Out of Place [Cobra Kai OC x Robby Keene]

131 - Soda Can

TW- talk of trauma

There's a reason Miguel has never beaten me in a game of chess. I was telling him the truth when I said I used to play with my family members... but I never disclosed the extent to which I played. My parents taught me and my siblings when we were young. We'd all play together in various pairings often. Both of my parents were good at the game. They each had different tricks and strategies for winning. I lost a lot at first. I thought that I'd be the only one in the family who wasn't good at chess. But then I started getting better. We played all the time.

I played with my mom in the hospital... just like I played with Miguel. I was telling him the truth when I told him that it would keep his mind sharp, but the reason I started playing with him is because I so vividly remembered playing with my mamá... and I remember the way it made her happy. I thought that maybe somehow I could bring forth that same happiness in Miguel.

René would play with me the most often after my mom died. Some days, I'd get home from taekwondo and he would promptly whisk me into his room where a chess board was already set up and play with me, urging me to ignore all the commotion from my father. I hold the belief that doing that constantly allowed me to focus under pressure and tune out the rest of the world when it really counts. It's probably why I get so immersed in chess games...

Abuelita was always my biggest challenge. She always had a different way of seeing the board, and taught me to do the same. I learned to see all the different angles, and how to forge them together to form the most effective strategy. I'd always get so excited to see her on Christmas when we'd play our annual big game.

And when my dad was in a coma..? Chess was the only thing that kept me from spiraling out of control. I spent all of my time both in and out of the hospital watching videos, reading articles, and mapping out how I'd recreate various chess techniques. I played probably a hundred online chess games. I analyzed every flaw in my own technique and figured out how to mitigate them. I was practically a machine, bent on learning and improving for the sole purpose of distracting myself from a reality that I couldn't bear to face.

Doing the exact same thing with karate after the All Valley this year is exactly the thing that's going to give me the upper hand in my fight today. The same way I studied and practice every chess strategy I came across, I studied and practiced every strike and counter strike from Tory and I's fight. And last night? I did the same with Sam and I's fight. It was a lot easier. She's like Mr LaRusso. Predictable. I can counter her moves with ease. It's just when she decides to target me in a way that triggers my trauma- and she knows that it does that- that I have an issue.

One obsession to the next. One coping mechanism to the next. I can't get mad at it. It's what made me Parker Reyes-LaRusso. It's what made me the fighter I am today. And it's what's going to get the captain's headband wrapped around my forehead at the end of the day.

"You ready for this?" Robby asks as we stretch. I'm exhausted from lack of sleep and the effort it's taking to make it seem like everything is fine, but I've also never felt more awake. I want nothing more than to fight right now. Well, that's not entirely true. I want nothing more than to win.

"Yeah," I respond simply. 'Yeah', as if I didn't spend the whole night preparing for this. 'Yeah', as if I didn't spend my whole life preparing for this.