Chapter 3: Training Day
Lori pulled into the parking lot, which was jam packed with cars, trucks, and a few other vans. It looked like a sea of shiny metal annoyances that prevented temperamental blonde from finding a prime spot up close, so they would not need to hire a camel and a guide to make the long journey all the way from the far end of the lot. She found a spot near the JC Penny's entrance, it was not too far out of the way, though they would still need to walk a bit. Lynn's dojo was in a little strip mall adjacent to the much larger and fancier mall where the other Loud children were going. The nice mall had indoor heat, food, and wonderful stores to get lost in for hours. The strip mall had her dojo, which was sandwiched between a liquor store and a Latin bakery. All of that plus a porno shop and a couple of homeless gentlemen sitting near the ally smoking refried cigarette butts they found off the ground and sharing some cheap box whine. Not a wonderful place to bring the kiddies to hang out, despite the alluring metal rocketing horse that begged for attention and quarters.
Lori told Lynn to meet them at the food court when she was done, then they could just get their dinner there. This suited Lynn just fine as she could get a cheese steak with extra peppers and onions for dinner. She loved a good greasy burger as much as the next gal, but it was even more rare to eat the food in the mall food court. It was a variable smorgasbord of wonderful meals that could both clog your arteries as well as a toilet or two. Just the kind of stuff that Lynn loved to put in her. Lori and the kids all walked off towards the mall while Lynn began her trek to the strip mall and her dojo.
Lynn took her backpack, which had earlier contained her school books and homework, but was now stuffed with her karate gi. She walked by the Latin bakery next to the dojo, Mama Castillo's, which was a place Lynn liked to stop at after a good karate work out. The short little stout woman who ran the place, Isabella Castillo, was always nice enough to give Lynn some cucumber water on the house when she bought some watermelon slices. Lynn was not known to be much of a fruit and veggie girl, she loved her meatball subs, and would often chow down on Isabella's street style tacos, smothered in hot sauce of course, or her Polvorones, a Mexican cookie dusted with powdered sugar. However, there was something about the watermelon that Isabella got. Each bite exploded in her mouth, sending ample amounts of the sweet juicy flavor both down her mouth and down her chin. She had made sure to keep the place a secret from her family, liking the idea of having her own little special spot to go and chill. Though she was thinking of bringing Margo and Emmy by sometime, it would give her and excuse to introduce them to her friend at the dojo, Lezlie.
Master San's Shotokan Karate was a small family run business. Master Sam San was the owner and head trainer, with his wife and daughter running the business aspect of the place. Master San was a man in his mid fifties with thinning dark hair that was going gray along the edges. He was a bit shorter than her father and was starting to develop a bit of a belly. Lynn liked to assume that he was hooked on Isabella's fine cooking as well. He was a mix of Japanese and American, his father being a soldier during the second world war and meeting his mother over there. After the war he saved up money to bring her to the states where they got married and had him. At least that was how Master San liked to tell the story, leaving out the obvious racial issues that probably followed a mixed race couple during that point in time. Lynn only knew about things like that because of research for school projects and papers in history class. Her history teacher loved to point out the mistakes' society made in the past so as not to repeat them. Most of the time she get annoyed by that stuff, thinking she already knew the lesson there. Yet it sat with her when talking about the troubles after the war, she supposed it was because she really liked Master San, and hated the thought of him going through all of that when he grew up. But that was then and this was now, and now he ran a great little martial arts dojo in Royal Woods with his family.
The dojo was not a big place, made up of three rooms, one large and two small. There was space for a small office just to the left of the entrance way, and then there was the main training room area. This room was the largest, with mats on the floor and a big mirror on the wall, and two large windows that looked out into the parking area. There was also a small room that was once used as a break room for whatever business was there before. The students and Master San had cleaned it out and turned it into a room for the students to change cloths if they needed to. He even built small cubby holes for them to store their personal belongings.
As Lynn entered the dojo she noticed there were just a few students standing around and sparring with each other while others practiced their kicks and punches in front of the mirror. Usually Master San had a full class and would be standing before his students, waiting for them to get into a ready formation to practice their kata, or karate exercises. Lynn saw Master San sitting behind his desk in his office looking over some papers, his brow furrowed and his head hung low. She could not help but notice the stressful look that her sensei had on his face. She walked over and knocked on the door to announce her presence.
"Master San." Lynn said, trying to get the middle aged mans attention.
"Ahh, Lynn." The man said, removing a pair of reading glasses and setting them on his desk. "My apologies, I tried to call you and tell you that class would be canceled today."
"What for?" She asked, confused and a little embarrassed that she actually had forgotten about a class today.
"I need to leave early for a personal matter." He told her.
"Well is it ok if I just hang around for a bit and spar?"
"That is fine." He said. "I am going to let Danny lock up for me anyways, he wanted to help some of the students prepare for the tournament."
Danny Wilson was Master San's top student, often times helping his sensei train the younger children if he had to step away. Danny had often helped Lynn practice her kicks. Danny was in his mid twenties and came from California. He was a surfer dude with a laid back attitude, as he often liked to put it. He told Lynn that he grew up playing fighting games like Ultimate Kombat and Urban Fighter 2, and watched kung fu flicks. That was what got him interested in martial arts. He trained with Master San in California before Master San had relocated to Royal Woods to be closer to his daughter. Danny came along not too long after, looking for a change of scenery anyways.
Lynn thanked her sensei, bowed, and went to change into her gi. She stripped down to her underwear and put on the gi, then folded her cloths and placed them in the cubby hole below the tape with her name on it. She tightened her black belt and and walked out of the changing area. When she came back out she walked over to Danny, who stood infront of two students watching them as they spared back and forth. Danny towered over her, and would have looked very intimidating if not for the curly blonde hair and the barely noticeable facial hair he was attempting to grow. That and the fact that when he smiled he looked like Leni, with an almost childish and innocent grin that shined bright with kindness and warmth.
"Hey Danny." Lynn said. "Can I get your help getting ready for the tournament?"
"No can do little Lynn." Danny said. "I promised Carlos I would totally help him with his combos." Combos was how the former Californian native said moves. "But I think Lezlie was looking to spar."
"Cool, thanks Danny." Lynn said.
"No prob." He smiled back.
Lynn looked past the scattered groups of kids all training, to the other side of the room. There, near one of the large windows out looking out on to the asphalt desert, was a girl roughly around her age and height. Her long red hair was pulled back into a pony tail that flipped and bounced with every move she made. She was dressed in her white karate gi with a black belt tied around her waist, much the same as Lynn. Outside of Margo and Emmy, Lezlie was perhaps one of her best friends.
"Hey Lezlie." She said, walking over to greet her friend.
"Hey Lynn." Lezlie turned and greeted her classmate. "I wasn't sure if Master San got a hold of you or not."
"I was at school, and my sister Lori never checks the messages for the house phone." Lynn told her.
"Well I'm glad you didn't get the message. I was hoping you would show up so we could go few rounds. I am in need of loosening up for the tournament." Lezlie told her.
"I know what you mean." Lynn said. "I saw Cory today and I wanna get ready, I am not gonna let him beat me again."
"You mean beat us." Lezlie corrected. "That kid has taken me out three years in a row now."
Lynn would never admit it to anyone other than herself, but Lezlie Stone was just as good as she was. The two had developed a friendly rivalry that started when Lezlie first moved over to Master San's from her previous dojo. At first the two did not like each other, but that changed over time, both of them realizing that their competitive spirit mirrored each other. Lynn learned that Lezlie brought out the best in her, pushing her to try harder and be the best she could be. Lezlie noticed the same thing. The two girls eventually became friends, always looking to spar and try to face each other in competitions. This goal, however, had been thwarted by Cory over the past couple of years, as he would always end up knocking one of them out of the tournament and facing the other in the finals or semi-finals, then beating them to take home the trophy.
What really sealed the friendship between the two was when Lynn went through that whole ordeal with Francisco. It was Lezlie who was there for her, telling her that the guy was not worth his weight in dog crap, and that she would find someone who was worthy of the mighty Lynn. Then they proceeded to try to beat the crap out of each other. After that moment they became the best of friends. Now the only issue was that Lynn wished that they had gone to the same school. It would have been great to have all of her friends in one place.
"Well this year we knock that jerk out of the tournament for once." Lynn said, pounding her fist into her palm.
"That's what I'm talking about." Lezlie grinned.
"Wanna spar?" Lynn asked.
"Do you even have to ask?" Lezlie said.
The two girls stood a few feet apart, straightening their stances and bringing their feet together. They bowed, then shifted to a ready stance, their feet apart and their bodies coiled and ready to strike.
"Ready?" Lezlie asked.
"Of course." Lynn said, getting a smile from her sparring partner.
The two girls circled each other and bounced around, each one looking for an opening. Lezlie stepped forward with a couple of low kicks to just above the knee and to the shin. She was feeling Lynn out and looking for an opening, much like a boxer. Lynn jumped back a bit then bounced back in with a few light punches to to the mid section to try to get Lezlie to drop her guard. The blows did little more than make the red head have to move her arms to block the attack, opening her upper body to attacks. Lynn would have gone in if her friend had been slower to once again raise her guard, something Lynn herself would have done. Lezlie finally moved forward with a two punch combo, the blows lightly grazing Lynn, but pushing her back. Lynn slapped the attacks away to dodge her friends punches, and came back with a straight body punch that hit the red-headed girls mid section. Lezlie moved back and shook her head, disappointed in her choice of first moves. Lezlie rounded around Lynn, ducking and bobbing to find a good spot to come in at. Lynn moved in with a front kick that went into a side snap kick. Lezlie moved to the side, and landed an elbow shot to the lower back, knocking Lynn off balance and sending her to the floor.
"Nice." Lynn said, getting back to her feet.
"I try." Lezlie shrugged.
Lynn danced around again after making it to her feet and giving her friend a fist bump. She advanced with a three punch combo, forcing Lezlie back towards the wall. The red head tried to move to the side but was met with leg sweep that brought her down to the mat. Before she could move or even blink, Lynn was on top of her with her fist cocked and ready to fire.
"Uncle?" Lynn said, a devilish grin on her face.
"You win this round Lynn Loud, but there will be others." Lezlie joked.
"Now you sound like my little brother."
"Must be a pretty cool kid."
"Think what you want Lez." Lynn chuckled.
Lynn helped Lezlie back to her feet, giving her another fist bump. They walked over to the changing area, going in and pulling some bottles of water from their bags and pulling a couple of towels of the metal rack that hung on the wall. They toweled off and took big gulps of water, then went and sat on a small bench that was against the far east wall. They watched as Danny was showing Carlos, a younger Hispanic kid, how to do a round house kick. Lynn let out a little sigh as she took it all in, the calm before the coming storm that was the Royal Woods karate tournament.
"So you think we can take him this year?" Lezlie asked.
"Of course, we are the best around." Lynn said.
"Nothing's ever gonna keep us down?" Lezlie said with a small chuckle.
"What?"
"It's-it's nothing." Lezlie said, dismissing her joke.
As Lynn took a sip of water a tiny bit of self-doubt began to creep its way into her mind. It was odd for her, sure she was dealing with self-esteem issues when it came to her looks or love life. Yet when it came to her athletic accomplishments, well that was where she never seemed to lack any sort of confidence. She had faced Cory the past three years, the first year facing him in the finals of the tournament where he defeated her by one point. The other two years he had taken her out early, the last year facing off with Lezlie in the finals, defeating her much the same way he took out Lynn. Her family had always tried to console her to her defeats, telling her it was a great way to build character, yet she could not really give a damn about character, she wanted to be the best. Lezlie at least understood where Lynn was coming from. She knew that second place only meant you didn't win, and if you didn't win then you didn't try hard enough.
"I know that look." Lezlie said.
"Huh?"
"You got lost again."
Getting Lost, as Lezlie had put it, was something that had been happening to Lynn alot lately. She let her mind take her away as she over thought things, or got distracted with that nagging voice in her head that told her she was never going to be pretty enough. It was something that was starting to take a toll on her athletic life and her personal life. Just the other day she had zoned out in the shower, using all the hot water and taking a verbal beating from her siblings. It also happened on the football field when she lost focus and took a nasty hit that could have put her out for most of the season. She was actually physically fine, it was just a twisted ankle. Though her coach saw there was more going on so he decided to bench her until she was capable of getting her head in the game again.
"Yeah it's been happening alot more lately." Lynn told her friend.
"Lynn I want to tell you something, and I want you to listen carefully." Lezlie said. "You need to slow down a bit. Stop pushing yourself so hard in so many different things.'
"But ..."
"I know what you are going to say." Lezlie put her hand up to silence her friend. "The difference between you and me is that I don't do everything. I do martial arts, I play some soccer, and I'm thinking of trying roller derby. But I try not to over stretch myself. You, however, are all over the board."
"I don't stretch myself out too thin." Lynn said defensively.
"Can you count the number of sports you play on one hand?" Lezlie asked.
"No." Lynn said sheepishly. "I would probably have to take off a sock."
Lezlie laughed. "The point I am making is that even I have a life outside of this. I got a cute little boy who follows me around like a lost puppy. I got friends that are not involved in sports. And I got my family. They all help me decompress and get out of the competitive spirit."
"So what do you suggest?"
"I dunno. Maybe cut back to the few sports you like the most. Find hobbies and things you can do that don't involve kicking people or playing with balls." Lezlie suggested.
"Well that could put a cramp on at least one hobby outside of sports." Lynn joked.
"Dammit." Lezlie said as she spit out the water she had just started to drink. "You have been hanging around your sister too much."
"Actually I got that more from my friend Emmy." Lynn said.
"Either way, a bad influence on you" She joked.
Lynn thanked Lezlie for sparring with her and made plans to hang out in the near future outside of the dojo. She then went to change back into her street cloths and walked back over to the mall, only stopping for a moment to think about getting a cucumber water, but ultimately deciding against it.
She walked through the sliding glass door to enter the food court of the mall, instantly assaulted by the sounds of shoppers and mall rats. She found her family all hanging out at a large table near the Hawaiian Chicken Burgers. Lola and Lana were chasing each other around the table while Lucy watched them. Luan was cracking jokes that made Leni laugh, snort, and even spit her drink through her nose a few times. Sam and Luna sat across from each other, sharing headphones and nodding their heads to some music while they fed each other french fries. Lincoln was munching on a chicken king deluxe with extra teriyaki sauce, Lynn could tell because with each bite a little sauce squirted out the bottom of the sandwich. Lori, meanwhile rested her head on the table, apparently exhausted from her late night study sessions and the family that surrounded her.
The family finished eating then gathered into vanzilla and began the drive home. Lynn sat in the back and stared out into the street, watching the lights blink on in the twilight. She thought about what her friend had said to her, about cutting down on her sports and getting a life outside of her athletic hobbies. As much as she hated to admit it, Lezlie was right. She was in her last year of middle school and about to start high school. Between her studies and struggles to keep her grades up, and wanting to hang with her friends, and if she ever got a boyfriend, well then things would get really complicated. She was going to have to cut some sports.
But all of that was going to have to wait. She still had a karate tournament to prepare for a certain dark haired boy's ass to beat. This year it would be her and Lezlie in the finals like they had planned for the past three years.
EXMarkSpot- That would be cool.
J-Russ- I will go into more of Kat and Lincoln if I get their Christmas story done in time. Keep your fingers crossed.
So that was Chapter Three, hope you guys liked it. I added the character of Lezlie because I felt Lynn needed someone else to help her along this journey. And I really liked the idea of Lynn getting respect for someone by trying to be better than them. Seems like something she would do. Also I realized after I posted last chapter that I did not go through and check the spelling and grammar, so hopefully it was ok. Sorry about that.
I am going to try to update this story three times a week so a certain chapter lands on a certain day. So four should drop on Wednesday.
Next chapter will be interesting as we jump to the karate tournament. That one was a challenge.