CHAPTER FOUR
Kate hurried along as she tried to make it to her karate class on time. It was scheduled to begin at seven-fifty, and she had less than five minutes to make it to the other side of town. Ivan was not the kind of tutor who tolerated late students. He always said that time management is one of the critical aspects of Karate, and something close to 'time is essential in attacking.' Ivan did not punish his students but rather had this little black notebook containing all the jokers. It was not the book kids on mandatory therapy wanted to be included in. Kate had already been late once and had barely gotten out with a stern warning, and she did not want to be late again. All her efforts to try and be on Ivan's good side would have been all in vain. She wasn't going to let that happen. She couldn't.
Oh no! Please let him be late. Please. Please. Kate hoped or rather prayed to whichever deity was listening as she waited for the pedestrian lights to go green at Hunter's Boulevard, KaraDojo's street. It seemed like an eternity, but eventually, the lights changed to her favour. She looked ahead and saw that the building's lights were on- an obvious indicator that someone was in, probably Ivan setting up for the night. She hobbled over and almost fell on her shoes, trying her best to salvage the situation. Better twenty minutes late than half an hour, or so her mother always told her. If she could be late enough that she is acknowledged as late but not too late to be in the "Book of the Damned," as they called it, that would be enough for her. Ivan was strict but understanding. If only she had a good enough excuse. She glanced at her watch as she stepped out of the road and into the pavement. It was 7. 55 pm. Though she had beaten all her previous records of Arcade-Dojo transit, her fate had been already sealed. She couldn't talk her way out of this. She was 'book-of-the-damned' late. No excuse could cut it for her.
She peeped inside and saw the all-familiar figure of Ivan, and she knew that she was royally screwed. If he had been at the back of his office, she would have had a chance to come up with something that could explain her lateness, but according to the way things were, she was helpless. Screwed twice over is the word. She reminded herself once more what the implications of this were. She would have to do six more hours of mandatory therapy for being late to class. As if that is not enough, she had to volunteer for an extra week at the arcade upon completing her current term, which was due to end in two months. Her stakes were high, and she did not want to topple the scales against her favour. She then summoned all her courage, glanced at the sign that was now flickering, wiped imaginary dust off her clothes, and took a deep breath before entering the dojo.
The bell on the door let out an almost silent chime which felt like a gong in the dojo's deafening silence. Kate cringed as she heard the shrieks that came with the rusty door hinges grinding against each other. She subconsciously and involuntarily tiptoed, hoping that Ivan had not heard the noise while at his mountain pose. If there were a hoping-and-faith competition that day, she would have won by a landslide as she even shut her eyes after setting her bag ever so slowly at the rack and taking the mat in the process. Kate then began with the Child's pose and waited while at it for Ivan to deliver his judgement. The usual thirty seconds passed, and no one had spoken. No one had moved. Nothing had happened but the comfort of silence. Another thirty seconds went by with no movement. Thirty more seconds passed—still nothing. Kate's heart started easing, and her muscles relaxed. She felt the sensation as weird since she couldn't fathom when they had clenched. She shifted her pose to the downward-facing dog in such elegance that only certified yoga masters and Olympians had. She turned to the upward-facing dog and maintained it for the set thirty seconds before finally opening her eyes and coming face to face with Ivan.
"Aaah!" She shrieked. What was with people and just appearing in front of her today? She thought to herself.
"You were late. Again." Ivan said, his eyes never flinching from Kate's.
"I am sorry. I can explain." Kate began.
"Said every other mischievous kid ever to walk this planet," Ivan interjected.
Kate had been clean of all mischief for two weeks now, but this couldn't possibly be classified as her being mischievous. Something had happened to her, and she couldn't figure out what exactly. All she could remember was closing up the Arcade at 7.30 and a fifteen-minute blank period followed by her rushing through the night traffic just so that she could beat the deadline. Maybe she misread the time on her watch while she was closing up. But even if she did, she had just recently been gifted her watch from her Ma as a birthday gift, and it was working perfectly. Perhaps she was just exhausted and had forgotten completely about time.
"I promise, I can explain." Kate's thoughts were moving at the speed of light as she looked and searched deep in her various excuses folders in her head to get as much as a get-out-of-black-book-jail card. She was blank, and Ivan was on her back about it. With his gaze on her, if her eyes dilated even for a millisecond, he would know that she was lying. She had always made several mental notes to teach herself perfect lying methods, but it seemed the notes were like the excuses- they disappeared when they were most needed.
"Can you, really?" Ivan was not hesitating. It seemed like he was hell-bent on having her in his Book of the Damned.
"There was traffic. Heavy traffic. Plus, the Arcade closed a little bit late today." Kate went with the first idea that came to mind.
"I am not buying that." Ivan said with no hint of emotion in his voice. "I gave you your last warning the last time you were late. You know the implications of being late when it comes to Karate. Your upward-facing dog posture has improved. Good work."
Kate felt instant relief when Ivan took a few steps back, but it was short-lived when she grasped the gravity of the situation. Ivan had just closed the chapter regarding her lateness. His voice was just like his gaze- stern, and cold that Kate could feel her intestines crawl. She knew there and then that she will have to do six more hours of mandatory therapy. Whichever Deity was there had ignored her.