The next day, Dash attended school as usual, and during lunchtime, they were discussing what to do before heading to the dojo.
"Do you want to know more about that place?" Devon picked up her lunch tray and lined up while waiting for her food.
Dash sighed and said, "You know we excel when it comes to Kung Fu, but most students here come to the Dojo to train in Karate because of the championships won this year. So, my idea to further improve the place is to open a new Dojo under Sakura Bushido's management, where only Karate is taught."
The night before, Dash had thought about it. It would be amazing if Cobra Kai were bought by Sakura Bushido, creating a branch exclusively for Karate, separating it from the Kung Fu school.
Many people had wondered how they participated in Karate tournaments when they were learning Kung Fu. However, these same people didn't understand that learning Kung Fu meant combining Karate skills with others. But wanting to achieve something much better, Dash wanted to split the two schools and have cleaner concepts in both.
...
During lunchtime at school, Dash wasn't in the mood to argue with anyone, so he preferred to spend his time in the cafeteria. Many people avoided being there because there were better places like the fields to spend time.
Taking the food tray, Devon had to admit what Dash said about the school, and she murmured, "This does feel like a reform school now."
"The problem is we've never been in one." Dash pointed to a table with two empty seats and said, "Let's go to that table. Before sitting with unpleasant people, I'd rather be with strangers."
Walking to the table, Dash took a step forward and asked, "Do you mind if we take these empty seats?"
There were three guys who seemed friendly, although one of them appeared very reserved, hiding a scar on his lip.
"No, go ahead, sit."
Dash nodded politely, and Devon, who was reading about today's homework, shook her head and said, "This homework is crap."
"The food they give us here is garbage." Only now did Dash remember why he disliked eating in this place.
"I'm Miguel!" Miguel said, looking at Dash, who was looking disgusted at his food.
"Oh, nice to meet you, Miguel. I'm Dash, and this is Devon." Dash glanced at Devon, who nodded slightly at the guys before focusing on what she was reading.
"I'm Demetri, and he's Eli..." Demetri didn't understand what Dash was doing at their table but didn't want to dwell on it. Still, his curiosity got the better of him, and he asked, "Dash, if you don't mind me asking, why choose the table of the weirdest guys in the whole cafeteria when you could easily sit with someone else?"
Dash, playing with the worse-than-hospital jelly, looked up and said, "Well, they were the quietest, so I thought it would be nice for everyone to have lunch together."
"Good choice, Eli is a man of few words..." Demetri raised his eyebrows and now understood what Dash meant.
"Aren't you having lunch?" Dash looked at Devon upon hearing her question and said, "Sorry, but the only thing I'm going to eat is this drink. We'll endure until we leave this place and get something better."
Miguel stared at Dash for a moment, and his first impression was that he was a pleasant, calm, and composed person. His attire didn't give away much, and he seemed indifferent to others.
At that moment, Dash, who had taken a sip of Devon's drink, noticed three girls, one of whom stared at Devon for a few seconds before looking away. Samantha LaRusso, who looked at Dash, smiled slightly before averting her gaze, feeling a bit uncomfortable.
Miguel, sitting across from Dash, looked away and seemed to have lost track of time until Demetri said, "Friend, don't torture yourself. They are the rich girls."
"He's right, you'll be better off not getting involved with those girls..." Dash nodded at Demetri's words, who seemed to be well aware of his limits, something not everyone understood, and things often went wrong.
"Not a bad piece of advice..." Eli finally spoke after not seeing any disdain in Dash's eyes when talking to them.
Miguel looked at Dash and asked, "Do you know them?"
"Only LaRusso, but not well enough to talk to them." Dash responded simply, as if he didn't care.
"I had the satisfaction of hitting her in the face in front of more than five hundred people. She used to be nice, but now she hangs out with friends who aren't really her friends, so it seems like puberty is affecting her." Devon left Miguel and the others with the words stuck in their throats.
Miguel looked at Demetri and asked the guys next to him, "Have you ever talked to them?"
"Yes, all the time." Demetri responded sarcastically and exaggerated. "We hang out after school, kiss, grope each other, and such. Eli here is the king of the dance floor. He sleeps with more girls than anyone, right, Eli?"
The moment Miguel heard that response, he regretted asking again. But Demetri, who had forgotten that two other people were sitting in front of him, said, "Do you know what table you're sitting at? You've abandoned any hope of losing your virginity before college."
Devon, of course, was indifferent to these comments; any unnecessary garbage she heard went in one ear and out the other. But Miguel coughed awkwardly knowing that there was a girl at the table with them.
"Although I don't want the jelly, it would be a waste to throw it away. Do you guys want this? We haven't touched it." Dash looked up, and the moment he saw the reserved Eli, he heard him say, "Damn, Yasmine is watching us."
Eli, next to Miguel, muttered, "Surely she's making fun of me."
Miguel exaggerated, thinking these thoughts were extreme, and pointed out, "They're not making fun of you."
Devon turned around, and after seeing the smiles of those girls, she returned her gaze forward. "Don't pay attention; surely one of us is making fun of them."
"I'm tired of this situation. Should we look for them outside of school?" Dash looked at Devon, who seemed very calm and smiled mischievously when he asked this question.
"Forget it, I'm not going to fight with her." Dash didn't want anything extreme outside of tournaments, so he refused.
Dash raised his eyebrows slightly and murmured, "Then if there won't be a fight, let's leave. Take the food you want with confidence."
Eli looked at Dash's untouched food tray, so he took the things he liked the most without caring about anything else.
Devon, who packed her things, said, "Have more confidence in yourselves, join some kind of sport, and surely what others think of you won't matter."
"I'd listen to Devon; she's very right." Dash smiled friendly as he walked away from the cafeteria.
By the time Devon and Dash left, Miguel looked at Demetri and asked, "Did they really just come here to see if someone would pick a fight with them?"
Demetri sighed and said, "The guy named Dash's family is the richest of all the students you see here, but unlike everyone else who is known, he's not an idiot. Hell, he's on the damn debate team with his girlfriend."
"The girl who was beside him was his girlfriend?" Miguel was surprised, and then things didn't seem so strange when he remembered how they behave.
Eli smiled and said, "They make a good couple. I heard Dash almost got into a fight with Kyler."
"That's the connection I'm talking about. You don't need to have a sexy girlfriend to feel true love." Demetri pointed this out as he looked at Eli and Miguel.