Run, Girl (If You Can)

Violet ended up staying out with Noah all day long even as he went to the karate dojo for his part-time job. His parents insisted he didn't need one but he wanted to get his foot in the karate world since it was the only thing he thought he was good at.

He was an assistant teacher for some of the younger kids karate classes the dojo offered. Classes of his own continued because he wanted to strive for a higher rank and eventually run a dojo; forgoing college.

Noah's logic was that he had always been terrible at school anyway and if he got a few years of teaching experience under his belt while he was still in high school, it would be easier to move forward in his plans.

More than a few people had given him a hard time for not being more ambitious but Violet thought it was a solid idea. Her friend was intelligent and knew what he was capable of. Why force himself to do something he hates?

The style his sensei trained in didn't allow for minors to become second degree black belts but if it had, Noah definitely would have achieved it already. He was actually quite talented and had brought home several trophies at karate competitions.

Violet had attended a few and had seen his skill level for herself. As his best friend, she was rather proud of him. Karate was the one thing he had always been able to focus in.

She watched him as he very seriously showed a group of six year olds a new kata. They tried mimicking the smooth and serious way he executed the moves without much success. She tried really hard to muffle her laughter.

This was what she had needed today. The reminder that life went on even when you lose someone important to you. And that there were some people you could always rely on.

When the third out of four classes finished, Noah came over to check on her. "You doing alright, Vi? You don't have to hang out here all day if you're bored."

Violet shook her head. "No, this has been a surprisingly good distraction. You're a good teacher."

He ran a hand through his hair a bit sheepishly. "You really think so? Thanks. That means a lot coming from you."

Noah plopped down next to her and leaned his head against the wall. "Saturdays are killer. I help out with the little kids' class right before mine on weekdays and that's fine but doing four back to back really gets to you after a while. I guess it's preparing me for the future."

He was oddly conscientious about the future since he was only a freshman. Most students his age didn't know or care what they would do after graduation yet. They typically didn't start thinking about those things until it was almost too late.

Despite his focus issues, Noah had always been a careful planner. Maybe it was in part to make up for them. He managed very well, all things considering.

People tended to underestimate him and it always made Violet mad on his behalf. He was a thoughtful, intelligent person who happened to struggle with conventional learning. That didn't make him stupid.

"I'll probably have to deal with that someday too," she said with a sigh. "But I don't think I'm anywhere near as good a teacher as you are. I come across too harsh. A few of the younger girls in my studio have told me as much."

Noah frowned. "Well that was rude of them."

"No, they were right. I'm too much of a perfectionist."

"Yeah, but that's only toward yourself. You've always been a very kind and patient tutor with me. They don't know what they're talking about," he insisted.

Violet could acknowledge that he had a point. She was a lot harder on herself than she was on others. Her problem most likely had something to do with her natural monotone voice and general lack of facial expression.

She had complained about how people were misunderstanding her before to her mother and Keeley had simply smiled. "You get that from your father."

Originally she found it hard to believe because her dad always had such a sappy smile on his face around his family. But after her mom pointed it out, she started paying attention to how he acted around other people.

Aaron wasn't nearly as warm or expressive when her mother wasn't in the room and he was talking to his friends. The one day she went to drop brownies her mom made off at his office because Keeley was too busy, she noticed the frigid way he spoke to his secretary when she buzzed him to say his daughter was there.

Her mother had been right. He was like that around most people, exactly like her.

That discovery made her feel better and worse at the same time. Violet had tried talking to her father about it and he said he had always thought he was like that because of the way he had been raised.

Violet didn't know much about her late paternal grandparents but she was astute enough to know that her father despised them. Apparently they had been ice cold and controlling about everything, not just wanting their son to marry a rich girl.

Aaron had confided that Robert Hall had been more of a father to him than his own ever had. But if his taciturn nature was because of his environment as a child, what did that mean for her?

Both of her parents had raised her with love and warmth but Violet was still like that. Talking to her dad didn't help anything.

Noah let out a heavy sigh, startling her out of her thoughts. "Great, my last class is here. Hang tight, okay? We can go do something fun afterwards."

Violet merely nodded as he got to his feet and went over to greet his students and their parents. Watching another thirty minutes of karate wouldn't be so bad.

It had a beauty all its own, kind of like dance. Martial arts could be an art form too.

She didn't mind following Noah around as he went about his day; she was more concerned about what was waiting for her at home. Violet had always hated being affected by other people's tears.

All she had to do now was survive until after the funeral. Hopefully by then the majority of the crying would have stopped.