Miriam's POV.

Miriam: Hey Ben, something came up. I'll probably be late. Check the news.

Ben: Oh my food Mimi! The Tom Holland is there? Can I pick you up? That way I might get to actually meet him!

I

rolled my eyes at this.

Miriam: one, I told you not to call me that. Two, gee thanks man! It's good to know you care more about your friends and coworkers than you do about celebrities!

[Read at 4:35pm]

Okay, let's hope I'm not being fired anytime soon...

"Miriam." Sensei called me.
"Yes sensei" I put my phone away and came to stand beside him.

"Cho. Please demonstrate the greeting with Miriam."

Ew. Why her? Why not Tao?
Nonetheless I stepped further away from sensei in order to stand in front of Cho for the greeting.

"Now you will attempt the same with Tao." Instructed sensei.
Tom Holland nodded and did as he was told.
"Very good. Now Cho will teach you the basics. If either of you mess up or need help, Tao and Miriam will be here."
"Yes sensei" we all said in unisono.

"Hold out your less dominant hand like this" instructed Cho while assuming her fighting stance, "and the other held back in a fist" she finished.

"It doesn't have to be a fist Cho" I noted.
She glared at me and Tao rolled his eyes while folding his arms over his chest.

"Tom Holland does boxing, I figured he would be more comfortable with a fist"
Now was my turn to roll my eyes and fold my arms.
She was right, I'm not a hypocrite so I nodded in approval earning a smug smile from her.

I tensed, ready to smack that smile right off her-
"She's not worth it" Tao whispered from beside me, still in the same position as before. His eyes trained on the two newbies as they moved from one stance to the other.

"Tom." Tao stopped them.
Tom looked up at him.
"Do not rely to much on fists. Your legs are just as important."
Tom nodded then reattempted the move.

I sighed and moved forward to help him out a bit.
"What are you doing!?" Snapped Cho. "He's my charge, not yours"
I ignored her as Tao walked over to lecture his cousin.

"Bring your left fist downwards as you kick up that leg. No, no. Together. Like this" I demonstrated, briefly letting go of his arm.

"Your arm and fist must move at the same speed as your leg, but the leg needs to be stronger in force."

I took a step back once I finished demonstrating, giving him a nod to try again.
"Much better"
Tom cracked a small smile of satisfaction.
"So you're the only one, huh?" He inquired as he finally stood straight.
"What?"
"You know, the only one that's not Chinese or Japanese or even Korean in here"
"I'm adopted" I stated, as if that clarified everything.
Then "Cho, get your lazy bum over here and do your job properly this time!"
"Isn't that a bit harsh?" Tom asked as he flinched at my sudden change of tone.
"No."
And I walked back to my spot besides Tao as Cho took her place before Tom.

***

"You've done well" said sensei as Tom moved from one stance to another on his own in front of sensei to demonstrate what he had learned today.

"Tomorrow evening you will train with Tao"
Tom nodded "yes sensei"
"You are dismissed"
And we all filed out to the changing rooms.

"You were a bit harsh" Tao remarked as he joined me outside while I waited for Ben.

"I don't care. She deserved it"
Tao sighed.
"Miriam. She may hate your guts, but that's only because she's jealous. You're that girl that always fights her own battles whereas she's used to relying on others and she envies you for that."
I sighed.
"Fine. I'll go apologize, but only because she's your cousin and you're my best friend. But if she pushes my buttons one more time..."
"I'll handle her. Now go"

I sighed and headed back into the changing room.
"Cho, look. I'm sorry. That was a little to harsh on my part and- oh"
I looked up to see Cho leaning up against Tom in the hallway.
"Am I interrupting something?"
"Yes" "No"
Cho glared at Tom that had said no as he wiggled his way away from her death grip.

"Thank you" Tom whispered relieved once we were a safe distance away from her.
"Err... No problem? I really only came in to apologize"
He raised an eyebrow at me "you? Apologize?"
"Listen Tom" I came to a stop abruptly.
"I don't know you and you don't me, so don't expect to know what I can or can't do!"
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."
I sighed
"Whatever, just forget it. I apologized because Cho is Tao's cousin."
"And Tao is your...?"
"Friend. Well, best friend."
"Really? He seems a bit..."
"Distant?"
"Yeah."
"That's because in Korea, from what he explained, it's not allowed for a man and woman to have any physical contact. Not even in a relationship."
"That sucks. What if you need a hug?"

"I don't. If I'm mad I have martial arts, if I'm depressed I have my job and if I'm stressed I have parkour."
"You do parkour?"
"Yeah. You don't? Figured you would since you plan on being Spider Man. It could come in handy."
"Well... Maybe you could teach me sometime?"
"Doubt it. But I'll try. Great. Tao bailed on me again."
I said as we finally exited.
"So... What job do you do?"
"I'm a mechanic and a babysitter in my free time"
Tom didn't get to respond as Tao exited a coffee shop with two cups.
"Here. I know you hate coffee so I got you chocolate. Figured you'd need it after apologizing to Cho" he handed me the cup in his right hand.
"Cool, thanks man" I smiled at him as I accepted the warm drink just as a red truck and a white limo drove up and parked beside the sidewalk.
"That's my ride" me and Tom said.
We looked at each other.
"My boss is a big fan so he insisted on giving me a ride." I sighed with a hint of embarrassment as Ben stepped out of his truck and excitedly walked up to Tom who met him with a tight smile as Tao snickered.
"Hi, I'm Ben. Big fan of yours, I... Oh, nice limo! If you need any help fixing it up, just give me a call!" He handed him his business card which I noticed he had also scribbled his own private cellphone number on.

Ashtag: when your boss is gay.
Not that I minded, he was my friend so it didn't bother me.
Plus I found his sassy side kinda funny.

"Uhm... Thanks." Tom said awkwardly as he took the card.
"Actually mister Holland." Said the driver, "there seems to be a slight problem with the breaks. It's difficult to put them in"
"Grand! Mimi here is a pro when it comes to breaks! Well, she's my best mechanic in general but you get what I mean." Ben rambled on.
"Uhm, sure. I would appreciate that" Tom smiled.

I turned to Tao, looking for help.
"See you tomorrow Mi"
I stared wide eyed at him as he jogged off in the opposite direction.
"Traitor!" I called after him.
He briefly spun around, walking back wards, to give me a thumbs up before waving goodbye.