XL.                                              Heartbreak Weather

      Odessa stood patiently while waiting for Johnny and Daniel to begin training. From the corner of her eye, she saw Eli standing alone as well. Her therapy session was hard. It opened her eyes to a lot of stuff she didn't know. In a way, she saw him differently than before. She was more cautious. She didn't know if she wanted to make up with him. Her feelings were changing but she didn't know exactly what they were.

"Ready. Bow." Said Johnny.

Sensei Lawrence and I have the same goal of preparing you for the tournament," Daniel started. 

"But we have different ways of getting you there,"

"We realize that teaching you opposing viewpoints at the same time can be a little confusing. So we've made a decision to divide and conquer."

The students looked at one another, not understanding.

Johnny pointed behind him. "Eagle Fang trains out front,"

"And i'll be back here with the Miyagi-Dos." Said Daniel.

Odessa raised her hand. "How is that going to help us?" She wondered.

"Yeah,  I thought we were stronger working together." Miguel agreed.

"We're still working together." Johnny assured them.

"Just separately." Said Daniel.

". . . On opposite ends of the dojo."

Odessa looked to her right at Hailey. The brunette only shrugged.

"All right. Eagles, follow me." Johnny ordered after a brief awkward silence.

"I have a feeling this isn't going to end well." Grayson whispered to his friends.

"I always feel that way with those two," said Oliver. He looked at his friends gave a two finger wave. "See ya guys."

The Eagle Fangs followed Johnny to the front area. "Fall in!" He hollered. "Hawk, since you're the new Eagle, come on up." He said to Eli.

Eli gave Odessa a a quick glance and bowed. "Yes, Sensei." He responded.

Odessa looked at Johnny suspiciously. "I have a bad feeling about this." She muttered to herself.

"What makes you say that?" Asked Hailey.

When Hawk stepped forward, Johnny leg sweeper him and he fell to the dirt.

"Oh. Yeah, okay, that's bad."

"What the heck?" Eli groaned in pain from the ground.

"Today, we're gonna practice our front sweeps. . .On Hawk." Johnny announced.

"This is gonna be fun." Grayson said with a large grin.

Eli scrambled off the ground. "All right. I know I was a dick but i'm sorry." He said with a sad expression.

"Talk is cheap." Johnny dismissed his apology. He looked at his students. "Who's next?"

Hailey automatically raised her hand.

"Alright, Hailey, you're up."

Eli looked scared as Hailey gleefully stepped forward out of the line. "Uhh, no hard feelings?" He uttered.

Responding with an evil grin, Hailey spun around and leg sweeper him. He fell to the ground again. She stood up and shrugged. "We're getting there."

Odessa dragged one of her hands down her face and sighed.

"Penis Breath, you're up." Johnny announced.

Just as Eli stood back up, he was leg sweeped again. He let out another painful groan.

"Stop whinin' like a little bitch. Get up!" Johnny barked.

Odessa watched with a heavy heart as he continued to have them hurt Eli. Her and Miguel hung back, both agreeing that the exercise wasn't a good idea. Hailey was having a field day. Grayson was just going hard on him because he thought he deserved it.

Apparently, Daniel felt the same way. He came out of his dojo. "Sensei Lawrence!" He called out.

"Yes, sir?" Johnny responded.

"May I have a word with you?" He asked and he was very obliviously annoyed.

"All right guys, everybody take five!"

Odessa held out her hand for Eli to take. He grabbed a hold of it and groaned again. She dusted the dirt off his clothes. "I'm sorry he's doing this."

He shook his head. "It's okay. I deserve it." He spoke glumly.

She paused. "I mean, you deserve to have to work for our forgiveness, but, bullying isn't okay. You're still a person."

He stared at her softly.

"Just don't give up. Things'll get better. I promise." She finished and patted him on the shoulder. She smiled and walked off to get a drink of water.

Eli's eyes followed her and he released a sad sigh. He limped into the dojo to get his water. "Walk it off? I'm trying my best here."

He felt like such an outsider amongst everyone. He was the one who caused all pain and suffering so he knew he deserved everything that was coming to him, but he still felt alone. Eli stared at the picture hanging on the dojo wall of two wrestles standing on a deck in their fighting stance. "You know, that's the sparring deck where Mr. Miyagi's great-grandfather taught karate on the okinawan waterfront," Demetri explained when he walked into the dojo.

Eli grinned with interest and touched the frame of the picture.

Chris quickly stopped him. "Yo, be careful with that." He said and threw his arm down.

"Why? You think i'm going to break it?"

"You already broke a door. And you stole Mr.Miyagi's medal."

"And you beat the shit out of me." Nathan added with anger.

Eli frowned. "Hey, look, I'm really sorry about all
that—"

"Go back with your little Eagle gang. You're not wanted here." Chris snapped.

Oliver walked over and stood behind them. "Hey now, chill out guys." he told them and looked at Eli. "Look, Eli, we know you're sorry. But it's gonna take more than sorry to gain our trust again. Odessa may be able to forgive you but we can't." He remained calm with a look of remorse.

Eli's face dropped and he looked over at Demetri, waiting for him to say something. He only gave him a look of defeat and turned his head the other way. Eli frowned deeply and quickly exited the dojo. He found Mr. Larusso and limped his way over to him. "Hey, Mr. Larusso, can we talk?"

A very angry Daniel looked at him. "What?"

"I don't know where I fit in here."

"Well, what did you expect? You burned bridges with pretty much everyone here." The man snapped, not thinking of what he was saying.

That was the final straw. Eli gave up and walked away. Odessa was talking to Miguel when she saw him leave. "Eli? What's wrong?" She asked was ignored.

All the students gathered around and watched the conflict. "What the hell did you do?" Johnny raised his voice.

"What did I do? I'm not the one who's been kicking his ass all day." Daniel argued with him.

"We're training for the All Valley. Not some yoga competition!" He threw at him.

"Hey, don't disrespect my dojo in front of your students!"

"Don't tell me how to run my class. I'll do whatever I want."

Odessa rolled her eyes and jogged out of the backyard. "Eli?" She called out and looked around for him. His car was gone. She frowned again and sat her hands on her hips.