chapter seven, seasons

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— chapter seven, seasons!

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— chapter seven, seasons!

THE LATE AFTERNOON sun shone down on Bowie as he jogged up to the peak of the hill he had set about conquering. His calves ached and sweat dripped down his forehead, but he still felt the endorphins swimming through his system and the pride in knowing he was getting closer to being ready to compete in the All Valley. Sensei Blakeway had been pushing them and the other six kids competing exceptionally hard, just as Johnny Lawrence had been doing to his students at Cobra Kai, as far as Hawk and Miguel had told him. Mr LaRusso had equally been pushing Robby hard with his training, which is where the boy was this afternoon.

Looking out over the Valley, Bowie smiled, stretching his arms up over his head and basking in the sun. His curls were growing in blonder as late springtime crept through California, and the school year was encroaching on coming to an end, which meant he had the entire summer laid out to do nothing but spend time with Robby, and maybe a little with Demetri and Eli.

His father hadn't been home in two weeks or so; he was on some poker trip with friends that had started in Canada but would most definitely end up in Vegas, meaning Robby was free to crash at Bowie's virtually every night. This worked out well for both of them, as Shannon had begun showing her face at home less and less and bills were beginning to stack up. Robby was still working at LaRusso's when he wasn't training with him, but it wasn't quite enough to pay utility bills on top of rent.

Once their breathing slowed back to a regular pace, Bowie stretched out their legs before beginning to jog down the other side of the hill, watching as the colours of the sunset began to bleed across the sky. The music playing in his ears was only interrupted by a short stream of texts from Robby, mostly just checking that the two were still meeting that evening for takeout and a movie marathon. Realising the time, Bowie upped their pace back to their house so they could get ready in time.

Standing under the stream of the shower after half an hour of practically sprinting back, Bowie was ready to fall asleep. The heat from the water didn't help, so he turned the temperature down slightly, choosing instead to focus on the music strumming from his phone rather than his aching muscles.

Training for the All Valley had been non-stop for Bowie, yet he still didn't feel like he was in peak condition. Sure, the methods of training at Red Tigers weren't anything new or elaborate, but they worked. It was only this time around with opponents rising from Cobra Kai that Bowie really felt concerned. There was a lot riding on them and their performance in this competition; and as a former member of Red Tigers Karate, the All Valley tournament was often one of the few times a year when Bowie's older brother, Freddie, would return to the Valley. There was no point in Freddie returning to see his brother lose.

Drying his curls as hurriedly as he could and throwing on a shirt and shorts, Bowie set off on their skateboard towards Robby's, the sun beating down with the ferocity of summer even though it was only late April. The journey to Robby's apartment passed by quickly, the route ingrained into Bowie's brain somehow stronger than second nature, and Robby was there to open the door before the boy even had a chance to knock twice.

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