𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐄́ ─ 𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐛𝐲 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐞

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞

THE BARNES-VAN CAMP MOTHER AND DAUGHTER TRIO HAD officially hit their one year anniversary of making the voyage from Chicago to California. Moving across the country at the drop of a hat was no easy feat but it was something that had to be done. Ethan Van Camp's clandestine actions had finally boiled over and he lost his family as a result.

All that aside, Marissa had set her thoughts onto her teachers last words: Marissa, there's no doubt that you're an amazing dancer, but you're not quick or sharp. You're too light and soft which is can sometimes hinder you from opportunities in dance such as this one. Her studio's annual dance concert was approaching and they were putting on a production of Black Swan.

Marissa, of course, wanted to go out for the role of the Black Swan, but her teacher wouldn't even consider her. The Black Swan was conniving, sharp, aggressive; all things Marissa was not. So Madame Wells, Marissa's teacher, told her about Cobra Kai and how the sensei there owed her a huge favor. The name was familiar to Marissa due to Miguel, one of her closest friends, being trained there.

That is why Marissa calmly found herself stretching at the barre in deep thought. Joining a karate dojo would entail her hitting someone and Marissa wasn't a violent person. She hated confrontation, in fact, she tried her best to avoid it, but she loved dance more than she hated that. So, if Madame said that karate was something she needed to do, then she would.

She just wished she had known that doing something to gain something else meant sacrificing everything she ever knew...and herself.

✯✯✯

MARISSA'S FINISHED HER SHIFT AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD DRUGSTORE AND WAS NOW STANDING IN FRONT OF A STRIP MALL IN ROSEDA. Above her was the infamous Cobra Kai snake and its yellow and red colors popping and showing through all the black. On the door was taped an 'apply now to learn the way of the fist' sign and kids were scattered throughout the dojo on the inside, some in odd white uniforms and others in plan clothes.

Bracing herself for whatever violence may lie inside those doors, Marissa gripped the door handle and pulled it open. She pushed her way-carefully-through the mass group of new students to get to the front and see two men standing by the wall. One middle aged and the other who looked very old and tried. They were wearing black uniforms as opposed to the white the current students were wearing.

"...If you do what I tell you to do, then you'll at least have a chance at becoming a fighter," the middle-aged white man spoke out to the group. "So, which one of you has the balls to take on the champ?"

Marissa looked around at the kids around her: scratching their necks, looking down at their feet, avoiding eye contact with the man and ignoring his words. They wanted to learn karate yet they were scared to fight for it, but Marissa wasn't. Plus, the fight was against her best friend, so it couldn't go horribly wrong.