I do not own Kickin it or any of it's characters. This story is for my sister who is the coolest person ever and best author ever and I hope she enjoys my gift to her for a character she somehow sees potential in, haha. TvLover123, this one's for ya.
Milton walked into the dojo in a baggy gray t-shirt, jeans, and dirty, tired converse. He could care less about his wild bed head and even less about the freezing temperatures outside. Some of the lowest temperatures to ever hit Seaford were settling in and Milton was too in his head to notice. He simply changed out of his jeans and into the bottom part of his gi, not bothering with the top. Last week he was told he would not be advancing passed yellow belt. He used to be ok with that since the dojo was just a convenient pass time, but this year he was growing in his ambitions and he learned what it meant to have integrity in everything you do.
The loss sat heavy on his shoulders as he tried to carry on. He would work as hard as he could to be better. He cringed thinking back to times when he'd be in a situation where he had to fight and the others did all the work. Never again would he feel like that. He was hours early in the dojo and stayed late past everyone else. It was closing time before he knew it and he wasn't nearly satisfied with his work.
"You comin'?" Rudy said as they were all shuffling out the door. They all turned to see him continuously punching the same punching bag, just as hard as he was an hour ago. His head down and his arms up in front of his pink nose and ruffled hair. The wraps around his knuckles had weakened and the bruises only grew with every lethal punch. With disappointment and understanding, he laid the keys on a stack of mats and turned out the lights. Milton was locking up for him almost every night now and he knew the drill.
A couple minutes later he dropped his broken fists to his side as he fell purposely to his knees. He felt as though he'd never be done and he was fine with overworking himself for the rest of his life if that meant feeling like he was making progress. No one wanted to say anything that would encourage unhealthy habits, but they were all incredibly impressed with his dedication and his new found skills. His lack of dork basically.
He forced himself off the ground and continued on. He practiced on every piece of equipment and would soon master every one. The training he'd put himself through in this night alone was even too much for Jack and it was not without scars. He'd hit himself in the eyebrow already with a bo staff, but that only made him push himself harder. It was almost light out now and he hadn't stopped sweating long enough to realize the freezing temperatures of the dojo.
He paused to catch his breath and stumbled back to find a wall of relief. He would just relax for a moment, he thought as he slid down the wall and closed his eyes. Now it was around 8:00 am and the rest of the gang was heading out to begin another day at their beloved establishment. They all shuffled to the doors in bulky sweaters and puffy coats. They gathered around as Rudy unlocked the door that was covered in frost, obstructing their view of anything inside.
"It's not locked." he announced curiously. Kim, Jerry and Jack looked at one another with worry in their glances. He must have been so worn out he just forgot. He held the door open, and they all let Kim in first. As she led the way, she pulled off her scarf casually when she saw a horrific image before her. Milton lay very still, in the same place he had slumped into after his workout.
His head cold against the frigid wall and his cheeks red with blood desperately trying to circulate. His beaten knuckles poking through the weak fabric and his trampled eye left a room of friends feeling frozen in fear. Before Kim could scream in anguish, Jack and Rudy knew what to do. They pulled out a large tub and filled it with hot water as quick as they could. Jack lifted Milton and lowered him in. His grey t shirt looked black now that it was soaked. They looked at each other with anxious tension as they awaited a sign.
Jerry tugged at his hair while Kim rubbed her arms tightly. Jack looked at Rudy with an optionless droop. He took Milton by the head and dunked him below the steaming surface. He immediately popped back up and opened his eyes. He wiped the droplets from his weary face with his rough hand. The group let out a synchronous sigh of relief as he took in an exhausted breath of his own. Although this wasn't the ideal way to learn a lesson, Milton was able to see just how far he'd let his common sense slip. The others learned that they would never again let one of their friends get so deep into bad habits.