 ( chapter fourteen )
THE NEW GIRL.

Syd was still buzzing about Valley Fest, adrenaline fueling her as she waited in anticipation for the days karate class. Mr. Kreese had told them they'd get to spar today and Syd couldn't wait. But in the moment, she found herself listening intently as the older man spoke before herself, Aisha, Eli, and Miguel about his time in battle. Well, Miguel was stretching on the floor behind them as the other three stood listening to the man.

"You gotta understand that Mogadishu in the '90s was a hellhole. Warlords controlled whole swaths of the city. My team and I were charged with cleaning the place up." Mr. Kreese explained. "How many warlords did you kill?" Eli questioned, smiling lightly. "You keep track of every ant you stomp out?"

"Woah." Aisha sighed. "Badass." Eli nodded, smile just growing. "They were outgunned, we were outmanned. I tell you... Rwanda was no joke." Mr. Kreese further explained. Miguel stood from behind him, looking at the back of the man's head. "Don't you mean Somalia? Mogadishu is in Somalia, Rwanda's a whole different country."

Mr. Kreese turned around a moment to look at Miguel before turning back around to the other three with a smile. "Of course, Somalia. I spent so much time in the sandbox, it all kind of bleeds together, you know?" The other three nodded, smiling lightly. Syd gave Miguel a small look, one he only returned. Mr. Kreese was, respectfully, an older man. Trying to catch him for making a mistake just looked bad.

"Listen up! I see we've got some new recruits. Everybody, fall in. In neat rows and lines." Sensei Lawrence spoke, clarifying as he looked at the new kids. Syd found herself in her usual place at the front between Eli and Aisha, standing straight as she looked at her Sensei. "Time to see what you're made of."

He then began walking around, looking at everyone as he did so. "Straighten up, ginger twins." Sensei Lawrence spoke, looking at two ginger boys who stood beside each other. Syd remembered someone telling her they were brothers.

Sensei Lawrence then noticed the oddball in the room, a grown man with a bandana around his head and a blue t-shirt. When he first came in Syd just assumed he was there to wait for his kid, but seeing as he fell in line she was becoming a bit confused. "Sorry, parents can't stay for class. It's an insurance thing." Sensei Lawrence spoke.

"I'm not a dad. I... I am here to kick some ass, sir!" The man replied, not meeting Sensei's eye. Syd made eye contact for a moment with Mr. Kreese, sending him a confused look before she fully turned to watch the exchange behind her. "Do I know you from somewhere?" Sensei Lawrence questioned, obviously recognizing the man.

He nodded. "Oh, yeah, the, um... I sold you the mirror. We kind of bonded, talked about rock bands." Syd was starting to feel bad for the guy, seeing as he obviously was trying to relive some youthful days sort of deal. "Look, you're a little old. This is a class for teenagers." Sensei Lawrence continued. "Well, I... I can take them." The man replied, chuckling. "Not afraid of kids, sir. and my mom, she doesn't charge me rent, so I just... I got a lot of cash to burn."

He pulled out a small wad of cash, handing it to Sensei Lawrence. "Yeah." Sensei Lawrence spoke, yanking it out of his hand and inspecting it for a moment. "We'll consider this a trial run." Sensei then moved back to the front with a sigh. "I thought my last group of recruits was pathetic. But if you do what I tell you to do, you'll at least have a chance of becoming a fighter. But to do that, you gotta fight. So, which one of you has the balls to take on the champ?"

Syd frowned, annoyed that Miguel would be fighting instead of her. She noticed the quiet that overcame the recruits, no one wanting to fight. Until the man slowly started to raise his hand. "Uh..."

"I'll take him on." A new, female, voice spoke up. Everyone turned around to see a new girl standing in the back. She must have come in after everyone was already lined up. Syd smiled, annoyance washing away as she realized there would finally be a third girl in the dojo. "Oh, you will, huh?" Sensei Lawrence questioned.

She nodded. "I saw your little demo at Valley Fest. You guys can put on a show. Can you actually fight?" Sensei Lawrence walked toward her. "That sounds like a challenge."

"I like a challenge." She replied, smirking lightly at the man. Sensei Lawrence nodded slowly, turning around. "Mr. Diaz, show Little Miss Hotshot here what Cobra Kai is all about." Miguel nodded, bowing slightly as everyone moved to form a circle while Miguel and the new girl stood across from each other.

Syd stood by Eli, frowning slightly. "I wanted to fight someone." He chuckled quietly, shrugging as he spoke lowly by her ear. "We can always spar later if you still feel like getting thrown to the ground." Syd scoffed, lightly smacking Eli's arm with a roll of her eyes. "Gross."

He just laughed before both of them went back to watching the fight that was about to occur. Syd felt her cheeks heat up, furrowing her brows as they did so but she just chose to ignore it.

"Look, are you sure that you wanna do—" Miguel started, slowly moving toward the girl before she kicked him in the chest, sending him backwards. "Okay I love her." Syd decided, feeling Eli lightly nudge her. "You're supposed to be on team Miguel."

"I'm team girl who kicked Miguel. You can be team Miguel." Syd replied. Miguel just smiled. "All right. Game on."

With that the two began fighting, punching and kicking at each other before Miguel looked at her. "Close the gap." Syd groaned lightly. "Oh boo he's helping her. I wanted to see him get smacked to the floor." Eli just shook his head, doing his best not to laugh loudly. "Still pissed he threw you to the ground at Valley Fest?" Syd just looked at him, smiling sweetly. "That obvious?"

She watched as the girl went to attack again, kicking, before Miguel grabbed her leg and threw her to the ground with ease. She rolled back up, ready to go again as she punched at him. Miguel blocked every punch thrown his way, pulling her past him before blocking her elbow. "You're telegraphing."

He then kicked her, sending the girl down. "Don't let me see it coming." She then lunged at him, landing on top of him before standing up. "Did you see that coming?"

He just looked at her, spinning slightly before using his legs to trap her and throw her to the ground again. "Maybe."

He then stood, holding an arm out to the girl. "My name's Miguel." She continued to lay on the ground, breathing heavily. "Tory." She then grabbed his hand, yanking him down and flipping him over her back. She pushed his face down as she held his arm in a lock, trapping him. "With a Y."

Syd watched as Tory got off of Miguel, this time being the one to help him stand. He smiled lightly. "Impressive for a newbie." She laughed, cocking an eyebrow in his direction. "Yeah, you too."

Miguel just laughed a bit, almost scoffing at the girl as he shook his head. Tory looked back to Sensei Lawrence, who was standing there excited. Syd was still just excited to have another girl at the dojo.

———————

After class Syd found herself in the convenience store next to the dojo with Aisha. The two were gonna go drive around, but first had decided on getting snacks and drinks. "Ugh." Aisha spoke, looking up from her phone. Syd looked at her confused as another person walked past the two. "Let me guess. Dick pic?" Syd looked over and saw Tory, smiling lightly as Aisha chuckled. "No. My mom wants me to go to the beach club with her."

"Oh my god, that sounds so miserable." Tory responded, sarcasm laced in her tone. Syd chuckled lightly while Aisha shook her head. "No. It's just... This girl Sam's probably gonna be there, and she and I are not on good terms. Whatever. I'm Aisha, by the way. This is Syd." Syd waved slightly as she looked at Tory. "Tory." The other girl introduced.

"I can go with you, by the way. Sam isn't exactly talking to me either so we can avoid her together." Syd chuckled. Aisha nodded. "Thanks." She looked back at Tory. "Hey, that's a cool bracelet." Tory looked down, smiling lightly at her sharp bracelet. "Oh, this? It's not just for show. Some creepy guy at the mall tried to grab me once, but I managed to block him and give him a gift he won't ever forget."

Syd chuckled lightly, impressed. "I say it once again, I think I love you." Tory just laughed, sending a wink in the girls direction. "Oh. Wow. You seem like you already know how to kick ass pretty well. What do you need Cobra Kai for?" Aisha wondered.

Tory shrugged. "I've had a couple kickboxing lessons, but I've always wanted to smash boards blindfolded. Or take out guys twice my size with ease." Aisha chuckled. "Oh, you saw that."

"Mm-hmm." Tory replied, smiling. "The secret is poking little holes in the blindfolds." Aisha exposed. "Mm. Cool. What's your secret?" Tory wondered, looking at Syd. She smiled lightly. "Being quicker when they're bigger. Also, having one partner ready to let you win while the other can't beat you."

"Hey. You wouldn't wanna go to the beach with us, would you? It'd be nice to have some backup." Aisha questioned. "I guess I could suffer through a day at the beach." Tory smiled back, all three girls exiting the store. It seemed they didn't need food anymore since the beach club was full of it.

"Also, I'm totally great backup." Syd spoke. Aisha laughed. "You're the best backup. I just think we should have backup to the backup. Backup who isn't also dealing with Sam problems." Tory nodded. "I'm the Sam-less backup. No idea who she is."

Syd chuckled, shrugging. "Okay, touché."

When the three got to Syds car, she noticed Eli walking past on his way home. "Hey, mohawk!" The boy turned, ready to fight someone for calling him that before noticing the girl smirking at him. "What's up, ballerina?"

"Just wanted to let you know I plan on taking you up on your offer to beat your ass. Don't think I'll forget. See you tomorrow." Syd jokingly threatened, opening her car door. "I look forward to it!" Eli replied, waving before he began walking off.

Syd got in the car, immediately noticing the look Tory was giving her. "What?" Tory smirked, looking between Syd and Aisha. "Am I the only one who sees what's going on there?"

"What?" Syd just asked again, even more confused. "Never-mind. Ignore me." Tory smiled, buckling the passenger seat. Syd just sent her another confused look before brushing it off, heading toward the beach club.

The three finally made it after stopping at both Tory and Aisha's homes. Syd hadn't bothered to take her swimsuit out of her car after the day at the beach, so she just changed into it and wore her jean shorts over it while Aisha was changing at her place.

They all walked in and Tory looked around, awestruck by the place. "Okay. This is not the beach. Where are the homeless dudes on rollerblades and the guys shoving shitty hip-hop demos in your face?" Aisha laughed. "No, don't worry. They'll come after they pass out the hors d'oeuvres."

"I don't think I've ever even heard anyone use that word before outside of the movies." Tory laughed, looking around the place more. "Okay, let's get some food." Syd laughed, the three setting their stuff down at three pool chairs before moving to the buffet table.

"I'll be right back. I'm gonna go see what drinks they have." Tory spoke, both girls nodding in response. Syd noticed Tory didn't put her bag down but didn't say anything as she began to walk the line, Aisha behind her.

She grabbed some strawberries and chocolate, figuring the sun would melt the chocolate and she'd be eating chocolate covered strawberries in no time. "Hey." A new voice spoke, Syd looking up to see Sam looking back between her and Aisha.

"Hey." Aisha responded, looking up for a moment before going back to grabbing her food. "So, how's it going?" Sam questioned and Syd just frowned, really wanting out of the whole situation. "You realize we're not okay." Aisha sighed out. "What are you mad about? You guys are the ones who stomped all over our Valley Fest demo." Sam replied. Syd turned to the girl at that, Aisha doing the same before scoffing, "Only after your father attacked our dojo. What were we supposed to do?"

Sam shook her head. "He didn't attack you guys." Aisha looked at her shocked. "No? "Snake in the grass"? Real subtle." Sam sighed. "He's just trying to do the right thing."

"I don't see a rich guy trying to take students from a guy living off what he makes from his dojo as the right thing." Syd spoke, shaking her head as she went back to grabbing food she wanted. "Yeah. So, what? Cobra Kai is wrong?" Aisha added. "It's not wrong. It's just..." Sam couldn't seem to find the word, sighing, "What are we doing? It's our summer vacation. We're at the beach, and we're fighting about karate?"

"When we should be fighting about boys." Aisha nodded. "Or who's gonna get the last piece of pretzel bread." Sam smiled. "Oh, no. That's mine." Aisha replied, grabbing the bread. They both laughed quietly, Sam's eyes turning to none other than Robby Keene basking in the sun.

Aisha also took notice, smirking lightly at Syd before turning back. "So, it's just you and abs all summer, training? God, that must be hard." Syd chuckled at that, meeting Sam's eye as the other girl smiled at her, Syd smiling back. She figured her friendship with Sam was more important than their dojos. "Okay." Sam replied, laughing as the three began walking back to where Aisha and Syd had set their stuff.

They took the open table right next to their chairs, all sitting as the Robby conversation continued. "So, Robby actually moved into our house." Sam smiled. Syds eyes widened, smiling. "How is your dad okay with any of this?"

"Yeah, your parents let that happen?" Aisha added, just as shocked. "Well, there's nothing going on. We're just friends." Sam replied. "Uh-huh." Aisha nodded. Syd shook her head. "I can't believe you'd lie to my face."

"Well, I'm still not gonna tell Miguel." Aisha added. "Hey! Look what I got." Tory smiled, walking up to the table. Syd looked over to where Tory was holding a bottle of Vodka in her bag. "Where'd you get that?" Aisha questioned.

"I swiped it from the bar." Tory smiled, watching as Sam and Aisha gave each other a look. "Oh, relax. All the adults are getting wasted. No one's gonna notice if we have a little fun." Syd nodded, instantly. "I'm in."

"You should put that back. You could get into big trouble." Sam spoke, staring at the bottle. "And you are?" Tory laughed. "Oh. Sam, this is Tory." Aisha introduced. "Tory, Sam."

Tory nodded. "Oh, the Sam. Come on. Like anyone's gonna miss one bottle of vodka. I could swipe half the silverware in this place before anyone would notice." Sam's frown only deepened. "You shouldn't steal anything."

"Sam, she's kidding." Syd spoke. "What are you, a nun?" Tory wondered, gaze switching to Aisha and Syd. "Come on, are we gonna drink or not?" Aisha looked between Tory and Sam before nodding slowly. "Okay, one drink." Tory smiled, looking to Syd. "Oh, you already know my answer." Syd replied, the three heading away from their stuff as Tory wrapped her arms around their shoulders. "That's my girls."

The three made their way to the women's bathroom, all piling in before Syd locked the door. "There's bathroom lounges in here so we can enjoy the bougie life." Tory just smiled. "I think I may be the one who loves you."

"Of course you do." Syd replied jokingly as Tory opened the bottle. "Okay, one shot then I'm done." Aisha decided. Syd nodded. "Yeah, I have to drive... but I think we should save the rest to enjoy at another time." Tory pointed at her. "I like the way you think."

They passed the bottle around, each taking a swig before Tory took one more and closed the bottle, laying it down in her bag and then putting her cover over it so no one would know. "Okay, let's go back." Tory nodded.

The three went back to their spot, noticing Sam had left. Tory and Syd shared Syds food, the chocolate melting while they were gone, as Aisha ate hers. The three then decided to sun bathe for a bit before they were ready to leave.

The three laughed as their arms hung around each other, heading past the buffet again to get to the exit. "Wait, I'm sorry. You gave her a front wedgie?" Tory laughed, listening to Aisha's recount of the events that went down with Yasmine. "I split that bitch in two." Aisha replied. "Oh my god." Tory laughed, looking at Syd. "And you were her friend?"

Syd groaned, rolling her eyes. "Don't remind me." That just made the other two laugh before another voice came up behind them. "Hey!" They all turned around to see Sam glaring at Tory. "My mom's missing her wallet."

"Sucks for her." Tory laughed, Aisha joining in. "You wouldn't know anything about that?" Sam further questioned and Syds eyes went wide in shock. "Wait. Wait, what are you saying?" Aisha questioned. "Just give me the wallet, and I won't tell security." Sam spoke.

"Sam, that's a really strong accusation." Syd spoke, crossing her arms over her chest. "Are you freaking kidding me?" Tory scoffed. "Sam, she didn't steal your mom's wallet." Aisha added. "Right. And she didn't steal a bottle of vodka, and you wouldn't steal half the silverware in here." Sam spat.

Tory stepped forward. "Listen, I didn't rob your mom, bitch. You know what, let's get out of here." Tory turned back around, going to walk away as Sam grabbed her bag. "Get off of me!" Tory gasped, pushing Sam back, who fell backwards into the buffet table. All three girls gasped, staring down at Sam who now had food all over her.

Tory stormed off, heading to Syds car as Aisha moved toward Sam, Syd just standing in place. "Are you okay?" Sam just looked between the two of them with a glare. "Real nice friend you've made." Aisha shook her head. "You shouldn't have accused her of something like that, though." With that Aisha walked off, following in Tory's lead.

"Anything else you wanna say, Syd? Or are you just gonna fall back in line like usual?" Sam spat. Syd shook her head, frowning. "You know, you're the one coming out of this looking like a jerk. If you really want to lose friends over this Miyagi-Do Cobra Kai drama, congrats Sam. You just succeeded."

With that Syd stomped off, wiping her eyes lightly as she made her way to her car. "You two okay?" Syd questioned, unlocking the car and letting the two get in. "Yeah. Are you?" Aisha wondered, noticing the redness around her friends eyes. "Fine. Let's just get you both home."

———————

"The back thrust kick works like this. You step, pivot... throw a side kick." Sensei Lawrence explained. "What if your opponent attacks you from behind?" Eli questioned. "Excellent question." Sensei Lawrence replied, pausing for a moment before looking at Mr. Kreese. "Sensei Kreese, you wanna take this one?"

Syd watched as Sensei Kreese smiled lightly. "Certainly, Sensei Lawrence. The key to this move is making your enemy think you are retreating. But just as they let their guard down, that's when you strike the hardest." He spun around, kicking toward them all. "Aits!"

AUTHORS NOTE!
so sad to see syd and sam go i love them but don't worry they won't be against each other forever