Perhaps one of the biggest Karate Kid mysteries has been solved, at least in my mind. One of the things in the move that never made sense to me and used to bug me to no end was the scene in the arcade the night before the All Valley tournament.
When Daniel says to Ali, "I just want to apologize.", that never made sense to me. Apologize for what?! Daniel had done nothing wrong to warrant an apology.
The book however has now laid that mystery to rest.
Chapter 22, page 95
As soon as he rounded the corner, Daniel could see Ali standing by the school door, waiting for him, probably to make some kind of excuse about Friday night. Daniel didn't want to hear what Little Miss Country Club had to say.
He walked right past her into the school. He was tempted to turn when he heard her call, but he really didn't want to be hurt again. She ran up to him and stood in front of him.
"Daniel, I want to explain."
He winced when he saw a bandage on her hand, but it didn't stop him. He walked around her.
"Would you at least listen?"
"And be lied to?" He evaded her again.
"You're rude."
That stopped him. He turned on her in anger, "How can you tell? You live in a world of rude people. I just want all of you to leave me alone."
He stalked off, leaving Ali behind him. Somehow he felt that nothing he'd ever done hurt as much as that.
Although he knew it was over with Ali, the conflict with Johnny wasn't that simple. He'd have to finish his karate training and meet Johnny at the tournament, completing the battle they'd begun that first day on the beach. What would things be like now if he'd never showed off his hot dog soccer moves to Ali? Different. Very different.
