❛ I kicked your ass on my first day. ❜

     Skateboarding was not easy.

And Mona was finding that out the hard way.

She pushed herself to her feet after falling for about the tenth time, dusting her pants off. There were already quite a few cuts and bruises on her hands, arms and legs.

The YouTube tutorial was not much help, so Mona was ready to give up. She went and bought a skateboard the day before, but had literally no clue how she was supposed to actually move while standing on it.

Mona went inside, defeated, in search of bandaids.

It had been a few days since she got Cat's number, and Mona had yet to text her. She had thought about it, obviously, and Mona wasn't sure why she was so hesitant. Usually she'd be the first to send a text, and especially a risky one.

After accumulating bandaids and Neosporin, Mona kicked off her shoes and flopped on the couch. She turned the television on to some judge show, then pulled out her phone.

She pulled up Cat's contact, thinking of something to say.

Mona sent a text, then got up and went into the kitchen for something to eat. When she got back, she saw a notification, but it wasn't from Cat.

Instead, she had a text from Sam LaRusso.

She picked up her phone and read the text, smiling to herself. Sam wanted to hang out with her and Aisha.

Mona sent a text back, then went to her room to change clothes.

Sam was coming to pick her up, so thankfully Mona wouldn't have to bike to wherever they were going. She really needed to learn how to drive.

She put on a swimsuit under her top and shorts, because Sam told her to wear one, then Mona grabbed her things and walked out to the front.

A few minutes later, she heard a car pull up. Mona opened the door and saw Sam, bouncing to her car with a smile. She opened the door and hopped in, looking over at Sam with a grin.

"Hey Sam LaRusso," Mona spoke first.

Sam laughed. "Hi, Mona. Do you have your swimsuit?"

Mona nodded. "Yep. This is my first time going to the beach since I moved to the Valley, by the way, so I hope it doesn't disappoint."

Once more Sam laughed, pulling out of Mona's driveway.

"I'll definitely make sure it doesn't. Do you want the aux?"

Mona smiled coyly.

"I think you're my new best friend, Sam LaRusso."

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     Aisha was waiting for the two girls when they arrived at the beach.

Sam grabbed her bag from the trunk and they found a spot to lay out the beach towel.

"Okay, do you guys promise not to snitch?" Aisha said, holding a bag under her arm.

Mona and Sam exchanged a look, shrugging.

Aisha pulled out a can of some alcoholic beverage, tossing one to Mona and then one to Sam.

Mona looked up at Aisha with her mouth open. "Aisha, I didn't know you were this rebellious," she joked.

Sam glanced up at Aisha. "How are you gonna drive home?"

Aisha shrugged, already chugging White Claw. "I'll be fine."

About thirty minutes later, all three of the girls were very clearly tipsy. Mona was not a lightweight, though, so she was doing better than Sam and Aisha.

"Mona, smile!" Sam held her phone up for a picture, and Mona leaned in with a toothy smile.

"You're so pretty, I don't understand," Sam said with a shake of her head. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

Mona shook her head. "I haven't dated anyone in about... a year."

That was the truth. Mona had rarely talked to any kids her age since her mom died, and that was why she made a deal with herself to try and branch out when she moved to the Valley.

"Really?" Sam said, frowning. "Why?"

Mona once more shook her head. "It's– it's a long story."

Sam slowly nodded.

"Yeah, I get it. Me and my ex, we haven't really talked since we broke up a few weeks ago."

"Did you tell Mona who your ex is?" Aisha cut in, leaning over.

Mona looked between them, having a feeling she already knew.

Sam hesitated, sighing. "My ex is Miguel," she finally said, halfway rolling her eyes. "I just– I don't know what I'm supposed to say to him."

Mona sat up, crossing her legs and tapping her chin in thought.

"Do you wanna get back together with him?" she inquired.

Sam started to shake her head, but then raised her shoulders. "I-I don't know. I'm still so confused about everything that happened and I just feel like– never mind."

Mona poked her and leaned closer. "No no, tell me."

Sam raised her head back and started to protest, but Mona persisted.

"Tell me," she said in a sing-song voice, "or I'm not gonna stop poking you..."

Sam finally folded. "I feel like maybe he's acting this way because of Cobra Kai. No offense to you guys–"

"What?" Aisha's smile dropped, narrowing her eyes at Sam. "I thought we had established that Cobra Kai had nothing to do with it."

Sam pursed her lips. "Aisha, I'm sorry, I just think that–"

"Yeah, I know what you think," Aisha cut her off, standing up. "I knew you still had something against us."

She started to storm off and Sam turned to her, saying, "Aisha, that's not what I meant!"

Aisha was already gone. Sam exhaled, turning back to Mona who just sat there in surprise.

"This is what I was talking about," Sam continued. "Cobra Kai is turning all of my friends against me."

Mona chewed her inner lip, nudging Sam with a small smile.

"Hey, I'm your friend."

Sam laughed softly, glancing down. "Yeah. But I hope Cobra Kai won't change you too."

"Nah," Mona waved her off, reaching over for another drink. "I'm a strong-willed person."

She opened the drink and took a sip, looking down at Sam.

"So tell me. Do you do karate too?"

Sam started to nod, and then her face lit up with an idea. She sat up.

"Hey, you should come to Miyagi-Do!"

Mona quirked a brow. "Miyagi what?"

Sam halfway laughed. "It's my dojo. Miyagi-Do. Well, we only have two students right now, but I'm one of them."

Raising her head, Mona nodded slightly. "Miyagi-Do..." she repeated. "Sounds cool. But– my dad's already paying for Cobra Kai."

Sam pointed a finger. "Ah, but Miyagi-Do is free. And we've got the best sensei around."

"Oh really?" Mona countered.

Sam gave a half smile. "Yes, really. We officially start tomorrow, so... can I count on you being there?"

Mona was conflicted. She couldn't just skip Cobra Kai to go to a different dojo, they'd eat her alive.

"How about... I come later tomorrow? I-I can't miss practice at Cobra Kai. I'm sorry."

Sam's smile fell, but she nodded. "Yeah, sure. Maybe we can spar one on one."

Mona tilted her head, wondering what exactly Sam meant by that. But she finally nodded, smiling at Sam.

"I look forward to it."

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     Despite still being tipsy, managed to get Mona back home.

And they had been so busy talking at the beach, Mona had not even noticed that Cat had texted her back.

She momentarily felt guilty, but replied to Cat's text quickly.

Billy was already home, so Mona went to her room and stayed there as she awaited a response.

Cat finally texted back, and she and Mona went back and forth for awhile.

She turned out to be a very interesting person, but Mona was getting bored with just texting. She wanted to see Cat in person.

Mona decided to wait until tomorrow, and maybe she could go by the restaurant for lunch and talk to Cat then.

For the few days Simone Silver had been in the Valley, she was beginning to accumulate a long list of flings for her summer.

The next day, Mona was up bright and early to get to Cobra Kai. She was starting to enjoy karate again, which she had not done since the accident with her mom.

Mona walked into the dojo with her new gi, going to the back to change into it. It gave her memories of the small gi her grandfather used to let her wear when she was ten.

She walked out into the main room, pushing her braids out of her face.

Aisha, Hawk and Bert were standing in front of two new recruits, going back and forth to decide on their new nicknames.

"...I was thinking more, Mary-Kate and Asshat," Aisha said, earning a laugh from Hawk.

Mona walked over. "Guys, come on. Their names are obviously Dickwad and Numb Nuts."

They all began laughing, and then Miguel appeared.

"They're just messing with you," he told the two boys, looking over at Mona. "But I was thinking... Ass Face and Douchebag."

Mona narrowed her eyes before breaking into laughter.

The dojo's bell rang, the door opening. Everyone else kept talking amongst themselves, but Mona looked over to see who it was.

She immediately frowned as an old man walked in, carrying a duffel bag. Mona tilted her head, immensely confused.

Why the hell did he look so familiar?

He scanned the room, and his eyes stopped at Mona. She crossed her arms, setting her jaw as she stared back at the old man.

"Can we help you?" she finally asked in a defensive tone.

Slowly, the man started to smile. He continued walking toward Johnny's office, until Johnny stepped out.

"Hey," he said to the old man in a snappy tone.

Mona turned to the others. "Do you guys know who that man is?"

They all shook their heads.

"He looks ancient," Hawk remarked, staring over at the guy as he talked with Johnny.

Mona frowned, taking another look at him. There was an itch in the back of her brain, something she could not quite reach to scratch. Mona knew, without a doubt, she had seen him somewhere before.

However she didn't have much time to reflect on it, as Johnny called the class to attention. They all lined up, facing him.

"Class," he cleared his throat, "we have a visitor."

He gestured to the old man on his right. "This is Mr. Kreese. He's just an observer. Pretend like he's not even here."

Mona wished she could do that, but it was bothering her now from trying to figure out where Kreese was a part of her memory.

"Mr. Diaz," Johnny continued, "warm them up."

Miguel stepped to the front and faced the others, bowing. They bowed back.

"Fighting positions!"

They all assumed their stances. "Front kick, hai!"

The students followed Miguel's lead until the last warmup, in which they goofed off a bit. Johnny glanced to Kreese, seemingly embarrassed.

"What the hell was that?" he snapped.

Miguel turned to him. "We were just messing around. I mean, we have eleven and a half months until the next All Valley."

Mona knit her brows, glancing away. She had a feeling this was not about to have a good outcome.

"Yeah, and besides," Hawk cut in, "we already know how to kick ass!"

Johnny folded his hands in front of him. "Oh yeah, really, huh? So you know everything. There's nothing left to learn, huh?"

He paced the front of the room.

"Five a.m. tomorrow morning," Johnny said in a loud voice. "Corner of Fulton and Raymer. You don't show, and you're off the team. Class dismissed."

He stalked off to his office, and Kreese followed him.

Mona turned on Miguel. "Nice going, Diaz. Now I have to get up at four a.m."

"Hey, don't blame Miguel," Hawk interjected, stepping toward her. "You were goofing off too."

She rolled her eyes. "No, I wasn't, I was standing there watching you all look like a bunch of idiots."

Miguel countered, "Show up tomorrow and act like you're a part of the team, then maybe you'll have room to shit talk."

Mona narrowed her eyes, moving her head closer to Miguel.

"I kicked your ass on my first day. I've got plenty of room to talk, Champ."

She walked off to the back rooms, Miguel watching her with irritation. Mona went to change into her regular clothes and gather her things.

And, since she had wasted twenty minutes of her life today, she would make up for it by paying a visit to another dojo.

Mona's only means of transportation was her bike, but she used it nonetheless. It would take about fifteen minutes to get from Cobra Kai to Miyagi-Do.

She stayed patient, although nearly out of breath when she arrived at her destination. Mona hoped Sam would be there. She hopped off of her bike and set it to the side, wandering down the path by the Miyagi-Do sign.

Mona found her way around to the back, raising her eyebrows as she looked around. It was a pretty place for a dojo.

"Mona?"

She looked over, seeing Sam and a boy she didn't recognize.

Mona broke into a smile, walking over. "Sam LaRusso. I was hoping I'd find you here."

Sam grinned, looking between Mona and the boy on the other side of her.

"Oh– Mona, meet Robby Keene. Robby, this is Mona Mitchell."

Robby nodded at her, muttering a friendly hello as Mona did the same.

"So... you weren't kidding about only having two students, huh?"

Sam raised her shoulders. "Unfortunately no. But hey... maybe we can have three?"

Mona placed her hands on her hips, tilting her head as she squinted in the sunlight. Miyagi-Do truly was a beautiful place, but it seemed barren at the moment.

"I'd say the chances are fifty-fifty. But anyway, I didn't come here to chitchat."

She dropped her hands, stepping into the white circle on the ground which Mona assumed was part of some exercise they had been doing.

Mona looked up at Sam.

"I wanna learn some Miyagi-Do."

Notes.
mona just be beefing with miguel for no reason and i find that hilarious

okay but... why am i kinda living for her and sam... for right now at least

kreese doesn't know mona but mona definitely knows kreese, and her lil sneaky ass is gonna find out how eventually

cat is going to have a very significant role later on in season two and then in season three!! that's all i will be revealing about her at this time

predictions for mona's relationship(s)?