On a lone road desert road, a single motorcycle raced down the two lane path at a blistering pace. Riding the vehicle was Boscha Hargreaves. Having set out almost two weeks ago, the young woman didn't have a real destination in mind, she just wanted to put some distance between her and the Valley, Daphne and Caroline, and well...everyone. With no sign of any patrol cars in sight for miles either way, she decided to open the engine up and gave the vehicle all it had. The road beneath her just whizzed by, the road lines almost seeming to merge into one solid entity as she raced on. Going at those speeds felt incredible to her as if all her problems were a bad dream.
Only one problem with dreams: Eventually you have to wake up. And on occasions such as this, it can be a rude awakening. One small error in judgment and she had lost control of the bike. From the few tricks she picked up from her dad and from driving in general, she released the accelerator and tried to keep the bike upright as best she could. It only served her well for a time as she was still going a good seventy miles an hour before veering off the road and crashing into the sand. The bike rolled twice, Boscha fortunately having fallen off before that. Add to that the fact that she was wearing her helmet and she was only slightly worse for ware. Of course she still cursed herself for being so reckless, though she had to admit it was pretty much par the course for her.
Boscha sat up and brought her knees up to her chest. She looked over at the bike and promptly took her helmet off and tossed it on the ground, revealing she had acquired a new navy blue headband. "Hey!" She heard a voice call before turning her head slowly to the road and was surprised to see a blue sedan sat off to the side. The redhead must of still hit her head pretty hard not to notice them driving up. The driver raced over to the girl who was still seated. "You okay?"
"Fine." Boscha grumbled, getting up and walking over to check on her bike.
"You sure? That was some fall you took there." The passerby said, following behind and watching the young woman look over the bike. "Everything all right?"
Boscha moaned, as she tipped the bike up. "It needs some fixing but it's usable. You can go on about your business. I'll manage." She attempted to dismiss the newcomer who looked over the bike herself.
"Uh-uh, no way you are getting more than fifty miles on that thing. There's a town just up the road." They said, Boscha cursing under her breath the entire time. Why couldn't this goody-two-shoes take a hint?
Boscha finally turned to face the annoying voice. "Listen, why don't you just..." She immediately stopped as she finally saw the face now in front of her. It couldn't be. The hair was different, cut short, the clothing was of much brighter choices and the face was a little slimmer, but there was no mistaking it once she saw the gap in the front teeth. The last time the redhead had seen the person facing her, they were face down on the pavement. This was Masha alright. Boscha snapped herself out of what had to be an awkward silence. "tell me...how to get there."
"Uh, sure." Masha said before pointing down the road. "You just keep heading about ten miles in that direction and you'll see a turnoff on the right hand side. You can't miss it."
"Great." Boscha said in a still upset tone as she sat by her bike.
"You gonna be okay?"
"Yeah, I'm just a little rattled is all. I'm gonna hang around here for a bit. Thanks for checking on me or whatever." Boscha brought up her knees and rested her head on them as the passerby gave an uncertain look before getting back in the sedan and driving off. This had not been a promising day for Boscha. She'd already damaged the gift her father left her and now the universe had decided to haunt her with a ghost from her past. Or maybe she'd just hit her head too hard and that was all a hallucination like the last one. Right now, all she wanted to do was just rest there until she felt up to heading to whatever town was there and hope they had a decent mechanic that knew what they were doing with her most prized possession.
The redhead pulled a blanket off the back of the bike and wrapped it around her for the time being. Ignoring the dirt and dust that had gotten on it, it was still a comfort as there was a chill setting in the air. Boscha ended up sitting there far longer than she had intended, dozing off and not waking up until the sun was rising that next morning. She cursed again at her bad luck before getting up and onto her motorcycle and headed down the road. It didn't take her long before she spotted the sign that guided her into the town of Calebville. Not the catchiest name, Boscha admitted but it was the closest place around. Not much could be going on here either with only a population of, according to the sign, 1012 people.
She traveled around the town and managed to get directions to the local mechanic and left the bike there. Unfortunately for her, the guy told her it would take about a week or so to get the necessary parts for the repairs. Already in a bad mood, Boscha left and walked the streets of the town and managed to find a diner to satiate her hunger. With the bad news that she would be stuck in this podunk town for the next week or more depending on how long the repairs took, the teen figured she might as well test out the local restaurants to see which ones would be a hard pass during her stay.
The diner's bell rang as Boscha entered and seated herself at one of the small booths that lined the place. There wasn't all that much room in the place only about ten booths plus seats at the counter made up all of the dining area. The young woman grabbed a menu and brought it up to her face as she began looking over what to have for breakfast. "What can I get for you today?" A pleasant voice said as Boscha lowered her menu only for a lump to form in her throat as she looked up to see Masha in a white server's apron over a pale green short dress. "Hey you! Fancy seeing you here."
Boscha put on a nervous smile. Why of all places did Masha have to be here? "Uh, yeah. I had to wait for my bike to get fixed up and it'll take a little longer to get it done."
"Sorry to hear that." Masha's mood picked up a bit with that gap toothed smile. "But let's see if we can't get you in a better mood. I'll be your waitress today, so what would you like?"
"Waitress?" Boscha thought for a moment but brushed it off as she got back to the menu. "Yeah, I'll have the sausage and gravy with scrambled eggs and white toast with orange juice."
"Excellent choice. I'll have that right out to you." Masha walked off to get the order in, leaving Boscha to sit and think. Seeing that face two days in a row was really getting to her. She'd be glad when that chump at the shop got her bike fixed and she could get out of here and forget this place.
Apparently, Boscha had been thinking a lot longer than she had intended as the clatter of the plates being set down in front of her brought her back to reality. "There you are. Sausage gravy and biscuits with scrambled eggs and orange juice. I even threw in a few more biscuits, free of charge." Masha winked with a smile. "Enjoy."
"Right...thanks." Boscha said a little down as she picked up her fork and pawed at the food a bit.
Masha looked at the downtrodden woman seated in front of her. She sat down across from her in the booth, surprising Boscha. "Okay, what's up?"
"It's...it's nothing. Don't worry about it." Boscha said averting her gaze and keeping her eyes on the food.
"Come on. It's dead in here anyway." Masha said, seeing that Boscha was the only customer currently inside. "That and I'm a really good listener. We'll have a little girl talk."
That clinched it for the redhead. From what she remembered, Masha had always used "they" back then. Not that Boscha had ever cared about that kind of thing, but it was definitely noticeable. She sighed as she looked up to the teen in front of her. "I just have... a lot on my mind."
Masha sat down opposite of her. "Tell me."
"I took this road trip to get my mind off of some things...back at home." Boscha's gaze turned off to the side out of the window.
Masha looked to her with a bit of concern. She attempted to respond before the door of the restaurant swung open and three teens walked in. The first of the three had orange hair in two pigtails, mostly covered with a black backwards. She sported a gray jacket and a pink skirt with black leggings underneath. The second was a rather tall, lanky young man with dark skin and dark spiked hair, wearing a purple shirt, black pants and yellow sneakers. The third was a short husky young man with a fair complexion and blonde hair, wearing a green hoodie and blue jeans.
The three walked in and promptly approached the two. "Hey, how about some service over here?" The orange haired female shouted as Masha rolled her eyes. "Where's the boss man? You know what time of the month it is."
"Give me one minute, Maggie." Masha said as she looked back to Boscha.
This didn't seat well with the three as Maggie then lend over in the middle of the two, facing Masha. She raised her hand and knocked on her head. "Hello, earth to ditz. Anybody home? We don't wait, we get what we want. Isn't that right, Gavin?"
"Yes, ma'am." The dark skinned boy agreed.
"So why don't you get your boss out here, let him know his payment is due and we'll be on our way and you can go back to..." Maggie paused and turned to look at Boscha who looked rather apathetic at the whole thing. "Who are you?"
Boscha looked to her before answering. "I'm nobody."
"That's right you're nobody! You better watch yourself, cause strangers aren't welcome around here!" The blonde boy behind her said as Maggie shifted her eyes to him.
"Shut up, Angmar." She told him as he frowned and she turned her attention back to the newcomer. "Now we do charge a fee for staying in our town, little miss headband. That'll do." The teen leaned over and picked up Boscha's spoon, dipping it into the gravy and biscuits. She stuck the massive spoon full into her mouth and began chewing before frowning and spitting the finely mushed food back onto the plate. "Yuck! What kind of garbage is this slop house trying to serve people?"
Boscha just imagined in her head what she would have done to this girl several months ago. Now, she was just going to sit there and hope this punk would just leave soon.
"Knock it off!" Masha said as the three standing teens looked to her. "This is typical fair for you, but I expected better from you Gavin. You too Angmar." The two boys looked slightly guilty as Maggie glared at the girl.
"They decided to move up in this town and the only way to do that is running with my crew. If you had any brains, you'd have signed on with us when you had the chance. But since you don't feel like cooperating...Trash the place!" She ordered the two behind her as they started to knock over the condiment trays on the tables and throwing glasses against the floor.
"What is going on out here!?" A young man with brown hair came from the kitchen with an apron on only to see who was outside as he ducked back in.
Boscha sat as she watched the ordeal, sipping her drink, the only part of her meal she could actually still enjoy. The waitress opposite her had jumped to her feet and rushed to try and stop the needless destruction. "Cut it out, Maggie! Just stop!" She was stopped herself as Angmar and Gavin grabbed Masha by the arms and held her back as Maggie walked up to her.
Maggie looked Masha over and then swiftly slapped her. Both of the boys turned their heads away slightly. "You must have forgotten who you're talking to. We can do whatever we want. We run this town. You just keep your head down like everyone else in this town and do as your told."
The redhead looked up slightly at the scene only to set her drink down nervously as an old memory forced itself to the forefront of her mind.
"Let them go!" Vee cried out as Skara had her pinned to the ground. Across from them in the alleyway, Amelia and Cat held Masha by the arms with them struggling to get free. Boscha walked up a small pocket knife in hand as she chuckled.
"Them?" She scoffed as she looked to Masha, placing a hand on the left cheek. She smirked before she reached down and, using her knife, cut open the front of the raven haired teen's black blouse and exposing the black bra and bare skin underneath. She went one step further and placed the blade against the under garment before slicing it open as well. "Looks like a chick to me. What do you say ladies?" Her crew laughed as she put the blade away before punching Masha in the stomach and watched as the teen fell to the ground.
"Let's get out of here. These two bore me." Boscha gestured for the group to leave as Vee rushed over to check on her friend.
"So the next time you even think of..." Maggie was still ranting on about how she was in control before she stopped and turned to see Boscha standing right behind her. "You got a problem, cuz?" The redhead only responded with a front kick to her opponent's chest that knocked Maggie down and back several feet.
Boscha had to act quickly. While she still had a form of mental block about using her fists, Boscha subverted that by using kicks, palm strikes and throws. Doing this, she'd all but abandoned her old style. Still, this new style came in useful for what she needed. Before the other two could react she threw a high kick that hit Gavin in the face as he slammed against the counter. Angmar released Masha and charged forward. Before he could even bring his hands up for a real strike, Boscha clapped her hands over his ears, causing him sharp pan and disorienting him. She then gave him a palm strike to the chest and sent him crashing onto a table top.
Masha all the while stood in stunned silence as she watch the whole ordeal. Boscha quickly turned, knowing this Gavin guy was still in the game. He attempted to get back to his feet only for the young woman to kick the teen's leg out from under him. She needed to end things before it happened. She found it was too late as her body froze up once the fist appeared out of the corner of her eye. The blow struck her in the side of the head as she staggered to the side with Maggie jumping all over her and delivering several hard punches until the Hargreaves girl crashed to the floor. This was not enough for Maggie as she began kicking her relentlessly.
"Hey!" She stopped as her and her two fellow gang members turned to see a man in his twenties walk through the doors of the diner. He had a slightly tanned complexion, light brown hair and blue eyes. The most notable thing about him was the tan police uniform he wore. He scanned the diner and surveyed the damage before looking at all present. "What's uh...What's going on in here?" The teens all looked to the officer as he looked at them. "You getting into trouble, Maggie?"
"No officer Tholomule." The girl said as she looked down at Boscha. "This girl just came in here and started causing all kinds of trouble. We just came to make sure everything was alright." Maggie said innocently.
"Well, that settles it." He walked over and picked up Boscha carefully, putting cuffs on her and leading her to the door. "Let's go. You have the right to remain..."
"Oh please." Masha said as she ran over to him. "Steve, seriously? These three came in here and did what they usually do. Not only that, they harassed me! She was only trying to help."
Steve looked to her with a bit of doubt. "Sorry, Masha. My hands are tied."
She rolled her eyes before looking at him, frustrated. "When are you gonna grow a spine?"
"Maybe when you learn to keep your nose out of things that are so much bigger than you. People are getting sick of it." He said as he took Boscha outside and continued to read her her rights. While Masha watched them leave, the three other teens got what they came for and left themselves. This left her to clean up the restaurant. It was going to be a busy day for just that alone, not to mention having to spend a bit more money than she had intended.
Boscha found herself processed by the officer before being locked in a cell. It wasn't the worst place she'd been in. She thought about the time her gang had crashed a stolen car into ditch and got thrown in the county lock-up before her mother got the charges dropped. Having money and common sense at the same time wasn't always necessary. Without the former though, it kind of paid off to have the latter. Sticking her nose into local problems probably didn't help at all. What was she thinking, getting involved in something that was none of her business? And for Masha of all people. And why was she pretending like she didn't recognize Boscha? She hadn't changed that much since she left town.
Whatever, her bike would be fixed in a couple of days hopefully and she could put this place behind her. While it wasn't optimal, the jail cell wasn't all that bad of a place to spend it. Being a woman meant that she wouldn't have to spend it with the mostly male drunks and trouble makers. "Okay, dinner is served." The officer who had introduced himself as Steve said as he brought a tray with a bologna sandwich, chips, an apple and a milk carton on it to the cell.
"Better put that in a to-go bag Steven." The two looked as Masha walked into the station. "I'm posting her bail."
Steve rolled his eyes and walked over to her, placing the tray on the front counter. "What are you doing here?" He whispered to her.
"Like I said." She placed a stake of bills onto the front desk. "I believe this is the standard for damage to private property."
The man sighed. "You know it's not that simple. She attacked..."
"She defended me." Masha cut him off. "I'm making my own call on this. And given my position, do you really want to debate this? I'd rather not pull rank on you, Steven." The teen's smile was all it took for Steve to groan in defeat.
"Fine. But she is going to be trouble. Don't expect me to be able to help when it comes." He says as he goes to open the cell.
"Believe me, help is the last word I associate with you." Masha said bluntly causing Steve to pause for a moment before unlocking the cell. "Thank you, Steve. Now Miss, if you'll follow me." Masha led the way as Boscha looked back at the officer and glared at him for several seconds before abruptly scooping up the food that was her dinner off the tray and out the door. The two arrive at the blue car Masha had driven when she met Boscha on the side of the road. "Hop in. I got your things you left at the diner in the back."
Boscha stood outside of the car for a moment with a befuddled look. Masha noticed this as she got into the driver's seat. "Come on. I won't bite." The redhead walked around to the other side, got in and fastened her seat belt. The other teen expected her to say something but Boscha merely stared forward. "I'm Masha by the way. Masha Dimopoulos." She extended a friendly hand to the passenger who looked at the offering in disbelief. The silence was deafening as the driver opted to just proceed. "Okay, not big on introductions." The car drove down the road, and eventually went outside the town proper as it was already dark out. "Hey, thanks for helping me back there. I don't know if you have anyplace to stay but this place is better than the motel."
The car pulled up to a single wide mobile home. Even in the dark, Boscha could tell it had a white color to it and it had seen better days judging by the exterior. The two got out of the car as Masha popped the trunk to let Boscha get her things. "It's not the greatest but the town council has been keeping it up and I've got a cleaning crew out once a week for the inside. You'll need to sign some paperwork for it tomorrow but I'll bring it out in the morning. I'll even knock off sixty percent of the rent since you won't be staying the full month."
"What, you the mayor or something?" Boscha asked.
The other girl blew a short raspberry. "I wish, but I am the youngest person to ever serve on the town council and a member of the housing committee so I can give you this without much hassle. Here are the keys, make yourself at home. There's a clean bed with fresh linen in the closet a couch and a television with basic channels." She dropped the keys into the other teen's hands as she turned to leave.
"Thank you." The redhead said plainly. "And my name...it's...it's Boscha."
"Boscha?" The raven haired girl looked to her as if contemplating something, her eyes narrowing. "Well that's a pretty name. Well enjoy your night." She quickly put on an upbeat smile as she got back into the car and gave a final wave before driving off.
Boscha didn't know whether to breath a sigh of relief or wonder why she was playing dumb. She unlocked the door and hit the light switch as she entered the living room area where the gray couch greeted her. She walked passed it, through the kitchen and into the cramped bedroom where she tossed her bag on the bed and opened it up to dump all of her clothing onto it. She proceeded to put her things in the drawer right next to the bed. As she did so she came across something she wished she could be rid of as she unfurled her Cobra Kai gi.
As much as she wanted to just throw it away and forget the night where everything had gone wrong, she just couldn't bring herself to throw it out. When she had it on she was a winner, feared and respected...until that night. Then she had lost everything. Her sensei's respect, her home, her best friend who, despite her treating like garbage was there for her even after it all. It was with that last thought in mind that she crumpled up the gi and pressed it into the drawer before leaving the room. She spotted the home phone and took it off the receiver. To her relief there was a tone as she dialed a number and waited nervously.
"Hello?" Boscha froze as she heard the voice of Skara on the other end. "Hello? Is someone there?" She opened her mouth to speak but found that no words would come out, as if her vocal cords were paralyzed. Before another word could be spoken by the receiver off the call, Boscha hung up before throwing herself, face first on the couch. It was a long day and she just wanted to sleep away the rest of her time in this hole.