Nikki's POV
HIYAAAAAH! An insanely loud scream rang out as I stepped into the courtyard of the Seaford View mall. I'm embarrassed to say, I actually jumped at hearing it. No one else seemed fazed by the sonic boom, though. Maybe it happened a lot, which meant that I was gonna have to learn to control my startled jumping habits. I gazed up at the large green Bobby Wasabi Dojo sign, taking in a deep, stress cleansing breath. I had asked for a hobby, hinting at something involving cardio, learning awesome moves, and competitions. I meant dance. My parents took it as karate. I don't even see how they could come to the conclusion that geeky, shy, unable to say what she wants outright, little Nikki Raj would be able to kick but with karate. I twisted and tucked my hair into my Yankees baseball cap (nervous habit), and pushed open the doors to my new after school, recreational activity, which to make matters worse, was not dance.
"Hello…" I tentatively said. My greeting hung out in the air for a minute before a shortish, blondish man walked out of what I concluded was his office.
"How may I…..oh! You must be Nikita! Welcome to the Bobby Wasabi dojo, where you will make life lasting friendships, and learn to take out a pack of ninjas if they happen to ruin your day at the beach." He said, like it was an absolutely normal thing to say. And I don't even know his name!
"Well actually only my grandparents call me Nikita, I go by-"
"Rudy! Jack stole Brad's phone number from my purse! That was my only copy!" A blond wearing sweatpants and a baggy t shirt yelled as she ran out of a doorway on the side of the dojo.
"That's only because Kim bit off half of Cathy's number!" An admittedly cute brown haired boy shot back, coming from the same place the blond did. Neither of them noticed the man slink back into his office quietly.
"It was an accident Jack, get over it!" the one who I know knew as Kim cried.
"Um, Kim," I whispered, not full over my shyness, "how can biting a piece of paper in half be an accident?"
"Well girl I don't know and have never seen before, Cathy handed me a fortune cookie with her number in it. Kim came along, and being the greedy pig that she is, took a bite out of it. Now all I have are the last 4 digits of her number." Jack explained, not caring that I wasn't actually asking him. Okay, butting into a conversation, definitely a turn off. Totally over him.
"Who puts their number in a fortune cookie which someone might eat?" I asked, genuinely curious.
"Exactly Jack, who does that?" Kim challenged, coming up and putting her elbow on my shoulder. We exchanged sly smiles. GIRL POWER!
"Well…she….It was romantic, OKAY!" Jack sputtered before going back through the side doorway.
"Hey I'm Kim." She introduced as she extended her hand out to me.
"I gathered as much, I'm Nikita, but I go by Nikki. Wanna get on my nerves, call me Nikita." I replied while shaking the extended hand. "So who are Brad and Cathy…unless I'm being too inquisitive, then I'll just shut up."
"Well Brad's this hot hunk in my English class, and Cathy is this, this girl in Jack's homeroom." She said girl as if it were the worst possible adjective to use about a person.
Aaaah I got what was going on here. Kim and Jack like each other, but don't know it yet. They need some Nikki magic. Finally, a place where I can put my talents to good use. Back in New York, nobody thought the quiet girl, always by herself knew anything about romance, or even other people for that matter. Seaford would be different. "So who are all the other people in this dojo?"
"Well there's our sensei Rudy, me, Jack, Jerry, Milton, Eddie, and now, you." She listed. As if on cue three guys walked out of the side doorway, which I now realized obviously led to the changing rooms. Kim pointed each one out to me. Milton was the tallish, super skinny redhead, Eddie was the cute, chubby, African American dude, and Jerry was the Hispanic, slacker, who, in Kim's words, thought he was a lot cooler than he actually was. Well at least now I had some friends to hang out with when I went to school. I hate new schools. Now, Seaford High might just be not as terrible as its predecessors.
At that moment Jack decided to walk into the dojo. "So…"
"Nikki." I clarified
"Right, Nikki, okay Jerry made up this rule that all new recruits to the Wasabi Warriors must go through an initiation test so show us what you've got."
I took my cap off letting my black hair tumble down. Ugh! I began to braid it quickly when Jerry said smoothly, pushing Jack out of the way," Hey Nikki it's okay. We bypass the rules for pretty girls."
I confess that kind of made me blush. Nobody except my mom and grandmother call me pretty, and that doesn't exactly count.
"Hey!" Kim yelled, "I had to go through the initiation test!"
"Well Kim let's face it, you just don't have the it factor like some of us do." He smirked.
"And you include yourself in that group…why exactly?" Jack asked mockingly.
I couldn't help it. A peal of laughter escaped me before I could contain it. I glanced at Kim. In a New York second the two of us were literally rolling on the floor laughing. Maybe I wasn't kidding myself. Maybe this time actually would be different.