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He thought and he thought about it. He thought about as he got changed. He thought about it as he did his homework. He thought about it as he drove and before he knew it he was standing on the matt without his shoes on.
"Why did I let you talk me into this? This goes against everything I stand for. It's like extra gym class for no reason."
"Let's just give it a chance. You saw the fight."
"Miguel kicked ass."
Before they could continue talking Johnny or sensei walked in.
"Okay! Today we begin..."
The sensei tried starting the class but they either didn't hear him or didn't care.
"Quiet!"
Everyone looked over at him with startled expressions.
"Face front."
And then class began.
He was judging them. Walking through sizing them up. He stopped in front of Demetri looking him up and down.
"Nice shirt."
"Thanks." Demetri said smiling
"I'm joking. It sucks."
He walked to the back giving more insults along the way.
"Word of advice, if you got shit for teeth, don't smile."
"My God, makes me feel like a virgin just looking at you."
"When I look around this dojo, I don't see Cobra Kai material. I see losers. I see nerds. I see a fat kid with a funny hat with his tits popping out. But my short time as a sensei, l've also seen some miracles. So maybe there's some hope for you yet."
The blonde sensei walked back to the front and faced all of them.
"First I need to see where you're at. So everybody, fall in! That means line up."
Everyone got in one long line like they were making a train or something.
"No, not... not line up in a line. Lines. Get in lines."
"You mean, like, rows?" asked Demtri
"Ugh."
This was going to be a great first lesson.
Ashlynn's dad was at home looking for a partner to do karate with.
"So what do you say I come to spin class with you today?" Daniel asked his wife
"Really? Uh-huh. I thought you said spin class was a sweaty pointless bike ride to nowhere?"
"Yeah, but I figured I'd ride some bikes with you and then maybe you would, um, come into the dojo with me."
"Ah. Sam said no, huh?" she said piecing together why he was asking her
"Yeah, I don't get it. Man, she used to love karate."
"Well, she's not your mini-me anymore."
"Can't dress her up and teach her tricks."
"Yeah, but what about you?"
"Oh, I already know all your tricks. Why not ask Ashlynn?"
Ashlynn he hadn't thought about asking her. Did she even like karate he thought? He never knew. Sam as always his first choice. Where was Ashlynn anyway he hadn't seen her all day?
Ashlynn wasn't even breaking a sweat. He thought this would be harder. He cut Johnny some slack though. These kids had a lot to learn.
"Fighting positions! Jab punch!" he cammanded
"Nope, wait till I say go."
"Hiya!"
"Hiya!"
"Hiya!"
"Hiya!"
They all chanted.
Johnny went around giving corrections that sounded more like insults.
"Hey, Lip. Yeah, you. The one with the freaky lip. Who do you think l'm talking to?"
With that Ashlynn stopped. He looked at johnny mad.
"Excuse me, Mr. Lawrence."
"Sensei Lawrence" Aisha corrected
"Sensei Lawrence." Demetri said rolling his eyes
"You really shouldn't make fun of someone's physical appearance."
"Oh, is that so? So l'm not supposed to mention his lip at all?"
"Well, yeah."
"Yeah, maybe that's what they teach you in school, but in the real world you can't expect people to do what they're supposed to do. Right? You hear that, Lip?"
"Stop!"
Everyone turned to Ashlynn.
"What'd you say?" Johnny questioned
"Stop calling him that."
Johnny walked over to the boy.
"You're the girl from the video."
He didn't move nor say anything, just stared straight ahead. Girl he was the "girl" from the video.
"What you did was pretty badass"
Ashlynn looked up at him with a look of surprise.
"Whats your name?"
Before he knew what he was saying he blurted out, "Ace"
That was his preferred name. He's never told anyone that name before. He felt like this was his moment to be who he wanted to be. Maybe in this dojo he could be known as who he wanted to be known as.
