ISSUES [discontinued]

12 ➞ dinner dispute

twelve dinner dispute

"OH, PLEASE," Miguel scoffed. "Robby couldn't even take down Hawk at the All Valley. How could he fight off Cobra Kai?"

"Because three quarters of Cobra Kai can't kill a fly," I retorted. "Also, he wasn't alone. I was with him, remember?"

"Now let's stop this," Carmen intervened. "We're trying to find a solution, not create a scene in a public place." Miguel looked as if he was about to respond but fell silent.

Robby just eyed Miguel while taking a bite of bread.

"Why is Miguel even here?" Robby finally stated. "He doesn't even know anything about the situation. It's not any of his business, and all he's doing is being a total asshole about it!"

Miguel chuckled sarcastically, as if he would punch Robby in the face right then and there. "You see this idiot?" His chuckles turned into fits of laughter. "Who do you think you are?" Robby blurted out, anger slowly taking form on his face.

I tugged on Robby's shoulder. "You better not do anything. You—I mean, we—just got beat yesterday," I mumbled.

Miguel finally calmed himself down. Mostly. "Did you fight them, or did you run like the pussy you are—"

"Okay, that's enough!" Johnny bellowed. "You two either stop bickering, and get along for once, or I'll make you run laps around town. Five laps."

That did it. Robby and Miguel didn't say another word to each other.

My mom cleared her throat. "Now, although this was an accidental run-in, I'd like to take some precautions when going out from now on." She looked at Robby. "I'd like for you to go over what happened, and we'll talk about what you should've done."

He nodded and began. "Eudoria and I decided to go to the arcade together, y'know, to hang out." He didn't reveal the true reason we went. "So, we're playing games, and getting prizes, or whatever. We both got some nerf guns so we thought it'd be fun to go to the Laser Tag Arena. While we were on our way there, we spotted Cobra Kai, and they came up to us." He paused for a moment to clear his throat. "So then, we tried to avoid the fight, but they jumped us. And that was that." He laughed to himself.

"What are the chances you'd bump into Cobra Kai?" Miguel objected, eyeing Robby suspiciously.

Robby laughed again. "Are you seriously saying that we sought out Cobra Kai? You're insane, dude. No wonder Sam needed a break from you."

Miguel looked like he might explode. "Okay, now hold on," I interrupted. "Let's not escalate this any further. You two, clam the hell down and stop acting like five-year olds." I turned to the parents, sitting there watching. "A little help?"

"Miguel, Robby, stop. The point, is try your best to avoid fights when alone, or with another person."

"It's not as easy as it sounds, mom," Robby responded. "They put you in an impossible situation. This is bullshit. Absolute bullshit."

"Language. You all need to stop cursing," my mom intervened.

"You know what, I'm leaving. This dinner is over." Robby got up from his seat and stormed out. I went right after him. I didn't wanna deal with all that. I had a feeling Miguel was right behind.

"Isn't this crazy, Eudoria?" Robby asked. "They don't get it. Not even my dad will speak up."

"They think we've gone soft, since Miyagi-Do closed," I said. "Don't worry about them. I just don't want you to pick a fight with Miguel in the middle of dinner." The sun was already starting to set, and the sky cast an orange light over us.

"I can't help my urge to punch him when he's such a bitch," I heard Miguel's voice come from behind me. I sighed and glared at him.

"It will never end, will it?" I said angrily. "Aren't you both on the same side? Don't you both hate Silver?"

"Eudoria—"

"NO!" I interrupted. I was done. I wasn't about to let them continue their rivalry. I had to do something about it, it was becoming too repetitive. "You need to settle down, both of you! The past is the past, so what if all that drama happened? There are way bigger problems we have right now than your little petty rivalry."

Before either of them could get the chance to say anything I stormed off.