Chapter Text
Like most things in Robby’s life, this was all his dad’s fault.
Somehow, out of everyone, he’d been the one to point out the unfairness of the situation. That, despite Sam’s initial objections, Tory had been welcomed back to West Valley High with open arms, while Robby had been remitted to the “alternative” school for “troubled” kids who had been expelled or were currently on probation.
Or as his dad had taken to calling it, Delinquent Valley High.
It’s bullshit, he’d ranted one day after class, as he held the heavy bag for Robby while he practiced his reverse roundhouse. What happened with Miguel was an accident. An awful accident, but still. You didn’t deliberately set out to hurt him. He knows that. Carmen knows that. Literally everyone knows that! You did your time, made your amends. Hell, you two patched things up months ago! It’s water under the bridge. So why are you still stuck at the bad kid school? Why do you have to miss out on all the fun senior year stuff, when you didn’t even start the fight?!
While Robby had been touched by his father’s defense (and maybe, secretly agreed with a lot of his points), he’d done his best to talk him down. After all, he’d been doing just fine at Valley Community Day School. Sure, the classes weren’t exactly challenging, and the teacher’s weren’t the best, but he was making straight A’s and he was back on track to graduate. That was all that really mattered.
Unfortunately for him, his dad didn’t see it that way. And neither did his mom. Or the Diazes. Or the LaRussos. Or Pastor Brown. Or his fucking parole officer. They all said he wasn’t being challenged enough, that his potential was being wasted. That it wasn’t fair that everyone else got to move on with their lives, while he was still being punished.
So, his dad had rounded everyone up like he was assembling the goddamn Avengers, and they had all petitioned the schoolboard for his return to a traditional school. Even Miguel’s Yaya had written a letter of support. Despite his reservations about the whole thing, it’d been kind of heartwarming, seeing just how many people he had standing in his corner.
And that was how Robby found himself standing on the sidewalk in front of West Valley High School, his hands nervously twisting the straps of his backpack as he stared up at the banner that was hung over the main entrance.
“Welcome Back, Students!” it proclaimed, in big, blue and orange letters.
Seeing it gave him the strangest sense of déjà vu. Had it really only been a year since the last time he stood on this exact same spot, looking up at the exact same banner? So much had happened since then. His life had taken so many unexpected turns. Juvie. Cobra Kai. Mexico. His botched mentorship with Kenny and his unexpected friendship with Miguel. His return to Miyagi-Do.
But finding himself back here was probably the most surprising twist of all.
The sound of a car door slamming behind him startled him from his thoughts. Robby jumped slightly when a hand landed on his shoulder a second later.
“Hey, man, you ready for this?” Miguel asked with a worried frown.
Students streamed past them toward the front doors, most of them giving him a wide berth. Robby could feel their suspicious eyes, hear their loud, dramatic whispers. He nodded, not feeling sure at all.
“Ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.”
“I know it’ll be weird at first, but don’t worry. We’ve got your back,” Miguel assured him, waving over Eli, who had just pulled into the parking lot with Demetri riding shotgun. Demetri waved back as he unfolded his lanky frame from the passenger seat.
Robby gave him a half-hearted smile. While he appreciated the reassurance, he knew Miguel had to be feeling some kind of way about this situation, too. He was putting on a brave face, but Robby could sense the jitters just below his calm surface. Even though they were cool now, it didn’t make it any less surreal. In fact, it was just the opposite. The two of them, back in the same school, about to walk up the same staircase where tragedy had so ruthlessly struck…
Where he had so ruthlessly struck…
Calling it weird was a fucking understatement and a half.
“Robby?”
At the sound of his dad’s voice, Robby turned. The recently reacquired, re-painted Challenger was still idling at the curb, holding up traffic. There was a long line of cars behind it, other parents impatiently waiting to drop their kids off on their first day. One of them honked their horn; his dad flipped the lady off as he leaned out the passenger window to hand Robby something.
“I almost forgot. I, uh, I got you something,” he said awkwardly, his hand outstretched. “To help you keep your homework and notes and shit organized. LaRusso helped me track one down on the internet.”
Robby blinked and wordlessly took the offering. It was a blue, three-ring binder with a fighter jet emblazoned on the cover. A Velcro flap held it closed. A half-forgotten memory floated to the top of his mind as he traced the brand logo with one finger.
Trapper Keeper.
“I couldn’t find a black one,” his dad sheepishly admitted, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.
For the first time that morning, Robby’s lips twitched into a genuine smile. Yeah, the gift was kinda cheesy, not to mention unnecessary. He had the refurbished laptop his mom had bought him to help keep up with his schoolwork. But his dad meant well, and most importantly, he was really trying. The gesture was honestly kind of sweet, so Robby decided to humor him.
“It’s still pretty badass,” Robby assured him, unzipping his backpack to slip the binder inside. “Thanks, Dad.”
His dad’s face lit up. “Do you need me to pick you up after school, or…?” He trailed off, scowling as the car behind him gave another irate honk.
“No, it’s cool. Hawk said he’d give us a ride to the dojo.”
Johnny nodded. He rubbed his sweaty palms on the legs of his jeans, clearly stalling for time. He looked as nervous as Robby felt. “Alright, well. If you need anything, just gimme a call,” he said, waving his cracked, secondhand phone. “And remember, if anyone gives you shit…” His eyes narrowed with dislike as Kyler Park walked in front of the car.
Robby rolled his eyes “Dad, no. You can’t beat up any more minors. You promised me you’d stay out of jail, remember?”
“If anyone gives you shit,” his dad repeated, a tad impatiently. “Walk away, and let a teacher know. Afterall, you know what the best defense in all of karate is, don’t you?”
Robby put on his most innocent face. “High outside block against an axe kick?”
Johnny rolled his eyes, muttering something about tiny traitors. “You little smartass! You know it’s ‘No Be There.’”
“You mean don’t be there?” Robby smirked, unable to keep a straight face a second longer.
His dad chuckled as he slipped his sunglasses back on. “Yeah, you’re gonna be just fine. See you later, kid. Have a good day! You too, Miguel.”
“Bye, Dad!”
“Later, Sensei!”
Johnny gave both him and Miguel a little wave as he finally pulled away from the curb. Robby watched the Challenger’s bright red racing stripes fade into the distance before reluctantly turning back to face the school.
“He’s right, you know. You’re going to be fine.”
Robby startled slightly at the sound of Sam’s voice. He’d been so focused on his dad, he hadn’t realized she’d joined their group. She bumped his shoulder with her own and gave him an understanding little smile.
“People are going to talk. And they’re going to stare. And it’s going to suck at first,” Sam admitted, her hand unconsciously covering the scars on her arm. “But they’ll get bored and move onto the next big drama by the end of the week. You and Miguel are old news now, anyway.”
She cast a worried glance to where her brother stood in line at the door, waiting to get past the security checkpoint. He was studiously ignoring Kenny, who was a few places in front of him, joking around with some of his fellow former-Cobras. Anthony was trying to look cool and casual about it, but Robby could see the tension in his hunched shoulders and shuffling feet.
He heaved a weary sigh. He’d tried to reach out to Kenny a few more times since Silver’s arrest, to no avail. That was a large part of why he’d agreed to come back to West Valley, instead of just returning to North Hills, where he was a little less infamous. No matter how many times his dad assured him it wasn’t his fault, Robby still felt responsible for leading a sweet kid like Kenny into the cobra’s den.
He’d promised Shawn he’d look after his little brother. He’d promised Kenny he’d help him become strong and confident and balanced. And he’d let them both down. Returning to West Valley to watch over him, even from afar, felt like the least he could do.
“Anthony says they haven’t messed with him again since that night at the dojo,” Sam said slowly, worrying her lip between her teeth. “But I’m still worried.”
Robby got that. He was worried, too. He knew their situations were not the same, that Anthony and Kenny’s history was different from his and Miguel’s, or even Sam and Tory’s. But there was a familiar tension in the air that he really didn’t like. The last thing he wanted was for history to repeat itself.
“I know recent evidence proves otherwise, but Kenny really is a good kid. And so is Anthony. They’re both smart enough to learn from our mistakes,” Robby said, hoping to set her mind (and maybe his own) at ease. “That being said, we’re still going to have to keep an eye on them.”
It seemed to work. Some of the tension drained out of Sam’s shoulders. She rolled her eyes and gave him a mischievous smile. “That’s what my dad said. I told him we were gonna have to renegotiate my allowance, on account of all the extra babysitting I’ll be doing this year.”
Robby laughed, and felt his own jangling nerves start to settle. “Can I get a cut of that?”
“Get in line, I’m still owed like, two years back pay from trying to keep Sensei in line,” Miguel interjected.
“How many times has he been arrested since he met you?” Sam keenly observed.
“I said ‘trying,” Miguel pointed out with a crooked grin. “I said nothing about succeeding.”
“It is a thankless job,” Robby agreed with a laugh. “Maybe we should form a dad-sitting union so we can collectively bargain with our moms.”
“What should we call ourselves? The Sensei Peace-Keeping Guild?” Demetri joked as he joined the group.
“Why does that sound like the worst DnD party ever?” Sam observed, wrinkling her nose in distaste.
“Maybe because it is?” Bert piped up, as he and Nate walked past.
“What’s with all the long faces, muchachos?” Eli asked, slinging one arm around Robby’s shoulders and the other around Miguel’s. His freshly dyed mohawk was now a lurid shade of fuchsia. “The karate war is over and it’s the first day of Senior Year! We rule the school now. It’s time to party!”
Robby bit his tongue and forced a smile. Everyone seemed to think that with Terry Silver in jail and all the Cobra Kai locations shuttered, it was finally over. They’d won. But he’d seen the worry in his dad’s eyes every time there was an unexpected knock at their door. He’d heard his and Mr. LaRusso’s tense whispers about Kreese’s currently unknown whereabouts, and what Sensei Kim might be up to.
And Silver was too rich and powerful to stay in jail for long. With the Sekai Taikai still looming on the horizon, Robby was afraid that, though they’d won the battle, the war was far from over.
But he couldn’t worry about that right now. Not with a whole day of suspicious glances, whispered gossip, and shouted taunts to look forward to. Not to mention calculus. With that thought in mind, he cleared his throat and nodded toward the entrance.
“Guess I should probably head inside. Counselor Blatt wanted to talk with me before first period.”
Eli’s face twisted into a grimace. “Damn. My condolences, dude,” he said, giving him a sympathetic pat on the back.
Demetri nodded in solemn agreement. “I thought they’d decided you’d suffered enough? What’s with the extra punishment?”
“What?” Robby asked, giving them all a funny look as he backed away and headed toward the doors. “I survived the guards in juvie, how bad could one school guidance counselor possibly be?”
“Famous last words,” Sam called after him, her tone full of warning.
“Don’t say we didn’t warn you!” Miguel chimed in, barely suppressing a laugh.
Shaking his head at his idiot friends, Robby got in the security line behind Bert, Nate, and Devon Lee. This was happening, one way or another, so he might as well rip off the Band-Aid and get it over with already.
Moments later, the rest of the Miyagi-Fangs fell in line right behind him. The sound of their teasing banter and laughter helped settle the fluttering in his stomach. With them at his back, Robby thought maybe his dad might be right – as much as it pained him to admit it.
He was gonna be just fine.