Chapter 26: Chapter 26" Robby
Robby Keene has always had a complicated life. Abandoned by his mother and with an absent father, he grew up in the shadow of Johnny Lawrence, a man who abandoned him with his mother who lives from bar to bar looking for men. He had to fend for himself practically his entire life, never depending on anyone, so he left that house and sought other things in his life.
When Daniel LaRusso took him in, Robby saw an opportunity to change his life. He dedicated himself to karate, learning not only the moves and techniques, but also the values of discipline, respect and compassion. However, the shadow of Johnny Lawrence still haunted him, and the need to prove his worth consumed him, to show his father that he was better than him, his life was based on this, but he was beginning to put these feelings aside and focus on other things...
Winning the All-Valley tournament seemed to be the answer to his problems. He had defeated Johnny's student Miguel and earned Daniel's respect. But the joy of victory was short-lived. The arrival of Jack Sullivan, a mysterious and talented boy, shook his convictions. He lost the tournament to Jack. This made him furious, and when his father came to talk to him, his fury came out of him and he let out his frustrations.
Jack was everything Robby wanted to be: strong, confident, and admired by everyone. And to make matters worse, Jack seemed to have won the heart of Samantha, the girl Robby was falling in love with.
Robby's feelings for Samantha were new and confusing. He had never been in love before, and the intensity of his emotions frightened him. He wanted to protect her, to care for her, but at the same time, he felt insecure and threatened.
Roby asked what had happened in the backyard, everything was going well, but Samantha had simply stopped kissing him, acted weird, ran away, her mother confronted her and he heard about what had happened. Jack had come to Samantha's house to talk to her, but he had seen them kiss and simply left... This feeling of victory that he felt for a while was enough for him, but not enough he still felt insecure about how Samantha felt about Jack so he had to confront her about it.
"Sam, how do you feel about him?" Robby asked, his voice strained.
Sam, surprised by the question, hesitated for a moment. "By who, Robby?"
"By Jack, of course!" Robby replied impatiently. "Do you like him?"
Sam sighed, feeling the weight of that conversation. "Robby, I..."
"Tell me the truth, Sam," Robby insisted, his gaze fixed on her eyes. "Are you in love with him?"
Sam looked away, unable to look at Robby. "I don't know, Robby. It's all so confusing..."
"Confused?" Robby repeated, his voice thick with hurt. "We were kissing just now, I mean I thought there was something going on between us but do you like another guy?
Sam felt tears welling up in his eyes. "Robby, I like you. A lot. But Jack... he's different."
"Different how?" Robby asked, his voice shaking. "Better than me?"
Sam shook his head. "It's not that, Robby. It's just... I can't explain it."
Robby felt lost, rejected. The insecurity that had always accompanied him took over. He stood up, moving away from Sam.
"I need to think, Sam," he said, his voice breaking. "I need to understand what's going on."
Robby left the LaRusso house, his head spinning. He needed to find his place in the world, understand his feelings and deal with the shadow of Johnny Lawrence and the threat of Jack Sullivan. The path ahead of him was uncertain, but he knew he had to move forward, fight for his dreams and his love for Samantha. He wouldn't lose Sam to this guy, in fact, he wouldn't lose anything else to Jack Sullivan.