New Boy | Miguel Diaz

Tory

"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." Kreese was telling a story from his past to Aisha and Hawk while Miguel and I were stretching.

"How many warlords did you kill?"

"You keep track of every ant you stomp out?"

We scoffed as the other two gave satisfied responses.

"They were outgunned, we were outmanned. I tell you, Rwanda was no joke."

"Don't you mean Somalia?" I ask.

"Mogadishu is in Somalia, Rwanda's a whole different country." Miguel explained.

"Of course... Somalia. I've spent so much time in the sandbox, it all kind of bleeds together, you know?"

"Listen up! I see we've got some new recruits. Everybody, fall in. In neat rows and lines. Time to see what you're made of."

Sensei examined the new kids, one by one.

"Straighten up, ginger twins."

He came across a dude who looked a little bit overage. "Sorry, parents can't stay for class. It's an insurance thing."

"I'm not a dad. I... I am here to kick some ass, sir!"

"Do I know you from somewhere?"

"Oh, yeah, um... I sold you the mirror. We kind of bonded, talked about rock bands."

"Look, you're a little old. This is a class for teenagers."

"Well, I- I can take them. I'm 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."

"Yeah, we'll consider this a trial run. 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?"

The class stayed quiet.

"I'll take him on." A girl's voice came from the back.

"Oh, you will, huh?"

She nods. "I saw your little demo at Valley Fest. You guys can put on a show. Can you actually fight?"

I looked at Aisha with an amused look. We were pretty badass last night.

"That sounds like a challenge."

"I like a challenge."

"Mr. Diaz, show little Miss Hotshot here what Cobra Kai is all about."

Miguel bows and they meet in the middle of the mat.

"Look, are you sure that you wanna do-" Before he could finish, she kicks him right in the chest.

"Alright. Game on."

Miguel and the girl start fighting, blocking every punch and kick.

"Close the gap."

She runs towards him, being grabbed and dropped on the mat. She rolls over, coming back up and lunges to Miguel.

"You're telegraphing. Don't let me see it coming."

She runs to his legs, tackling him down. "Did you see that coming?"

He wraps his legs around hers, pulling her down. "Maybe."

He got up and reached for her hand. "My name's Miguel."

"Tory." She quickly gets up, flipping him over and pushes his head down with her hand.

"With a Y."

-

I left the dojo with Miguel, and we noticed Hawk on the phone with Demetri.

"You know what happens to snitches." Hawk says on the phone.

"They get immunity." Demetri responds.

"Snitches get stitches."

"I have stitches. I've got several stitches."

"Don't do anything stupid. You'll regret it." He ended the call and turned to face us.

"What happened?"

"That pussy Demetri couldn't handle training with Mr. Kreese. He's not Cobra Kai material."

Hearing Hawk say something bad about Demetri was disappointing. We've all been best friends since the beginning of elementary school. Ever since Hawk became Hawk, I can see how rude he's become towards Demetri.

I followed Miguel back into the dojo, and we went to the back room where my dad was.

"Looks good."

"I used a level this time. What's up?"

"I'm a little worried about Mr. Kreese. Our friend Demetri came in and he roughed him up."

"Demetri... he the mouthy one? Yeah, he probably deserved it."

"Look, I know you guys are old friends, but some of his stories don't add up."

"Yeah, well, John Kreese and I go way back, alright? He and I... it's complicated. The guy's got his issues, but everyone deserves a second chance. There's nothing to worry about. I'm on top of it."

We sighed, and left the room. "See you at home, Dad."

"See ya, kid."