Excitement buzzed throughout Harvey Street. A new kid had moved in. Rumors passed between the kids as fast as lightning.
"He's super strong!"
"I saw training dummies being brought out of the moving van! Maybe he's training to be a cop!"
Audrey, Dot, and Lotta, the three official/unofficial protectors and Ambassadors of Harvey Street, decided to formally welcome the new kid. They strolled over to the house on the edge of Harvey Street and knocked on the door. There was no answer. "Huh. Maybe he's taking a nap. Moving to a new house can be tiring." Dot theorized.
Suddenly, the three girls heard shouts followed by solid blows on foam coming from the backyard. They peeked over the back gate and saw a boy with golden hair practicing martial arts on various training dummies in his grassy backyard. His hair was golden blonde and short, and his eyes were a sparkling green. The lower half of his face was covered by the collar of his green sweater. He also wore black shorts. Green sneakers were laid neatly on the pavement.
"Oh, so that's what the dummies were for." Lotta realized.
"Martial arts are a good way to exercise. Each style promotes flexibility, dexterity, and comes with many philosophies." Dot smiled.
"And they're a great way to get some action going through the bloodway!" Audrey hopped over the gate (her friends elected to just open the gate and walk through it. The three girls walked over to where the boy was. Just as they reached the edge of the pavement, the boy put his hand up, stopping them in their tracks. He unzipped his collar before he spoke.
"If you wish to enter my dojo, I must ask that you remove your shoes." His voice was soft, but it carried a tone of wisdom, similar to that of Bobby the Elder. Audrey removed her shoes and placed them next to the boy's, then walked up to him.
"Welcome to Harvey Street! My name's Audrey, these are my best friends, Dot and Lotta."
"How's it going?" Lotta asked.
"Salutations." Dot smiled.
The boy smiled. "Pleased to meet you. I'm Noah. And in case you're curious, yes, I'm a practitioner of Tae Kwon Do. It's good for enhancing my mobility and reaction time."
"Oooh! Show me! Show me!" Audrey pleaded.
"Um, Noah, just a heads up, Audrey can take things overboard sometimes!" Lotta warned.
Noah sighed. "Then I fear the Arts are not part of her path."
Audrey pouted. "And why not?"
"In Martial Arts, one must have patience, stillness, yet swiftness. Like so." Noah walked over to one of the dummies (a tan upper torso), bowed, then took a stance. He took a deep breath, zipped his collar up to his nose, then let loose a flurry of jabs, crosses, and then delivered a kick then followed through to a choke hold.
"Wow. He's good." Lotta commented.
"I'm guessing late white belt, early yellow belt." Dot followed.
Audrey said nothing, but she didn't really have to. Her cheeks flushed red and she smiled wide.
Audrey had a crush.
Noah unzipped his collar and walked back over to Audrey. "Still want to give it a try?"
Audrey shook herself out of her daze. "Yeah, sure." She went up to a dummy, bowed and took a stance. "Ok, Audrey… stillness… be calm…. Don't focus on beefing it in front of the cute boy." She landed a few crosses and jabs, but the she tried a high kick overshot it and landed hard. "Ow! My ankle!"
Noah immediately rushed over. "Ok, stay still. Let me have a look." Noah gently touched Audrey's ankle. "Ok, just a sprain. That's common in Martial Arts. I sprained my pinky a few times. Pulled my calves a few times too. Just stay off that leg for the rest of the day, ok?"
Audrey blushed again. "Y-yeah, sure, dude." She put her arm around Noah's shoulders as he helped her up. Up close, he smelled his Irish Spring. He helped her across the dojo, then transferred her to her friends.
"Remember, stay off it all day." He reminded her.
Audrey nodded. "Sensei's orders."
Noah smiled. "I'll check on you tomorrow. Maybe I'll bring some ice cream."
Audrey rolled her eyes. "If the Bloogey Boys don't steal it all."
"Let them try. I will self-defense myself and the ice cream." Noah took a stance.
Audrey giggled. "That sounds rad-some."
Lotta and Dot looked at one other knowingly.