Chapter 30: A New Era

Season 5

I was in the hospital lobby. My left arm was in a cast. Sitting next to me on my left was Emma. I could tell that she was nervous because she was tapping her foot over and over again.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Chase will be fine." I say.

"I know." Emma says with shakiness in her voice. Today was the day Chase was getting discharged from the hospital. Chase had to get surgery done on his knee, and nobody but family had been able to see him. Sitting on my right were Demetri and Eli.

"Thank you guys for coming. I appreciate it." I say.

"No worries, we'll always be here for you." Demetri says.

"Yeah, it's the least we could do." Eli says.

"Is Miguel gonna be able to make it? I know he just got back from Mexico, but still." I say.

"I don't think so, he never responded to my message." Eli says. I nod and quickly turn my attention to the boy who just appeared in the lobby with crutches.

"Hey guys." Chase says with a smile. He looked completely different. West Valley High's star basketball player was hobbling around in crutches.

"Chase!" Emma says while running up to him. Emma hugs him and Chase struggles to maintain his balance.

"Woah, almost knocked me off my feet." Chase says. Emma releases Chase and steps back.

"It's so good to see you." Emma says.

"It's good to see you too. Being in that room all day was so boring." Chase says.

"I bet it was." Emma says while laughing.

"James! How's the arm?" Chase asks.

"It's been better. It'll take a while to heal but hopefully It'll be done in six weeks if I'm lucky." I say.

"Sorry for the stupid question." Chase says.

"Please, you're the last person who needs to apologize for anything." I say.

"To celebrate everyone getting out of the hospital, we were thinking about going to the food court. Wanna join us?" Eli asks.

"Of course! Oh, where's my dad? I want to talk to him before we leave." Chase responds. Nobody says anything for a bit.

"Uh, he didn't show up." I reveal. Chase looks down at the ground.

"Of course. Well…whatever. Let's just go." Chase says in a low voice. There's an awkward silence until Chase begins to move towards the exit.

Later…

The five of us were all hanging out and having a good time. I can't remember the last time I did something like this.

"So, what's it like being the All Valley champ?" Chase asks Eli.

"It still feels weird, like I can't believe that I actually did it." Eli says.

"You put in a lot of work, you deserve it." I say.

"You put up a good fight as well James. You nearly beat me in the quarterfinals." Demetri points out.

"Thanks for the compliment." I say.

"Oh, I meant to ask, what's going on with Steve? With what he did, shouldn't Cobra Kai be in a lot of trouble?" Chase asks. Demetri and Eli look at me, expecting me to respond.

"Uh, Cobra Kai's Sensei, Terry Silver, publicly denounced Steve's actions. He also made up some bullshit story about how Steve was never a real member of Cobra Kai and had only joined recently." I say.

"What the hell? How's Cobra Kai getting away with this?" Chase demands.

"Silver's good at sweet talk. He's saying all the bullying and assault that Steve committed was on his own accord, not Cobra Kai's. Silver also has an amazing legal team. Steve's gonna be locked up, but Cobra Kai is getting away with their involvement." I say.

"At least Steve's in juvie. He can't hurt anyone else." Chase says. We continue eating and talking until Chase begins to get up.

"Where are you going?" Emma asks.

"Just to the bathroom. It'll be quick." Chase says while grabbing his crutches.

"Here, let me help you." Emma says.

"Thanks." Chase says as he and Emma begin moving towards the bathroom. As Emma and Chase leave, Eli leans in towards James.

"So, when's it gonna be your turn?" Eli asks.

"My turn for what?" I ask.

"Dude, you're like the only one without a girlfriend." Eli says.

"That's not true. Have you seen Bert with anyone?" I ask.

"Actually, I think Bert brought a date to prom." Demetri says.

"Whatever. I don't think I'm even ready for a relationship after everything Steve did to me. Besides, I'm gonna have to pass on relationship drama." I say.

"Come on, you have to put yourself out there at some point." Eli says.

"I like your enthusiasm, but I don't think it'll happen anytime soon. Maybe when my arm heals and Cobra Kai isn't threatening us." I say.

Third Person POV:

Chase had just finished his business and was leaving the bathroom.

"Was…uh…everything okay?" Emma asks.

"Yeah, you don't have to worry." Chase says. Suddenly, a familiar Cobra Kai student approaches the couple.

"Well, look who it is." Kyler says while smiling.

"Ugh, what do you want Kyler?" Chase says.

"What? I just wanted to see how you're doing. You can't seem to escape leg injuries, huh?" Kyler says. Chase remembers how Kyler beat him in the tournament by exploiting his injured leg.

"Whatever, just leave us alone." Chase says as he tries to move away.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Kyler says before pushing Chase to the ground.

"Hey! Leave him alone!" Emma shouts while trying to push Kyler away. Kyler quickly restrains Emma.

"Stop squirming bitch!" Kyler shouts. That's when three more Cobra Kai students approach. Chase recognizes them immediately. They were his former basketball teammates. They were the three who had helped Chase break James's ribs.

"What the hell? You guys are in Cobra Kai?" Chase asks in shock.

"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" One teammate asks.

"Yeah I do!" Chase shouts.

"Whatever, traitor." Another teammate responds. Two teammates hold Chase down while the other one takes his crutches.

"Hey! Give those back!" Chase shouts. The teammate with the crutches responds by stomping on Chase's head.

"No! Leave him alone!" Emma shouts while trying to escape Kyler's grasp.

"It's your fault that this is happening. You teamed up with James, the same kid who beat the crap out of us." One teammate says.

"Trust me, Cobra Kai isn't a good place." Chase says.

"You know what? I think he needs to be taught another lesson." One teammate says. The other two nod and begin beating up Chase. They take turns punching and kicking him. Emma finally escapes Kyler by elbowing him in the nuts.

"Ow! Son of a bitch!" Kyler shouts. However, she is quickly pushed away by one of the teammates.

"Stay out of this Bitch!" The teammate says. Suddenly, the teammate collapses as they get kicked in the back. The person who kicked him was Eli.

"Leave, now!" Eli shouts.

"Oh shit, it's the All Valley champ. Let's get out of here." One teammate says before running away. The teammate holding Chase's crutches drops them before joining his friend in running away. Kyler tries to charge at Eli, but Eli kicks him in the chest.

"Did you not hear me? I said leave!" Eli shouts. Kyler and the remaining teammate run away.

"Oh my god, are you guys okay?" James asks.

"Yeah, I'm totally fine." Chase says while trying to stand up. James grabs his crutches and helps him to get up.

"We can't do anything without getting ambushed by Cobra Kai." Demetri says.

"You don't have to worry. They'll probably just target me." Chase says defeatedly.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't do anything." Emma says.

"No worries." Chase says.

"I won't let Kyler get away with this." James says.

"What are you gonna do? Take on all of them with a broken arm?" Demetri asks.

"I could try." James says.

"Ha! That's a funny joke. You're hilarious." Demetri says.

"We can't just let them go free. We need to teach them a lesson!" James shouts.

"We will, but we have to be patient." Eli says. James scowls but quickly drops the topic. James had been in Chase's position before. He wasn't going to let him suffer like he had.