█▓▒▒░░░DOJO DAY AFTERNOON░░░▒▒▓█

Olivia pulled on her sleeves as everyone gathered around Jack. She was wearing a white shirt tucked into a cute, flowy miniskirt that was rich red. The shade matched the satin ribbon that tied up half her hair and the silken lipstick on her mouth.

She also wore knee-high socks and platform loafers, accompanied by a cable knit cardigan

He stood in front of two cinder blocks that held a single piece of wood.

"Alright guys, stand back." He said as he took a step backward and held his fist up. Jerry crossed his arms, his face holding a certain type of wonder and confusion.

Olivia smiled at the look on his face and ducked her head down. Her fingers picked a loose thread of her cardigan before she scolded herself, not wanting to ruin her outfit.

Jack pulled back and quickly punched the board, the two split halves landing on the ground with a snap. While the action was impressive to most, the people around him seemed to be bored.

Jack wrapped one of his arms around Olivia's shoulder with a smirk. His necklace swayed as he slightly bent down. Olivia blushed as Jerry spoke up, and Kim stared at them. As Olivia looked up, she locked eyes with the other blonde, giving a small friendly wave at her waist, despite the unsettling frown of her friend.

Kim gave her a tight smile back but continued to stare at the two with longing.

"What's the big deal, Jack? You've done that a thousand times." Jerry asked.

"Just wait for it." Jack said as Olivia looked around. Her thoughts wandered as she looked at the sword that hung above the arch.

"Man, I'd give you a million bucks if you could do that to my cello." Eddie said as he stared at the crumbled rubble in front of them. Everyone gave him weird looks at his spiteful words.

"Players don't play the cello." Eddie shrugged

"Well, you're not a 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺'𝘢𝘩." Milton mocked Eddie's pronunciation as he tugged on his tank top like Eddie had done.

"I will be once I get rid of that dang cello." Eddie glared. His response made Olivia laugh, her hand making no attempt to muffle the sounds.

Milton gave him an 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴? look as Eddie turned around and rolled his eyes. "I'm going to go get a smoothie."

Olivia lightly gasped as he walked past her. She went to say something, but Eddie was quicker. "Strawberry Mango, I remember."

Olivia grinned and muttered a quiet “𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶” under her breath. Eddie nodded back and walked out.

"No. No!" A voice cried out. Everyone turned to Rudy's office door at the sound of plunging, and his saddened yells. "It's not your time!"

"What's going on in there?" Miton asked. "Rudy's toilets clogged again." Jack rolled his eyes. Olivia sighed at his annoyance.

She wrapped her arms around herself as she looked around in boredom, swaying on her toes. Kims jaw dropped as Rudy opened the door. He had on plastic suspenders, bright orange rubber gloves, and a mining hat–that of which included a light.

Kim grabbed Olivia by the waist and pulled her back as Rudy stumbled out, almost running straight into the younger blonde.

"Poor Myrtle. I almost lost her. Twice, I had to p–p–plunge her back to life." He stuttered as he made weird hand motions. Olivia wrinkled her nose and shook her head, quite disgusted by the topic at hand.

She wished she had left with Eddie.

"How do you know if a toilet is a boy or girl?" Jerry asked, pointing his finger in two different directions for each option.

"Well, you take the top off the tank and reach your arm in. 𝘈𝘯 𝘯𝘢 𝘯𝘢 𝘢𝘯–" His voice became muffled as Jack covered Olivia's ears, and Miltion shouted at him.

Jerry stared wide–eyed in horror, and Kim's jaw had dropped. Olivia didn't know what Rudy had said next, but she was quite glad she didn't know.

"Rudy, focus, the new owner of the mall is going to be here any second!" Kim remembered as the hands on Olivia's head and waist were removed.

"Hey, you guys gotta check this out!" Eddie yelled as he rushed into the dojo, two smoothies in hand, and a piece of thick paper wedged between them.

Everyone rushed over, Jack taking the bright pink unopened smoothie from him and a straw. He handed it to Olivia as Kim turned the flier to look at it.

"Wow, they finally moved the baby changing area out of the food court." she said with wide eyes. The thought partially ruined Olivia's mood for a smoothie as she stared down at the liquid, but she shrugged and opened the straw anyway.

"And if you ask me, that was a big step in the right direction." Kim waved her nose.

Olivia giggled before turning to Jack. He turned, having noticed the movement but was softly wacked between the eyes. His brows furrowed as his eyes crossed, only making Olivia laugh more.

The straw wrapper fluttered to the ground and in front of his feet as she stuck the plastic into the lid. Jack smiled and looked at her in amusement, realizing she had blown the paper covering at him before she sipped her drink.

With a head shake and hidden smile, he bent down and picked up the trash that Olivia had completely forgotten.

"Whoa, look at the huge new parking lot." Milton smiled as he also snatched the brochure.

"What a minute, where's our dojo?" Rudy asked.

Olivia frowned and pulled away, her eyes crinkled as she gently took the flier. Her drink almost slipped as her lips opened. "That parking lot 𝘪𝘴 our dojo."

"Whoa..."

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Olivia winced as a boy in a yellow vest shouted after Rudy and another man with a smile.

𝘛𝘰𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥. 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦. 𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳? 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘵. 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥-

Her chest tightened, and her breathing picked up. Jack glanced over as she picked the cuticles of her nails. His hand took hers before he frowned.

His two hands rubbed hers, and he brought them to his mouth, blowing hot air on them. She blushed as he smiled and dropped one hand. "They're cold."

Jack places a quick kiss on the knuckles of her right hand before locking their fingers and walking to the boy. "Hey, I'm Jack. How ya doing?" He politely smiled as he faced the new boy and held his hand out to shake.

"So, what do you losers do all day around this dump? Sit around and do 𝘬𝘢–𝘳𝘢𝘵–𝘦?" The boy asked as he waved his limbs and switched attitudes in a second.

Olivia frowned and flinched back at the quick movements and rude tone. Her empty hand clenched the drink and took a quick sip.

The sweet flavor didn't quench her fear.

"Yo, 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 to know karate? Check this out." Jerry smirked as he approached the boy. He took a deep breath and swayed on his feet, "Go ahead and show him, Jack."

Olivia freely laughed, the smile making her face momentarily hurt as Jerry returned to the line they made, obviously not brave enough. Jack rolled his eyes but couldn't help but sly smile at the sound of her laughter.

𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺, 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱.

She shook her head and took a few steps back, like everyone else. Jack readied himself at the fighting dummy. She clapped with a shocked expression as Jack kicked the head off of the fake man.

Olivia smiled and raised her hand, Jack was quick to return the action with a high five. Before anything else could be said or done, Olivia was roughly shoved out of the way, Jack barely catching her before she fell flat on her face.

"That was nothing. You want to see some real karate moves?" The boy asked as he winked at her, as if he hadn't almost trampled her a few seconds ago.

He snatched the bow staff from Milton and puffed out his chest, almost like he was trying to get the team to flinch. It partly worked as Olivia and Milton winced.

With a smirk, the boy walked off the mat, twirling the staff with a war cry. For a moment, she wondered if Rudy and the big guy could hear them, and if they did, why didn't they come out?

As he soon ran out of breath, he turned around, hitting all the top class trophies off of the wall. Everyone gasped and quickly rushed behind what was left of the dummy, Jack's hand gripping her hip in fear.

Olivia was pushed between Jack and Jerry, her hands covering the loud sound from her ears and her forehead pressed between the shoulderblades of Jerry.

Jerry reached back and helped block the sound out with his own hands, only pulling away after the boy had finished wrecking everything.

Rudy's office door opened as Jerry pulled away, and Jack held her close.

He hated seeing her in tears.

"I can't believe it, sir! That kid just busted up all your trophies!" Sweater–vest said as Milton looked wide-eyed in fear. Olivia hadn't even noticed Milton take the bow staff.

"Milton, you are in big trouble." Rudy muttered through gritted teeth and pointed his finger.

"What? It wasn't Milton! It was Arthur!" Jack exclaimed. She also didn't remember anyone saying his name.

"Oh... Well, accidents happen." Rudy sucked up with a pained smile.

All Olivia could think about at the moment was that Melissa would have a fit if she knew a grown adult man wasn't standing up for their kids.

Arthur innocently smiled, seeming to be proud. "Thank you for showing us what a dangerous place it is to keep trophies!" Rudy said with an unnaturally wide smile.

"Now. Everyone, give our newest member, Arthur, a Bobbi Wassabi welcome."

The three—Rudy, Arthur, and his father—all clapped with a smile while the six kids watched in shock. Fire brewed in Kims eyes as Jerry joined in, unable to stop himself, with Olivia following along but at a slower pace.

Jerry was the first to notice the looks as he stopped his hand, Olivia stopping as well. "What? I love clapping."

He grinned and once again started, Olivia giggling at his smile that was filled with pure joy. Jerry was never happier than clapping or eating, it seemed.

"𝘞𝘩𝘰𝘰!"

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Olivia held the body double as Kim punched it. She sent a kick to its stomach that made Olivia stumble.

"Kim, take it easy." Eddie called from where he sat. Because of Jack's absence, he was unable to spar with anyone, so he sat on the sidelines.

Kim blushed and looked down, "Sorry, Liv. I'm just so sick and tired of being looked at as just a pretty face."

Olivia frowned at Kim's frustration. She reached out and grabbed her hand in comfort.

"Ugh! Welcome to my world, sister!" Jerry exclaimed with a groan of disgust. Olivia laughed and shook her head.

"I mean, what's the point of being a reporter on the school's TV station if Marget Port thinks I'm just some “𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘭,” that can't do the real news."

Olivia frowned, and her nose wrinkled. "Did she actually call you that?" She whispered.

A pang ran through her heart as she saw Kim's defeated nod. Before she could give her any advice, a loud laugh echoed behind her, making her squeak and jump.

"You guys should have seen what we just did!" Arthur exclaimed as he threw his hand out. Olivia frowned at the sweater tied around his shoulders and the twizzlers in his hand. "It was a riot!"

Her mood only decreased as she noticed the look on Jack's face. It was a mix of annoyance and guilt.

"It was like taking candy from a baby." With a bad feeling in her gut, she spoke up.

"Please don't tell me you-"

"That's what you actually did, Arthur. You took candy from a baby!" Olivia frowned. If it was her sister, she was sure it would have played out different—and not in a good way.

"Hey, uh, can I get in on that?" Jerry asked with a smile before he took one anyway. "Thanks." He muttered as he took a bite. "Nothing tastes better than something stolen from a bab-"

He was cut off as Milton and Eddie both cleared their throats. They made frantic hand gestures from behind Olivia's back as her eyes narrowed.

Jerry slowly took another bite and moved away, "I- that's horrible. Totally, not amazing and delicious."

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

The next day at school, Olivia was walking through the halls. She was on the way to her next class when she noticed Kim in the halls. She went to go approach her when she saw who she was talking to.

Based on Kim's heated face and the raveonettes' annoyed one, she could assume it was Margaret.

Olivia bit her lip as she glanced around. She must have looked weird because the people around her rolled their eyes and gave her a gross look. With a squeak of anxiety, she rushed to Kim's side.

She could hear the conversation as she walked forward and locked elbows with her. "You're good at pretty. You're good at perky. But you can't handle the big stories."

"You're good at having your head up your own butt and lacking eyebrows too, but you don't see me judging you." She blurted.

Margaret and Kim looked at her in shock. She squeezed Kim's arm as Margaret glared at her. Kim's jaw dropped face quickly, morphed into pride as she smirked.

"But, I guess that's why you're the head reporter. Thanks for the assignment." Kim snatched the green folder and dragged her away.

"Oh my god, oh my god! Did I just say that?" Olivia panicked as she looked at Kim. Kim laughed and nodded her head with a wide smile. With a gasp, Olivia continued to rant.

"Me? The quiet freak? Just insult the head reporter of the entire school's news? 𝘛𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦!"

Before she could continue, two arms wrapped around her shoulder. She tensed before relaxing in Kim's embrace, even though she didn't feel comfortable hugging her back. "Thank you, Liv, honestly. I don't think I could have stood up to her myself."

Olivia frowned. "B–but you're Kim Crawford! You're a black belt in karate, and you're so pretty and so cool!" She gushed.

KIm smiled as she removed her arm around Olivia, ready to head to her next class. "I'm still only one person."

As she watched Kim walk away, she realized a similarity with Kim and herself. And it wasn't her blonde hair.

░▒▓▆▅▃▂▁𝐃𝐎𝐉𝐎 𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐎𝐎𝐍▁▂▃▅▆▓▒░