Anastasia quickly scrubbed one of the mats in a clockwise motion with her right hand before wiping it off in a counter clockwise motion with her right hand. Miguel watched her with intrigue as he squeezed a sponge into a bucket of water, giving another mat an experimental scrub before copying the motions the older woman was doing. Anastasia glanced at him out of the corner of her eye before smirking to herself as she continued to help him wash the mats.
The bell over the door jangles as Johnny walks in with bags from the mini mart that had two six packs of Coors Banquet in them. He looks over at Anastasia and Miguel as they scrub the mats, almost tripping on Anastasia’s black denim jacket that she’d thrown across the room when she started to get hot. “Looking good,” he tells them. “Make sure you get both sides.” Then, he nods to a few wires that were sticking out of a square hole in the wall, “After you’re done with that, you can take care of these exposed wires. That’s gonna be a lot of work.”
Anastasia sighs, giving the office door that he’d just walked through a glare, “You could help, blondie!”
“What does any of this have to do with karate, Sensei?” Miguel asks, still scrubbing at a mat.
Johnny stepped out of the office with a beer in his hand, “Do not question my methods.” He popped the cap off, “Just be thankful you’re not a sumo wrestler. Those guys have to wipe their sensei’s asses.” Anastasia scoffs as the blonde snaps his fingers, the bottle cap clattering across the room.
The brunette gestures over her shoulder in the direction the cap had flown as she throws a sponge in the red bucket, “You’re picking that up before you leave.”
“Yes, princess.”
Miguel stands examining the box of trophies in the corner of the room, “So, I, uh, see you were a karate champion, Sensei.”
Johnny takes a sip of his beer, “You don’t have to call me or Anastasia ‘Sensei’ every time.”
“I’m sorry, Sensei,” Miguel apologizes before realizing he’d said ‘Sensei’ again. “I, um... Sorry. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine,” Anastasia assures.
Johnny sniffs, “I won a couple All Valley tournaments. Didn’t lose a single point in my junior year.”
“Alright!” Miguel says excitedly before frowning. “What happened in you senior year?”
Anastasia tenses, knowing just how badly that line of questioning could go. However, Johnny just gestures to the mats, “This isn’t 20 questions. Get back to scrubbing, don’t make the lady do all the work.”
“Yeah,” Miguel nods, as his phone begins to ring. An electronic pop ringtone ringing throughout the dojo.
Johnny looks around, “Where’s that garbage coming from? You hear that?”
Anastasia giggles softly as she flips the mat she’d been working on to begin scrubbing the other side.
“Sorry, yeah. Hey!” Miguel greets. “Yeah, uh, debate’s running a little late. Uh, okay. Love you too.”
“Don’t tell me you have a girlfriend,” Johnny teases as Miguel puts his phone away.
“That was my mom, actually.” He chuckles, “Um... I told her I joined the debate team ‘cause she doesn’t approve of violence.”
“Makes sense,” Anastasia remarked, stopping her counter clockwise motion to scrub hard at a stubborn patch of dust.
“Yeah, what about your dad?” Johnny wonders. “Is he okay with you getting your ass kicked up and down Reseda Boulevard?”
YOU ARE READING
Muscle Memory
FanfictionCrossposted on AO3 under Shelb253947 When Anastasia moves to the San Fernando Valley half way through college, she wouldn't have believed in the idea that she'd bump into a down on his luck, former karate champion, Johnny Lawrence. She definitely wo...
