CHAPTER 29
"Hey, Diaz! Your shift's starting!"
Miguel looked up as the door of the back room of the restaurant swung open and his boss stepped insidely, barking at him his instructions. Miguel was all ready for yet another achingly long morning shift at the diner, to earn those pitiful wages to put towards the Miguel Diaz College Fund. He had just tied his apron and was preparing to enter the restaurant when his manager came over to him.
"Yes sir." Miguel murmured, shuffling towards the door to begin his shift.
"And hurry your fucking ass! I thought hiring an immigrant would mean you wouldn't be a lazy piece of shit." The man grumbled as Miguel walked past him. Miguel bit his lip, hard, holding back a response. He needed this job. He couldn't afford to say something that would get him fired, or he wouldn't be able to get the limited money he was getting from it. Every cent mattered in his desperation to make it to a respectable college.
So Miguel walked out into the mostly empty diner, and he spotted the back of a head sitting in the corner booth so Miguel walked over to them, taking out his notepad and pen, ready to take their order.
"Hi! Welcome to the Hendrick's Diner. Can I start you off with some drinks, starters maybe?"
"Well, well, well. So the rumors are true…"
Recognising the voice from a mile away, Miguel's head shot up and his mouth curled into a small smile as he found himself face to face with Demetri. Miguel chuckled.
"Let me guess… Hawk told you where to find me?" Miguel remarked. Demetri nodded.
"And just as well too! What, were you planning on going AWOL the entire summer without telling anyone?! Because you very nearly did that! It's been like a month since the last time I saw you!"
Miguel shrugged.
"Well I only just got into town like a week or two ago. I was across the border for the 3 weeks before that."
"Canada?" Demetri asked, confused. Miguel raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, because I look like the kind of person who would go to that snow-covered wasteland." Miguel commented, sarcastically. Demetri nodded.
"So… Mexico." Demetri replied. "Let me guess… Mai tais on the beach to celebrate the All-Valley finally being over."
Miguel's smile faded a little as his mind was brought back to what he was actually doing in Mexico. Manuel's hysterical, sadistic face flashed through his head for a moment, causing Miguel's voice to trail off.
"Yeah, something like that." Miguel managed to respond. Demetri nodded.
"Well, I hate to break it to you, but summer vacation's over. It's time to get back to Karate, because in case you haven't heard, Cobra Kai won!"
Miguel nodded and looked down.
"Yeah, I heard about that. I'm sorry." Miguel said.
"Well, don't be sorry! It's not your fault. What we need is for you to be back."
Miguel shook his head.
"I'm sorry, man. I'm done with karate." Miguel murmured. Demetri looked at him like he had just spoken chinese.
"What? What? What do you mean you're done with Karate?" Demetri stammered. "Is this like Eli's 'I'm going to quit and then later come back stronger than ever' type of thing? Do I need to give you the speech about how you inspired me to do karate and how we can't do this without you?"
Miguel sighed.
"Look, you can save your breathe and refrain from giving the speech. Because this isn't an 'I'm gonna quit and then come back stronger' thing. This is an 'I'm done and I'm not coming back at all' type of thing."
"Is this about Sam?" Demetri asked. "Because I heard you two broke up and I'm really sorry, but you shouldn't make her the reason that you don't come back. Miyagi-Do needs you, Miguel."
"Could you just stop saying that?!" Miguel suddenly snapped. "Please. Enough with the whole 'Miyagi-Do needs you' bullcrap! Me listening to that is what got me into this mess in the first place! Me putting myself after the needs of others for so long has gotten me into this hole, and I need to put myself first for a change if I want to dig myself out!"
Demetri looked at Miguel, surprised.
"Look, Miguel, I don't know what's going on with you. Clearly it's deeper than just what happened with Sam, or what happened in the tournament or whatever. But one thing I do know is you. The person you are. You talk about making the mistake of always putting others first. That's not a mistake. That's just who you are… a leader. And Miyagi-Do needs that leader."
Miguel shook his head.
"You guys have Sam and Hawk as leaders. And then you also have Tory and Robby at Eagle-Fang just across the Valley. I think you're sorted on leaders there, buddy. You don't need me as well."
Demetri's face darkened.
"You really think we trust Robby Keene and Tory after the shit they've done to us?! Robby kicked you off a balcony! Scalped Eli! And Tory has tried to kill Sam I don't even know how many times! And with that maniac you call a sensei leading them… they're basically Cobra Kai again!"
Miguel shook his head.
"No. Johnny knows the line. He's not going to turn them into Cobras." Miguel remarked.
"Maybe in training! But what happens when training is over and the students can do whatever they want?! You really think just because Tory has switched dojos she wants peace for all the Valley?! And Robby's suddenly got rid of any hate he had towards us from what you and Sam did, and what Mr. Larusso did by turning him in?! No! We're just staying the hell away from them for now, but there's gonna come a time where we're going to have to face them, as well as whatever nightmare recruits Cobra Kai are about to find after winning the tournament! We're going to need you there on our side, Miguel!"
Miguel sighed deeply as he looked at his friend. If he said that no part of him wanted to come back to karate, that would be a lie. There was a small part of him, deep deep down, that wanted back in, but up until this point he had actively suppressed it.
"Look, just think about it, okay? We have training at 4 pm this afternoon. I hope you'll be there."
With that, Demetri stood up and walked out of the diner, leaving his friend deep in thought…
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4:13… 4:14… 4:15…
"Guess he's not coming." Demetri murmured, as him and Hawk stood around in the corner of the Miyagi-Do dojo that afternoon as the rest of the group stretched and warmed up. Demetri had told Hawk about his conversation with Miguel earlier and both were praying to see that familiar face walk through the gates of the dojo. However, the gates remained firmly shut as no one else other than the normal Miyagi-Do crew stepped inside.
"DAMN IT!" Hawk shouted, kicking the ground in frustration. "You sure you told him the right time? You didn't tell him 3? Or 5?"
Demetri glared at him.
"I think I remember telling him the time that we've met for training literally every day so far this summer." Demetri replied. "Just face it Hawk, he doesn't want to join Miyagi-Do."
"Who doesn't want to join Miyagi-Do?" A voice came from behind both of them. Demetri and Hawk looked at each other, extremely worriedly, as they recognised who the voice was coming from. They slowly turned around and stared in the direction of the voice.
"S-s-sam! Hey!" Demetri smiled at her.
"Who doesn't want to join Miyagi-Do?" Sam asked again. "Maybe I can help convince them. Who is it?"
Demetri and Hawk both gulped nervously as they looked at each other. They honestly didn't know how to be around Sam right now. After the tournament, she had changed. She definitely wasn't the same person anymore, and for obvious reasons. To put in the blood, sweat and tears she did, only to come up short against her rival in the rigged way that she did… it was enough to break even the strongest souls. And then after her breakup with Miguel too on top of that… Sam was no longer the Samantha Larusso she used to be a few months ago. She had assured them all that she was completely fine, but that didn't change the fact that they walked on eggshells around her, especially when the topic was that of her ex-boyfriend.
"I, um… it's nothing. Don't worry about it." Demetri stammered. Sam shook her head.
"Don't be silly. Let me help. Who are we convincing to join Miyagi-Do?" She asked. Demetri and Hawk nodded at each other, knowing that there was no getting out of this.
"It's, um… it's Miguel." Hawk admitted. "We've been trying to get Miguel to come back to Miyagi-Do. Demetri went to see him and told him to go to training now, but I guess… I guess he's not coming."
They watched anxiously as Sam's face flipped through a number of different emotions, before eventually she decided to stick with a stoic one as she shook her head.
"Yeah, good luck trying to convince him to come back." She murmured quietly, traces of anguish in her voice. She then comprehended what Hawk had just said and she turned to Demetri, confused. "Wait… you went all the way to Mexico to talk to him?"
Demetri looked at her and raised an eyebrow, baffled.
"Um… no? I went to the diner he's working at in Reseda."
Sam's heart literally stopped when she heard this. Her eyes went as wide as saucers and her jaw slacked into an O as she went numb in shock.
"M-m-miguel's back in L.A?" Sam stammered. Demetri nodded.
"Yeah, two weeks ago." Demetri replied, before realising something and his eyes widening in alarm too. "He didn't come see you when he arrived?"
Sam slowly shook her head, her heart beginning to rattle in her chest as she nearly began to hyperventilate. He was back?! For two weeks he had been back and he hadn't even so much as let her know he was home, despite her telling him in Juarez how much the worry about him being away had been tearing her apart! Not just that though… a small part of her had believed, had hoped that when Miguel had gotten back, the two would be able to work through their issues and maybe, possibly, eventually think about getting back together. Because she missed him. She missed him so much. No amount of mental compartmentalising, or throwing herself into training changed that fact. It didn't change the fact that every night, when nobody and nothing else was around her, her mind immediately went to him, and tears would begin to stain her pillow. But she was wrong. Clearly, if Miguel could be home for 2 whole weeks without telling her, he had moved on a lot more than she had. Maybe it was the healthy thing for her to do the same.
Demetri and Hawk both looked like they were about to say something, but they were cut off as Daniel entered the dojo with Chozen.
"Alright guys, let's begin!"