"Three more absences, Sensei." Miguel spoke the following day, the class smaller then it had been yesterday.

"Bunch of pussies." Aisha commented, Alexa between the two with squinted eyes.

"No, it's my fault." Johnny spoke up with a shake of his head. "Since you joined Cobra Kai, I have been hard on you. I've called you names. I've humiliated you. Some of you i've hit. And for that, I don't apologize. Cobra Kai is about strength. If you're not strong on the inside, you can't be strong on the outside. And right now, you're all weak. And I know that because I was you. I used to have no friends, use to be the weirdo kid. Not that weird. I hooked up with babes and all, but...The point is, I wasn't always the badass sensei I am today. Just like a cobra, I had to shed my loser skin to find my true power. And you guys will too."

Alexa held her head up higher, a confident grin across her lips.

The bell rung as Johnny looked over. "Welcome to Cobra Kai."

Alexa took a double take when she went to check out the new student, gapping. "Eli?"

"What happened?" Miguel blinked in shock.

"I'm flipped the script." he said with a confident grin. Alexa looked back at Miguel with a beaming face.

"Wait. Are you the kid with the lip?" Johnny walked toward him in shock. "Nice cut, bro. You see that? Doesn't matter if you're a loser or a nerd or a freak. All that matters is that you become badass."

He turned toward Eli again. "Hawk. Fall in."

Alexa gave a side smirk, moving over to make room for him. Johnny stood before him. "Fear does not exist in this dojo, does it!"

"No, sensei." he answered in return.

He moved to Alexa. "Weakness does not exist in this dojo, does it?"

"No, Sensei." Alexa said back, straightening up with her hands behind her back.

"Pain does not exist in this dojo, does it?" he stoped before Aisha.

"No, sensei." she answered him.

Finally, Johnny stopped before Miguel. "Defeat does not exist in this dojo, does it?"

"No, Sensei." the Diaz boy shook his head.

"Class, are you ready to learn the way of the fist?" Sensei Lawrence faced front.

"Yes, Sensei!"

"Stop being such a pussy, Demetri." Alexa spoke in annoyance as she laid across her bed.

"A p- you have a black eye!" he shot at her, Alexa holding a pack of peas to her face. "You expect me to be okay with that?"

"It's not your body." she sat up with an eye roll. "It's part of it, and i'm cool with that."

"Do you even hear yourself?" Demetri asked as Alexa got off the bed. "You're cool with being beat up? Just to, what? Prove a point?"

A struck a nerve, because he'd never understand why she started in the first place.

"I wouldn't expect you to understand." she rolled her eyes. "But, at least you can support me."

"I do support you! Doesn't mean I support the idea of you getting beat up." he tossed his hands above his head, following her to the kitchen. "I mean, I love your face. It makes me sad seeing it all bruised up."

Alexa looked back. "What about no glasses?"

"Yeah, totally. I like seeing you're full face." he nodded, leaning on the bar as she opened the fridge. "Lex."

"We all had to take a punch to the face. Not gonna happen again." Alexa shook he head, cracking an egg on the side of her head before swallowing the yoke. Demetri cringed as she did so, looking in shock as she trashed the shell. "Wanna make out?"

He blinked. "What?"

"Ty isn't home." she shrugged. It wasn't that they hadn't kissed before. They had, though it wasn't necessary constant. But, most definitely, never have they full on made out. "You don't wanna?"

"Psh, what? Yeah!" he announced, making her grin. "Heck yeah! Lead the way!"

"Son of a bitch." Alexa twisted her back to try and get it to pop. "That round house kick totally pulled my back out."

"Roll." Hawk encouraged, making Alexa do so on the ground.

"I need somewhere romantic but not too romantic." Miguel continued to voice his worry about his first 'not date' with Sam. Aisha rolled her eyes.

Hawk leaned over Alexas back, pressing down hard as an extremely loud moan of pain escape her lips at the sudden crack. "Ow."

"Feel better?" he asked, Alexa sat up, and it clearly had by the way she was moving better. Hawk grinned to Miguel. "You could take her to her tattoos."

The trio looked in confusion as Aisha laughed. "What?"

Hawk got to his feet quickly. "I know a guy, just hooked me up with this bad boy."

He pulled his gi off, turning around and showing off the large Hawk on his back. Alexa gapped. "Dude, that's so sick!"

"That is badass." Aisha agreed.

"Right?" Hawk grinned over his shoulder. "Fourteen hours in the chair."

He turned, giving a grunt in the mirror to flex his muscles. Alexa cracked a grin. "So cute, Hawk. So cute."

"Are your parents okay with that?" Aisha spoke up as he turned around, pulling his gi back on.

"Oh, they have no idea." he admitted shyly. "Definitely gonna have to wear a T-shirt until college. Probably longer. Please don't tell them."

"Uh...any suggestions? Lexi?" Miguel spoke up, looking toward Alexa as she leaned forward the stretch her limbs. "You and Demetri go on dates, right?"

"Cheesecake Factory. Run through the woods like maniacs." Alexa listed on with a minor shrug. "We also go to Painting with a Twist, sometimes we just-"

Miguel looked over as Hawk cut in. "Sometimes they just stay home and do puzzles."

"We do not!" she reached over and hit him. "That's nerd shit."

"Aisha?" Miguel looked her way hopefully.

"Don't look at me." she shook her head his way. "Sam and I used to be friends. We're not anymore."

"Okay, but I need your help." Miguel looked into a begging manor.

Aisha huffed in disbelief. "Fine. Um...I know that she likes chocolate and astronomy."

"A lady of taste, I reckon." Alexa said in the worst english accent.

"I could work with that." Miguel grinned thankfully.

"Banned?" Johnnys voice rang from the office, having the teens look over as Miguel got to his feet, hurrying in.

"You've trained hard." Johnny spoke the next morning as the kids stood below him, his feet planted on one of the cars in the junk yard. "You've gotten stronger, tougher, faster. You've done your best. You're ready for this tournament, am I right?"

"Yes, Sensei!" they all called back to him.

Sensei Lawrence threw the beer can down. "Wrong! Your best ain't shit! If you wanna win the All Valley Under-18 Karate Tournament, you gotta give me better than your best. Which is why from now on, you're gonna get my worst. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sensei!"

"Are you losers?"

"No, Sensei!"

"Are you nerds?"

"No, Sensei!"

"Are you sure?"

"No, Sensei!"

"Yeah, put that anger into it!" Johnny encouraged as Miguel tightened the safety goggles on Alexa, passing her the sledge hammer. She lifted it over her head, the weight of it yanking her backwards as she fell over. "Oh, shit."

"I'm fine!" she got to her feet again, pulling the sledge hammer with her. "I'm all- Talk is cheap!"

The group gapped as she broke the car windows, doing the same to the windshield. "Yeah, you little bitch!"

"Yeah, show no mercy!" Sensei Lawrence continued to cheer her on.

After they jogged through old tires, walked across a beam with glass and other harmful factors, smashed through some more cars, Johnny lined them up. "You wanna win? You gotta be hungry. You guys hungry?"

"Yes, Sensei." they answered, munching at the beef jerky he gave to each of them.

"Good. Cause so are they." he said in return, blowing a whistle, the noise of dogs barking getting their attention to look over, seeing multiple, large dogs running their way.

"Oh shit!" Aisha exclaimed as they all took off. Alexa ran toward the nearest car, one hot one her feet as she jumped up on the back of one of the cars, nearly sliding off before pulling herself up again.

"There you go!" Johnny encouraged her.

"Aye, you better jump, Hawk!" Alexa yelled as he struggled to get up on one of the trucks, the dog running his way as a yell escaped his lips when it's teeth sunk into him.

•

kylie speaks

so i've written ahead slightly
in this book and robby and
alexa actually interact some
in this book too for all of you,
including myself, that miss
them!!!