned. She was caught red-handed by the manager and fired for stealing."

"That's utter bullshit. If I were that manager, I'd let her take as much as she needed."

"Oh, tell me about it. Anyways, that sole incident told me that the world was a cruel place and it's every person for themselves."

"No offense, but what does your mother have?"

"None taken. She has dialysis."

Having done some research about the illness, I recoil in terror at the mention of the sickness. A few tears spilled from my eyes after realizing the extent of it.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I lost a grandparent to that same disease."

***

A few days later both Miguel and I are at the LaRusso house. It took both Sam and Ellie hours of persuasion from what I heard, but we were here eating dinner. Things went smoothly, for the most part, I was able to keep myself in check for the duration of the meal.

As if time stopped, Daniel looks at both of us callously.

"Wait a minute. You're Johnny Lawrence's students. Out, now."

"And you had many chances to put the pieces together; at the tournament and Valley-Fest. Yet why didn't you?" I countered.

"You think after a few funny jokes I would let you two poison my daughter's minds with your strike first and no mercy crap? You're sorely mistaken if you think so."