The Cut That Always Bleeds | Cobra Kai

Chapter 15

Miguel let out another groan as he did another push-up, having lost count after the sixtieth one. Johny had been forcing them to do exercise after exercise until someone admitted to trashing the Miyagi-do dojo. He was glad Isabelle wouldn't be coming to practice today since she had training. He knew that Isabelle was definitely going to be livid when she found out, especially since she cared about Miyagi-do as much as she did Cobra Kai.

"I'm not looking for excuses. I'm looking for answers!" Johny yelled, ignoring his students' desperate pleas as they continued the exhausting workouts.

Miguel desperately exclaimed, "Sensei, we really don't know who did it." He continued to do burpees. Hawk panted next to him, arms trembling with exhaustion and fatigue.

Hawk nervously glanced at Kreese, who was leaning against the wall behind Johny. He wondered if he should come clean about his actions last night before he met up with Tory.

"Somebody knows something. Question is—," Kreese said ominously, staring directly at Hawk. "Who's gonna break?"

A phone rang from inside the office, drawing Johny's attention and leaving Kreese in charge of the class. Kreese observed the struggling students as Mitch approached him.

"Sensei, we need a water break," he begged, clutching his stomach as he tried to catch his breath.

Kreese glanced at the groaning students before yelling out, "Two-minute break!"

The students let out a collective sigh of relief as they all rushed to drink some water. Taking advantage of the fact that everyone was distracted, Hawk approached Sensei Kreese.

"I think I should tell Sensei Lawrence that I did it," Hawk murmured guiltily. He regretted his actions, especially now that his friends were suffering the consequences of it.

Kreese shook his head, "Say nothing. I'll handle it."

Hawk looked down, unsure if he should believe the man. "Yes, Sensei," he hesitantly replied before walking away.

Johny wandered out of the office and stood beside Kreese, whispering in his ear, "I gotta go deal with something. Can you man the fort?"

Kreese smirked and nodded, "Of course."

"I want you to figure out who did it," Johny said as he glanced around the dojo, completely oblivious to Kreese's scheming gaze. "Do what you gotta do," Johny said, unknowingly giving Kreese all the authority he needed to put his own plan into motion.

"Don't worry. I will," Kreese declared.

~

"Again!" The director yelled out, prompting all the dancers to scramble to their original positions.

Isabelle panted as she started the Black Swan pas de deux. The director wasn't happy with her performance, claiming she was dancing too softly instead of fiercely and seductively, as Odile should be dancing. Isabelle was now dancing the last part of the variation, the coda. She struggled to complete it as it required continuous turns for 32 counts of the music.

"No, No, no!" the director yelled as Isabelle failed to complete the turns, her legs collapsing from exhaustion. "I cannot work with this. We open in a week! And my lead dancer can't even complete one variation correctly! Go away! Take a break. Come back when you are ready to dance."

Shamefully, she rose and rushed to the locker rooms, holding back tears. She sat on one of the benches in the corner, curling up into a ball. Dancing for such a prestigious studio was an honor but also incredibly daunting. Most of the dancers around her were at least eight years older than her and much more experienced. Isabelle struggled with feeling worthy enough. She sniffled as she reminded herself why she danced in the first place.