Tʜᴇ Pʀɪᴢᴇ
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Jamie looks up as a knock is heard at her door, "Come in."
Amber pushes the door open with a small smile on her face, "Are you busy?"
"No, just on the phone with Sienna." Jamie says turning the phone to Amber
Sienna waves with a smile on her face, "Hi, Amber."
"Hey, honey." Amber smiles before looking back to Jamie, "I just needed to talk to you about something really quick."
"Okay." Jamie nods, "I gotta go, Sienna."
"Yeah, call me later."
"I will. Bye."
"Bye." Sienna sings before hanging up. Jamie sets her phone down as Amber sits on the edge of her bed, "What's up?"
"Well, there's two things I wanna bring up to you." Amber says as Jamie nods, "First, what happened at practice the other day?"
Jamie sighs, "How did you find out about that?"
"I saw Johnny when I was taking the trash out." Amber says as Jamie looks down, "What happened, Jamie?"
"I was just having a bad day." Jamie says, "Priscilla showed up and I exploded."
"Priscilla? The one you got in a fight with?"
"Fights." Jamie corrects, "And yes, her. She wants to join the dojo and Mr. LaRusso let her. I'd just rather not be around her."
"Well, Jamie if we're being honest, she poses no threat to you." Amber chuckles, "You've come this far in karate and you wanna quit because of her?"
"It's not that I wanna quit Mom, it's that I don't want to be around her." Jamie says, "I can be civil with Sam and Tory, but I can't do that with her. She drives me crazy."
Amber sighs, "I understand that at this point in your life, you'd rather protect your peace. But Jamie, you're about to leave the country to compete in a world tournament. That's bigger than anything you've ever done."
"So, I should just forget everything she's done and act buddy-buddy?"
"No, but you're not gonna let her ruin something that you've grown passionate about. If you do that, she wins in the end."
Jamie looks at her as Amber raises her brows, "You're right."
"I know."
"I should probably talk to Miguel." Jamie sighs, "What was the other thing you needed to talk about?"
Amber's face falls slowly before she lets out a sigh, "Your dad is going to be here in a few days with his wife to have dinner with us."
Jamie's eyes widen, "What?"
"I know you don't want to see him, but I thought it'd be a good idea since you're gonna be leaving to compete and then starting college soon."
Jamie groans as she covers her face, "Mom."
"Jamie, you can't avoid him forever."
"It's only been a few months." Jamie says, "Why doesn't anyone understand that forgiveness takes time?"
"I understand that, Jamie, but it's just dinner."
Jamie huffs as she shuts her eyes in frustration. She opens them as she stands up grabbing her phone, "I'm gonna go find Miguel."
Amber lets out a small sigh as Jamie walks out of the room. Jamie silently leaves the apartment before heading downstairs. Hoping Miguel was home so she could calm her nerves.
When she makes it to the last step, Miguel walks out of his apartment with a box in his hand. Jamie frowns, "Miguel?"
Miguel looks up and a smile immediately covers his face. He sets the box down on a bench as she walks over, "Hi."
"What's going on?" She says
"Oh, um, pipe bursted in my apartment so it's all flooded." Miguel explains, "We're moving in with Sensei until it's fixed."
"Oh my god." Jamie says, "Everyone's okay, right?"
"Yeah, of course." Miguel waves her off, "What about you? Are you okay?"
Jamie opens her mouth to start speaking before sighing. She steps closer and wraps her arms around Miguel's waist. He doesn't hesitate to hug her back. Wrapping his arms around her neck before placing his head on top of hers.
"Everything okay?"
"Do you want me to be honest?" She mumbles
Miguel chuckles, "Of course I do."
"Well." She sighs, "I'm still upset about the other day, still scared of the future, and to top it all off, my mom just told me my dad is bringing his wife over for dinner in a couple of days."
Miguel brows furrow, "Jeez."
"I know." She says pulling away slightly, "As if the universe couldn't hate me anymore."
Miguel tucks a piece of hair behind her ear and leaves his hand on her cheek, "The universe doesn't hate you, baby."
"It sure as hell feels like it."
"You're just feeling a lot of pressure."
"The most pressure."
"Which is normal when you're trying to figure out the rest of your life." He says, "But you don't have to figure it all out right now. You just take it day by day."
"And what if taking it day by day is still too much?"
Miguel tilts his head in thought, "Take it hour by hour then." Jamie chuckles shaking her head. Miguel smiles softly, "Or minute by minute. Second by second. Either way you're not alone in this."
"Thank you." Jamie says softly
"You don't have to thank me." He says before placing a soft kiss on her lips
Jamie sighs as he pulls away, "My mom thinks I should go back to the dojo."
"I know I want you there." Miguel says, "If anyone deserves a spot in the tournament, it's you."
"Did they let her join?"
"Yeah." He sighs, "She's only been talking to Kenny though. No one else has really been giving her the time of day."
"I'd rather not have to deal with her on a daily basis."
"You don't have to." Miguel shrugs, "You were there first and you're training for the biggest tournament of the world. Act like she doesn't even exist."
Jamie purses her lips in thought before sighing. Miguel notices how deep in her head she's getting and places both of his hands on her cheeks, "You don't have to figure it out now. Okay?"
Jamie nods softly, "Okay."
"For now, you can help me bring in the other boxes?" He says
Jamie smiles, "Your idea for my bringing up bad mood is putting me to work?"
"It's not that much work." He says picking the box up, "Just boxes."
Jamie rolls her eyes playfully before heading toward his apartment, "You're lucky I love you."
"Luckiest ever." He calls out causing Jamie to chuckle
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Miguel glances down at the pamphlet in his hand as he walks slowly down the hall. He looks over as Jamie comes up beside him, "Hey."
"Hey." He says, "Whoa, you got a lot of brochures."
"Yeah, okay, but don't be worried." Jamie says, "I mostly just have them because my mom wants me to keep my options open. Incase I don't get into Stanford, at least three are close."
"Oh, come on. I haven't even gotten in." Miguel scoffs, "Please."
"Hey!" Demetri says as he, Sienna, and Eli stop in front of them
"What's up?" Eli says
"All of our trials and tribulations of nerdom have finally come to this. We're the belles of the ball." Demetri says
"Is that what we are?" Miguel says with raised brows
"Oh, yes, my friend. They are fumbling around our dresses trying to cop a feel of our tantalizing brains."
Jamie and Sienna's faces scrunch up in disgust as Miguel's head falls back in embarrassment.
"Okay, that's where I leave you." Jamie says
"I'm sorry." Miguel mumbles before Jamie kisses him
"Good luck." She says as Sienna kisses Eli
"Thank you." He says as the two friends walk off
"Okay." Sienna sighs, "Seems like a few places caught your eye."
"I guess, but I really wanna go to Stanford." Jamie says, "None of these other places really matter."
"There's no way you don't get in."
"Anything can happen. Stanford is an amazing school and there's only a 4% acceptance rate."
"And you're apart of that 4%." Sienna says as Jamie sighs, "JJ, have some faith in yourself. You gotta start giving yourself more credit."
"I'm trying, but it's hard when you're applying to somewhere like Stanford." She says pushing the door open
"Having faith is already like 70% of getting in there." Sienna says as they sit on a bench, "If you psych yourself out, you're already failing."
Jamie furrows her brows, "Where did all these encouraging words come from?"
"They've always been there." Sienna shrugs, "Just waiting for the right person."
Jamie smiles softly before looking down at her hands. Her mind slowly travels back to the other night. Her fears resurfacing as she continues to think, "Sienna?"
"Hm?" The girl hums
"We're still gonna be friends after all this right?"
Sienna frowns, "What do you mean?"
"Like after the tournament, when we graduate and go off to college." She says looking to her, "We'll still be friends right?"
"Duh." Sienna chuckles, "What makes you think we won't?"
"Well, because life happens. My mom is only friends with like 3 people from high school. She tells me all the time how she and her best friend grew apart as they grew up. What if that happens to us?"
"It's not. I can guarantee that."
"How?"
"Because it's us. You're like my sister, Jamie. You couldn't get rid of me if you tried. I love you too much." Sienna says as Jamie looks off, "Is that what the other night at the dojo was about?"
Jamie sighs, "Eli told you?"
"Yeah. He said you blew up on Priscilla and your senseis." She says as Jamie picked at her fingers, "As much as she deserved it, I've known something was bothering you. I just figured you were nervous about the tournament."
"I am." Jamie chuckles
"Yeah, but it's more than that."
"I'm just scared that everything is gonna change." Jamie says looking at Sienna, "My life has been so fast paced the last two years and so many things have changed. It freaked me out while it was happening, but now that I can actually sit and think about it, I'm noticing just how much has changed and how fast its happened. Then there's still more that's gonna change."
"JJ, change is a good thing. People who don't accept change, don't grow. They spend their lives watching as everyone around them enjoys their own and get great things. All because they're too scared that what they're used to might be different."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." She mumbles
Sienna scoots closer and wraps her arm around Jamie's shoulder, "It's not a bad thing to be afraid that things could change, but you have to accept it. The people around you will change with you. Now whether that's a good or bad change is up to them, but the people you have around you are good people. None of us are leaving you."
Jamie turns to Sienna, " Promise?"
"I promise." Sienna nods before pulling Jamie to lay her head on her shoulder. Jamie sighs as Sienna rubs her shoulder.
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After getting a text from Eli letting the girls know that the boys ended up at a restaurant close to the campus, the girls headed over there. As they walked in, they saw Eli, Demetri, and another boy at an arcade game.
"Eli." Sienna calls out as they walk over
Eli smiles, "Hey."
Sienna reaches up and places a kiss on his lips. Eli wraps his arms around her waist to pull her closer.
"Okay, I'd rather not see you guys devour each other." Demetri says
"I second that." Jamie cringes
"Whatever." Sienna says rolling her eyes
"Uh, where's Miguel?"
"He was at one of the tables with Kyler." Eli says
"Kyler?" Jamie and Sienna exclaim
"Yeah, they're right there." Eli points. The girls turn and to their surprise, Miguel was in fact sitting, sitting at a table with Kyler.
"What the hell?" Sienna says, "When did that happen?"
"We met up with him while doing one of the tours." Demetri says, "Took us to a party and everything."
"A party?" The girls say
"Uh, yeah." Eli says scratching the bad of his head. Sienna turns to him with an irritated look. Eli's eyes widen slightly before turning to Jamie, "You should go talk to him."
Jamie nods with furrowed brows before walking off to the table. The last thing she expected today, was to see Miguel and Kyler actually having a conversation. While Jamie was a forgiving person, she would've never forgiven Kyler had he done to her what he did to Miguel. Her steps slow as she approaches the table, "Uh, hey."
Miguel and Kyler turn to her. Miguel smiles, "Oh, hey. You remember Kyler right?"
"Yeah, of course." She says forcing a smile in his direction
"Nice to see you." Kyler says, "I'll leave you with your girl. Gonna go check out that frat."
"Yeah, I'll see you man." Miguel says as they dap each other up before Kyler is off
Jamie turns to Miguel, "So, you guys are good now?"
"I guess." Miguel shrugs, "Kyler is..Kyler."
"Right." Jamie nods
"So, did you get any more brochures?"
"No, not really. It was mostly Sienna and I people watching." Jamie chuckles
"Does Sienna know where she's going yet?"
"No, she's still weighing her options. She's not even sure she wants to actually go to college."
"Well, she still has some time."
"Yeah." Jamie shrugs, "I heard you went to a party."
Miguel laughs, "Yeah, if you wanna call it that."
"Was it fun?"
"It was okay. There was a little bit of a fight."
"With who?"
"All of us." Miguel nods with a sigh
"For what?" Jamie giggles
"These assholes that were messing with Kyler."
Jamie's brows raise, "Oh, so the bully was getting bullied?"
Miguel tilts his with a small smile, "Yes, but they really were just being assholes. He thought he was actually going to get into the frat, but they were just using him."
"Well, don't you think it's a little bit of karma for all the shit he was doing to you guys?"
"It probably was, but still."
Jamie shrugs, "If you wanna put that in the past, that's up to you."
Miguel reaches over and grabs her arm to pull her closer. He adjusts himself in his seat to pull her to stand in between his legs. He tugs her arm a little to bring her closer before kissing her. Jamie pulls away with a smile before placing another kiss on him.
"Oh, but when we do it, it's a crime." Eli says
Jamie rolls her eyes as the two turn to their friends. Demetri tilts his head, "The difference is, there's no tongue."
"Exactly." Jamie says
"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I have about 10 minutes to get something to eat before I blow a fuse."
"I don't need to see that." Eli says
"Me either." Jamie sighs before turning and pulling Miguel up from his seat. Miguel smiles as he wraps his arm around her shoulders and the two follow their friends.
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