Hot For Sensei

Chapter Eighty

After taking some time to compose herself, Ivy made her way back out to the arena, keeping her expression stone cold as she prepared to lie right to Johnny's face. He was on her the minute she rejoined the Eagles, as she expected, and she bit the inside of her cheek to keep from crying.

"Where's Miguel?" he asked anxiously.

"I don't know." She kept her gaze forward, performing the lie she had rehearsed all the way back to them, "I went to the bathroom and then came out here to wait."

"Damn it..." Johnny groaned under his breath.

With a shudder she desperately tried to hide, she fell in line with her team to wait for a champion that would never come.

"Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do are neck and neck on the leader board!" the announcer howled, signaling that the time was almost up, "But there's a dark horse, or should I say a dark bird, that still has a chance. Will Eagle Fang Karate stay alive in the final dojo race? We're about to find out. Miguel Diaz has one minute to return to the mat!"

The announcer stepped off the mats as a timer flashed on the screen behind him. Johnny and the other Eagles fidgeted anxiously as they waited, and Ivy kept her head down for fear of revealing her emotions. Eagle Fang was about to lose their chance at glory and revenge, and she was the only one who knew it.

At ten seconds, the crowd began to count down, and Ivy chanced a look at Eli who was waiting on the mats. He gave her a questioning look, and she quickly shook her head before bowing it back to the floor. The sound of the buzzer was loud and jarring, and Ivy let out a small sob, no longer having to hide her sadness as the rest of Eagle Fang joined her in the loss.

"Well, it looks like Miguel Diaz is not going to fight!" the announcer returned to the mats as the crowd booed, "Which means that the winner by default is Eli Moskowitz, who advances to the finals where he will face Robby Keene!"

Johnny stomped away angerly, disappearing into the locker rooms as another small pause in the tournament commenced. In the commotion, Eli leapt from the mats and rushed over to Ivy, beyond confused.

"What happened? Is Miguel okay?"

"He's fine." Ivy answered plainly, "It was just a pulled muscle."

"You know something more." Eli placed his fingers under her chin to make her look at him, "What's going on?"

"I can't tell you now." Ivy shook her head, "But I promise I'll tell you when the tournament is over."

"ELI!" they both heard Daniel shout across the arena.

He made a swift gesture for Eli to return, and Eli sighed before turning back to Ivy.

"I'm sorry, I gotta go." He mumbled.

"Hey." She reached out to grab his hand, "You beat that bastard bloody. For you, for me, for all of us. You've got this."

"For you and me especially." He gave her a wink, "I love you."

"I love you too." She managed to smile back.

With a quick kiss, Eli let go of her hand and jogged over to Miyagi-Do. She watched him longingly, missing his warmth the minute he let go. With her best friend leaving, her Sensei gone in a huff, and her boyfriend on the other team, Ivy was starting to feel more alone than she ever had before. It weighed on her heart, but she reminded herself that it was only temporary, and soon everything would be back to normal.