Feeling like I didn't get to finish my dance with Ali, I took my girl over to the jukebox and pulled out a quarter. Just for my girl.
"You got any favourites?" I asked.
"Queen", says Ali.
"Hey, they got the new one Radio Goo-Goo!"
"Ga-Ga".
"Oh, yeah, Ga-Ga – sounds like a lullaby".
"Somebody to Love".
Hearing the big "L" word come from Ali's lips had my heart skip a beat and my chest felt like it is about to burst. This girl gave me butterflies like nobody ever had before.
"Daniel, are you ok?" asked Ali.
Snapping out of my moment of absolute bliss, I came to the realisation that Ali was referring to the song, not a declaration of love.
"Yeah – Somebody to Love, got it", I said.
Inserting my coin in the slot, I selected the Queen track with a smooth transition, as opposed to my impulsive slam on my index finger.
As Freddie's vocals began to transition, I grabbed Ali by the hand and led her to the dancefloor. I knew prom wasn't too far away and I would get this moment again, but I didn't want anyone, especially Johnny and the Cobra's, to be around me and my girl: this was our moment.
"What are you doing?" asked Ali.
"Taking you to the dancefloor", I said.
"Later, our dinner just got to the table".
"Oh, right".
Completely lost in the moment, I forgot that we hadn't even eaten yet, despite me telling Mr. Miyagi that "I'm starving".
-/-
As we all sat outside on the patio, Dutch and Tommy were trying to see who could balance an empty bottle of Banquet on their heads the longest, while Bobby and Jimmy were talking about LaRusso's kick to my face. As for me, I lounged with my feet on the table. My mind was on Kreese. The asshole had been tough with me in the past: the hundred of knuckle push ups, crunches and combat sparring with most of the dojo. But this…was different. This wasn't a lesson in the way of the fist. This was something more. Before I could try and get some answers, Mom came outside with a tray of burgers and fries, and I flung my feet OFF the table.
"Hey, boys!" she exclaimed
"Hey, Mrs. Lawrence", said Bobby.
"How was the tournament?"
"Second place", I said.
"Vidal finally beat you, huh?"
"Nah, it was LaRusso".
"The kid from Jersey?"
"That kick, Mrs. Lawrence, it was out of nowhere", said Jimmy.
Hearing everything that has been said, Mom didn't really know how to respond.
"Well, where's your trophy?" she asked.
"Threw it away", I said.
"Why?"
"Because it's not first place, Mom".
My explanation wasn't satisfactory enough for Mom, because she was still standing over me.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing, Johnny", she said.
After saying that, Mom went back inside. I kind of regretted not telling the whole truth, but it was just cause trouble.
"Why didn't you tell her the truth, man?" asked Bobby.
"I don't want her to panic", I said.
"Why don't we go down to Spearhead and down a couple of Banquets?" asked Dutch.
"With that dumbass I.D.?" asked Tommy.
"You got a better idea?"
The last thing I wanted to do was get wasted, so I spoke up.
"Look, let's just forget tonight ever happened, and never go back", I said.
"I'm with you, Johnny", said Tommy.
Everyone grabbed their bottles of Banquet and we toasted.
-/-