COBRA KAI: Back on the Mat

"Ugh, I'm so sleepy," I murmured while yawning. There was still some time before school started, but I had made it a habit to go for a run and do some exercise early in the morning to kickstart the day.

As I stepped outside, the scene hit me like a bucket of cold water: Johnny's car was in flames. "Damn it, I forgot!" I said to myself, trying to process what I was seeing. Near the car, Daniel LaRusso's cousin was lying on the ground, still dazed.

I grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him up.

"Where is Sensei Lawrence?" I asked, trying to stay calm, though my tone sounded more like an order.

"I… I don't know. Maybe he went to my cousin Daniel's house," he stammered.

I noticed a motorcycle parked nearby. Without hesitation, I asked,

"Is that yours?"

The man nodded nervously, and without giving him time to object, I demanded,

"Hand me the keys."

With trembling hands, he pulled the keys from his pocket and gave them to me. There was no time to lose. I took the motorcycle and sped off toward the LaRusso house, fully aware that the small changes I'd made could end up altering much more than I'd anticipated.

AT THE LARUSSOS' HOUSE

I arrived as quickly as I could and noticed another motorcycle parked in front of Sam's house. The place seemed quiet. The door was open, so I knocked before stepping inside. In seconds, a slightly chubby boy appeared, his eyes glued to a PSP.

"What do you want?" he asked, sounding disinterested.

"Is Sensei Lawrence here?" I asked, hoping the question would grab his attention.

The boy stopped playing and finally looked at me.

"The old guy who came in a bike like yours?" he said, leaning out the door to compare the vehicles.

I nodded.

"Follow me," he said, leading me to the dining room.

There were Johnny and Daniel, locked in what seemed like a heated discussion.

"I don't care, but someone has to pay for the damages to my burnt car," Johnny said, frowning as he ate.

Before Daniel could reply, Johnny noticed me walking in.

"Miguel! What are you doing here?" he asked, drawing everyone's attention, including Amanda and Daniel.

I introduced myself politely.

"Good morning, I'm Miguel, Sensei Lawrence's student," I said with a smile.

Amanda greeted me warmly.

"Come in, have a seat, Miguel."

I walked toward the table and sat next to Johnny. As I did, I added,

"Oh, I'm also a friend of your daughter, Sam."

Amanda smiled.

"That's nice. She just left for school."

Daniel, visibly uncomfortable, interrupted.

"Well, nice to meet you, Miguel. But back to the topic... the matter of the car is something Johnny needs to sort out with my cousin. I have nothing to do with it."

Johnny wasn't one to let that go without sarcasm.

"Oh, sure, and you probably had nothing to do when your daughter and her friends crashed into my car, huh? That's why you fixed it for free."

Daniel stood up, clearly upset, but Amanda quickly stepped in, ushering him to the patio to calm down.

Johnny, now more relaxed, kept eating.

"So, what are you doing here, Miguel?" he asked, as if everything were completely normal.

"I went for a run and saw your car in flames with three guys lying on the ground. I knew something was wrong. The scared guy told me you were here, and he was kind enough to lend me his motorcycle," I replied, adding a sarcastic tone at the end.

Before Johnny could say anything, my phone rang. It was Sam.

"Excuse me, Sensei," I said, stepping into the living room to take the call.

"Good morning, Sam. What's up?" I greeted as I answered.

"Good morning, Miguel. Just wanted to ask why you haven't shown up to class."

I quickly summarized what had happened.

"And well, now I've ended up at your house."

"What a bad liar you are, Miguel!"

"If you don't believe me, hold on." I turned on the camera and aimed my phone to show her the house.

"Wait! That's my house? So you ended up there because my uncle set your sensei's car on fire."

"Well… yeah. You nailed it perfectly."

Sam sighed.

"My uncle and his nonsense. He never knows how to behave."

"Let's leave your uncle out of this. You should just enjoy your phone while you can because you're probably getting grounded."

"What? Why?"

"Didn't you and your friends crash into my sensei's car?" I asked with a teasing smile. Her expression changed instantly.

"In my defense, I didn't know anything about that. Anyway, I've got to go. Looks like they're reaching an agreement. Enjoy your last moments with your phone."

"Bye. See you later," she said before hanging up.

I returned to the dining room, but only Amanda was sitting there calmly. She gave me a curious look as I walked in.

"Oh, Miguel, didn't you leave with them?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I didn't see them leave," I replied while approaching. "I was on a call with Sam."

"Oh, so you and Sam are good friends, huh?" she said with a teasing tone that made me hesitate for a moment, but I decided to be honest.

"Well… you're right. Sam and I are dating," I admitted finally. "But as far as I know, she hasn't told you yet. I guess it's because of the whole thing between Mr. LaRusso and my sensei."

Amanda looked at me with a kind smile before replying,

"Oh, you seem like a good kid, Miguel. I just hope you take good care of my daughter."

"Of course, ma'am," I assured her firmly. "As long as she's with me, nothing bad will happen to her."

Then I remembered my little dilemma.

"Just one thing… how do I get back? I came here with Sam's uncle's motorcycle."

Amanda chuckled softly.

"Don't worry. Go to school on it. Just give Sam the keys when you see her, and I'll send someone to pick it up later."

"Ah, alright. Thank you so much, ma'am," I said as I stood up. "It was a pleasure. Goodbye."

Just as I was about to leave, I stopped at the door and turned back to Amanda.

"One favor… please don't tell Mr. LaRusso about me and Sam. Let her tell him when she's ready."

Amanda observed me for a moment, her expression a mix of mischief and understanding. Finally, she nodded.

"Alright, kid. I'll think about it. Now go, don't be late for school."

"Thank you. Goodbye," I said with a small smile, feeling a strange sense of relief as I stepped out the door.

The rest of the day went by without any major incidents. I made it just in time for my second class, which turned out to be biology. During a break, I caught up with Sam for a quick chat and handed her the motorcycle keys.

"Oh, so you stole a motorcycle," she said with a grin as she tucked the keys into her backpack.

The rest of the classes flew by, and once school was over, I headed straight to the dojo. Even though there wasn't any training scheduled today, I knew that if I wanted to be the best, I couldn't afford to slack off. I didn't just want to be the best in the Valley—I wanted to be someone worthy of being mentioned alongside Mr. Miyagi.

To achieve that, I knew I'd need to master not only Cobra Kai's karate but also Miyagi-Do's techniques. However, that would have to wait until things with Sam's dad calmed down.

After several hours of solo training, I walked out of the dojo feeling exhausted but satisfied. Just as I stepped outside, my phone rang. It was Hawk (Eli), who excitedly told me about a party being organized with some of the Cobra Kai crew and a few classmates. It sounded fun, so I agreed right away.

Before I forgot, I decided to invite Sam. I recorded a voice message:

"Hey, Sam. There's a party tonight. I know you'd love it. Are you in?"

As soon as I finished recording, I remembered something important: Sam was grounded. I sighed and deleted the message before sending it. "Oh well, maybe next time," I thought with a resigned smile as I slipped the phone back into my pocket.

--------------

---------

This time, there are 2 chapters over the weekend because I have quite a few drafts.