"GET YOUR BUTT UP KIMBERLY!"
I groaned and rolled over, pushing my face into my pillow. I tried my hardest not to wake up; I was so comfortable.
"Kim, don't make me come over there," Grace yelled. I poked my head up and heard her voice filter from the open bathroom door.
"What time is it?" I moaned, burying my face back into my pillow.
Before she could reply, the door banged open. Grateful for the distraction, I closed my tired eyes, trying not to lose the warm sleepy feeling… Until, the new person came to my bed and pulled the comforter off of me.
I pulled my head off the pillow and glared at the newcomer. I blinked and Jack's smirking face came into focus.
"Jack, go away," I muttered, my voice muffled by the blanket that I just pulled back over me. These people really did NOT know how to wake a girl up!
"Not happenin' Crawford. Your match is in like an hour and you're still in bed," he said, pulling the blanket back off of me and tossing it onto Grace's bed. I ignored him and clutched my pillow to my face.
Suddenly, I felt one of his warm hands grab my ankle. Jack pulled slightly, making me fly halfway off the bed. I screamed in surprise and annoyance, and kicked out, hoping to hit him. But, he easily dodged and twisted my ankle, effectively flipping me on my back.
I glared up at him. He laughed and dropped my ankle. Jack held both of his hands out, ready to help me up. I reluctantly grabbed them and let him pull me out of my bed. He grabbed my shoulders and turned me around, shoving me toward the bathroom.
"Got her up for ya Grace."
"You're the bane of my existence, you know that right?" I muttered, trying to rub the sleep out of my eyes.
I felt him lean forward behind me. His warm breath brushed my ear as he whispered, "But, you love me anyway."
I closed my eyes and suppressed a shiver. I was cold… yep, that's it, it's cold.
I didn't get a chance to reply before Grace got a hold of me. She passed me through the bathroom and shoved me in the shower, tossing a towel in my face. I sighed and turned the water on.
After a whirlwind of makeup and clothes, we ended up in the lobby. Grace, looking fabulous as always, and me, looking pretty normal. Today, I had managed to get out of the room before she could do too much to me. I had a match today, and the last thing I wanted is to be fumbling with my hair.
We got to the Great Wall exactly ten minutes before my match was scheduled to start, so I hurriedly warmed up in the sparring room while watching Jack's match. He easily beat his opponent, and advanced to the finals.
Jack closed the match and jogged off, toward me and Grace.
"Looks like you're going to the finals!" I said, grinning. "That's too bad, cause you know I'm only going to beat you after I deal with Shapley over there." I jerked my thumb to where Kai was warming up, surrounded by people that I've never seen before.
"You can try," Jack said, but he looked distracted. He glanced to where Kai was and then back at me, with a strange expression on his face.
"Kai Shapley and Kimberly Crawford, please make your way to the sparring mat." The intercom crackled to life with the voice of one of the judges.
I didn't move. I looked at Jack, expecting some last-minute tips about my form. He opened his mouth, here it comes.
"Be careful around Kai, okay?"
I opened my mouth to say something, but he cut me off.
"No, I mean it. Promise me that you'll be careful," Jack said, with the intense look in his eyes again. I nodded, suddenly speechless.
Finding my voice, I asked, "So, no tips about my defense?"
"Keep your arms a little more spread out, you can cover more ground that way," Jack grinning, picking up my loosely-veiled reference to my other matches.
I rolled my eyes and stepped onto the mat. I closed my eyes and steadied my breathing, finding the calmness that I usually had during a fight. I felt the mat shift lightly under my bare feet, and heard Kai's loud voice boasting to his new friends. I opened my eyes and found that he was on the mat and ready to go. I gave him one of my most horrible smiles and bowed, officially starting the match.
He came at me like a whirlwind. I dodged his first kick and flipped over his second one, landing adjacent to him. I quickly shot my hand out and grabbed his arm, aiming to flip him. But, before I could, he shot his other hand out and pulled my hair, yanking it out of its ponytail. I stumbled backward, momentarily blinded by the sudden curtain of blonde in my eyes. By the time I pushed it away, I saw Kai swing out a roundhouse kick and nail me right in the side.
I fell to the floor, gasping in pain and shock. He looked down at me in contempt before bringing his foot down, right toward my unprotected stomach. I barely rolled away in time, and I heard the loud sound his foot made as it connected with the mat. I scrambled up and kicked, hitting him in the chest. He backed away, and I didn't let him get anymore blows in. Sensei has always said that I've been pretty good at offense, so I used that to my advantage. I launched a series of blows at him, and for a moment, it looked like I would win.
Until he shifted his weight backwards, and moved the whole mat back a couple feet. The sudden movement took me by surprise and I staggered, trying to regain my footing. Kai used the distraction to his advantage and grabbed my arm, flipping me onto the mat. I landed hard, and the breath whooshed out of me, but I didn't stop fighting. Technically, the match wasn't over until I stayed down for more than five seconds.
Suddenly, I felt Kai tug my arm up straight and brace his foot on the back of my shoulder. I felt him sharply tug while keeping the pressure on my arm. And then after that, all I felt was the white hot pain shooting down my arm. I heard someone scream, and with a start I realized that it was me. I felt the pressure on my arm slacken, and my hand slumped limply to the ground.
I pulled it to my stomach and cradled it with my other one, not making any attempt to get up. All I could think about was the pain burning my shoulder. Every time I moved even an inch, another wave of agony shot through me. In my delirious state, I vaguely heard a familiar voice yelling and arguing with someone. I wanted to scream at them to stop, but I couldn't even shift to lift my face off the mat.
I felt a light, cool touch on my arm. I blinked my eyes open to find Grace kneeling in front of me, her usually happy eyes full of concern. I managed a weak smile and tried to get up. I couldn't lie here like an invalid forever.
"Oh no you don't," she said, trying to push me back down. She turned around and I followed her gaze to Jack, who was currently arguing with the official and trying to get at Kai. I could see the fury in his gestures.
"Jack! She's trying to get up," Grace called. I shot her a dirty look, and shrugged her hand away. I got to my knees, and then my feet, still keeping my arm tightly against me. It hung there limply and wouldn't move when I tried to wiggle my fingers. A cold ball of fear settled in my throat.
When I finally got to my feet, a wave of nausea threatened to send me back to the mat. I staggered and then I felt a gentle hand steady me. It curled around my waist and helped me to a bench. I looked to the side, and saw Jack. His normally carefree, kind brown eyes were full of murderous rage. His face was contorted into an angry scowl. He wouldn't meet my gaze.
He sat me down gently and took a place next to me. I could see the judges conversing in a corner, and Kai looking smug, standing and talking to his friends. He saw me watching and winked. I glared at him, imagining a slow death for him in a snake pit.
The judges finally finished, and one of them stepped to the gong. He rang it, signaling for silence. The deep, loud sound reverberated around the room until it was quiet.
"We have the results," he started. This is it, I thought, Kai's finally going to get what he deserves.
"Kai Shapley will move onto the finals."
Immediately, words of protest were heard throughout the room. But, I just sat there, slightly shocked, but deep down, I knew that Kai would somehow get away with this. I could only hope that Jack put him in his place in the finals.
Jack's warm hand came to rest on my leg.
"Are you okay?" he asked softly.
"I'm fine," I shifted, and another dagger of pain shot through my arm. I winced, and then immediately tried to hide it. But, with my luck, he saw my brief expression of pain. He patted my leg reassuringly and got up. Where was he going?
But, I wasn't alone for long. I felt the old bench squeak as Grace sat down beside me.
"The doctor's on his way. Geez, your arm looks bad," she said, making a face. I purposefully had kept my eyes away from my poor shoulder; I didn't want to pass out in the middle of all this. But, I finally couldn't take it anymore, and I turned my head.
My arm was hanging at an unnatural angle from my shoulder, and every movement made me wish I had never got out of my bed in the morning. I couldn't see my skin because my gi covered it, but at this moment, I was glad. I was already feeling a little woozy.
Suddenly, the crowd cleared and a couple men in white pushed through. One of them immediately headed toward me, and the other headed to my parents, who were hovering anxiously behind me.
"Hi Kim, I am Dr. Henson, and I'm going to look at your arm," he said in a kind voice. I obediently nodded and turned so he could have a clear view of my arm.
Grace got up and looked around. Spotting what she was looking for she opened her mouth to speak.
"Jack! The doctor's here!"
I followed her gaze to find Jack. He was at the far end of the room with someone else. One of his hands gripped the front of the other guy's gi and was pushing him up against the wall. I saw a flash of yellow and black and recognized Kai.
What the heck was he doing? He will get disqualified if the judges see him! I struggled against the doctor and tried to warn Jack, but Dr. Henson's firm grip on my arm almost made me pass out.
But, it turns out my warning wasn't needed, because as soon as he heard Grace, he dropped Kai and rushed back over to the bench. Jack sat down on the other side of me and gave me a reassuring smile, but I still saw the traces of anguish and rage on his face.
By now, Dr. Henson had finished his examination of my wounded arm. "Well, it's a clean injury, and will be fairly simple to correct. Your arm is completely out of its socket, Kim. It's a dislocation, but to an extreme extent. I'm going to have to maneuver you arm back in its place, and pop it back in. I'm afraid that it will be pretty painful."
I gritted my teeth and nodded. "Okay, just get it over with."
I screwed my eyes shut and held my breath as he gently, but firmly grasped my arm and started moving it. Lightning strikes of pain wracked my body, but I kept as still as possible. I felt Jack gently unclench my other hand from its tightly formed fist. He slipped his own hand into mine. I didn't want to hurt him, but my hand gripped his of its own accord. I couldn't open my eyes to see if it turned purple or not.
Meanwhile, Dr. Henson had finished moving my arm. "Okay Kim, on the count of three, I'm going to pop it back into the socket."
I was too out of it to respond.
"One."
Suddenly, I felt my arm wrench and a final burst of pain shot through me. I cried out, even though I didn't even whimper through the rest of it. But, then I didn't feel anything else. The pain had disappeared.
I cracked open my eyes to see that my arm was back in its socket. I turned my gaze on the doctor.
"You said three!" I cried.
"It's fixed isn't it? It's a psychology thing; patients tend to tense up right before the correction. So, by corrected your injury before you realized it, I just prevented a major risk factor," Dr. Henson said casually. He took my hand and moved my joints to make sure they worked.
"Um, okay," I said intelligently, trying to hide the fact that I only understood half of what he said.
"I think you're going to be just fine, Kim. You just need to wear a sling for at least two weeks, and do some daily exercises that my assistant will show you," the doc said.
"I can still practice karate, right?" I asked hopefully. I would die inside if he said no.
"I would rather you did not. The shoulder still hasn't set properly, so it could easily pop out with a slight provocation."
I internally groaned, if my parents heard that, they would strap me in a strait jacket and lock me in a padded room so I wouldn't practice.
Dr. Henson said his goodbyes and left. I became aware that I was still holding Jack's hand. And that he was sitting awfully close to me, I couldn't see any of the bench between us. I hurriedly untangled my fingers from his and scooted away. After a couple inches of space were put between us, I could breathe normally. For some reason, my breathing had quickened so I was practically hyperventilating.
"Looks like you won't be fighting for a while, huh?" he asked.
"I guess," I said, unenthusiastically.
"Chin up. You'll be back to knocking guys out in no time," he said grinning. I couldn't help but smile.
"There's that pretty smile," Jack laughed.
I felt a slight blush tinge my cheeks, but I brushed his comment off. He was just joking after all. I was saved from having to reply when Dr. Henson's assistant returned, with my arm sling.
He took my arm and put it into the pocket of the sling. He slipped the strap over my neck, to hold my arm up. He explained the stretches to me and said his goodbyes.
Jack got up and helped me up. I shook off his arm, I wasn't an invalid.
"Cut it out Jack! I'm not dead you know! My arm's just in a sling," I said, slightly annoyed.
He raised both his arms in surrender. "Blame a guy for trying to help, why don't you."
I bumped his shoulder with my good one. "You know I love you."
"That is a matter of opinion," he muttered, but he shot me a crooked smile nonetheless.
Ugh I know, I know. This ending is beyond sucky, probably the worst thing I've ever written! But I just had to get it out for you guys! I got so many reviews for the last chapter that its not even funny! I LOVE YOU GUYS(:
And before you ask, I will not follow the Kickin' IT in China original plot. Or maybe I will, you never know(; There will probably be about two or three more chapters in this story, depending on if I want to stretch it out..
If we top the last chapter in reviews, I will seriously plotz! ;D
-Courtney(: