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Johnny gave Odessa a ride to the dojo the next day. She expressed how sorry she was to hear that his friend had passed away. There was a weird silence. He was never good at starting conversations. "So, how are you and Hawk?" He asked, breaking the awkward silence.
Odessa shrugged. "I haven't talked to him since what happened at the mall. I blocked him." She stated.
He winced, feeling guilty that he brought it up. "That sucks. I liked you two together. You made him less of a loser,"
She chuckled. "Yeah, well, I don't tolerate bullying, especially from someone who's been bullied before."
It went silent again and before they knew it, they arrived at the dojo. They got out of the car and walked in to see everyone already there. "Hey Sensei, i'm sorry about your loss." Miguel said to Johnny.
"Thanks. . ." The man responded. "So, how'd it go around here while I was gone?"
"It was eventful." Odessa answered, leaving out some details.
Miguel nodded. "Sensei Kreese is tough but, uh, he knows what it takes to win."
Johnny walked into his office. Odessa saw Eli staring at her from across the dojo. She forced herself to look away.
Miguel noticed. "You still haven't talked to him?" He gently asked.
"What am I supposed to say? I love you but you're an asshole who's terrorizing all your friends?" She questioned. "I'm not going to tolerate that, Mig."
The boy nodded. "Yeah, I know. It's his loss. You're pretty great."
She smiled and laid her head against his arm. As they days passed by, the stronger their friendship became. Miguel was like a brother to her, much like Oliver.
Soon, Johnny came out of his office with Kreese. "Get your gi's on. Training starts in five minutes." He instructed his students. They stood there confused, looking at each other. "Yeah, what's wrong?"
"N-Nothing, Sensei. We just thought we were going into the woods for a special training today." Miguel explained to him.
"What's happening in the woods?"
Kreese stepped forward. "Well, I just thought it was time to separate the men from the boys—"
The four girls have him a pointed look.
"And the girls too, I suppose."
"How?" Johnny asked.
"Coyote Creek."
The man looked at his students and back at him. "I'm not sure they're ready for that yet." he muttered.
"There's only one way to find out," Kreese declared with confidence.
