❝ i can totally be mean. ❞

―

JULIANA GLANCED AROUND COBRA KAI.

The demonstration at Valley Fest had brought in a crowd of new recruits hoping to join Cobra Kai. Juliana turned her attention back to Kreese, who was standing in front of her, Hawk, and Aisha, telling them about his war stories. Hawk and Aisha seemed interested in what he was saying and seemed to hang onto his every word, but Juliana furrowed her eyebrows at him. She did not doubt at all that he was a veteran, but something about the stories he was telling was slightly off.

"You gotta understand that Mogadishu in the 90s was a hellhole," Kreese told them. "Warlords controlled whole swaths of the city. My team and I were charged with cleaning the place up."

"How many warlords did you kill?" Hawk asked him.

"You keep track of every ant you stomp out?" Kreese questioned.

Juliana scoffed as Aisha whispered in amazement. Even Hawk was impressed by him, but Juliana was just not buying into it.

"Badass," Hawk nodded his head.

Juliana glanced down at the mat where Miguel was sitting, stretching his legs. She could tell that Miguel was not too sold on Kreese either. Juliana returned her attention back to Kreese as he continued telling the story.

"They were outgunned. We were outmanned," he explained. "I tell you...Rwanda was no joke."

Juliana's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. She followed Kreese with her eyes as he paced in front of them. That wasn't right at all.

"Don't you mean Somalia?" Miguel questioned on the same page as Juliana.

Kreese slowly turned his head to look at the boy who was now standing up behind him.

Juliana nodded her head. "Yeah. Mogadishu is the capital of Somalia."

"Rwanda's a whole different country," Miguel added.

Kreese glanced back and forth between them before he chuckled. "Of course, Somalia. I've spent so much time in the sandbox it all just kind of bleeds together, you know?"

Juliana and Miguel exchanged a look with each other as Johnny came out of the office.

"Listen up!" he shouted. "I see we've got some new recruits. "Everybody, fall in. In neat rows and lines."

Juliana claimed her spot at the front, next to Hawk.

"Time to see what you're made of."

Johnny made his way through the rows, observing the new recruits. Juliana stared straight ahead and watched through the mirror as he stopped in front of an older man and started talking to him. Sensei Lawrence thought that he was a parent at first before learning that he was a student.

"I thought my last group of recruits was pathetic," Johnny said as he walked back up front. "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?"

Juliana glanced around the dojo, wondering if anyone was going to volunteer. The older man opened his mouth but was quickly cut off by the sound of a girl.

"I'll take him on."

Juliana turned her head to the back of the dojo. The rows slowly dispersed, revealing a brunette-haired girl with blonde ends. The girl was confident, her head held up high. There was not an ounce of fear in her voice or her face.

"Oh, you will, huh?" Johnny asked her.

"I saw your little demo at Valley Fest," the girl spoke. "You guys can put on a show. Can you actually fight?"

Johnny started approaching her. "That sounds like a challenge."

The girl continued to hold her head up high. "I like a challenge."

"Mr. Diaz," Johnny said as he turned around and walked back up to the front. "Show Little Miss Hotshot here what Cobra Kai is all about."

Juliana stepped off the mat with the other students, allowing Miguel and the girl to begin their fight.

"Look, are you sure that you wanna do—"

Miguel was quickly cut off when the girl kicked him in the chest with no hesitation. Miguel grunted, stumbling back as a few students gasped.

Miguel chuckled. "All right. Game on."

Miguel got into a fighting position. The girl threw several jabs and punches towards Miguel. He managed to dodge them, not letting the girl get a shot in. The girl was determined though and was not going to give up as she tried to kick him again. Miguel grabbed her leg and pulled her down to the mat. She got back up, flipping onto her feet. Miguel kicked her in the knees, causing her to fall.

"Don't let me see it coming," Miguel told her.

She tackled Miguel to the mat. "Did you see that coming?"

Miguel grabbed her leg between his own and yanked her to the mat.

Thinking that he won, Miguel held his hand out to help her up. "My name's Miguel."

"Tory," she said as she grabbed his hand to lift herself up before she twisted her body around, flipping Miguel over. "With a Y."

Juliana couldn't help but smile.

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Juliana stood outside of the mini-mart talking to Demetri on the phone as she waited for Aisha to come out of the dojo. She looked down at Demetri's face on her screen, gasping when she saw the bandage that covered the bridge of his nose.

"Dem, what happened?" Juliana asked.

"I went into Cobra Kai to try and rejoin, and that new sensei hit me," Demetri told her.

"Sensei Kreese?" Juliana questioned, even though she knew that was the only correct answer. "Are you okay?"

Demetri nodded. "I'm fine. Just a couple of stitches."

"Do you want me to come and check on you instead of going to the beach club with Aisha?" Juliana asked.

Demetri shook his head. "No, no. It's fine. You can hang out with Aisha. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Juliana asked him.

"I'm sure, Juli," Demetri assured her.

Juliana nodded her head. "Okay. I'm sorry that Kreese did that to you. Does Hawk know?"

"I was going to call him after I called you," Demetri told her. "I'll let you know how it goes."

Juliana looked up to see Aisha approaching her. She glanced back down at her phone and nodded her head.

"All right, Dem," Juliana responded. "I've got to go. Call me later, okay?"

Demetri nodded. "I will."

Juliana hung up and placed her phone back in her bag. She turned her head to look at Aisha.

"Everything okay?" Aisha asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Yeah," Juliana replied, nodding her head. "Demetri just got a little roughed up by Sensei Kreese earlier."

Aisha hummed in response as she opened the door to the mini-mart. The two girls walked inside, making their way to the back of the store to get a drink. Aisha let out a groan as she glanced down at her phone.

"Let me guess, dick pic?"

Juliana turned, seeing the girl from earlier who had fought against Miguel. Tory, she remembered hearing her say to Miguel.

Aisha shook her head as she sighed. "No. My mom wants me to go to the beach club with her."

"Oh my God, that sounds so miserable," Tory replied with fake pity.

"No. It's just...this girl Sam's probably going to be there, and she and I are not on good terms," Aisha explained. "Whatever. I'm Aisha, by the way."

Juliana smiled at her brightly. "Juliana. It's nice to meet you."

"Tory," the girl introduced herself.

"Hey, that's a cool bracelet," Aisha said, pointing to Tory's wrist.

Juliana looked at her wrist, seeing a white bracelet with spikes on it.

"Oh, this?" Tory asked, lifting her arm. "It's not just for show. Some creepy guy at the mall tried to grab me once, but I managed to block him and give him a gift he won't ever forget."

"You seem like you already know how to kick ass pretty well," Aisha said to her. "What do you need Cobra Kai for?"

"I've had a couple kickboxing lessons," Tory replied. "But I've always wanted to smash boards blindfolded."

Aisha smiled. "Oh, you saw that."

Tory nodded. "Mm-hmm."

"The secret is poking little holes in the blindfolds," Aisha told her.

Tory chuckled. "Mmm. Cool."

Tory smiled and then started to walk away.

"Hey," Aisha said, causing Tory to turn around to face her. "You wouldn't want to go to the beach with us, would you?"

Tory nodded her head. "Guess I could suffer through a day at the beach."

Juliana smiled at Tory. "Trust me, it'll be fun."

Juliana turned on her heels and opened one of the freezers to grab a drink.

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Aisha's mom gave the girls a ride to the beach club. The three girls stood on the balcony, overlooking the pool. Juliana had never been to the beach club before, and she wasn't sure what to expect, but it wasn't this.

"Woah..." Juliana mumbled as she glanced below.

"Okay, this is not the beach," Tory spoke. "Where are the homeless dudes on roller blades and the guys shoving shitty hip-hop demos in your face?"

"No, don't worry. They'll come after they pass out the hors d'oeuvres," Aisha joked.

Juliana laughed. "I've never been to a beach club either. It's a lot fancier than I imagined."

Tory nodded her head. "You're telling me."

"Come on," Aisha said. "Let's go."

The three girls walked down the stairs and placed their bags down at the table Aisha's mom had saved. Aisha went to go get food while Juliana sat at the table with Tory.

"So..." Tory said, causing Juliana to turn to look at her. "How long have you been in Cobra Kai?"

"Oh, um, I'm not exactly sure how long it's been," Juliana responded. "But it's been quite a long time because it was shortly after Halloween."

Tory nodded her head. "That's cool. And are you any good? I mean, I saw you at Valley Fest. You seemed to know what you were doing."

Juliana chuckled. "I don't know. I like to think so. I mean, I made it to the semi-finals in the All Valley tournament."

"Really?" Tory asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't act so surprised," Juliana told her.

"No, no, it's just you don't really seem like the type that would be into karate, you know?" Tory replied. "I mean, from what I can tell, you're probably the nicest person I've ever met. You don't seem like you have a mean bone in your body."

"Oh, I can be mean," Juliana responded.

Tory chuckled. "Oh, can you? The song Walking on Sunshine might as well have been written about you."

Juliana smiled, shaking her head. "I can totally be mean. I just have to have a reason to, you know?"

Tory nodded. "Yeah. I get that."

Tory glanced around the beach club as a silence washed over them.

"I'm going to go find a bathroom," Tory told her.

Juliana nodded as Tory got up from her seat. Juliana watched her walk away, and when she turned her head, she saw Aisha approaching the table with Sam by her side. The two girls took a seat at the table.

"Hi, Juliana," Sam greeted her. "How are you?"

Juliana gave her a smile. "I'm great. How are things going with you?"

"Pretty good, actually," Sam replied, nodding her head.

"That's good," Juliana responded, unsure of what to say.

"Hey!" Tory's voice rang out as she approached the table. She slowly pulled something out of her bag, carefully revealing a bottle of vodka. "Look what I got."

"Where did you get that?" Aisha asked.

"I swiped it from the bar," Tory responded, causing the three girls to give her panicked expressions. "Oh, relax. All the adults are getting wasted. No one's gonna notice if we have a little fun."

"You should put that back. You'll get into big trouble," Sam warned her.

Tory chuckled as she turned her head. "And you are?"

"Oh. Sam, this is Tory," Aisha introduced them. "Tory, Sam."

"Oh, the Sam," Tory said, followed by a scoffed. "Come on, like anyone's gonna miss one bottle of vodka. I could swipe half the silverware in this place before anyone would notice."

"You shouldn't steal anything," Sam replied.

"What are you, a nun?" Tory asked before she turned to Juliana and Aisha. "Come on, are we gonna drink or not?"

Aisha looked at Sam, biting her bottom lip as she debated whether or not she should. Juliana watched Aisha as she turned her attention to Tory.

"Okay, one drink," Aisha said.

"That's my girl." Tory smiled at her and then looked at Juliana. "Jules?"

Juliana gulped, looking back and forth between Tory and Sam. She bit her cheek, unsure of what to do. Juliana took a deep breath and then sighed, letting it out.

"I—Sam's actually right," Juliana finally said. "I really don't think it's a good idea. I mean, I'll come with you guys, but I don't think I'm going to drink."

Sam gave her a small smile.

Tory shrugged her shoulders as she wrapped an arm around Aisha. "Whatever you want. I won't force you."

Tory and Aisha started walking away, leaving Juliana standing next to Sam. Before she could catch up to them, Sam lightly touched her arm. Juliana turned on her heels.

"Keep an eye on Aisha for me, okay?" Sam asked.

Juliana nodded her head. "I will."

"Thanks, Juliana," Sam replied.

Juliana smiled at her. "No problem."

Juliana finally caught up with the other girls as they were entering the beach club. They entered an empty room, and Juliana sat down in one of the chairs, watching as Tory and Aisha drank half the bottle of vodka. She did not think it was a good idea at all, and she wanted no part of it, but she did want to make sure that they were both okay and didn't do anything dumb.

When they were finished drinking, the three girls left the room. Aisha and Tory were giggling as they walked with their arms linked together. Aisha was telling Tory about how she had given Yasmine a front wedgie, and Tory had found it hilarious.

"Hey!"

They turned around to see Sam stomping toward them. Her gaze was fixated on Tory.

"My mom's missing her wallet," Sam told them.

"Sucks for her," Tory responded with a chuckle.

Aisha chuckled along with her.

"You wouldn't know anything about that?" Sam asked, an accusatory tone in her voice as she glared at Tory.

"Wait. Wait, what are you saying?" Aisha asked.

Sam ignored her, continuing to glare at Tory. "Just give me the wallet, and I won't tell security."

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Tory asked.

"Sam, she didn't steal your mom's wallet," Aisha defended her.

"Right, and she didn't steal a bottle of vodka," Sam shot back and then turned to Tory, "and you wouldn't steal half the silverware in here."

Tory stepped closer to her. "Listen, I didn't rob your mom, bitch."

"Sam, look, I know she stole the vodka and said she could steal the silverware, but she didn't steal your mom's wallet." Juliana came to Tory's defense. "Can we just let this go? Please?"

Sam was not willing to let it go. She was convinced that Tory was the one who stole her mom's wallet. She wasn't willing to accept anything else.

"You know what? Let's get out of here," Tory said.

Tory turned around, and Aisha followed her. Juliana sighed, shaking her head at Sam before she turned to walk away. Sam reached out and grabbed Tory's bag. Tory retaliated by turning and shoving Sam backward.

"Get off me!" Tory yelled.

Sam fell into the dessert table, now covered in them. The three girls gasped, staring down at Sam. A few of the other guests gasped along with them at the scene.

Tory turned on her heels and stormed off.

"Are you okay?" Aisha asked Sam.

"Real nice friend you've made," Sam replied.

"You shouldn't have accused her of something like that though," Aisha said before she went after Tory.

Juliana let out an exasperated sigh as she watched Aisha walk away. She turned her head back to Sam and extended her hand forward. Sam grabbed her hand, and Juliana helped her to her feet. Sam stared down at her dress, sighing.

"Sam, look, Aisha's right," Juliana told her. "You shouldn't have accused Tory."

"Can you blame me?" Sam asked.

Juliana shook her head. "No, but do you have any solid proof other than the fact that she took the vodka and made a joke about stealing half the silverware?"

"No, but—"

"Then don't make accusations that you can't uphold," Juliana responded. "I'm sorry about what happened."

Juliana didn't wait for Sam to respond. She crossed her arms and turned around, following the path that Tory and Aisha had taken.

Juliana thought that she had more pressing matters to tend to. She was finally going to ask her parents about what they were keeping from her, and she wasn't going to take "nothing" for an answer.

— EMILIA'S NOTES

uh ohhh mall fight is coming up... i fear it's not going to end well

alsoooo slowly but surely the mystery is being revealed and you'll get some more next chapter! i just love keeping y'all on your toes.

i have also recasted nicolás (juliana's dad) so yeahh he's portrayed by pedro pascal now  :)