Slip ups
"You just had to say something weird, didn't you Po," the panda muttered to himself as he stirred the pot of soup. "I can't believe I let my dad talk me into this," Po sighed.
A few days ago, Po was just serving dinner as ordinarily as possible in his father's shop, Mr. Ping. "Po, we need more noodles at table three," He said.
"On it dad," Po replied. He quickly got the noodles and brought them to the customer. "Here you go, two orders of Mr. Ping's secret ingredient noodle soup. Enjoy." The customer ate some of the noodle soup and his eyes beamed up.
"Excuse me, Mr. Panda."
"Please, my name is Po," Po replied.
"This soup is amazing. The master of the Jade Palace should be able to have some of this," The duck commented.
"Well, thank you."
"In fact, how would you and your father like to prepare this for the Masters of the Jade Palace," The duck replied.
"WHAT!" Po and his father, who was in the WAY back of the shop, exclaimed.
"Are you serious? You're not playing with me, are you?" Po said doubtfully as his father came up next to him.
"No, I'm Zeng. I'm a servant of the Jade Palace. Due to my wife having a baby, I'm no longer able to perform my duties of being the chef. So, Master Wan and Master Oogway have allowed me to work part-time to care for the baby. They need a good cook and you certainly fit the bill."
"Oh, no. My dad makes the soup. I'm-"
"Up, up, up, Po. Can I speak with you in private?" Mr. Ping said. The goose and panda went to the kitchen. "You have to take the job."
"WHAT?" Po exclaimed.
"SHHH!"
"Sorry. What?" He said in a hushed scream. "But dad, I'm not the one who makes the noodles, you are."
"Son, you've been making soup your whole life. You know it by heart," Mr. Ping replied.
"But I don't know the... you know, the secret ingredient."
"Po, the secret ingredient has always been inside of you. In here," Mr. Ping said, placing his wing on Po's heart.
"Yeah, but I need it in here," Po said, pointing to his head. "Plus, I can't make it as great and awesome as you can."
"Son, take the job. It will not only help you find the ingredient to the secret ingredient soup, but it will boost business down at the shop," Mr. Ping said excitedly. Po rolled his eyes. "Besides, one of us has to be there. You remember the last time I left you in charge of the kitchen."
"That was an accident."
"That nearly destroyed the shop, left Miss Yuan in the hospital for a week, and gave Mr. Huang a limp," Mr. Ping finished.
"But he can still juggle," Po said with a cheesy smile.
"Po," Mr. Ping said sternly.
"Dad, I can't do this."
"You'll be with the Furious Five, Master Wan, and Master Oogway," Mr. Ping replied in a persuading tone.
"I'm in," Po declared. They both went over to the duck.
"He'll/ I'll do it," Both son and father said.
"Great," Zeng said.
"Great," Po muttered, as he continued to stir the pot. "I have a cooking job, I don't know the ingredient that makes the soup so special, I'm messing up left and right, and the others probably think I'm a complete klutz."
"Which you are," said a voice behind him.
"AHHH!" Po screamed. He turned around to see Master Wan leaning on the doorway. "Oh Master Wan, it's just you."
"Um, your hand," Master Wan said, pointing to the panda's hand still on the stove.
"Huh? Oh AHHH!" Po screamed as he ran around the kitchen like a blind banshee. He finally put his hand in a tub of water. The big gorilla roared in laughter.
"Tigress was right. You're a fine addition to this kitchen."
"She said that? I mean, I'm sorry for being so... clumsy," Po said. Master Wan patted Po on the back.
"No worries. Everyone makes mistakes. Some more than others. And don't worry, the others seem very fond of you," the gorilla said.
"Really? Oh, I thought they just saw me as a big fat panda," Po laughed a bit.
"What's wrong with being big and fat," Master Wan asked, pretending to seem offended.
"Why are you upset?"
"I'm big and fat," Master Wan declared.
"Oh! I'm so sorry Master Wan! I wasn't talking about you. I think you're very fit for your age."
"Now I'm old!"
"No, no, no, no! I'm just saying," Po stuttered.
"Master Wan, stop doing that," Tai-Lung said coming into the kitchen. "Don't worry, Po. He does that with everyone. He's just playing with you." The gorilla laughed.
"Oh," Po said, a little dumbfoundedly embarrassed. Wan patted Po on the back.
"I like this guy. He's funny."
"Everyone to you is funny," Tai-Lung commented.
"This is true," Master Wan said. Just then Zeng came in.
"Master Oogway wants to see you, Master Wan," Zeng said. The big gorilla became very serious.
"I have to go," He simply said. With that, he was gone.
"That was... weird," Po noted.
"He has great respect for Master Oogway, which is understandable," Tai-Lung said.
"Of course! He's the one who discovered Kung Fu. He Basically mastered everything," Po said excitedly. Tai-Lung chuckled at the panda's enthusiasm. "But he... changed." Tai-Lung rubbed the back of his neck.
"It's complicated," He replied.
"How?" Tai-Lung mulled over the thought for a while.
"Since you're going to be living here, I guess it makes sense to tell you," Tai-Lung said as he sat the panda down. "Do you know the story of how Master Wan came to the Jade Palace?"
"Who doesn't?" Po asked. "He used to be one of China's worst villains. They use to call him the Cackling Gorilla when he was very young. He used to devastate China until Master Oogway stopped him and fought him off. He was so injured that Master Oogway took pity on him and raised him back to health. As a debt of gratitude, Master Wan devoted his life to try and repay Master Oogway through all the hard work by training in Kung Fu. In the process, he became the legendary Laughing Master."
"Oh, well I guess there's nothing to explain," Tai-Lung realized.
"But that doesn't explain why he practically changed character. I thought Oogway wasn't strict," Po said. Tai-Lung laughed.
"Oogway's probably more of a 'makes-no-sense' comedian than anyone I know. He's really great to be around, which is why I personally study under him. Master Wan just has a large respect for Master Oogway. He almost looks to Oogway kind of like a-"
"A god?" Po finished. Tai-Lung looked at him as if he had just caught him in a crime.
"Well, I guess so," Tai-Lung said slowly. "The person to help you understand it better is probably Master Oogway himself or Tigress."
"Why would Tigress know?" Po asked.
"Tigress has lived in the palace like me, but she... seems to understand Master Oogway more than I do, which has always confused me," Tai-Lung sighed in a kind of amazed and defeated tone.
"Well, I'll make sure to act cool when Master Oogway's around," Po replied. Suddenly, he slipped on a banana peel. "WAHHH!"
"Yep, you're going to be a very interesting addition to this place," Tai-Lung smirked, picking up the banana peel but leaving Po on the ground. "Shall I get Monkey back at putting the banana peel here?"
"Please do," Po muttered.
To Be Continued...
