CHAPTER 10
PLAYING FAIR AND SQUARE

Emilio was waiting for me outside the gym, his forehead creased with worry.

“Is everything okay?” he asked when I got close.

I nodded. “I’m okay now,” I said, fiddling with the edge of my uniform. “Can I be honest about something?”

“Of course,” he said.

“I know you’re better at tae kwon do than I am,” I blurted out.

Emilio looked shocked. “That’s not true! You were way better than me in our practice match,” he said.

“It is true,” I said. “I’ll tell you everything later. But I knew you were better than me, and I was jealous. I’m Korean! I thought I was supposed to be better at tae kwon do than you are! I wanted to be better so bad, I let things get out of control. So, what I really want to say is…” I took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Emilio.”

My best friend was quiet for a second. “Is that why you didn’t want to practice with me?”

“Kind of,” I admitted. I knew Emilio would love to hear about the magic black belt—we’d both dealt with our fair share of magic this year. I would tell him all about it after the demonstration. “I shouldn’t have blown you off like that. I really miss hanging out with you. Can we be friends again?”

Emilio’s face lit up. “Friends! And I’m sorry if I was being a show-off. I can be kind of competitive when it comes to sports. I never meant to make you feel bad. I really missed hanging out with you too,” he said. He held out a hand, and I shook it.

When Emilio and I entered the gym, I heard whispers everywhere. Everyone was probably wondering where we’d gone.

Master Kim hurried over to us. “Ben, are you okay? What happened?” he asked. He seemed a bit harried, like he’d been running around.

I felt bad. I’m sure our instructor had been worried.

“I’m okay. I needed a minute to think, but I’m ready,” I said. Emilio and I smiled at each other.

Master Kim looked relieved. “Okay, good. Let’s finish this match!”

Emilio and I took our places on the mat. I saw my parents giving me worried looks from the crowd and shot them a reassuring thumbs-up. I remembered the younger version of Dad, practicing until he finally improved his kick. I couldn’t believe I’d been so worried about doing well when I’d only just started tae kwon do. I could only get better from here.

“Cha-ryut! Kyeong-rye!” Emilio and I snapped to attention and bowed. With that, the second match was underway.

I moved quickly this time, stretching my arm to do a cross punch toward Emilio’s chest guard. I missed, but I recovered and got ready to attack again.

It’s okay, I thought. That wasn’t a bad cross punch. I can try again.

I circled around Emilio and went in for a quick jab this time. BAM! I hit his side.

Yes! I thought. That’s a point. And I’d landed the jab even without my magic black belt!

There were only a few seconds left. I was doing a good job blocking and dodging Emilio’s attacks, but he managed to land a roundhouse kick and earn another point. I was impressed with how quick and powerful Emilio’s kick was. He was definitely a strong opponent.

Emilio and I both tried to get another attack in, but the whistle ended the round. We had tied.

“Good job,” I said, giving my friend a fist bump.

“You too,” he said. “That jab was fast.”

We rested for thirty seconds and then got ready for the final round. The crowd was fired up now. If I took this round, Emilio and I would be tied. If Emilio did, he would be the winner. I really wanted to win, but I knew I just had to try my best.

“Cha-ryut! Kyeong-rye!” Emilio and I started the third round.

We were both a bit tired, so our attacks were less aggressive. I missed a few punches, but I was also able to dodge a few.

Emilio managed to jab my armguard. I knew there were only a few seconds remaining. I glanced at Emilio. If I kicked perfectly straight up, I could probably land a side kick on his armguard.

I readied myself and then… whoosh! I heard a few gasps from the audience and looked up. My leg was perfectly straight in a side kick! But it had just missed Emilio’s arm.

Fweeet! The whistle blew to end the match.

Emilio immediately gave me a hug. “That was a cool kick!” he exclaimed.

“I almost got you,” I joked.

He laughed. “Almost.”

Even though I hadn’t won, I was proud of myself. I had competed without the magic black belt and still managed to score a point. And even though I’d missed, I’d done an awesome kick. Maybe being so worried had actually held me back from doing well.

“Gather around, everyone!” Master Kim called. All the students huddled together. “Excellent work, all of you. What a successful demonstration! I am proud of each of you for showing how much you’ve learned.”

Our instructor put one hand on Emilio’s shoulder and the other on mine. “And extra special congratulations to Emilio and Ben for being so brave and doing so well on their sparring match!”

“I’m glad I got to compete with you,” I whispered to Emilio.

“Me too,” he said.

Soon our parents made their way over to congratulate us too.

“Great job, boys,” Dad said, giving us both fist bumps.

“I’m so proud of you!” Mom said, bringing us in for a big hug. “You both improved so much!”

“Can I sign up for more tae kwon do?” I asked. “I need to practice if I want to be as good as Appa.”

“Of course,” Mom said.

Dad beamed. “You’re already better than I was when I was your age.”

I remembered Dad as a kid, struggling with his kick.

“You might be right,” I said with a laugh.

“Hey, don’t get too confident,” Dad joked. “Go find your things, so we can head home.”

I went to grab my tae kwon do bag, but as I made my way back to my parents, I saw Mr. Wiz. Something in his pocket caught my eye—something black with gold embroidery on it.

Is that…? I peered closer. It couldn’t be my belt, could it? How would Mr. Wiz have it?

Before I could approach Mr. Wiz, Master Kim caught my attention. “We need to celebrate,” he announced. “Let’s all go to Extra Scoops for ice cream!”

“Yes!” everyone shouted.

I turned back, but Mr. Wiz had disappeared. Shaking my head, I found Emilio, linked arms, and left to get some well-deserved ice cream.