Samurai Chapter 2 (Keep Posted For More)

Chapter 2:


“Wake up Jay” whispered Liv in Jay’s ear “Wake uuppp” “GET UP ALREADY YOU LOSER”
”w..What?” said Jay groggily?
“Its morning come on we’ve gotta get to karate class, I’m gunna kick your sorry butt again today” she laughed and ran off to get changed.
”Uh” groaned Jay rolling out of bed and rubbing his eyes, he stood up stretched and went across the landing to the bathroom. He cleaned his teeth and spiked up his blond hair with gel. Returning to his room he pulled on his karate uniform, a crisp, but loose, white shirt and white trousers and then a certain coloured belt. Jay tied his orange coloured belt around his waist (For those not familiar with the karate belt system, here are the colours’ in ascending order, white, yellow, orange, green, blue, brown, black which is the best). Jay had passed two exams and failed six; this had earned him the title ‘the little pussy’. What made this worse was the fact that his sister was already a brown belt and she was 10. He failed mostly because he wasn’t exactly what you would call physically fit and was always short of breath. In a proper fight if someone drop kicked him in the stomach then he was done for. Today though he had his 3rd attempt at earning his green belt and he was determined to win. The reason for this was not because his sister was constantly mocking him or because of his crappy title but it was because of a National competition that had just been announced. The final 3 competitors would win $500 and a chance to attend a professional karate and martial arts school. To win you had to fight and beat different opponents some of which were students from the school and impress the judges with your moves. The catch was that you could only enter if you were at green belt level. Liv was entering and found it hilarious that Jay wasn’t yet a high enough level, this had made up Jay’s mind, he was going to win that green belt today if it killed him, he had to show Liv and win that place at karate school. Liv poked her head around the door, she was already dressed and she had a piece of toast clasped in her hand. “Hurry up Jay, if you want to get some training in before your exam we need to leave” she said looking at Jay “Now” she prompted. Jay stood up and followed her out to the car, on the journey Liv was constantly ribbing him for being an orange belt still but Jay wasn’t listening. In his mind’s eye he was imagining him in a really nice training gym surrounded by professional martial artists who were begging him to teach them his moves. “Jay? Come down off the cloud of crap Jay, we’re here” Liv said waving her hand in front of his face. They stepped out of the car and entered the old gym, this was the where their karate lessons where held. The gym had old wooden flooring that got cleaned about once a decade, it had no changing rooms and it was usually a dump. It had a training trampoline in the corner for white belts to learn the basic moves and there were faded mats that matched the colours of your belts on the floor, this was where the different belt colours trained for themselves and fought each other. Then at the front of the gym was the big mat where you got coached by either Dave or Jen and taught new moves respective to your belt colour. It was also where all the exams happened. At the back through a little brown door was the office where Matt sat and observed students through a dirty window that over looked the gym. Matt was the chief coach at the karate class, although he never did any coaching, instead he sat and wrote out notes about the various students to decide when to enter them for their exams. When it was time for an exam Matt would come down out of his office and assess you he would then hand you your next colour belt, or give you hell if you failed. One of his preferred phrases was
“You little crappy loser” he would have used worse language but that would have lost him his job. Liv went straight over to the brown mat and started sparring with a guy called James, she had him on the floor within seconds and then she knocked him out. Jen came over congratulated Liv on her technique and threw a bucket of freezing water over James. He woke up, stood and shook hands with Liv promptly spinning her in a vicious turn and kicking out at her stomach, Liv was ready for him though and she dodged the kick and got James into a tough arm lock “Don’t make me head butt you James” she said threateningly “Ok, ok I give up, your too good” said James through gritted teeth.
“Say I’m the best and that I’m totally fit” she coxed
“What?!” he yelled
“Say it” she said tightening her hold.
“Ok, you’re the best” James squealed
“and” she coxed
“and you’re totally fit” he gasped out. The other brown belts started laughing at him.
“Thank you James that’s sooo sweet!” she said in a girly girl voice releasing him. She turned then to look at Jay, “get on with it Jay, you wouldn’t want to fail your exam again would you?” at this the whole hall except Liv and his fellow orange belts erupted into a round of “Aww the little pussy’s failing, aww the little pussy’s failing, aww”
”SHUT IT YOU LOT” yelled Jen who had always had a soft spot for Jay. The babble died down. Jay walked over to the orange mat dying with embarrassment. “Don’t let them get you down on the day of your exam Jay” Jen said “Get some training in, you have half an hour” ”Ok” Jay replied half-heartedly.
”Hey Jay are you alright” said a small voice from somewhere below Jay’s knee.
”Yeah Kyle I’m just great, what with my sister being better than me and everyone calling me a wimp and the fact that I can’t enter that competition because I’m too crap!”
”Aww never mind Jay, I’m taking my green belt exam today too, maybe if we both pass we can enter together” said Kyle punching Jay playfully in the stomach.
”Yeah whatever Kyle, it’s alright for you, your 9 and I’m 14, I’m ****”
”Language Jay” said Jen but she smiled to show him that she was only joking.
”Kyle, come on its time for your exam, Jay you can’t watch sorry” Kyle left with Jen looking worried. Jay turned his back on the exam proceedings and began to spar with Joe, he beat him which made him feel a bit better but Joe was only 8 so it wasn’t much of an achievement. Jay finished the fight just in time to see Kyle running at him brandishing a green belt
“Jay I did it Jay! Are you pleased?”
”Yeah sure Kyle” Jay replied
“Jay! Over here please” it was Matt calling him from the big mat
”Go get ‘em Jay “shouted Jay’s various orange belt chums. Jay nodded and walked over to face his test. Through the window of the gym a young boy was watching the club unnoticed by Matt who would have told him to shove off. He was wearing a t-shirt with a picture of a Samurai sword emblazoned on the front.