Chapter 17

School, the next few days, started off pretty smoothly. If only my life out of school was less troublesome. I knew I had an uncomfortable conversation coming at the dojo on Tuesday, and I was quietly dreading it.

My instructor doesn't come in on Sundays, and I work on Mondays, so Tuesday would be my first chance to talk to him about my fight. I hadn't mentioned it to my instructor after the first fight, but I knew I would have to talk to him now, about what was happening. I hadn't ever been in a fight, nor had I been close to anyone else who worked out at the dojo that might have been in a fight, I wasn't sure how he would react. Levi, who owned the dojo and who was my overall instructor, was very specific when talking to new students.

One of the things he said to me on my first day at the dojo was that practitioners of Krav Maga should avoid confrontation if at all possible. For most people, although I guess this didn't apply to those in the Israeli military, it is a defensive skill. Of course, he also says that if you are unable to avoid the confrontation, then your goal should be to finish the fight as quickly as possible. I believe this applied to my situation but who knows. I didn't want to alienate Levi, or make it uncomfortable to work out there.

In addition to that hanging over my head, was the fact that I was back sleeping in my own bed Monday night, and my relationship with Margret had gone downhill. This is saying something considering the somewhat frosty way we had lived together up to that point. Now, Margret wouldn't even meet my eye. On top of that, was Tina. The poor girl was caught in a tough place. She maintained an aloof distance from me when her mother was around, but had made a point of stopping me early Monday morning to let me know she wasn't upset at me, and that she would find time later in the week to talk to me.

At least I didn't have to worry about meeting new people this week. The girls had decided to put off the lunch table switching thing until next week. If I had to guess I would say they were waiting for gossip of the fight to die down a little bit. Zoe had also told me about her birthday party Saturday night. I hadn't known her birthday was coming. Honestly, our relationship was so new there were still a lot of details I was missing. She was really excited. She made it known in no uncertain terms that I was expected to be there.

When I arrived at the dojo on Tuesday afternoon, I went straight to see Levi. Levi is about my height and solid, although not bulky. I guess if I had to pick a word to describe him, it would be wiry. He kept his head shaved, had dark bushy eyebrows, and expressive eyes. His full name was Levi Peretz, and someone had told me once that he was some kind of commando in the Israeli Defense Forces, before immigrating to the States. You don't think about any of that, usually, when talking to him. He's such a friendly guy. Sure he was hard on students in practice, but afterward he would laugh and joke with everyone. I really liked him.

"Levi, could I talk to you for a few minutes in your office?"

"Sure, Cas. Mike," he turned to speak to one of the other instructors, "could you work with these guys for a little while. I will be back shortly."

We went into his office but I didn't sit down, although I did manage to not give in to my desire to pace.

"I thought I needed to tell you some of the stuff that has been happening."

He just kept looking at me, his face having gone pretty stoic. I had no read on him at all.

"Well, almost a month ago, I ended up in a fight on the first day of school."

"And you waited until now to tell me."

"I know. I guess I was embarrassed. I understand that we are not supposed to use our training to hurt others if we can avoid it, but I felt this was unavoidable. I came across two guys trying to rape a girl. I just knocked the guys down so I could pull her away, and as we tried to run, his friends came up and cornered us. So I didn't have much choice."

"I see. And is this all that happened?"

"No, sir. Last week these guys, and several of their friends, were waiting for me and two of my friends after school. I wasn't sure I could get the girls away from them safety, so I fought them again."

"So you have been in two fights?"

"Yes, sir."

"You said you could not get away. Did you do anything else to try and avoid the confrontation?"

"In the first fight, no. I was trying to get the girl free of them. They were already on top of her, and her clothes had already been ripped. In the second one, I pleaded with them not to fight us. That it wasn't necessary."

"So in both cases you felt the fight was unavoidable?"

"Yes, sir. But I still regret getting into the fights."

"Why?"

"Because we are supposed to avoid confrontation, because fighting is wrong."

"Where did you hear this?"

"From you."

"You have heard me say fighting is wrong."

"Well, you say we are supposed to avoid getting into fights."

"And this makes it wrong?"

"Umm ... Yes?"

"If you are sick, and you have to take pain killers prescribed by your doctor, have you done something wrong?"

"No."

"But you have also been taught that you should avoid drugs."

"Yeah, but that is different."

"And so is this. Our training isn't about avoiding fights at all costs. Sure there are other forms of training that stress this, but what we learn is more pragmatic. Do you know what KravMaga means in Hebrew, or at least what it can be translated as?"

"No."

"Krav means 'Combat', and Maga means 'Contact'. It translates as Contact Combat. Many of the Asian forms have names that translate as 'Flowing Hand' or 'Gentle Way' ... very poetic. Most have not only a physical aspect, but a philosophy that goes along with it. What we learn is that if forced into a fight, we should end it as quickly and efficiently as possible. That is it. The philosophy behind KravMaga is threat neutralization. It is defense and aggression, and how to use that aggression responsibly. Do you believe that you acted responsibly in both situations?"

"Yes."

"Good. From your brief description it sounds like you did. Protecting someone else, which you say was your motivation in both confrontations, is a responsible use for what you have learned. Of course, if I hear from others that things aren't as you have said, I will be upset with you. But you have always shown yourself to be trustworthy and reliable, so I don't think we need to worry about that. Do you feel you ended each confrontation as quickly and safely as you could have?"

"Yes."

"Well, there you go. Is everything resolved?"

"Umm..."

"So there could still be trouble?"

"Well, there is this gang ... not a real gang, but a group of bullies at school. There are a bunch of them. And they seem pretty determined on trying to hurt me and my friends."

"And how many of these kids attacked you each time?"

"Three the first time, and five in the second."

"I see. Well, if you think you are in danger, and others are in danger, maybe we should slow your training for your next grade test and start focusing on additional skills that you might need. Let's go! Times a wasting."

He was smiling as he led me out of his office.

The next morning I found myself waking up with a visitor in my bed. While this was no longer unusual, it was unexpected because I had asked the girls to lay off coming by for at least this week. I was trying to keep away anything that might set back my relationship with Margret any more, if that was possible. I knew it wouldn't stay like this, but I wanted to give us some time to find the new equilibrium in the house. Thankfully, it wasn't Zoe or Vicki ignoring my request. It was Tina, who at least was less likely to get caught.

"Tina, you shouldn't be here. Things are tough enough, and if Margret finds you..."

I left the rest of that statement unsaid, but Tina rolled over and nodded in understanding.

"I know, Cas, but I wanted to find some time for us to talk. I feel terrible about what is happening and about how Mom is treating you. And we were just starting to do so good, you and me."

"Like I said the other day, what is happening will not affect you and me. I have really been enjoying our new relationship, and I am not giving you up that easy. Honestly, even if things went so bad that I could no longer live here, I would still find a way to stay in contact. We agreed to work at being siblings, and I am holding you to that. I will consider you my sister until you, not Margret, tells me you aren't."

She pressed her head into my chest and hugged me tightly.

"I am so glad to hear that, Cas. Honestly, I'm terrified that she will find a way to make you leave. The way she acts around you now is so awful. I don't know why she hates you so much."

"I don't know if it is hate. She has had a hard couple of years, ever since John died. And then this year starts, and I throw a mountain of chaos onto the heap. I mean, I was arrested! That alone would tear a family up..."

She gripped my shoulder and interrupted me.

"But that wasn't your fault."

"No, but it still happened. And then there is her job. Even my helping out, while it seems positive, puts added stress on her. How do you imagine it feels to be an adult, and have to get money from one of your kids? That is a pretty big blow to the ego. So she has all this stress, and I am the obvious target to pin that on. I am a convenient outlet for it."

"It's not fair."

"What did they say in the Princess Bride?" I asked. It was a movie we had recently discovered that we both loved. "Life isn't fair. Anyone who is telling you differently is trying to sell you something."

She smiled briefly at my reference.

"It's just the way it is. We don't have to like it, but we do have to deal with the situation we have, the best way we can. It will be okay, though. I was adopted. All the paperwork is finished. She can't return me like a present she doesn't want. It's too late for that. Worst case is she could kick me out of the house. I am nearly positive that if that happens, Mrs. Bell would take me in."

She just shrugged and said, "I guess."

"Nothing to guess about. Mrs. B has made it clear that she would if things went that bad. So our worst case scenario is that I will live one street over. I'm not going anywhere."