"It's okay, I guess you're just not the observant kind," Alex noted, more for herself than for Cole.  Now she knew that if something needed to happen she couldn't drop hints, she needed to tell him outright.  "But yeah," Alex quickly added, "break up with Chelsea ASAP.  That woman is nothing but trouble."

Then the intercom went off, calling all six dojangs down to the mats again.  "Oh, there's my cue!" Alex said and jumped up, giving Cole's hand a quick squeeze before racing down to the center.

She met up with the other students and they stood together in quiet anticipation.

The announcer called out the winners.  For the fighting side, her dojang won third.  Alex couldn't complain about this, the other schools were incredibly tough and the was the tournament was set up was quite odd.

Then the announcer cleared his throat.  "And the first place for demonstrations goes to... U.S. Taekwondo Center!"

What felt like the millionth time of the day, another smile appeared on Alex's face and she, along with her teammates all bowed to the crowd.  Grandmaster Ahn, sporting a uniform with a blue top and white bottoms, claimed the large trophy.  They took a class photo together and were dismissed.

Alex raced to the back to grab her belongings.  She hugged and congratulated her teammates then raced back to Cole, her large duffle bag with all of her gear slung over her shoulder.  "I believe you offered me a victory burger?"