Whenever You Knock Me Down...
Mei-Ying
I was taking a break from practicing violin, wishing that my parents would lay-off about the whole scholarship sometimes. It was becoming impossible for me to just relax and have fun. Day and night it was Bach, or Beethoven, or Mozart. I looked around at the courtyard, seeing Cheng and his friends walking around the courtyard, talking. An unmistakable air of superiority hung around them, as everyone backed away from them whenever they walked by. Everyone was afraid of them. Whoever challenged them would be destroyed. Whoever decided to get in their way would be destroyed. So therefore, no one challenged them.
Suddenly, my eye caught on a caramel colored kid. His hair was fascinating, tied into many braids, and shiny. He was being beat by Wang Jianming, the champion of pingpong. Only newcomers would be stupid enough to challenge him when it came to table tennis, or in China, as we like to call it, 乒乓球. The kid was holding out pretty well, at least he wasn't being nailed onto the floor like most kids would whenever they played him. As I watched, he forfeited and suddenly, as though feeling my gaze, looked over and met my gaze. His eyes were brown, like everyone else here, but they were a lighter shade, and they were sparkling with a joke that I hadn't yet heard of. He was special.
However, as quickly as he'd looked over, he looked away. I felt disappointed for a second, but brushed the thought away. Who cared anyway. The kid was just different, and it's not like he'd make a difference in my life. I went back to looking at my music sheets and wishing my parents would lay-off. Suddenly, when I looked up, the caramel colored kid was standing on front of me. He was talking to me. He was extremely funny, mainly because I'd never met anyone who talked like that before. Whenever people spoke in english here, it was all formal. The way he talked, there was a lilt in his voice, just like his eyes, they were remembering a joke that I hadn't heard of yet. His name was Dre. "I'm Mei-Ying."
Finally, I got up the courage to ask, "C-can I touch your hair?" I'd been staring at his shiny locks for the past five minutes, and I finally blurted out what I wanted to say. Dre looked surprised for a moment, like no one had asked him this question before. Then, he smiled awkwardly and bent down slightly. I tentatively reached out a hand to touch. His hair was tied exquisitely, and there was roughness at the top.
He offered to let me listen to his music, and I accepted. The music was a bit like my C-Pop music, only there were guys rapping in English. I couldn't understand what they were saying, because they spoke too fast, but I liked the beat. It was louder than all the music I heard. Unconsciously, I began to nod my head to the music. "Oh you like it do you?" Dre asked. He began dancing to the music in a fashion that I, (yet again), had never seen before. I laughed loudly at his amusing antics. Everyone in our family was so serious, and my friends were all focused, it was nice meeting someone different for a change.
Suddenly, Dre got pushed to the ground. I looked up, surprised, and saw Cheng. Oh dear. Cheng had had feelings for me since we were young. Our family were very close friends, but even if Cheng acted charming on front of the parents, I knew how he treated others. He acted like he was the top, and they were all scum. That wasn't fair. That wasn't humane in my opinion. "You should be practicing," Cheng said roughly.
"It's none of your business!" I wanted to cry out.
"I could tell your parents, they'd be very disappointed in you," Cheng added, playing the parent card.
I was so distressed, I didn't notice Dre get up. Before I knew it, Dre had challenged Cheng to a fight, and Cheng's friends had grabbed me by the arms. I shook my head, not wanting to watch. However good Dre could be at kung fu, it wasn't enough. Cheng had been brought up with karate. No mercy was the only rule.
However much I didn't want to watch, I couldn't manage to close my eyes. I watched Cheng punch, kick, and bruise Dre's face. Finally, I let a tear leak down my face as Cheng finally knocked Dre to the floor of the area. "Let him go!" I cried.
Cheng left him alone, and let Dre go, "You should be practicing, go," he muttered, and walked away, his friends following him. I ran up to Dre, and examined his face.
"Are you okay?" I asked quietly, as Harry, the other American boy ran up.
"Leave me alone," Dre murmured.
Harry and I hesitated, but after Dre insisted, I left him alone. As I walked away, I looked back and saw Dre on the ground, screwing up his eyes in pain.
All of a sudden, Dre was on the ground again. Only this time, this was competition. This time, there was more pain. Cheng had sprained Dre's leg. He'd hurt it with a kick. Dre's face was screwed up in pain, and his arms were cradeling his hurt leg. "GET UP DRE!" I screamed. "GET UP!" The audience took up my chant, and suddenly, the entire audience was encouraging the underdog to stand back up on his feet.
Slowly, and painfully, with more pain and effort, I realized, than Cheng had faced in his entire life, Dre got to his feet. The room burst into cheers. He stared deep into Cheng's eyes, and a silence appeared to fill the room. Everyone was holding there breath, waiting to see what would happen next. This was the match point. When Dre moved his head, Cheng unconsciously moved his head to. I watched scared on edge, as Cheng attacked. All of a sudden, in a flash, Dre jumped into the air and kicked Cheng down onto the ground. I felt myself let out a huge breath that I didn't realize I'd been holding the whole time. Dre's mom was jumping for joy, and Dre's face was in a wide style.
Me, tears were leaking down my face from pent up emotion. I hadn't let myself believe I was terrified until now. When Cheng gave Dre the trophy, Dre's face was priceless. He was smiling so widely, that I was sure he'd get a ripped muscle in his cheeks. I rushed forward in the crowd to meet Dre. Dre was standing with Mr. Han, talking to him.
When I walked up to Dre, he turned towards me and smiled at me. "Hi Mei-Ying!"
"Hello Dre. You won," I smiled at him, giving him a hug.
He looked at me. "I almost lost though," he said ruefully. "Cheng's probably still better than me," he admitted.
"You are truly better than Cheng, because you got back up. The hardest thing to do when your about to lose is to get back up off the ground and fight. So today, you are the winner in ways more than one," I told him. His eyes widened.
"Wow," he said, summarizing everything he meant in onen word. "Thanks." As the crowd surged forward to greet the champion, I blended into the crowd, letting Dre enjoy his moment, shining in the spotlight, his eyes still sparkling with the joke he still hadn't told me.
Whenever you knock me down, I will not stay on the ground...
A/N: Well, this is my one-shot for Karate Kid (2010). What do you think? Read and review! -Catherine