SECOND BEST

005.

THE NEXT DAY, while her father and Sam were out Scarlett snuck out of her bedroom window to go to the dojo. Tory had asked her to talk to Robby so she entered the dojo, the bell dinging and walked into the backroom to put her stuff down. She saw Robby lifting weights and walked to where he could see her.

"You're supposed to have someone spot you, you know," she said.

"I don't need a spotter," he placed it back down and sat up, "What are you doing here?"

"I train here. Looks like you've upgraded from running away to hiding," she joked.

"I'm not hiding," Robby grumbled.

"Could've fooled me. Tory said you weren't at the fight at my house," Scarlett said.

"I don't even know what she was thinking. She'd break into your house and hurt Sam and then everything would be sunshine and roses? She's lucky your parents didn't call the cops," Robby rambled.

"My mom wanted to but Sam said they'd 'handle it through karate'," Scarlett mocked with quote marks, "My sister thinks the world revolves around her. And I mean why shouldn't she? All she has to do is make a puppy dog face and say please. I mean even after she cheated on you, she still has you wrapped around her finger."

"That is not true" Robby denied.

"Then why do you keep defending her?"

"Why aren't you?"

"You know I'm not too big of a fan of my sister. You're right to skip practice. If you're gonna stay on defense, this isn't the right dojo for you," she walked past him and he grabbed her arm.

"What are you doing here, Scar?"

"Revenge is a dish, best served cold. Nice seeing you Robby," she shrugged.

The next day, Scarlett walked into the dojo with the rest of the students.

"I'm telling you," Kyler said, "That fiesta burrito? Shit, it was like a party with..."

They stopped seeing Robby standing at the front in a gi.

"Get a load of this chump. What are you doing here?" Kyler asked.

"Sensei Kreese isn't back yet, so I'm gonna get you guys warmed up," Robby said.

"You've never been a part of this team and you think you're our sensei? Get the hell out of here man."

"Who says we even want you?" Tori asked. Robby looked thoughtful.

"Ok, hit me. Any of you. If any of you can land a hit, I'll go," Robby said.

"Alright," Kyler stated. He attacked with a kick and Robby dodged him and swept his leg as his returned to the ground. Kyler fell and Robby stood.

"Who's next?" Another advanced and Robby kicked him back. A guy ran towards him with a punch and Robby caught it before punching him in the face. He turned and kicked another advancing in the stomach before exchanging punches with another guy.

"This is pathetic," Scarlett muttered to Tori.

"You think?" Tori questioned sarcastically as they watched Kyler and another guy try to land a hit, "Do you think we could do better?"

"Definitely," Scarlett nodded.

"You guys just gonna watch?" Robby asked.

Tori advanced first with a sidekick. She tried to punch but he grabbed her arm and turned her around and pushed her away.

Scarlett kicked and he blocked. He kicked and she blocked. He tried to punch and she ducked, punching him in the stomach. She pivoted and hook kicked his raised arm.

He blocked her punch and kicked her leg causing her to stumble. Tori stood up beside her and they glanced at each other before attacking.

Scarlett punched and Tori kicked. Robby stepped back to avoid it. Scarlett tried to kick his leg but he raised it. She turned and kicked him in the stomach. He stumbled and Tori started throwing punches.

He grabbed her gi and flipped her over his shoulder, "No hard feelings?"

Scarlett twisted and swept his leg and he fell to the mat. Tori did a rising handspring and stood.

"A deal's a deal," Robby breathed heavily, "I'll go."

"No," Tori halted.

"Stay," Scarlett said.

The group changed into their gis and stood lined up in front of the three.

"Over at Miyagi-Do, our enemies are uniting against us. They think by working together that they have an advantage. They think that they're better than us. And I should know because I used to be one of them," Robby glanced at Scarlett, "That officially ends today. I'll admit at first I didn't want to join Cobra Kai. But eventually, we all need to look ourselves in the mirror and realize who we really are.

"Now we may have taken some losses, but it's not about how you start. It's about how you finish. And to beat the enemy, it helps to know the enemy's playbook. So, Scarlett and I are gonna teach you Miyagi-Do karate, so we can beat Miyagi-Do Karate."

Robby turned as Kreese walked in from the back room, "They've warmed up for you Sensei." Kreese nodded.