CHAPTER 22: A Much Needed Tune up.
John's POVAs we were walking to Mei Ling's, I decided to get to know Su more.
"So Su, what made you decide to move here?" I asked.
"Work. I was a waitress in a smaller village about 50 miles southwest of here. I worked at this establishment for about 2 years and loved it. It paid well too. However, the owner had some financial issues and was forced to shut down. Knowing my sister lived here I decided to come here and see if I had any luck with finding something."
"How long did it take for you to settle in and find work?" Tigress asked.
"I first moved in with my sister and Mei Ling until the new bar and grill just down the street opened up. Testing my luck, I applied and have been working there since. Matter of fact, my manager wanted me to thank you for dealing with that idiot the other day."
"It was nothing. Just protecting my buddies."
"I'm assuming Viper was with you for this incident?" Tigress said.
"She was in the bathroom when it took place. Good thing we won't need to deal with him anymore though."
"Why?"
"He was the same idiot who tried crashing the ceremony at the Palace." Su said.
"Very well then, one less problem to be dealt with." Tigress added.
We made it to Mei Ling's and were about to walk into the shop, but the door was locked.
"Is the shop closed or something?" I asked.
"Yeah, they recently closed the shop on Monday's. Don't worry, I have a key." Su said as she unlocked the door. We followed her inside.
"Don't be alarmed, it's just me. I have a couple people who wanted to see Mei." Su called out.
Not long after that, both Song and Mei Ling walked down the stairs.
"JOHN!" Song came up to hug me.
I walked over and hugged her in return.
"Why hello to you too. How have you been?"
"Shouldn't we be asking you the same, mister Dragon Warrior?" Mei Ling asks as she walked down the stairs.
"Not gonna lie, still doesn't seem real to me. Hasn't fully hit me yet."
"I see you met my sister." Song said.
"Yeah, although not under the best circumstances."
"Oh, how so?"
"She was in the process of being harrassed by three individuals. Luckily, we were just arriving from the palace to stop them in time before she got hurt. She requested to stay with us for the remainder of our time in the village." Tigress chimed in.
"Oh good, well then follow me so we can look at that shoulder of yours John." Mei Lings said.
She along with Song brought us into her "office space" and I sat on the bed.
"So to confirm what Shifu told me, you suffered a dislocation to your right shoulder after a sparring match with him, correct?" Mei asked.
"From what I've been told. I was knocked out in the bout, so I only found out the hard way unfortunately."
"How so?" Su asked.
"Let's just say both me and John found out the hard way not to distract Mantis when he's doing an acupuncture session." Tigress said.
"Amen to that." I said.
The three chuckled as Mei worked on my shoulder.
"So John, how are the others treating you so far?" Su asked.
I gave a concerned look to Tigress as she did to me.
"Keeping it brief. The others welcomed me with open arms for the most part. However me and Tigress at first didn't see eye to eye. BUT, everything is all sorted out now. We talked it off last night and now we're cool."
I then remembered that Crane had feelings for Mei Ling, so I decided to hear her side
"Say, is there something between you and Crane, Mei?"
She stopped what she was doing.
"Umm n-no, why would you think of that?" She stuttered.
"Well, he told me about you two being at the same dojo when you were younger and rambled on about you for about 5 minutes. Judging by what he said, it seems to me he really likes you."
"Mei come on. Even John's calling you out. When will you just accept that you have feelings for him and tell him?" Su said.
"Shouldn't you do the same for Roman?" Song shot back.
'Ooooh shit, Roman's got himself a crush eh?'
"Shut up!" Su blushed as she slapped Song.
This all reminded me of my sister Kate and her husband when they were about to confess to each other.
"Well well well, the jumpy brit has a crush too." I laughed.
"They aren't dating yet. Whenever that will be because she still hasn't told him." Mei said.
"Well look. Here's some advice that I gave to Kate and to Humphrey as well. They both had this exact situation.
Go with what your gut says. If you like Crane, then I say shoot your shot. Same goes for you Su, of you like Roman, then do the same before someone else gets to them first. But, if you don't feel ready yet, then buy it some time until you feel ready. Just make sure you don't wait until it's too late."
"Huh, I never thought of it that way before. I guess I'll give it a shot." Su said.
"Same here, thanks for the advice John." Mei added.
"No problem. What about you Tigress, you have feelings for someone?" I asked.
She looked at me wide eyed.
"My love life is not of anyone's concern." She said.
After a quick few seconds, she sighed.
"But since you asked, no I don't. I don't have time for romance, especially with our duty protecting the village and the various missions we embark on.
What about you John? Only fair if you gave us your take as did we."
"Fair enough. I guess I'm not ready yet."
"Why?" Su asked.
"Quite simple actually. Haven't found the proper one for me yet. Hell, last time I thought I did back in high school, I got denied. Turned out to be the best since she ended up being a major cunt, pardon my french. So from that point, I've been biding my time until I find the right woman for me."
They all nodded.
After half an hour, Mei gave my shoulder a clean bill of health. No internal injuries or additional complications.
"Well Mei, never thought I needed a body tune up, but I will say this. Next time I need one, I know where to go."
"Anytime John, was a pleasure helping you out my friend."
"Say, is there a bathroom nearby?" I asked.
"Just go down the stairs and turn left, you shouldn't miss it." Song said.
"Thanks."
Third Person.
As John left the room, Mei Ling then went over to Tigress.
"So now that he's gone for now, might as well tell you before he gets back."
"And that being what?"
"His sisters and father are here at the music store. Shifu already knows about this. So what I planned was for all of us to meet with Roman so that he can show John something he wants to show. That way, me, you, Song and Su head over to our band's practice/rehearsal space and wait for them to show up. That way, they can surprise John."
"And how will they know when we will show up?" Song asked.
"Before leaving here, I will give Roman a quick call. That way, he can warn them so they can't be seen by John.
Which reminds me, give me 1 minute." Mei Ling said.
She went over to get her phone and dials up Roman's number.
"Hello?"
"Hey Roman, we're just about to leave in a couple minutes."
"Perfect, I'll go warn John's father. Where do you want them to be?"
"Anywhere that John can't see them."
"Cool, see you in a bit." Roman said.
"Well?" Song asked.
"So far, so good. He's gonna move them out of sight. Now we wait for-"
"I'm back." John said as he walked back into the room.
John's POV
"So, what's the plan now?" I asked.
"We were planning on heading to O'Hare's and picking up something we ordered for the rehearsal space. Might as well come along with us, Roman has something he wants to show you." Mei said.
"What would that be?"
"Knowing him, probably something drum related. Considering you're both drummers."
"Fair enough. Let's go then."
We then began making our way to the music store. Little did I realize, I was in for yet another big surprise.