Disclaimer: I do not own Kickin' It.
My Taxi Driver
Kimberly Beulah Crawford; a 25 year old woman, known as just Kim, who works as a sensei at the Otai Academy in Japan.
Kim is taking a trip to New York for her summer vacation, wanting to have some fun before going back to training a group of younger martial artists. She has a couple of friends living here in Manhattan named Julie and Milton, who are letting her stay with them for about two months.
She walked out of the airport and smiled at the unfriendly atmosphere. Okay, that may sound weird, but Kim is happy to be on vacation, even in a place as dangerous as New York. She is a martial artist after all.
With her one suitcase by her side, she let out a whistle and yelled out, "Yo, taxi!" Causing a yellow cab to stop in front of her.
Unlike most taxi drivers would do, the man stepped out of the vehicle and shot her a friendly smile before helping her put her bag in the trunk of the car.
"Good evening Miss." He opened the backseat door for her before going to the other side of the car and sitting behind the steering wheel, "Where to?"
Kim smiled at the friendly attitude of her taxi driver, he didn't look like a stereotypical taxi driver at all. He had slightly long brown hair that reached his mid-neck, as well as dark brown eyes, two moles, one on each cheek, and looked very well built. He also seemed a little young, probably around Kim's age.
She read the address Julie had given her out to him as he nodded and started up the car.
Kim would have just had either one of the married couple pick her up, but being scientists was busy work and they were both working late that night.
"Wow. That's a two hour drive..." He commented after hearing the address.
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I can switch cabs later if you'd like." Kim responded, being as nice as she always is.
"No, it's fine. I don't mind. So what brings you to New York, Miss?" Asked the driver curiously, as he kept his eyes on the road.
"Well I have some friends here, so I decided it would be a fun and adventurous place to spend my summer." She replied happily, "Oh, and you can call me Kim."
"Then I hope you have a great summer Kim." He smiled, "And you can call me Jack."
"Thank you, Jack." She smiled at him through the rear-view mirror, which he returned.
Not wanting the other to be uncomfortable, they stayed quiet for about five minutes before one of them spoke up.
"Have you been to New York before?"
"Actually, I have. I had been taking a break from my job in Japan, about two years ago. I stopped by Brooklyn for some time off. Then I learned that Brooklyn isn't the ideal place for relaxing." Kim responded, causing Jack to chuckle slightly.
"You work in Japan? Really?" He asked her, quite surprised.
"Yeah, at the Otai Academy for Martial Arts." Kim told him, a proud smile gently forming on her lips.
"That's amazing." Jack commented, amazed by her level of skill.
"Thanks. It's always been a dream of mine to study at the Otai Academy, so when they offered me a job as a sensei after I graduated, I couldn't say no." Kim explained, happily.
"It must be a blast there. I actually attended the Otai Academy a little while back. But I got kicked out after the first semester..." Jack said, ending with a frown at the memory.
"Why did they kick you out?" She asked him, slightly shocked.
"Some jerk was force kissing a girl during lunch so I hit him. Hard. He ended up really hurt so I got in a lot of trouble." Jack told her, rolling his eyes at what had happened, "I just didn't like the way he was treating her. No one should be treated like that."
"But if he attended the academy shouldn't he have been able to fight back?" Kim asked him, partially confused.
"Well yeah, but it wasn't fair cause I had gotten my third degree black belt but he was only a first degree." He explained, shrugging lightly.
"Wow..." Kim mumbled quietly, thinking over the story that she was just told, "It was still really nice of you to stand up for that girl, though."
"Thanks," Jack smiled, turning to her as he stopped at a red light.
"No problem." She smiled back at him.
"Looks like we're gonna be here for a few minutes; traffic jam." Jack informed her, sighing softly.
"That's alright. So tell me about yourself, why did you become a cab driver after you left Otai?" Kim asked him, "If you don't want to talk about it that's fine though."
"No, I don't mind. But usually passengers don't really talk to me, they just expect me to drop them off and be quiet the whole time." He told her, trying to hold back a grin.
"I just get a good vibe from you, you seem like a really nice person." She replied honestly, smiling at him.
"Well thank you Kim, I get the same from you." Jack smiled back, being as truthful as she was, "And uh, it's actually a weird story. After I left, my parents said I could move to New York to get a job until I find a new school to go to. I got a great job at a diner, but after two years of working there, it got closed down. I thought it would be easier for me to just get a job as a cab driver since I had learned all the roads anyway and I couldn't find any college to take me in after the rumor of me beating someone up started. And then the job just stuck, so I kept it going. I do also have a part time job as a sensei at a local karate dojo."
"That's actually pretty unique." Kim commented, smirking with admiration.
He chuckled slightly before responding, "Thanks, that's not usually the response I get to that story."
"What can I say? I admire individuality." Kim joked, "And you, Sir, are full of it."
Jack laughed lightly, still keeping his eyes on the road. "Hey, do you want to listen to the radio?"
"Sure, I love music." Kim smiled.
"Me too. I couldn't live without my guitar." Jack told her, turning the nob to switch the radio on.
"You play guitar? Me too!" Kim said excitedly.
"Well then, you are one fun person, Kim..." He trailed off at the end.
"Crawford. Kim Crawford." She told him.
"You are one fun person Kim Crawford. Stated Jack Brewer on the 6th of June at 9:37 PM." Jack said, causing Kim to laugh softly.
After a moment of laughing, Kim paused and grew a huge smile, Oh my gosh...I love this song!"
Jack listened closely for a second before grinning and turning up the volume, "Me too."
The two then started singing the song together, "Don't you, get all tough with me, I'm sayin', won't you, come kick it with me, and we can have a ball and run up the wall, that's just how we do, and no matter how much I chop and punch, it's not as cool as kickin' it with you!"
The duo started laughing together as the rest of the song played.
"That. Was awesome." Kim grinned happily.
"So awesome. Victoria Rocks, rocks." Jack agreed, referring to the singer of their favorite song.
"Yeah, music used to be so good. Singers like Victoria Rocks, Austin Moon, Izzy Gunner. They were the best." Kim said, smiling at the memories.
"You used to listen to Izzy Gunner?" Jack asked her, completely shocked but also thrilled.
"Of course. Every day and night. You can't beat Izzy Gunner." She stated, smirking a little bit.
"Wow...You're definitely the coolest person I've ever met." Jack grinned, making a right turn.
"Same goes to you." Kim grinned back, a slight giggle escaping her lips.
The two drove in silence for about two minutes until Jack started to speak,
"You know Kim-" He took a glance at his rear-view mirror and smiled at the reflection of Kim sleeping against the window.
About twenty three minutes later Kim woke up and glanced around at her surroundings hazily before panicking in her head.
Oh my gosh...What idiot falls asleep in a taxi, alone, with some stranger as driver!?
Especially in New York!
So many bad things could happen!
"Uh...Where are we going?" She asked nervously.
"To the address you gave me." Jack responded nicely.
"Oh..." Phew!
"Did you sleep well?" Jack asked with a chuckle and a tiny smirk.
Kim shot him a playful glare, "Shut up."
"Not a very nice thing to say to your cab driver, now is it?" He questioned, still laughing a little as Kim rolled her eyes.
"Believe it or not, that's the nicest I've ever been." She joked, an amused smile appearing on her lips.
"Well then, I'm glad you're so nice to me." Jack laughed, grinning as he glanced at her through the rear-view mirror again.
"You're welcome!" Kim cheered jokingly, as they both started laughing together.
"So other than being awesome and teaching martial arts, what do you do?" He asked her, pretty interested in her interests.
"Usually I practice gymnastics, read books, eat frozen yogurt and...Sleep." Kim answered, causing Jack to laugh a little at that last one.
"I too like to eat and sleep." He joked, getting a giggle from her.
"Well who doesn't?" Kim questioned him, a sarcastic tone in her voice.
"People who don't like to eat and sleep." Jack stated simply, a tiny smirk forming on his lips.
"Wow, that's a really smart answer." She commented, rolling her eyes at the man.
"I know right! I'm a genius!" He laughed before going back to their earlier conversation, "So you're a gymnast?"
"Yep. I've been doing gymnastics since before I learned to walk." She smirked proudly.
"Well I've been eating since before I learned to sit. So ha." He joked once more, getting a laugh from Kim again, which caused him to grin.
"It's really fun acting like a five year old." Kim stated jokingly.
"Yeah. Sometimes I wish I was still a kid..."
"Me too. It's like people grow up in a blink of an eye." Kim commented.
"I know right. Just ten minutes ago I was a 6 year old running around with a toy spaceship and now I'm twenty five and working in New York." Jack agreed, reliving old memories as he spoke.
"True..." Kim mumbled, glancing at the ground for a little while.
"So what about you, what do you do other than be awesome, drive, sleep and eat?" Kim queried curiously.
"Nothin'. That's pretty much all I ever do. Especially eat. And sleep. And be awesome." Jack grinned childishly, as Kim laughed lightly at his silliness.
"Wow. You live one interesting life Jack Brewer." Kim told him sarcasitcally.
"Yeah, I bet I'm the most interesting person you've ever met." He smirked at her through the mirror once again.
"Not even close."
"Hurtful. I can tell you now that you're the most fun person I will ever meet." He stated, pouting a little bit.
"Well thank you." She smiled, "But you still aren't the most interesting person I've ever met."
"Oh yeah? Who could possibly be more interesting than me?" He smirked from his seat.
"Bobby Wasabi." Kim stated, smirking as well.
"Okay, you've got me there." Jack admitted, shrugging softly.
"Wait. You know him?"
"Yeah, my grandfather had trained him for all his movies so I got to meet him a few times."
"Wow. That's actually pretty cool. You're officially in the top five most interesting people I've ever met." Kim stated, smirking a t little.
"Yay!" Jack cheered with a small grin, causing the both of them to laugh.
"Why are there so many cars!? Who drives this late at night!?" Kim yelled in frustration at the traffic jam they were stuck in.
"Kim. It's New York. Who doesn't drive this late?" He reasoned, making Kim roll her eyes, "Besides, you like that we get to hang out more."
"That's so not true." Kim lied, her voice going higher than it usually is.
"Has anyone ever told you that you're a horrible liar?" He smirked slightly.
"Okay, fine, whatever." She mumbled, "And actually yes, I've been told."
"I thought so. But then again, I can't really judge. I'm the worst liar in the history of liars." Jack joked with a chuckle.
"Whaaaat? No, I am." Kim argued.
"No way. I am so the worst liar ever." Jack responded, glancing at her.
"If anyone is the worst liar in the world, it's me."
"That's not even possible. It's definitely me. Even you can lie better than I can." Jack stated.
"Okay, that's where you're wrong. Everyone on this earth can lie better than I can." Kim defended, "Wait. Are we seriously arguing about who is worse at lying?"
The two of them then thought through what just happened before bursting out laughing.
"I guess we are..." Jack mumbled, with a goofy smile playing on his lips, "It's fun though."
"I know right. I'm just so fun to be around, aren't I?" Kim smirked.
"Actually, you are." He agreed with a sweet smile.
"Really?" Kim asked, blushing just a little.
"Yeah. This has been the best hour and a half of driving I've ever been through." Jack grinned.
"It's been an hour and a half already? Really?" Kim asked with shock.
"Yup." He replied, as Kim got up and began stepping over the passenger's seat armrest, "What'cha doin'?"
"Sitting in the passengers seat." Kim answered simply while sitting in the seat and strapping on her seat-belt.
"Why?" He asked curiously.
"'Cause it's easier to talk to you like this." She stated simply.
"So you enjoy talking to me?" He smiled at her.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that..." She mumbled as a blush started to appear on her cheeks.
"Well I enjoy talking to you too." He told her, before gaining a goofy grin, "So do you normally switch seats in the middle of a drive?"
"No, just when the driver is awesome."
"Then I'm very flattered." He smirked, sending her a wink.
"You should be, the only other person I call awesome is myself." Kim showed a large smirk next.
Jack chuckled as they continued to talk and he continued to drive.
They each got to know each other more and made each other laugh and smile every ten seconds.
"We're almost there. Just five more minutes." Jack told her after a while.
"Great. I can't wait to sleep. And sleep. And sleep." Kim grinned dreamily.
"Are you just going to sleep the entire time?" Jack smirked with a raised brow.
"No!" She replied, annoyed at how unfit he thought she was, "I'm also going to eat."
"Wow. Thanks for proving my point." He replied.
"You're very welcome." She smiled, before realizing what just happened, "Wait..."
Jack chuckled again, for the millionth time during their ride.
"You keep doing that." Kim told him.
"Doing what?" He asked with a raised brow, keeping his eyes on the road. Not literally of course...
"Chuckling. Like every five minutes." She answered, taking her turn to raise a brow now.
"That's 'cause you're funny." He stated, smiling softly.
"Awe. Well thank ya." She grinned proudly and sat back in her chair.
"You're welcome...Ya." Jack responded, causing Kim to giggle at his silliness.
The two twenty-five year olds continued to laugh together as they reached the address Kim had given Jack when they first met.
"Well, we're here." He sighed with a sweet smile.
"Yeah," She smiled back and opened her car door, beginning to get out-
"Kim." She sat back down and smiled at him, awaiting what he was going to say, "Uh, if you're ever in New York again...And you need a cab...Call me?" He grinned hopefully and handed her his 'business' card. (Wow...Way to man up Jack)
She nodded, grinning back at him, "And if you're ever in Japan, and you need a girlfriend, call me." She pulled out a pen and wrote her number down on his hand before getting out of the car and grabbing her suitcase from the trunk. (Way to go Kim!)
Jack sat there shocked while Kim walked up to the Krupnick house, where Milton and Julie lived and rang the doorbell.
"Kim! You're here!" Julie greeted happily as she opened the door and pulled Kim into a hug.
"Hey Jules."
"So how was your flight?" She asked her long time friend.
Kim glanced to the road where the yellow taxi cab was now driving off, "I liked the cab ride more."
Well then, I personally loved this. I loved how it was different from my other stories and I love how I wrote it. I really hope you guys did too.