Chapter Text
We did not ever match where we were on our journeys. I still had at least a year of school ahead of me because I got behind after the brawl, but Sam graduated with way fewer honors than I’m sure she and her family expected. Despite a fancy list of college-perfect grades, I could see, even from afar, that she felt defeated. She had not done as much as she wished, and her resolve was weak as a dry branch. Sometimes it seemed as if her parents knew how empty their daughter felt, sometimes it seemed they had no power to notice it.
“They want me to go to UCLA,” Sam told us when Miguel, Robby, and I gathered in the dojo for a random day of training.
“You make it sound like it’s a punishment,” I joked bitterly, but not as aggressive as usual.
She averted her eyes and didn’t speak of it anymore that day.
To nobody’s surprise, she was accepted. The look of dread came upon her before a wave of visible relief. I would only learn later that despite her fear of getting into something she would not be able to backtrack from, she was even more scared of being rejected and learning that her intelligence and specialness had been a hoax all this time.
How could you ever doubt you’re special, Princess?
Robby told me they would have a party to celebrate her admission. I was invited. But Sam wanted to invite me personally so Robby made me promise to behave and be nice. He knew me well. She showed up later on the same day and bought me a milkshake before we sat down to talk. We wasted words with a lot of unimportant things before she finally told me her family wanted to celebrate with friends. I was her friend. I was welcomed. Before I could say anything she confessed there would be no hard feelings if my choice was to deny it. She didn’t want to sound like the poor rich girl, but the whole idea bothered her, she disagreed there was anything to celebrate. She had done her duty. And that was it.
There should be a celebration for Miguel too, that she agreed wholeheartedly. I was unsure of what to say. I was jealous, and she knew, but we both wanted to be kinder to each other. She wanted me to know I was part of their group. Even if it was a mismatch.
“You’re such an obedient lamb.”
Her glare hit me before her self-control made her deflate again.
“They deserve my gratitude, I should be grateful for this party and their pride. They have not asked for much and they gave me everything.”
“Something tells me your bleeding heart of a dad and your illuminated mother would never ask you to pay for being their daughter.”
“They don’t, not exactly.”
“Talk to them.”
“There’s nothing to talk about. I’m a waste of their investments.”
“Because you don’t wanna go to UCLA?”
“Because I don’t know what to do with my life! How dare I!”
That shut me up. I thought the same.
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” she continued. “I don’t have to be inspired. I just have to do my duty.”
“What are you in for? Business?”
“I’m gonna be a doctor.”
I almost spilled my drink. “You got into medical school?” That was so much more impressive than I expected.
She looked confused. As if getting into medical school was not supposed to be hard for her or something.
“But… This is tough shit.”
Her frown deepened. She didn’t agree with my positive surprise. It was like she truly believed she wasn’t worth it.
“I just thought you would fulfill your duty by inheriting your dad’s empire. It’s logical, easier, I guess.” I shrugged.
“Cars are boring.”
“Was medical school just your random option?”
“No. I always felt like it would be nice.”
“You felt it would be nice? It’s not a vacation spot, LaRusso. Is a goddamn tough career.”
“I know I sound vapid. It’s just… I feel empty. But I know I can do this. I know I can do this well. As long as I’m helping people and being someone useful, I don’t need to have inspiration.”
“I thought I was depressed.”
“Here,” she gave me the little card. It was a medical-themed card with a date, hour, and location. “Bring Brandon. We’ll have the pool open for everybody and there won’t be many people. You probably know everyone.”
“Will the food be good or fancy?” I asked, hoping to end it on a happier note.
“Good. No weird named dishes.” Sam smiled.
For some reason, at that moment, it was all that mattered to me. She was smiling.
The party would last a whole day, which was baffling, but as a guest I was happy. Brandon refused to dress anything but his swimming attire, and I decided it wouldn’t matter. He was still nine, it was cute, and the LaRussos were understanding hosts. Robby drove us with the car he got from Mr. LaRusso a couple of months back. It was a gift for his excellent grades and good school attendance. Daniel told him if he finished school with good grades, he would offer him a better model. The car wasn’t the most expensive in the shop, but it certainly wasn’t the trashy ones. On top of that, Robby was the one who chose it from a list of options given.
“They want me to be able to drive to school and to work,” he told me when I saw the vehicle for the first time.
“Are you back to working for them?”
“Kind of… I’m teaching Miyagi Do now, for younger kids.”
“Oh… I thought Miyagi Do was free.”
“It was… But Daniel wants to retire and he told me I could pick up from where he left, he trusted me to be fair to myself and my students.”
“That’s such a rich guy thing to say.”
“True, but he’s not wrong. I want to be the next Daniel for the next Robby when the time arrives, and when it does, money won’t be what will stop me. Still, I need to be realistic and there’s a lot of good-paying students who could do great with what we have here.”
I was glad for him. Mr. LaRusso tutored him on some business decisions and got Robby involved with the leadership of the dojo. It was all falling into place, so I hoped nothing would get in their way.
When we arrived, Brandon barely took the time to greet the hosts. Sam asked him for a hug and a kiss, and he happily gave it to her. He told her he was happy she was going to be his doctor. I don’t know where that came from, but she laughed it off and promised to take good care of him.
From the glistening in her eyes, I saw she was happy to see us. While the parents received Robby, I sneaked towards the main girl and gave her a hug as a way to say: I came, I’m here and I’m happy to be here for you too. Her body was just so soft and cozy. I didn’t know if, up to that point, I had ever truly hugged her while fully present in the moment. I wished to never let go.
“Tory!” Daniel’s voice prompted us to let go. “It’s so good you came!” he offered to hug me too and I allowed, probably looking awkward, unaccustomed to that much display of affection.
“We love that you brought the little guy too. He loves that pool. You should bring him more often.” Amanda added.
She kissed my forehead instinctively and something inside me healed a bit, receiving such a mindless and natural motherly gesture. “We have food inside, food by the pool. Drinks. Please be at home and avoid karate at all costs.”
I laughed too loud at that.
As Sam had promised, only a few people were invited, most of those I knew. I stayed around the karate crew, making sure not to waste any snacks or good drinks while screaming at Brandon to be careful every twenty minutes.
Sam was taking the time to be around each group of people for a reasonable amount of time. She was the perfect well-trained host, making sure people were happy, sharing her attention, laughing at everyone’s jokes, being humble about compliments, and looking impossibly pretty. Though the sun made me sweat and my hair frizz, LaRusso remained dry, untouched, waltzing around with such grace one would think she was a princess. I should’ve known it was the gay in me speaking when describing such a vision, but I wasn’t ready to acknowledge that yet.
When she finally came to us we cheered like a bunch of weirdos, acting like she had been avoiding us the whole time and it was too late for forgiveness. She seemed socially exhausted, but our teasing and over-the-top greeting reignited some of her joy. She asked if we were good, if we needed anything. Everyone was sarcastic about her hostess persona and I decided to make a move.
“Yeah, I need something.”
She turned to me, already waiting for a joke.
“Everyone here’s been under this sun, eating like pigs, sweating and fooling around, seriously look at us,” I pointed at everyone, “Now I need you to step down to our level, dump some ketchup on your dress, lose a shoe, mess your hair a bit, get tipsy.”
“I agree with our friend,” Hawk nodded.
“Please sweat,” Robby joined in.
“I think you look great” Miguel cut us but everyone went at him, throwing popcorn and candy at his face to shut him up.
“Quiet, Diaz!” I flicked him in the middle of the forehead.
“We should throw her in the pool!” Anthony popped up with the idea.
“Antonio, I’m with my phone!” Sam immediately protested.
“Alright,” I grabbed a mostly empty basket of candy and poured the remaining ones into another basket before going around with it. “Everyone get your phone in the safety basket. We’re throwing LaRusso in the water.”
“Why are we giving up our phones?” Devon was confused.
“Do you think she won’t come back for revenge?” Demetri explained, immediately giving up all his devices.
That was enough to convince her, and soon everyone got their precious mobiles in there, including mine.
“Y’all don’t need to throw me, I’m getting in,” Samantha tried to argue with us as she put her shoes away. Everyone else was already barefoot.
“You wish,” I mumbled only to Robby and Miguel before putting away the basket and approaching her from her blind spot.
The moment she caught sight of my shadow, she tried to run. LaRusso should know by now how quick I am. My hand was pulling her arm before she even took the first step. She stumbled back to me, falling against my body with a huff. She tried to wrestle away, but I gently kicked the back of her knee and sneaked my arms under her body, holding her up bride-style.
“Tory, don’t!” She growled like I was a rebellious cat.
“Oh, Princess” I snickered.
I started running. Sam shouted something about “dangerous” and it being slippery. I heard the cheers of our friends behind me. Her hold tightened and she hid her face against the curve of my neck. With her head so close to mine, the smell of her hair overwhelmed my senses. For a second, I regretted what I was about to do, but it was too late. I had jumped.
The moment we dropped, the reasonably warm water embraced us, followed by the loud explosion of many air bubbles. Sam remained attached to me and I opened my eyes, catching sight of her voluminous curls spreading weightlessly in the water. Her eyes were shut tight and there was a small frown on the bridge of her nose as she held her breath. It looked impossibly adorable, but the sharp feeling in my chest got confused with something other than a killing gay crush. I steadied my feet at the bottom and pulled us both to the surface.
The karate teens were being loud, laughing and screaming at us, which made the other guests pretty confused. Samantha coughed a bit of water and I displayed my proudest smile to our audience. Hopefully, her dad would not think I was trying to drown his precious daughter. Just to be sure, I avoided turning to his general direction.
“This dress is not made for water,” Samantha mumbled.
“Aww,” I joked and kissed her temple. It was just part of the joke, but maybe I shouldn’t have done it. She tensed for a second and glared, but her eyes looked too startled for me to read any real animosity. Trying my best to brush it off and prove it was nothing, I let her go from my arms. Sam immediately sank, sputtering and splashing reflexively. When she got herself up, she threw water on my face as revenge.
It all felt light and fun.
The first who Sam chose to run after her was her brother 一 who had so generously given the idea. He taunted her with a silly dance and Sam dragged herself out of the water to go after him. It was Amanda’s time to tell her kids not to run on the wet floor while bringing more food for the guests. She then cursed in Italian, using the sibling’s middle names to force them to obey. They stopped immediately, but Sam got hold of him and made him stumble into the pool. Everybody knew that girl could not physically drag Anthony by herself, he just let her have it. It was fair.
Robby and Miguel were hunted too, but Sam didn’t dare to run again 一 nobody did 一 she just walked pretty fast after the boys. In the end, they tricked her into falling with them.
In less than five minutes, most of us had gone into the water. Demetri decided he hated the overwhelming commotion and stepped out. Hawk stayed to mess around with Miguel while Kenny, Devon, and Anthony gathered in the corner to talk. I shared my attention with Brandie, who was excited to have me playing too, and the LawRusso siblings.
Sam and Robby had a real twin frequency. Their thought patterns, their kind of humor, and their good nature were made of the same core. I was a drum out of beat, yet they seemed to enjoy my company.
In the end, the day was wonderful. Robby, Miguel, and I stayed much later after everyone else was gone. Johnny was practically Daniel’s husband, so he had the freedom to do whatever he wanted, which left Robby and Miguel free to follow. I only had Robby as my ride, so I got to stay, too.
It was past 10 pm when we finally stopped eating and left the pool. Sam remained with us the rest of the time. Around the end of the afternoon, she got quieter, more introspective while the rest of us talked non-stop. I always kept an eye on the pretty girl to make sure she was feeling well. Thankfully, her silence only lasted a couple of minutes and she was back to talking with us again.
Amanda offered everyone to stay. They had rooms and clothes to borrow. Johnny said yes, Miguel and Robby called dibs on the TV room and I had one of the guest rooms for myself and Bradon.
Taking him out of the pool was a challenge. I was getting embarrassed by his tantrums when Sam joined me in my efforts and her presence managed to get him shy enough to obey without complaining. Of course, to annoy me, he only allowed Sam to carry him.
I got him bathed and into one of Anthony’s old pajamas. Then it was my turn. When I got out Brandon had already left the room despite me warning him it wasn’t polite to run around. I rushed to get dry and dressed. If he had returned to that goddamn pool I would freak out.
Rushing through the hallways, I followed the sound of his loud laughter and found myself at Samantha’s bedroom door. “Shit,” I whispered. That was not where I expected to end up.