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❝ were you just hardwired to be a jackass or what? ❞
"WHAT'S WRONG WITH MR. LARUSSO?" Ayane asked as she stood, quirking an eyebrow.
Mr. Lawrence waved his hand in dismissal.
"It's a long story. All I'm saying is, you're not going to learn much from him. You can learn way more from me."
Ayane exchanged a look with Miguel, who shrugged with a small smile.
"Sorry, you'd have to talk to my parents. I don't make the decisions. I had fun, though."
"You had fun because you beat the shit out of me," Miguel retorted, shaking his head.
Ayane laughed a bit. "Eh, well. That too, I suppose."
She checked the time on her phone, seeing that she still had an hour to kill before being at the LaRusso's.
"You're not about to leave, are you?" Miguel asked, frowning.
Ayane glanced up. "Uh... no. Not yet. I can just watch you guys."
Mr. Lawrence finally cut in, "Yeah, whatever. Go run along to LaRusso, kid."
"Were you just hardwired to be a jackass or what?"
Miguel hid his smile, rocking on his heels.
Mr. Lawrence was not fazed by Ayane's harsh words; he had both heard and been called worse. Instead, he pursed his lips and analyzed her for a moment.
The girl clearly had a mean demeanor because she had walls up. She was hiding her feelings and she dodged questions with a snarky response.
Crossing his arms, Mr. Lawrence calmly said, "Drop and give me fifty."
Ayane scoffed, shaking her head and crossing her arms back.
"Sorry, you're not my sensei-"
"QUIET!"
Ayane flinched with her entire body, taking a step back. Just as he had thought. Whoever Ayane trained with for taekwondo had hit her when she messed up or challenged their authority.
Johnny Lawrence felt a sudden twist of guilt in his stomach. He felt bad for the girl, though he did not show it.
"Drop and give me fifty... one," he persisted, curious to see what she would do.
