2 Promising Student And First Day At School

POV - John ''Johnny'' Lawrence

I'd seen talent before. Hell, I'm talented, so I obviously see talented shit everyday. As much as I hated that bastard Kreese, he wasn't one to give out false praise - and he often called me his best student. And, you don't win the All-Valley as many times as I did without having talent. Both physical talent and talent for Karate.

But this kid...whether it's purely physical or Karate-based talent, he has me beat. I remember the first strike I threw wasn't as snappy or explosive as his was just now.

He copied a stance nearly perfectly. I mean, who the hell can do that? Even still, it was obvious he'd never trained Karate before. It was an imitation of my stance and that meant it wasn't the right stance for him. One thing I'd take from Kreese is that every student has different needs. The stance I use wouldn't work for Miguel or Peter.

They needed to develop their own and they could only do that through experience and training.

Still, the thought of this kid finding his rhythm...Goddamn. He must've inherited whatever I did instead of Mikey's brains. Runs in the family, I guess. Skips a generation or whatever they say.

What was more important than either his talent or his innate athleticism, though, was the fact he had that killer instinct I had. Miguel didn't have it - he was a nice kid. Too nice, in fact. It was the reason he was bullied and treated like a loser - a pussy. But this kid Peter, something about the way he struck that dummy was violent as hell. And from that little grin on his face, I'd say he liked that feeling.

What Miguel lacked in that killer instinct, he more than made up for in determination and thirst for Karate. Peter, however, had both in spades, it would seem.

Walking up to the younger blond, I clapped him on the shoulder and gave an excited smile, "I think you got him, kid," I gave a chuckle before looking at him a little more seriously, "You got a knack for it, like me, but you need to find your own groove and not just copy what I did. I don't know how to explain it - you just need to figure out what feels natural to you, I guess," I gave him as best advice as I could and thankfully he got where I was coming from. I heard the phone ringing from the office and I looked to Peter, "Keep practicing the strike and try to get rid of any useless movements. I'll check your progress in a bit."

He nodded and I turned to walk to the office and saw Miguel struggling with his physical exercises, "You wanna continue being a loser, Miguel? If so, give up. Unless you wanna actually get some pussy before you graduate highschool," I taunted him, ribbing him to spur him on a little.

A little tough love never hurt anyone.

It worked anyway, as the kid began pushing himself even harder with a reserve of energy brought into existence by my taunting.

Regardless, I moved toward the office where I picked up the phone and brought it to my ear, "Hello--"

. . .

POV Change - Peter Lawrence

And so, I continued practicing. There was something almost therapeutic to punching something.

Years of frustrations just drained out of me after each punch and I found myself feeling more at peace mentally than I ever had before.

I stopped copying Johnny and began trying to find what stance fit me best. Because I didn't really know any other stances, I just punched the dummy the way he'd taught but ever so slowly, I began editing it so I could get across more of my raw power without lowering the speed of the strike.

It wasn't perfect but as the hours went by, I was ever so slowly getting better and better at the motion. The lunge would become a tiny bit quicker, the punch a tiny bit sharper, the motions smoother--and not because of my athleticism, but because of my technique ever so slowly improving.

Karate just seemed to come naturally to me. And it was fun.

Football was also fun but not as much as this. Football was a hobby at best, but this...this felt like something more. Like I could make a career out of it and enjoy every day of it.

Either way, Johnny taught the same technique to Miguel and gave him a little pep-talk when he was punching the dummy in a half-assed manner. After giving him some motivation, Miguel really started wailing on the dummy, so it must've worked.

His technique was more than sloppy but I guess that'd improve with time. He had the spirit, at least.

Anyway, time went on and Johnny gave me some corrections to my form which helped a lot, and eventually training was over. I was gonna leave but I decided to stick around and help out with the cleaning of the place. It was the least I could do to help out around here - even if I was gonna be paying money for my lessons, it doesn't hurt to give an extra hand where needed.

Which brings us to what I was doing now - scrubbing at a dirty window. More specifically, the upper portion of the window where Miguel couldn't reach. Miguel was about 5'7", so reaching the top parts proved a little too much for the guy.

"Hey, Sensei, is there any particular way you want me to wash these windows?" Miguel asked, out of nowhere, while Johnny was filling out some health and safety forms.

Without even looking up at us, Johnny waved his hand dismissively and answered, "Nah, I don't give a shit. Whatever's easiest," he said, scribbling his signature at the bottom of the form. Once that was done, he looked up at Miguel and continued, "You know what, Peter can handle the rest of the window. Just go clean the toilet and we'll call it a night," he gestured with his pen toward the toilet area and I cringed.

Thank god he didn't ask me to clean up those toilets. They're dirty as fuck.

Miguel also cringed, his shoulders slumping, but he didn't refute it and gave a grumbling reply, "Okay," before trudging away. He was no doubt exhausted from the physical exercise and punching a dummy all day.

Johnny looked to me, grinning a little too sinisterly, "And do that one on your hands and knees," he shouted to Miguel, obviously getting a little kick out of forcing the tired kid to clean the toilets.

...Can't lie, I also found myself grinning at my newfound comrades misfortune.

Better him than me, at least.

Either way, I got back to cleaning the window, chuckling lightly alongside Johnny who was filling out another form - who thought there'd be so many forms to fill out just to open up a dojo? I mean, I get why but it's still surprising you have to fill out a stack of the stuff. My thoughts were put to an end, however, when I heard the bell ring signaling that someone had entered the dojo.

I looked over my shoulder and saw a tanned older guy, around the same age as Johnny, with black hair and wearing a blue dress shirt and some black slacks with matching black shoes. As he was walking in, he looked around and at the Cobra Kai symbol, his expression showing dread, as if he'd seen a ghost or a monster.

Knocking lightly on the window, I got Johnny's attention, "Sensei," I used the proper title for respect in the dojo - the last thing I needed was him getting pissed because I didn't use the proper terminology - and gestured over my shoulder with my head and at the newcomer.

Something about him gave me the shivers. Like he was dangerous or something. Which was...weird, to say the least. He didn't have the physical stature of either me nor my uncle. He didn't look particularly in shape either. But nonetheless...it was like my instincts were telling me he could kick my ass.

Johnny looked confused for a second and stood up, looking around me and through the window at the guy who'd entered. His face showed a little disbelief which quickly turned into annoyance as he frowned and quickly exited his office.

"LaRusso," Johnny said aggressively, his entire stance posed for a fight as he squared up to the shorter guy, "What are you doing here?"

This LaRusso guy scoffed, smiling in disbelief as he shook his head, "Some things never change do they?"

Johnny, to give him credit, actually looked confused for a moment, "...Yeah, what are you talking about?" he asked, his confusion giving away for annoyance at the very presence of the man in front of him.

Meanwhile, I was just off to the side. The LaRusso guy hadn't even spared me a glance. All his attention was on Johnny and Johnny alone. The enmity between these two was as clear as day to anyone who had eyes - they'd been glaring back and forth at each other as soon as they'd made eye contact. I wonder what the hell happened?

"I heard you beat up a bunch of teenagers in the parking lot out there," LaRusso gestured with his thumb to the parking lot in the mini-mall the dojo was situated in. Johnny rolled his eyes at this.

"Oh, that," he sarcastically said before shaking his head, "No, I didn't beat up any teenagers," he said before taking a few steps onto the mats and toward the other guy, "I kicked the shit out of a bunch of assholes who deserved it. There's a big difference, LaRusso," he spat out the name like it was dirty or something.

"Wow," LaRusso scoffed, "Johnny Lawrence calling someone else an asshole? That's rich, man," he chuckled to himself like the very fact Johnny had said what he said was as ironic as it could get. Before Johnny could respond, however, LaRusso let out a sigh and seemed to be trying to keep himself calm, "Look, I'm not here to rehash the past. I just came here to tell you to stay away from my daughter's friends."

That seemed to catch Johnny off-guard, "Your daughter's friends? Yeah, that makes sense," it was clear to everyone listening that Johnny was finding this very humorous, "Nice company she keeps," he gave a snarky quip that seemed to really get under the other guy's skin.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" LaRusso bristled, narrowing his eyes over at Johnny.

"It means those friends of hers were wailing on a kid half their size. Maybe you don't know that daughter of yours as well as you do?" Johnny rhetorically asked before dropping his humorous tone, "Get you house in order, LaRusso."

This seemed to fully piss off this LaRusso guy and I dropped the rag in my hand as I rushed over to put myself between them. If this turned into a fight, Johnny could get into some big trouble. Especially considering that he'd allegedly been caught fighting teenagers in the parking lot - even though I didn't know my uncle very well, I knew he had a temper. But I also knew he wouldn't just start beating on people without any valid reasons.

Regardless, the police probably didn't see it that way and he was probably arrested. Meaning if he gets into a fight here, he could get into some serious trouble. That LaRusso guy dresses pretty rich as well, so there's no doubt he could lawyer up and sue Johnny if it came to it.

"Okay, okay, let's stop it here," I raised my arms up and stopped the two of them from getting any closer, "Sensei," I looked to Johnny, "Calm down and think for a second. If you get into serious trouble because of this fight, what would happen?" and once I'd said that, I turned to the other guy, "Mr. LaRusso," I hoped that was his name and not some sort of nickname, "I'm sorry about my uncle. He can be a little hotheaded, so just leave before this devolves into some sort of fight. Please."

"Hey, Peter--" Johnny seemed annoyed I'd stepped in but he was cut off by LaRusso.

"Sensei?" he asked looking at Johnny, "Really? And you're his uncle, too? You're really gonna poison his mind like Kreese did to you? Unbelievable," he shook his head before addressing me, "Kid, I don't know what he told you but you shouldn't believe a word he says otherwise you're gonna end up exactly like him."

Narrowing my eyes at the insult, I frowned, "Thanks for the advice but I'm not gonna take it from someone who's obvious very biased against my uncle. Now, please, leave," I practically growled out the last part, feeling a tad bit of anger flaring in my chest.

These two obviously have some beef, I get that. Emotions are obviously running high for this LaRusso guy as well. But does that mean I'm gonna let him insult my uncle right in front of me?

No. Even if I'd only known him for less than a day, I'd still take my uncle's side over this guy's.

He seemed taken aback by my tone and stepped back a little, to show he was leaving. He didn't look scared, however. And not to brag, but at 6'3" and around 225lbs of muscle, I was pretty goddamn intimidating. But this guy wasn't even phased by me trying to intimidate him*. I gotta say, it was kinda admirable.

(*A/N - Some people forget that Daniel LaRusso has literally fought in life or death situations. He wouldn't get scared by some kid more than half his age lol. Even if the kid was built like a brick shithouse.)

LaRusso looked over at Johnny, "You, me," then gestured to the dojo, "This place. We aren't done," he pointed at Johnny before pivoting on his heel and walking out of the dojo.

...Well, that was intense.

. . .

~The Next Day~

Highschool. The dreaded frontier of every teenager old enough to attend it.

Honestly though? For me? It wasn't that hard. Especially now that I'm away from my parents. No need to bust my ass just to get a few extra points on a test. No need to play a sport I didn't really love just to try and get my parent's attention.

Go to a new highschool was actually somewhat liberating for me. Kinda of a chance to reinvent myself from the façade I'd built up for myself before at my old school.

So, opposed to before where I'd try and fit in with the 'cool' kids, I actually followed Miguel around today seeing as we both had the same classes. And right now? I was sitting with Miguel and his friends, Demetri and Eli. Both of which were stereotypical nerds.

And after the headmistress of the school publicly humiliated Eli, the atmosphere got pretty damn awkward.

"You know, if you're sick of getting bullied, my karate dojo's looking for recruits," Miguel informed the two of them, no doubt feeling some degree of pity for Eli who was the target of a lot of bullying due to the surgical scar on his upper lip.

Demetri, who gave me the impression of a lippy smartass, rolled his eyes and spoke with mock enthusiasm, "Yeah, right. You hear that, Eli? A little Karate training, and you're gonna kick some major ass," he intoned, obviously being sarcastic.

Miguel, no doubt used to his friend's behavior, ignored what he said, "I'm serious, Demetri. My sensei's the real deal. I'm sure I could get you both discounts as well," the opposite of Demetri, Miguel was genuinely being enthusiastic in trying to sell the idea to Demetri.

"As enticing as that sounds," Demetri sarcastically began, "I think we'd rather spend our afternoons playing Crucible Control than getting hit in the face."

That did it. I had to step in.

"So, you'd rather stay weak and get bullied? Rather than taking up Karate and learning to defend yourself?" I asked, my tone unamused with Demetri's sarcasm when all Miguel was trying to do was help the two of them out. Continuing before Demetri spoke up in reply, I smirked, "Besides, if you're good enough at Karate, you won't get hit in the face."

...Kind of a lie. You could be a master at Karate and have shit reflexes due to genetics but neither Demetri or Eli need to know that. Regardless, if they're that good at games, their reaction speed should be pretty decent.

Demetri looked over at me, stumped on what to say, so I continued, looking toward Eli, "Seriously, the best thing you can do to bullies is stand up to them. So, come learn karate, learn how to kick ass, and then stand up to your bullies. Or, you can just continue to get bullied. It's up to you, Eli," I shrugged, knowing that he needed to be the one to make the decision and that I couldn't force him into it.

Instead, I went back to eating the crappy burger this school canteen thought passed as food, while Eli looked like he was in deep thought.

After a while, lunch break ended and we split up, going our separate ways.

As I was making my way toward Math class, however, I saw someone I hadn't seen in years. Both of us stopped and looked at the other, obviously trying to figure out if who we were seeing was actually the person we thought they were. We were just standing outside our class, in the hallway, looking over each other. She was blonde, had blue eyes, had tanned skin and full, pouty lips. She was beautiful. But that wasn't why I was staring at her. I...I think I actually know her.

"Yaz?" I asked, cautiously, continuing when she looked surprised, "Yasmine Harper?" I asked and gestured to myself, "It's me, Peter. Peter Lawrence."

Her mouth became an 'o' as she stood there, "Pete?" she near silently said before smiling and rushing over to me, "Pete! Oh my god, it's been so long!" she wrapped her arms around me and I couldn't help but chuckle as I did the same to her.

Who'd have thought I'd meet my childhood friend outside my math class after so many years.