I'm Sometimes a Red Panda [Turning Red]

Tyler's Birthday

Party lights flashed in the windows of an ornate McMansion as music played. Tyler had his whole house to himself. He managed to convince his parents that they should go out on a date, something they hadn't done in years. He swore up and down that he'd be the responsible man they'd raised him to be. He is thirteen after all, practically a tween.

In Tyler's living room, about twenty five boys occupied one end of it. Opposite the boys, roughly the same number of girls were gathered, as far as possible. The vibe in the room would be described as lame, the exact opposite of what Tyler had in mind.

The doorbell rang.

"It's Panda Girl!"

"It's Mei!"

"That's her!"

"About time," Tyler said. He headed over to the door and opened it.

There was Mei, standing in Tyler's doorway, wearing a red panda cardboard costume she wore when she gave temple tours.  The party guests stared at her in confusion.

"Yo!" Mei said, panting. "What up, peeps?"

Tyler stepped closer, angrily. "What are you wearing?"

Mei chucked and tried to pretend it was all part of the plan. "Heeey, Tyler...happy birthday..."

"I'm paying for the red panda," Tyler fumed, "not this garbage! Deal's off!"

"Wait!" Mei said, dancing wildly in her costume. "Can garbage do this?" She started grinning. "Come on, guys!" She acted out another dance move. "Stir the porridge, stir the porridge-Ah!"

Miriam, Priya and Abby pulled Mei to the side, and they huddled together. "Are you feeling okay?" Miriam asked.

"It's hard to explain," Mei explained in disbelief. "But just trust me on that! I can't panda anymore. I'm sorry!"

Miriam could tell Mei was serious. Maybe Mei had gotten into trouble with her mother? "Okay, okay, okay," Miriam said. "It's fine. You don't have to do it. We'll just figure something-"

"I won't go," Priya said.

"What? You can't not go!" Mei exclaimed. "Jesse's your soul mate!"

Priya frowned. "But we only have enough for three tickets."

"Then I'll stay home," Abby added,

"Abby, no!" Mei said. "I'll stay home-"

"Guys," Miriam said, "if we can't all go, then none of us should go. Right?"

They sighed, knowing Miriam was right. They leaned on each other, at the verge of tears. Their dreams were slipping away. They would have to put off becoming women for, like, an eternity.

Mei couldn't bear it, so she should give it a try. "Just one more time.." What harm could sixty minutes of panda really come anyway?

She turned to face Tyler and his guests. "Hey Tyler! You want the panda? You're getting the panda!" Mei threw her hands up in the air, and shapeshifted into a panda in a cloud of pink smoke. "Let's hear it for the birthday boy!"

Miriam, Abby, and Priya looked at each other joyfully. Everyone, including Tyler's guests, cheered. Mei hoisted Tyler onto her shoulders as the party kicked into high gear.

Someone cranked up the stereo volume. Party music blasted from the speakers. Mei and her friends did everything they could not make Tyler feel like the start of the party. Tyler lit it up as everyone danced. Even the goth girl joined in. Soon Tyler was outside in his ginormous yard, riding in Mei's furry back, whooping and hollering as she bounded across the lawn on all four paws.

"Faster!" Tyler ordered. "Faster! Woo!" Miriam, Priya and Abby hopped on too.

"I'm king of the world!" Priya shouted.

The crowd cheered. Mei leaped into the air.

Back at Mei's house, Ming walked her family to the temple gates to see them off. It had been a long night. If she heard her mother correct her posture one more time. She'd lost it.

"You sure the hotel's alright?" Ming asked.

"It'll do," Ping replied, "At least breakfast is free."

"Get some rest," Chen said. "You look tired."

"Goodnight cuz!" said Helen. "Try that tea!"

"Goodnight Ming," Lily said.

"Goodnight," said Ming.

Wu was the last to exit. "Ming. this is a critical time," she said before she got into their limo, "Mei Mei needs a strong hand now, more than ever. Don't let her out of your side."

Ming nodded. She would add this request to the hundreds of others her mother had made all evening. "I won't, mother," she said.

And with that, Wu left. Ming closed the gate and took a moment for herself. She exhaled then turned to the house, eager to check on Mei Mei one last time before she went to bed. It was something she did almost every single night.

Ming cracked the door to Mei's bedroom. She gazed at her daughter's sleeping form huddled under the covers. A breeze blew in. The window was open. Ming slipped into the room and reached across the bed, but she's stepped something that made a crunching sound. Ming looked down to see the broken pieces of her and Mei. "Oh, no." She dropped to her knees and started picking up shards of broken glass. She was lucky she hadn't cut herself. She reached under the bed to pick up another piece of glass when she noticed something. 

She pulled out a red panda t-shirt. "Huh?" She read the slogan. "Fur baby?" Ming grabbed the bedside lamp turned it on and dived under Mei's bed. "What?"

Mei's hideaway was full of panda merch, pics of herself as a panda, and fan letters. Then Ming saw the crumbled assignments with abysmal grades. And there was a huge stash of cash  That couldn't be Mei Mei's work, could it? Where could my daughter get that kind of money? Then she noticed Tyler's birthday flyer that highlighted Red Panda Girl's special appearance. "What in..."
Ming got to her feet. "Mei Mei! What is all this-" She threw back the covers and revealed a pile of Mei's stuffed animals. Ming gasped in horror.  

"Mom?" Mii's voice rang out. "What is going on?"

Ming turned to see Mii standing in the doorway.  Ming knew that Mei Mei had been gone off and someone tried to lure her in. "Come on, Mii," Ming told her second daughter. "We need to get Mei Mei fast." She then dashed out of her room and gathered Mii to look for Mei.