patience is key | the karate kid

ii. apartment nineteen

ii. apartment nineteen

    "LOOK AT those palm trees! Damn! Would you look?"

   The teen rolls his eyes behind his very, very excited mother, while trying his best to get his bike unstrapped from the roof of the car.

Out from the corner of his eye, he notices his mother glance up at the palm trees behind him.

   "Know what that means?"

   "Yeah," he bluntly responds, "besides earthquakes, I gotta watch out for falling coconuts, now."

   "Hey wise guy," his mother smacks him playfully on the arm and gives him an exciting grin, "no more Newark winters!!"

   "I like winters, ma."

   "Oh so you like sore throats?" The woman stares at her son in disbelief while taking a hold of the suitcases and baskets from inside the trunk. "You like frozen toes?"

   "I don't like smog." Is all he says as his mother walks towards him with a variety of items in her hands. She sighs, though still manages to smile brightly at her son, who's still struggling with his bike.

   "How about swimming? Do you like swimming?" She tries, sounding as if she doesn't know her son's interests. "Did I tell you about the pool here?"

   "Yeah, about a hundred times, ma."

   "So make it a hundred-and-one! Open your eyes, my darling son! This is the Garden of Eden!" Her voice trails off as she walks closer towards the gate. "Hey, we're in apartment twenty. One flight up!"

   When his mother disappears on the other side of the large wooden fence, the boy finally manages to get his bike off. On the ground and by the car is his suitcase, which he tries to rest on the bike's handlebars.

   He struggles pushing the now heavier bike while walking towards the gate. He finally makes it in a minute or so, and reaches towards the lock until he notices that something is in his way. His eyes look down at his full hands.

   Not knowing any other way how to open up the gate door, the boy cocks his leg up and kicks it out, opening it up. However, a thud and a cry come from the other side, causing his eyes to go wide in shock.

   He leans forward and pushes the door back open with a hand, seeing a boy his age fallen to the hard ground, wincing while his hand holds the back of his head.

   "Oh, sorry." The boy with the bike apologizes, extending out a hand to help the other boy out. The other grabs it and stands up, smiling through the pain that is shooting through his body.

    Meanwhile in her apartment, Kat rushes towards the window by the door, looking down to see where and who the sound came from — her eyes are wide and terrified at what could've possibly happened.

    Then her eyes narrow and suddenly catch the attention of a boy — someone she's never even seen before — standing in front of Freddy, who was rubbing the back of his head.

    The strange boy's dark chocolate eyes glisten in the California sun as they look up at Kat, causing her heart to stop. His matching brown hair blows back a little in the breeze and it seems as if... everything just stops.