Part Two: No Girls Allowed

                                    

                                          
Mom and I manage to start the car fine, and we drive into town. We get lost on our way, taking a detour to the beach on accident, then veering back on track after driving through a creepy alley. 
                          
We finally make it to the Dojo as the sun sets and according to the groups of kids my age coming out of the building the class must have just ended.
                          
 I scanned the crowd but I couldn't find another girl my age. Weird. 
                          
I get out of the car and I see in the faint yellow glow of the Dojo that there's a man there in an all black Gi and a younger boy a little older than me talking to him in a white one. 
                          
He has a brown belt, not very good compared to my black one at home.
                          
I push the door open, and look back for a brief moment to see my mom give me a quick thumbs up. I had asked her to let me do this myself, I figured it showed character.
                          
The door clicks lightly behind me, and the boy is cut off. "Sensei, I really think I could do it, a black belt would be good for me, I can keep up with them-" 
                          
"Is this your sister." The older man asks the boy. 
                          
He looks at me clearly annoyed and shakes his head. "No Sensei."
                          
"Actually sir, my name is Josie LaRusso, I'm here to sign up for Karate. I just moved here from New Jersey and I've taken classes before." I say, I roll my shoulders back and fix my posture, I've been through this before.
                          
The man walks over to me and holds out his hand to shake. "I'm Sensei John, you're familiar with Cobra Kai?" 
                          
I shake his hand, firm, but not violent. "Not Cobra Kai in Particular, I trained with the Jersey City Tigers. Sensei Stanley." 
                          
"Stanley Winters?" He asks, dropping my hand.
                          
"That would be him." I nod.
                          
"I know him, excellent trainer, always brings in the best from Jersey. What rank are you as of now?"
                          
I smile slightly, "Black belt, I received it before I left."
                          
He claps his hands togethers once and rubs them together. "Excellent, that's a very good accomplishment, you should be proud."
                          
I nod once more and wait for him to go on.
                          
"I wish that I could let you join the team, I really do. But as of right now this is an all male Dojo." My face falls, and he notices.
                          
He looks at me, then he looks at the boy standing beside him. "But maybe..." He says quietly. 
                          
I look to the boy and immediately know what John is thinking. "How do you two feel about a classic spar?" 
                          
I nod quickly, but the boy is hesitant. John walks over to him and hits him a little too hard on the back. "If you win-Josie, was it? You can join the dojo. If you win Hayden I'll move you up to a black belt."
                          
He looks at me with a worried expression. "All right." Hayden says.
                          
I'm already wearing leggings and a t-shirt so I can spar just fine it it. We get set up, he's in the left corner diagonal to me, and I'm in front of the window. I know that my mom is watching, and honestly I'm surprised that she didn't come inside.
                          
The boy, Hayden, moves first he runs up to me and tries a punch. I dodge it and roundhouse kick his back, he's knocked forward. He turns quickly and tries to do a front kick towards me, I block it with my forearm and punch him square in the jaw. The force of the blow knocks him to the ground and he stays there.
                          
I hear John's voice, almost as if it's in my head. "Finish him." Without a second thought I chop downwards onto his stomach, with a groan he rolls over and crawls away from me, outside of the ring. The spar only lasted around five minutes, I realize when I look to the clock.
                          
Sensei John, walks over to me as I watch the boy stand up and brush himself off. Sensei pats me on the back and leads me over to a counter by the front of the Dojo, he reaches under the desk and brings out a small white Gi with the Cobra Kai logo on the front.
                          
"Congratulations, the first girl in Cobra Kai. I knew you would be able to do it." He smiles at me, but it isn't warm or kind. 
                          
I take the Gi and give him a quick bow, "Thank you, Sensei John." I wink and he laughs a loud booming sound that echoes around the Dojo.
                          
"We start on Monday, from five to six thirty. Your guardian can start the payment then." He walks over to Hayden, who was watching me sadly.
                          
"I'll see you then, thank you." I say again and walk out.
                          
The door doesn't even close before I hear Sensei John start yelling at Hayden, something about being an embarrassment. I try to ignore it and get into the car quickly, "They let you in! That's amazing sweetheart, I'm so proud of you I saw you doing your Karate in there." She's talking very fast, and I realize that this is the first time that she's seen me perform.
                          
"Thanks mom, but we should probably get home though, Danny's gonna get worried." She nods and starts the car.
                          
The drive on the way home is much shorter than the drive into town, probably because we only get lost once this time. It's around seven o'clock when we get home and Danny is at the kitchen table eating some microwave noodles.
                          
"Where were you guys?" he asks with a mouthful of food.
                          
"Signing up for Karate, I made it in!" I express by showing him my new Gi.
                          
"Good job, Jo." He says continuing on his noodles.
                          
Danny tells mom that there was no maintenance man, instead he went to the apartment owner and asked about a possible replacement, the owner said he would get on it.
                          
I don't have much of an appetite so I decide to go to bed. I had a busy day starting first thing in the morning, and for the first time in awhile, I was excited to hang out with people other than my family.