>>19514375>"I'm sorry about Priscilla's twenty-five percent cut of your earnings. I know that sucks, I was on the same deal. But Priscilla put a lot of money into getting the Dojo back on its feet this past year, and we knew the terms when we signed up. I don't know any place that lets you stay there and train there for free anyway, so I just guessed it was the price we pay. But if that's wrong of her? What do you do about that? I tried to challenge Priscilla, and I gave her a good fight for the title. I came awfully close. But I didn't win. And then what? What do you do with Priscilla Divine, when you can't beat her, but you see the other side of her, the person that she could be? Maybe friendship and understanding can make inroads where I couldn't win in a wrestling match. And if not, am I in the wrong for trying?"Carmody takes a deep breath, looks down, then forces herself to look Kanako and Paule in the eyes.
>"But listen: I won't be back at the Dojo. It's not because I don't like you, or value our friendship, or the time we shared. God, I do. But it'd become clear to me that that ain't my place anymore. I spoke with Coach Ash, and that was before I caught a knee to the head that she meant for Priscilla. I'm done there."Carmody squeezes Paule's hands. She closes her eyes tightly, trying unsuccessfully to stop tears from flowing from the corners of them.
>"We all got our own roads to walk, right? And this one's mine. Both you guys are gonna be fucking STARS. You're already on your way. Every time I see you out there, I'm gonna be cheering you on as much as anybody. And I wanna stand by you, Paule, and meet your new friend Hisakuma, and try and become friends with her too. And I wish I could make things right with you, Kanako, somehow. And I'd love to see you work things out with Sola too - we're dating now, and God I love her."Carmody blinks again.
>"Dojo girls are stronger together, yeah. Even if some of us have left the Dojo." 