Karate Kicks

by Chrissie Perry

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Copyright Page

  Lola kicked off her school shoes and lay back on the couch. There was a major hole in one of her socks. She poked two toes through the gap, and gave them a wiggle.

  As Lola flicked on the TV, the song from Neighbours bounced around the lounge room.

  Just then, Will kicked his way into the room.

  ‘Hi-ya!’ he yelled as he karate-chopped Lola’s mermaid statue off the table. Luckily it didn’t break. Lola picked it up and tried to squeeze it up with all the other statues and photos on the mantelpiece, but there was no room. She had to put it back on the table. With Will around, that was definitely a worry.

  ‘Sorry about that Lola. Did you make that statue?’ Will asked.

  ‘Yes, I made it in art,’ Lola said.

  ‘It’s really good,’ Will offered. ‘All your statues are pretty cool.’

  Lola smiled. Will could be very nice sometimes. But he was also very noisy. She turned up the volume of the TV and settled back into the couch.

  ‘Do you actually watch Neighbours?’ Will asked as he crouched on his knees in the armchair next to the couch. Lola noticed that his nostrils were flared like he was annoyed. One of his eyebrows was raised so high that it looked like it was going to jump off his face.

  Lola pulled the sock back over her toes so that Will couldn’t see the hole. ‘Yeah,’ she said quietly.

  Will dropped a foot onto the ground and started tapping the floorboards. ‘It’s a bit lame, don’t you think?’ he asked. ‘Like, as if your neighbours are going to be your best friends.’

  Lola bit her lip. Her best friend, Abbey, actually did live next door on the third floor of an apartment building next to Lola’s house. But somehow, Lola didn’t feel like saying anything about that.

  ‘Hey, wanna come outside for a kick?’ Will asked. Lola really just wanted Will to be quiet, so she tried to ignore him and just watch the screen. But in seconds he was back with a football. He handballed it to Lola and it hit her in the chest.

  ‘Outside with the ball, guys,’ Lola’s mum called out from the kitchen.

  Lola sighed, switched off the television, pulled her school shoes back on and went into the backyard with Will.

  ‘Mark this one!’ Will called out as he kicked the ball.

  Lola put her hands up. She watched – as if in slow motion – as the ball flew through the air towards her. She tried to catch the ball, but it flew straight through her hands and landed on the ground.

  Lola picked up the ball and tried to kick it back to Will. But she missed it with her foot. The ball bounced and rolled forwards a couple of metres.

  Will flared his nostrils and raised his eyebrows again. It made Lola feel nervous. He raced up to the footy, and handballed it to Lola.

  Lola concentrated. She fumbled it a couple of times and then … dropped it again! She then tried to handball it back. This time it went over Will’s head, and into the shed behind him.

  ‘Geez,’ Will said from the shed.

  Lola heard him rustling around. When he came out, he had dust and cobwebs all over his jumper.

  ‘OK, kick it to me,’ Lola urged. She was determined to catch it this time.

  ‘Actually, I think I’ll go inside now,’ Will said.

  ‘But I was just getting good!’ Lola insisted. Will just shrugged and turned to walk into the house.

  His eyebrows were raised so high that Lola could have sworn that one of them was missing.

  A couple of hours later, Lola went up to her room to get ready for bed. She put on her pyjamas. Then she switched on her walkie-talkie.

  The set of walkie-talkies had been a present for her last birthday. At first, Lola wasn’t excited about them. They lay on her bedroom floor for a week or so, covered by the elephant undies her nanna had given her. But then Abbey had found them and suggested she take one of them up to her bedroom in the flat next door. The girls couldn’t believe they actually worked! Since then, Lola and Abbey had spoken to each other almost every night before bed.

  Right now, Lola really wanted to talk to her friend.

  ‘Abbey, are you there? Over,’ Lola said.

  A little crackle flew out of the speaker, followed by Abbey’s voice.

  ‘Absolutely here. I’m reading Harry Potter. What are you doing? Over.’

  ‘Just thinking. Are you any good at football? Over,’ said Lola.

  ‘Lola you know that my relationship with balls isn’t good. They are always thwacking me in the head. I find them very rude. Why are you asking me that? Over.’

  A big, thudding sound came from Will’s bedroom. Lola laid her walkie-talkie on the bed for a moment to listen. Then she picked it up again.

  ‘Can you see what Will’s doing from up there? Over,’ she asked.

  ‘Hang on, I’m just putting Harry down on the bedside table,’ Abbey said. ‘OK, I’m up. Will’s curtains are open. I can see him. He’s wearing something white and he’s doing some sort of pose. His arms are kind of up like a kangaroo, and he’s got one leg in the air. Now he’s kicking his leg out. Over.’

  ‘Don’t you think that’s kind of weird? Over,’ said Lola.

  ‘I think it’s karate. Over,’ Abbey replied.

  ‘Yeah, but it’s weird, right?’ Lola raised her eyebrows. She wondered if she’d caught the habit from Will.

  ‘Gotta go,’ Abbey said. ‘Harry Potter is in a sticky situation. Over.’

  Lola grinned. Sometimes it was as though Abbey thought Harry Potter was a real boy. Or wizard.

  Lola lay back on her bed. Her mum opened the bedroom door and sat next to her like she did every night. It made Lola feel good.

  At least some things hadn’t changed.

  Lola was used to having Will and his dad, Rex, at her house sometimes. They always used to visit, and sometimes even stay the night. But a week ago, they had moved in for good. Having Will around all the time was very different.

  ‘How are you going with Will, sweetie?’ her mum asked.

  Lola didn’t know what to say.

  Her mum looked so happy. She really seemed to love Rex. And Lola liked Rex and Will too. It was just that her life was so different with them here. It seemed so busy all the time compared with how it used to be. Sometimes it felt like Will and Rex had lived here forever, and she was the new one.

  ‘Will’s OK,’ Lola said softly. Another thump came from Will’s bedroom.

  ‘Even though he can be very loud!’ said Lola’s mum.

  ‘And fidgety,’ Lola added.

  Her mum gave her a funny smile and Lola giggled. Then her mum started laughing. Another big thump came from Will’s bedroom and they both cracked up. And then every time they heard another thud, it set them off again.

  ‘I guess we’ll get used to it,’ Lola giggled.

  Her mum hugged her tight. ‘I’m sure we will,’ her mum said.

  ‘Hey Lola, can you hop in the car, please?’ asked Lola’s mum. ‘I have to take Will to karate.’

  ‘Mum, I’m in the middle of my home-work,’ Lola said.

  ‘It won’t take long, sweetie. We can have a hot chocolate while he’s at class.’

  Lola put her pencils back in the pencil case as Will came tumbling into the room. He was dressed all in white, with big pants, a loose jacket and a white belt tied around the middle.

  Will hopped unsteadily on one foot. His other leg rose into the air. Lola grabbed
her mermaid statue and held it safely in her hands out of his way.

  ‘Yo, I’m the Karate Kid! Look at this,’ Will exclaimed. He squatted down with his knees, bent his elbows and raised his hands together in the air. His face went red with concentration. It looked very funny against the whiteness of his clothes.

  Lola giggled.

  ‘Ha, you may laugh at my Horse Stance,’ Will said, ‘but one day, you will realise my ultimate power and you shall laugh no more!’

  Lola bit her lip to stop herself from laughing out loud. ‘Will, how many karate classes have you done so far?’ Lola asked.

  ‘This will be my second lesson, Grasshopper,’ said Will.

  Lola snuck a little eye-roll at her mum, and her mum winked back.

  ‘Jump into the car, grasshoppers,’ her mum joked.

  Lola watched as the karate students entered the hall. At the doorway, each of them dropped their heads and bowed. Even Will did it.

  Lola nudged her mum. ‘Why do they do that?’ she asked.

  ‘I’m not sure,’ her mum replied.

  Lola was a bit surprised to see that there were girls in the karate class. All of the kids had the same white uniform, with the white belt tied around it. Only the teacher had a black belt. Lola knew that meant he was really, really good at karate. But he didn’t look like a fighter. He had a great big smile and twinkly eyes.

  The instructor spoke to Lola. ‘Welcome to our class,’ he said. ‘Next time you enter or exit through that door, you should bow. It’s to show respect for each other, and the art of karate.’

  Lola nodded. She liked that idea.

  The instructor looked over at Will and his friend Patrick, and shook his head. The boys were play fighting, and making a lot of noise.

  The instructor walked over to them. ‘Boys, you’re reminding me of a pair of chihuahuas,’ he said. His grin was wide and his voice was soft. But the boys still stopped fighting to listen.

  ‘The chihuahua is a small dog with a loud bark,’ he said. ‘The aim of karate is to give you skill and confidence with your bodies. But your mind is your best tool. Your mind should tell you when to bark, and when to stay quiet. And, with practice, you will have great skill in both your mind and your body, and you will no longer feel the need to act like the chihuahua. Do you understand, boys?’

  Will and Patrick nodded and settled down.

  ‘Now, do you remember how to do the Attention Stance?’

  All the karate students stood very straight with their hands at their sides. Lola thought they looked graceful. Even Will looked calm and still for a change.

  ‘Do you want to get a hot chocolate now?’ Lola’s mum whispered.

  Lola nodded, and they tiptoed out.

  Without thinking, Lola bowed her head a little as she left the hall.

  As they sat in a cafe and ordered drinks, Lola kept thinking about the karate class.

  There was something about the teacher and the uniforms that made her much more interested than she thought she would be. As she took a sip of her hot chocolate, she thought about how the teacher had told the students to keep their weight evenly on both feet and to stand tall. And even though she was sitting down, Lola found that she was trying to follow his instructions.

  ‘Mum, do you think it’s too late for me to join the karate class?’ Lola asked.

  Her mum smiled. ‘Let me check that out for you. I’m sure Will would love you to go with him,’ she said.

  Lola hadn’t imagined how Will might feel about her joining the class.

  But she was going to find out.

  ‘Lola, come over to my place for a sleep-over. We can make up a concert. Over,’ Abbey’s voice came through the walkie-talkie. ‘And bring the red skirt, a pair of your mum’s high heels, and the green clip-on earrings. Oh, and some CDs. Over.’

  ‘Do you want me to bring the kitchen sink? Over,’ Lola joked.

  ‘Nah. But maybe some of those yummy muesli bars. The ones with the chocolate chips. Over,’ Abbey said.

  Lola asked her mum if it was OK to stay over at Abbey’s, and then collected all the things she needed. Her hands were full as she went into the kitchen to get the muesli bars. She put the walkie-talkie down on a ledge in the pantry as she popped the bars in her pocket. Then she staggered over to Abbey’s.

  Lola loved making up concerts with Abbey. Abbey’s bed was like a bouncy stage. Sometimes they would sing together without music. Other times, when Abbey’s brother went out, they would borrow his CD player, and sing along with their favourite songs.

  Tonight Abbey’s brother was home, so they had to go without the music. Lola didn’t care. It was fun anyway. First, they got all dressed up. Abbey put on Lola’s red skirt and the old clip-on earrings, and Lola put on Abbey’s big, green feather boa over her favourite pyjamas and a tiara. Then, Abbey snuck into her mum’s room, and came back with all sorts of make-up.

  Abbey put eye shadow on Lola with a cotton bud. It felt like butterflies moving across her eyelids. Then Lola did the same for Abbey. They each applied their own lipstick. Then, they were ready.

  Abbey always hogged the toy microphone, so Lola just sang into a small teddy.

  It was pretty funny. Abbey’s singing voice was terrible, but she made up for it with her dance moves. In fact, Abbey danced so much that Lola was moved right off the stage! She landed next to Abbey’s walkie-talkie.

  ‘Use that as a microphone,’ Abbey yelled, doing a special move that involved putting her head down, then flicking her hair back wildly.

  Lola grinned. She picked up the walkietalkie, and climbed back on the bed. She turned it on, and began singing along with Abbey. Then she heard something.

  ‘Sshhhh,’ Lola said. There were voices coming from the other receiver.

  ‘Listen, it’s Will talking to his dad. I must have left my walkie-talkie on in the pantry. I just heard my name!’

  Abbey stopped dancing and sat on the bed. Lola sat next to her and held the walkie-talkie between them so they could both hear.

  ‘But Dad, it’s not fair!’ Will was saying. ‘Patrick is in the karate class with me. It would just be so embarrassing …’

  ‘Why would it be embarrassing, Will? I think it would be good for you two to do something together.’

  ‘All right then, I’ll find something we can do together. But you should see how hopeless she is at footy, dad. I mean, she’s really uncoordinated. She can’t even mark the ball from …’ Will’s voice trailed off. Then it started up again.

  ‘… Dad, I just want to do karate on my own,’ Will moaned.

  ‘Come on Will, stop being silly,’ said Rex.

  ‘I’m NOT being silly,’ Will yelled. ‘I hate it here. I want to go home!’

  There was a long silence and Abbey and Lola pushed their ears right up next to the walkie-talkie. Rex’s voice was really soft when he spoke again. Lola couldn’t quite make out what he’d said. But it was very easy to hear Will’s reply.

  ‘It’s not my home, Dad! It’s Lola’s home. Look, Dad, there’s nothing of ours here! There’s not even any room for any of our stuff.’ Will sounded really upset.

  Lola held her breath.

  For the first time, she saw the house through Will’s eyes. She knew exactly what was on the mantelpiece. There were photos of Lola alone and photos of Lola with her mum. There were statues and plates she’d made in art. And there was hardly a gap anywhere.

  Lola finally let the breath out, trying to make it silent. But it came out like a long sigh. She imagined what it would be like if she and her mum had moved into Rex’s house, with all of Will’s things around. Abbey would have hated it too.

  There was a really loud squeaking noise as the pantry door opened. Lola and Abbey dropped the walkie-talkie that had been pressed right up next to their ears.

  ‘I’ll just finish tidying up here, and then let’s go kick the footy together in the park. Just you and me. OK, matey?’ Rex’s voice sounded really close, like he was in the pantry. ‘Oh, look �
� Lola left her walkietalkie on in the pantry,’ he said.

  Just then, Abbey’s walkie-talkie stopped crackling. Rex must have turned Lola’s off.

  ‘Will is so mean,’ Abbey said. ‘Why should he care if you do the karate class with him?’

  Lola shook her head. In a way, she agreed with Abbey. It was a bit mean of Will to try to exclude her from karate. But in another way, she understood how he was feeling. Lola suddenly didn’t feel like playing dress-ups anymore. She put down the walkie-talkie and wiped off her make-up.

  ‘I think I’ll pull out of the karate class, Abbey,’ Lola said.

  ‘You can’t do that!’ Abbey replied. ‘If you want to do karate, you can’t let Will stop you. He’s going to be around all the time now, Lola. If you let him stop you doing things, who knows where it will end?’

  Lola closed her eyes and lay back on Abbey’s bed. It was pretty hard to decide what to do about karate. It seemed like everyone was right in their own way.

  Abbey was right about not letting Will stop her from doing stuff. And Will had a point about wanting to keep some things the same, after there had been so many changes lately.

  Lola opened her eyes and sat up suddenly. She had an idea. Maybe she could make things better for Will and join the karate class?

  It was worth a try.

  ‘Rex, where are all of Will’s things?’ Lola asked. It was a Monday afternoon so Will was at cricket training, and Lola’s mum was still at work. Lola was getting used to having afternoon tea just with Rex.

  Rex opened the oven, and waved a tea towel around. ‘Anzac biscuits!’ he said. ‘Careful, Lola, they’re … ouch!’

  ‘Hot?’ Lola offered.

  Rex ran his finger under the kitchen tap. ‘Yeah, hot,’ he agreed, flicking a biscuit across the bench.

  Lola caught the biscuit and took a bite. ‘Yummo,’ she said.

  Rex smiled. ‘Now, what did you ask?’ he said.

  Lola nearly reminded him that he shouldn’t talk with his mouth full. ‘I just wondered if Will had some things I could put around the house? You know, to make him feel a bit more at home.’