﹙REFLECTIONS ★﹚

CHERRY SET HER PHONE FACE DOWN!

Moon had advised her to delete her social media, but she refused. She believed she was making progress without having to do that.

She ignored people's texts who craved drama. That also meant ignoring people she didn't want to disappoint. Robby, Tory, and the rest of Cobra Kai had spammed her with confused messages as to why she hadn't shown up to practice.

Those messages slowly became hate texts, calling her a traitor, until they completely stopped. The only person who hadn't sent her any sort of text was Kenny.

Moon had tried to reassure her that she'd done the right thing and to not mind people who weren't as open-minded as her.

The entire brunch was spent with Moon encouraging Sam to forgive her, which, eventually, and very hesitantly, she did.

Moon knew what it felt like to go from cruel to kind and to have nobody believe you. Even if she hadn't been as bad as Cherry.

Sam's cell phone chimed, and she turned the device around, revealing the screen full of messages from Miguel. Yasmin skimmed them. "Desperate, but cute. He knows he's in deep shit."

"I just- I feel like things have been off lately. There's so much I wanna say. Maybe I should just lay it all out?" Sam began to type.

"No!" The three girls around her yelled. Yasmin took a breath. "No! No, less is more." Moon nodded her head, also reading the messages. "I'm with Yas. It's better to have these conversations in person."

"But that text looks kinda, like, it could be taken differently." Cherry tried to express herself properly without saying anything unkind.

"Keep it short, not sweet." Yasmin advised, resting her head on her hands.

"Should I add a smiley face or something?" Sam questioned, showing her typed-out response.

"No! Definitely. Maybe?" The three girls all had different responses.

Cherry couldn't resist her giggles, and the sound made Sam shift and realize that the girl in front of her was in 8th grade.

"You make friends quickly." Moon grinned, eyeing the red-haired girl who sat beside Yasmin.

"Why weren't you this nice when you were in Cobra Kai?" Sam questioned, half-jokingly, taking a sip out of her coffee.

"I'm working on it!" Cherry smiled, her gaze containing no malice. "And I don't think Cobra Kai and nice go together. Not yet, at least."

The four girls were dressed in the same white bathrobe, following Moon as she led them into the back. Sam looked around the calming area, full of holistic decorations. "Moon, this place is so you."

"Isn't it? When Eli and I broke up the first time, there was a lot of negative energy. This place helped cut through the noise. Which is why I brought you here." Moon grinned, placing a comforting arm on Sam. "You gotta find yourself. Figure out who you really are."

"They also do facials." Yasmin grinned.

Cherry followed Moon, her eyes landing on what appeared to be a bunch of tubs. "What is this?" The young girl asked. "Group shower?"

"This is a self-actualization pod." Moon explained, with a laugh.

"So like a sensory deprivation tank?" Sam realized.

"Oh, no, no, no. No. They don't call them that anymore. It's not about deprivation. It's about connection with your innermost self." Moon corrected her, trying to comfort her.

"Thanks, but I'm still gonna pass. I have nightmares about drowning in shallow water." Sam shook her head, quickly.

"Sam, ever since the tournament, you've been off balance. It's clear there's been some tension with Miguel. The only thing you're gonna find in this pod is yourself. That's not so scary, right?" Moon tried, and Sam gave in.

All four girls cautiously got into their own tubs. Cherry wanted to shriek when she felt the cold water hit her skin, but the quiet became a sort of comfort.

She closed her eyes, and laid there, letting the gentle waves hit her skin. She visualized Kenny first. He was whispering something under his breath, while he sat at his desk, watching one of her streams.

The stream that caused them to meet. Slowly, he turned around from his computer and stared right at her. "Why did you ruin my life? If you never showed up, I would've been fine."

Another person appeared, watching the same stream displayed on the computer. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. You don't have to be so mean." Anthony turned in the chair beside Kenny's.

Cherry snapped to face away from them when a low voice spoke to her. "Why did you betray me?" Sensei Silver appeared behind her. "I could've made you a champion, just like Tory. You look up to Tory, so why did you give up? For Anthony? You hate him."

The red-haired girl was quick to deny the claims. "I don't hate him."

Before she could answer, her pod popped open, and Moon's hand extended to help her up, as she mumbled something about her own vision.

Cherry didn't listen, she just pulled on the robe over her shivering body.

Cherry refused to get in the waterpark pool since she'd just gotten her hair re-dyed. Her gaze was focused on the fresh blue waves until Anthony appeared in front of the rows of chairs and blocked her view.

The girl pulled her sunglasses up to the top of her hair, making eye contact with Anthony, who was staring at her without blinking.

"Hi?" Cherry spoke. Sam looked over at her when she noticed her tone, and then up at her brother. "Ew, Anthony, can you not stare at my friends?"

"No, no, no, I wasn't- um, staring." Anthony shook his head, shifting from foot to foot.

Moon and Yasmin giggled, while Cherry shook off the laughter, trying to not embarrass the boy in front of her. When the fog lifted from Anthony's brain after a couple more seconds of staring, he quickly walked away.

Yasmin wore a sly smile as she watched the boy walk away. "He's starting high school in the fall, right? Let's torture him. Tell him later I asked if he's been working out."

"Sam, your brothers kinda-" Cherry began but was immediately cut off by the older girl. "Ew. You guys are so gross, and I want no part of this."

Cherry grinned at her, and waved at Eli in greeting as he joined them. He nodded in reply.

Eli was the first and only person to react negatively about Cherry hanging out with them until Moon reminded him that Cherry was exactly like he was.

Moon encouraged the younger girl to go give Anthony some company. She made her way over to the other side of the water park, while her friends giggled and cooed.

The red-haired girl spotted the familiar head of black curls. She approached him and started a conversation, trying not to smile at the way he tried to play it cool.

"Looking pretty pasty, LaPusso." Kenny insulted but paused when he saw who was standing beside Anthony. He swallowed and glared again.

"This is the chode that was giving you shit at school?" Kyler laughed, pointing a finger at Anthony.

"Leave him alone, Kyler. Why are you even here? Getting into a pool is not the equivalent of taking a shower." Cherry defended, a scowl growing on her features.

"Whatever, traitor. You left Cobra Kai for this little shit?" Kyler scoffed, his eyebrows knitting.

"No, I left because it feels like a cult." Cherry crossed her arms.

Anthony still couldn't get past the indifference Kyler showed to him. "You've been to my house. You dated my sister." Anthony pointed a finger back at him.

"I date a lot of sisters." Kyler shrugged, and Cherry almost laughed, but she bit back the sound. Kyler did the same and then hardened his expression.

"I don't want trouble." Anthony kept his cool.

"Should've thought of that before you and your friends
Decided to go after me." Kenny's eyes finally tore away from the red-haired girl so he could continue berating him.

"Look, I-I said I was sorry, okay? And you already got me back, you know, I thought we were cool."

"Oh, oh, you- you thought we were cool. Okay. Let me think. Um, are we cool? Nah."

All of the kids around the pair dropped floaties over Anthony's head, and Kenny swiftly kicked Anthony into the lazy river.

Cherry looked back at Kenny, and the way he laughed tugged at her heart. She jumped into the pool after him, completely forgetting about her recently dyed hair.

The sight of her following after Anthony made Kenny frown. Kyler shook his head, placing a reassuring hand on Kenny's shoulder.

When Cherry reached the other edge of the pool and caught up to Anthony, she pulled the floaties off the top of his head until he was free. Together, they climbed up onto the edge of the lazy river.

Anthony coughed, smacking his hand over his chest. He glanced over at her. "Thank you," He spoke, finally, his head hitting her shoulder as it came to a rest.

He took another moment, absorbing the silence. "I'm really sorry. For everything that I did." The apology was slightly muffled, but the girl understood.

"I am, too." Cherry spoke, her eyes looking from him to Kenny, across the water park.