Part 2
Mr. Gao was paddling on his bike heading back to his house when he saw the truck. He expected the truck to slow down for him, but it didn't. It was headed straight towards him! Quickly, he wheeled him and his bike to the curb to let the truck pass. He couldn't believe it! That truck almost ran him over! He was about to go when he heard banging on the back of the truck. He also thought he heard screaming and thought it sounded familiar. Was that Mei? Her parents didn't drive a truck. He read what was on the truck. 'Quebec's Circus of Freaks'. Quebec! That man from the other day that was interested in giant red pandas was from Quebec. Was it a coincidence? He shook it off and peddled home once again.
When Mei stopped crying, she stood up, determined. Maybe if she pounded on the doors, and yelled at the top of her lungs, somebody would hear and help. She hoped so. There was only one way to find out! So she began pounding the door and yelled at the top of her lungs.
"HELLLLLLPPPPPP MEEEEEEE!" She yelled. "SOMEONE, PLEASE! I'M IN THE BACK OF THIS TRUCK!" She yelled the same thing in French.
"KNOCK IT OFF IN THERE YOU TALKING GIANT RED PANDA!" Mei heard Benoit shout. Mei stopped. She wondered how he could hear her from all the way from where he was.
She took out her cell phone and tried to call the police, but her paws was too big for the buttons. She broke the phone, shouted something that her mother would not approve of and threw the pieces to the ground. She tried pounding on the doors and shouting again, much to Benoit's dismay.
That night, as he was about to have dinner, there was a knock on his door. He got out of his chair to answer it. On the other side stood Ming looking forlorn.
"Ming?" The elder wanted to know. "What is it? What's wrong? You look sad."
"I'm sorry to bother you." She said to him. "But have you seen Meilin anywhere? I haven't seen her since I dropped her off at school this morning. She never came home. Jin and I looked everywhere."
"I'm sorry to say that I haven't." Ming frowned.
"Oh, that is what I was afraid of." She began to tear up. She couldn't help it and broke out crying. Mr. Gao came out to comfort her.
"Hey, hey!" He said to her. "I'm sure you guys will find her." Ming looked at him.
"Thanks." She wiped away her tears. "Sorry."
"No need to be sorry. Do you want me to help look for her?" Ming smiled.
"If it's no trouble."
"Oh, no trouble at all. I was just about to have dinner, but I can reheat it. I'll put it away, then I'll come right back out. Just give me a minute." He closed the door as he went back into his house.
"Did you find Mei?" A familiar voice asked from behind Ming. Ming looked behind her and gasped. Standing there was Miriam. Beside her was Abby and Priya.
"Girls!" She said, shocked. "What are you all doing here? I just called you all to see if you knew where Mei was."
"We wanted to help you find her." Miriam said to her. "She's our friend."
"Yeah!" Abby added. "You just can't call us and expect us not to worry too."
"We just want her back safe and sound just like you." Priya put in. Ming smiled as she began to tear up again.
"Thank you, girls." She spoke. "Mei has some wonderful friends."
"You know it!" Abby agreed.
"We'll always be there for our girl." Priya chipped in.
As Mr. Gao put the food away, he remembered something. He remembered that truck and thinking he heard Mei inside. He might not have, but he had to tell Ming just in case. He quickly ran back out to where Ming was. When he got there, Abby, Priya and Miriam were beside her.
"Ming!" He said, going towards them. Ming and her friends looked at him. "I don't know if this was Mei or not, but maybe it was."
"What are you trying to say?" Ming asked the old man.
"I may know who took Mei."
"Are you sure?" Ming asked Mr. Gao when he was done telling them. Mr. Gao shook his head.
"Well, like I said before, it may not be." He admitted. "But it sounded a lot like her."
"Well, it's a lead." Ming told him. "And that's good. Come. I have to tell Jin. He's asking the whole neighborhood too." And so, she, Mr. Gao, and Mei's friends took off.
"Jin!" Ming called when she saw her husband leaving a house with his head down. He turned around and saw the people with her.
"Have you guys seen her?" He wanted to know.
"Sorry, we didn't." Priya told him. Jin looked disappointed.
"But we might know where she went!" Abby added. This excited Jin.
"Really?!" He asked with hope. "Where?! You have to tell me!" And so, they told him.
"Are you sure?" He wanted to know.
"That's the problem." Mr. Gao explained to him. "I don't know for certain."
"But you said that you thought you heard her screaming from the back of that truck, did you not?" Ming asked him.
"Yes, I did." Mr. Gao stated.
"But even if we go to Quebec," Jin began. "…we don't know where this circus is. Who even has a circus of freaks anymore?"
"Only disgusting places." Ming answered her husband.
"We can probably find the place online." Miriam suggested. "Come on, to my house!" They all followed the girl. Ming turned to Mr. Gao.
"I think we can handle the rest from here." She told him. "You just go home and finish your supper."
"You sure?" Mr. Gao asked. Ming nodded and bowed to him.
"Yes. You were a huge help. Thank you."
"Okay then. Well, good luck! I hope Mei Mei returns home safe and sound." And with that, Mr. Gao walked back home. Ming told her husband that she'll call the police and ordered him to go home. Jin obeyed.
"Come on!" Ming urged the Internet when it was being slow loading the page that they needed. "Why is it so darn slow? Why can't it go any faster?"
"That's 2002 Dial- Up- Internet for you." Miriam told her. "Sorry, but this is as fast as it can go."
"It sucks." Priya stated. "But it is what it is."
"Maybe the Internet of the future will be faster."
"Yeah!" Abby put in. "The Internet of the future can't get here fast enough! We're not turning any younger here, people!" Just then, the computer stopped all together. Everyone groaned.
"Great, just great!" Ming stated. "I tried several calls for the police, but they were all bad operators that refused to help me find my daughter, then the slow, crappy Internet and now this!"
Miriam's dad appeared in the doorway, landline phone in hand.
"Sorry." He apologized. "I have to take this. It's work calling, so it's very important."
"More important than my daughter?" Ming asked. "I doubt it. Nothing is more important than a child. What if it was your kid that was kidnapped, huh? Would a phone call from work be more important than?" Miriam's dad grinned and then talked into the phone.
"I'll call you later." With that, he hung up. Ming smiled.
"I thought so."
"Thanks, Dad!" Miriam shouted to her father. The page that they needed was finally loaded. Everyone was happy. Miriam cracked her knuckles. "Alright, let's get down to business."
"Alright, freaks!" Beinot said to them in the circus tent for their meeting. Mei, in panda form, stood beside him. She was no longer caged up. "Allow me to introduce you to our newest freak, this giant red panda. Make the panda feel at home here and get acquainted. That's all. Meeting dismissed." Beinot left the tent. Mei was afraid as the freaks all looked at her. She shivered in fear.
"Aw!" Brielle observed. "The panda's shaking in fear. Poor little thing."
"Do not fear." Beutrica told her. "We won't hurt you. We just want to be friends with you." Mei still wasn't sure she could trust these people that she just met. She still shivered in fright.
"'Sti llits oot daecs." The backwards talking lady observed. Mei was confused. What did this lady say? But she didn't dare ask.
"Ti t'nseod tsurt su."
"Then we have to show it that it can trust us." Samson stated. He walked towards Mei and slowly outstretched his hand to her. Mei looked at it. "Nice, panda. Nice, panda. I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to be your friend. Promise." Mei flinched when Samson touched her fur, but calmed down once he realized that he meant his word and posed no threat. "See? You can trust me." Mei was so relaxed that she transformed back into her teenaged girl form. Everyone was shocked.
"Taht der andap tsuj ednrut otni a namuh liig!" Backwards language lady cried out. "Taht's ton lamron. 'Sehs si ene fo su!"
"That was surprising." Samson said. "I wasn't expecting that."
"I think none of us did, Samson." Brielle said to him.
"Where am I?" Mei wanted to know, looking around.
"You're at the Quebec Freak Show." Beutrica explained to her. Mei looked at her, still confused.
"The what? Freak show? Quebec?"
"It's this dumb thing where 'regular' people put us 'freaks' in a show and exposes us for profit. The audience laughs at us at not being 'normal'. It's really humiliating, offensive and it has to stop."
"That's awful!" Beutrica nodded.
"It really is." She agreed. "And now you are here to raise more profits."
"But I can't be here. I have to go back to Toronto. I have friends and family there. I don't belong here."
"We all don't belong here." Samson said. "But does Beinot care? No, he does not. All he cares about is his boss and money."
"That's not right. Has anyone tried to escape?"
"Yes." Brielle answered. "But unfortunately, all of those attempts ended in failure."
"But there has to be a way!" Mei said. "It can't be all hopeless, can it?"
"S'ti si." Backwards lady put in. "Ylrettu sselepoh! Ew deird gnihtyreve. Llits on kcal."
"What does she keep saying?" Brelle shrugged.
"We don't know." She answered her. "She says her sentences backwards. We don't even know her name. Beinot, our boss, just calls her, 'The Backwards Lady'."
"Well, I bet there is a way! All we need is to think of a plan and go for it all together!" Samson smiled.
"That's what I like to hear, Mei!" He said. "Optimism is good to have! Lord knows we all need it."
"So all we need is a plan." Mei said. "If we do that, we'll be good."
"Don't forget, we have to execute it well too." Brielle reminded Mei.
"Right."
"Alright!" Samson said, rubbing his hands together. "Let's think of a plan! Any idea is a good idea. We're escaping tonight! I can feel it!" Brielle rolled her eyes.
"You always say that!"
"I like your idea, Mei." Beautrica said to her when Mei suggested her escape plan. "It just might work."
"Really?!"" Mei said. Beutrica nodded. "Thanks."
"See?" Samson said. "I told you if we had another person with us, they would think of a good way to escape…and I was right!"
"Okay, Samson." Breille said to him. "Don't get your hopes up. It might not work."
"But it might! You can't be a downer every time, Brielle! Nobody likes that." Brielle just rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, yeah! Just don't come crying to me when it falls apart."
"Whatever." Mei looked at The Backwards Lady. She thought for a bit, then came up with a plan. She stood up and walked over to her. Samson, Brielle and Beautrica were confused.
"Uh, Mei?" Beautrica asked. "What are you doing? You won't be able to understand her, remember? No one can." Mei took out her notepad from her backpack that she still had on her back.
"What is your name?" She asked The Backwards Lady. The Backwards Lady just looked at her. "Please, tell me. I would like to know.
"Teragram." She answered. Mei thought for a minute, then wrote something down in her notepad.
"What are you writing down in your notepad?" Brielle wanted to know. Mei looked at them.
"Her name is Margaret." She just said to them, surprising them all. Brielle, Samson and Beutrica were confused.
"Where did that name come from?"
"Easy." Mei answered. "She says her sentences backwards, right? I asked her name, wrote it down in my notepad and rewrote it backwards. Teragram becomes Margaret." Her grown friends then all understood.
"Brilliant!" Samson complentented. "See? I knew we needed a bright young mind like yourself. You keep on getting more and more amazing!" Mei smiled.
"Ugh!" Brielle cried out, frustrated. "How did we not see it? She made it look easy. Stupid!"
"Just because we didn't see it does not make it stupid." Beautrica told her. "We learn new things every single day."
"Yeah, yeah!" Brielle stated. "But if you ask me, living life though an adult is much worse than living your life as a kid." This time, Mei was confused. Brielle noticed this. "You will learn what I mean when you grow up." Mei nodded as if she understood, but still was a little unsure. She then changed the subject as she put her hand in the middle. The others did too.
"Okay," She said. "Let's put our escape plan into action. 3, 2, 1! Yeah!"
"Yeah!" They all repeated, withdrawing their hands from the middle.
"Heay!" Margaret agreed.
Mei went to one of the guards who was on guard outside.
"Hey!" She greeted the guard. "My name is Mei. I guess I'm the new freak in this circus, huh?"
"Guess so." The guard said to her.
"But you know what I'm wondering?"
"Kid, if you don't mind, I'm making sure none of your guys escape from this circus."
"Why?"
"Because it's my job."
"Why? What if you, I don't know, don't do your job?"
"Then my boss will fire me."
"Your boss? You mean, Beinot?"
"Yes"
"And that's bad, right?"
"Yes. Look, you're just a kid. You'll learn when you get a job."
"Okay, tell me then." The guard looked at her, confused.
"Tell you what?"
"Tell me why anybody in this world would ever want a job."
"You should know already, freak. You're old enough to know, but fine, I'll tell you anyway. Jobs are there to make you money. Money lets you buy things you want and need in life. Money lets you buy things for your kids. And when you buy things you want, it makes you and everybody else happy. You can't go through life without spending money, kid. You'll learn when you're older, kid." Mei nodded, pretending to be interested.
"And does a job make you happy?"
"Yes, this is what makes me happy, So. yes?"
"But does it make you truly happy to do this job? I mean, if money weren't involved?"
"It makes my boss happy."
"And what will make your boss unhappy?"
"If I don't follow his orders. How does a girl your age not know this already?"
"Can you get a different job if you don't like this one?"
"Yes."
"So, if you don't like this job, why don't you get a new one?"
"Because my boss won't like it if I just quit out of the blue like that."
"And do you have to do what your boss says?"
"Yes."
"You don't have a say in this? You're not in charge of your own life; your own free will?"
"No, I…" The guard thought about this, then became firm as he realized something. "You know what? I do! I do have my own free will. I do get to call the final shots. This is my life and I get to live it however I darn well please. I hated this job from day one, and felt bad for all you guys. It's not right on what he is doing to you guys. I'm quitting and helping you guys escape. And if Benoit doesn't like it, too bad! It sucks to be him then!"
"Yeah!" Mei agreed. "That's it! Just be you and let no one tell you who to be! I like it!" She looked at the guard's name tag. "Victor." Victor looked at her and the others.
"Come on! I'll help you guys all escape. Follow me!" They all thanked him and ran after him.
They all ran until another guard blocked their path. Mei read that his name was Hugo,
"Hugo!" Victor said to him. "Let us pass."
"Sorry, Victor." Hugo apologized to him. "But I can't let you do that. It's past the freaks' bedtimes. They have a big show tomorrow."
"We always have a big show!" Brielle complained.
"That may be true." Hugo agreed with her. "But you and your freakish friends should still go to bed. He doesn't like it when you guys are sleepy during the shows."
"I didn't know adults had bedtimes." Mei spoke. "I thought they went to bed when they felt like it."
"Well, when you're us, you do." Brielle said to her. "That's what life as a freak is all about."
"But we're fixing to change that."
"Hopefully!" Beutrica stated. "But first we have to convince Hugo."
"Convince me?" Hugo questioned. "Convince me of what?" He narrowed his eyes. "What are you playing at, freak?"
"Hugo," Victor started to tell him. "I have to ask you something. Hugo looked at him.
"Ask me what, Victor?" So, Hugo asked him the questions Mei asked him.
"Hey, you're right." Hugo said as soon as he was convinced. "I am my own man. I don't need to be treated like this. I can live my own life however I want!" Everyone beamed.
"Yeah!" Mei agreed. "Just say 'my panda, my way!'" They all looked at her. Mei noticed this and laughed nervously. "Or you know, something similar." They all smiled and agreed. They then continued running towards the exit to the circus grounds, now with Hugo.
As they ran, they had to convince other employees that they were all individuals and they didn't have to be treated like this.
Soon enough, they convinced all of the employees, and they were now running to the exit. They were about to make it when Benoit stood in their path. Everyone stopped in their tracks.
"Benoit!" Victor said. "How are you, Boss? We thought you'd be sleeping by now."
"Victor!" Benoit scolded him. "How could you? How could you all? I'm so very disappointed in you all."
"We're sorry, Boss." Hugo apologized to him. "How did you find out what we were all doing so fast?"
"Oh, word gets around." Benoit told him. "This place isn't very big you know."
"Well, Victor and Hugo both have something to say to you." Mei said to Benoit.
"Oh, they do, do they?" Benoit questioned, looking at them.
"Yeah. They do, as well as every single one of your employees. Go ahead, tell him Hugo. Tell him, Victor and everyone else."
"We will go back to our posts, sir." Hugo said to him. This surprised Mei.
"Wait, what?"
"And I'll make sure these freaks go to their beds." Victor put in. "Sorry we woke you up, sir. It won't happen again."
"Good!" Benoit said, "It better not. I'm counting on you, Victor." As soon as Benoit left, Mei turned to Victor.
"Hey, what gives?" She wanted to know, "I thought you and your buddies were on our side now. I thought you no longer wanted to put up with Benoit's crap." Victor glared at her.
"Shut up and move, freak! All of you, if you know what's good for you!" Mei wanted to argue some more, but chose not to. She and the others went back to their trailers with Victor behind them, making sure that they did.
"I don't get it." Mei said as they were all heading back to their trailers with Victor following them. "I thought all of the circus employees were on our side now. I was sure of it."
"They may have calmed that." Brielle put in. "But they learned to be so scared of Benoit. That's why they all went back on their word. Benoit has that power on them."
"That's a shame." Mei said. "Now what do we do?"
"You mean you don't have another plan?"
"Not if Benoit's going to be all smart about it and stop us. That and his employees. I'm sorry, guys."
"It's alright." Beutrica said to her. "At least you tried your best. That is all that really matters."
"Hey, quit talking!" Victor commanded. "You guys are supposed to be sulking!" They were all quiet as they all continued walking.
Ming called for a taxi at the airport and she, Abby, Miriam and Priya were all in the backseat as the taxi driver drove them to the circus. Ming tried to call the police again, but she still got refusals. She groaned in frustration.
"Going to the circus freak show, I hear." The taxi driver started to say. "You are all going to have a good time. It's a good show. I take my kids there. We just love laughing at all of the freaks." Ming was disgusted and angry by this.
"Wrong choice of words, buddy." Priya said to him. "You shouldn't have said that."
"You are being very inappropriate right now." Ming said to the driver. "You should be ashamed of yourself!"
"What?" The driver asked. "Look, lady, I'm sorry if I offended you. That wasn't my intention at all. All I said is I liked the show."
"Well, you shouldn't. It's disgusting the way they are treated and on display for your amusement. Every person is different and it's not ok to laugh and make fun of them."
"I get it. I'm really sorry. I know everyone is different and unique in their own way."
"Then stop going to shows like that. If enough people do that, they'll lose money and will get shut down. And if they have common sense, they'll never open again. They should have never opened in the first place."
"Please, don't talk bad of me to your family and friends. I need the money!" Ming smiled.
"Oh, I won't." The driver sighed. Ming then gave out a mischievous grin.
"If you promise never to go to a freak show and laugh at people who are different than you ever again."
"Uh, Mei's mom?" Miriam spoke to her. "As right as you are, you can't force people."
"Deal!" The driver agreed. "I promise." Ming smiled.
"Good." Priya sighed.
"Never mind."
It was time for the show to start and Mei was anxious. Where was her mom and her friends? Benoit approached her and the others.
"Okay, freaks! Listen up!" They all looked at him. "This is the red panda girl's debut, so make it a good show!"
"Uh, my name is Meilin." Mei informed him. But Benoit didn't hear and left. Mei sighed.
"He doesn't care about our names." Brielle informed her. "He just wants us to do a good show for him because of money."
"Well, he should." Mei said. "He shouldn't call us freaks all of the time. We have names you know."
"Again, he doesn't care. Sorry to be so harsh, but it's the sad truth."
It was time for Mei to perform her act in the freak show and she was dreading it! She hated the show so far in how her friends were being treated and hearing the audience laughing at them. She wanted so badly to yell at the audience and tell them to stop, but knew that she couldn't. So when her time came, she took a deep breath and walked onto the stage.
Ming, Abby, Miriam and Priya ran to the circus tent entrance. It was already roped off, but Ming didn't care. A guard stood in the entryway.
"The show is all sold out." He said, stopping them. "Next show is tomorrow."
"I need to get in there now!" Ming commanded.
"I don't know what to tell you, but every seat is full. You and your kids can't enter."
"You don't understand. I don't care that the show's sold out. I'm not really here for the show. My daughter's in there! She's performing in this stupid and disgusting show against her will. I need to go in there and get her."
"And we need to get our friend!" Miramim added.
"Yeah!" Abby agreed. "And fyi, this lady is not our mom. She's our friend's mom, the same one that we are trying to rescue."
"I would let us all through if I were you," Priya began. "…you do not want to anger my friend and our friend's mom. Trust me, they will do some crazy stuff."
"I can't do that." The guard said, firmly. "Sorry."
"Do you have any kids of your own?" Ming wanted to know. The guard looked at her.
"Yeah, why?"
"Well, if your kid was doing something against their will, will you want to do anything in your power to save them?"
"Well, yeah. I love them. What kind of parent wouldn't do that for their kid?" Ming smiled.
"Good, so you understand. So, may we go through?" The guard hesitated for a bit, but shook his head.
"Sorry, but rules are rules. You guys aren't coming in and that's final!" Ming sighed.
"I'm so sorry to do this then." She said. The guard was confused.
"Do what?" Ming stepped on the guard's foot. The guard yelled in pain. She and the kids ran in.
"I warned you!" Priya said to the guard before resuming on running.
"Hey!" The guard shouted as he was calm once again. "Come back!" He ran after them.
Ming and the kids froze when they saw Mei in her giant panda form, wandering the stage. They all heard and saw the audience point and laugh at her. Ming grew red in the face and ran towards the stage.
"Got you!" The guard cried out in a whisper. He silently cursed under his breath as he saw Ming run off. "Wait, she wouldn't dare run out and ruin the whole show, would she?"
"Yep, she would." Priya said to him.
"She would do anything for her daughter." Miriam put in.
"You should have seen her when she became a giant red panda and just destroyed the Skydome last month. Abby added. "It was awesome!" The guard was confused.
"Wait, what?! She can turn into a giant panda too?" But his question wasn't answered for Ming was yelling at the audience at the top of her lungs.
"YOU SHOULD ALL BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES!" Ming yalled. The audience all went quiet and listened to her. Mei looked at her mom.
"Mom?" She questioned. Benoit ran on stage.
"What are you doing?!" He questioned. "You're ruining my show. If you don't go, I'll call for security." Ming ignored him and looked out into the audience again. Beutrica walked out and gave Ming the microphone. She gladly took it and talked into it.
"Every single one of you!" She continued. "Just because someone is different than you does not give you the right to make fun and laugh at them! How would you feel if that was you? Not very good, I bet! So I'll stop laughing if I were you and never attend this awful and disgusting show ever again and others like it! Once enough people do that, these shows will shut down and…" Benoit had enough. He spoke up again.
"Don't tell my audience that!" He spoke again. "They can enjoy what they want. It's none of your business. You should really get out of here." He called for security on his walkie talkie. Ming looked at Benoit. "And you should be ashamed of yourself too."
"Don't tell me what to do either. I'm a grown man. The audience are too, well, except for the kids. And so are you, so stop acting childishly."
"Oh, I will. If you stop acting like a brat and a bully."
"I'm not a bully!"
"If you continue to treat these poor people the way that you do, you are a bully." She looked at the audience again. "You all are!" Two security officers came. Benoit, who was now beet red, pointed madly at Ming.
"Take this crazy woman away!" The security officers each took hold of her and dragged her away. Ming continued screaming at the top of her lungs as she was being pulled away.
"Mom!" Mei cried out as she saw what was happening in front of her.
"Wow!" Brielle marveled out loud. She had come up to the surface to watch and listen to the whole thing. "Sorry at what happened to your mom, Mei, but that took guts. Your mom is a crazy rebel!" Benoit glared at Brielle.
"Get back down there!" He demanded. "The show isn't over yet." Brielle sighed, took a deep breath and went back under. Benoit talked into the microphone again. "Sorry about that, folks. Now that whole mess is now cleaned up, the show must go on!" The audience cheered and applauded. Mei sighed. Crazy as that was, she wished that would have worked. She would do anything to hang out with her friends, be with her parents, and just be a normal teenager again (minus the turning into a giant red panda part).
Samson, Beutrica and Margret watched Mei from backstage. They were all sad as they saw Mei's expression on her face.
"Just look at the sad look on Mei's face." Samson observed out loud. "I was sure that it would work out and we could've finally get out of this awful place. Pity."
"Yeah." Beutrica agreed. "Pity indeed." Margaret sighed.
"Yrev das." She put in, frowning.
"Come on, girls." The guard said to Abby, Miriam and Priya. "You have to come with me now." They all sighed sadly. None of them dared to protest or try to get away, they just let him lead them out of the tent with their heads down.
When they went outside, a police car was outside. An officer stepped out.
"Okay, who called the police?" The guard wanted to know.
"AND NOW THE POLICE COME?!" Abby asked herself. She groaned in frustration.
"You mean it wasn't you?" Miriam asked. The guard shook his head. "Well, it wasn't me."
"It wasn't me either." Abby put in. The guard looked at Priya.
"Don't look at me." Priya said. "I also didn't call the police."
"Well, if it wasn't any of you three," The guard stated. "then it must have been…"
"It was me!" Victor admitted, approaching them.
"Victor? You, but why?"
"Because I'm sick and tired of Benoit bossing us around, aren't you, Felix?"
"No." Felix answered. "And isn't that what a boss does? Bosses people around? Isn't that in their job description?"
"That may be. But not the way he does it. He also treats his performers here unfairly, displaying them for all of the world to see just to mock and laugh at them. Talk about disgusting!"
"Finally!" Ming cried. "Someone that gets it."
"When did you feel this way, Victor?" Felix wanted to know.
"I always felt it." Victor informed him. "But I was too scared to admit it. Now, I'm standing my ground and standing up for myself." Felix smiled.
"You know what? Me too!"
"So am I!" Andre agreed, letting go of Ming. "Down with Boss!"
"Yeah!" The other security officer, Emile, agreed. "No more boss bossing us around!"
"Down with Boss!" Victor, Felix and Andre said together. Victor looked at the police officer. "He's in this tent with his disgusting show going on. His superior is watching." Another police car came. The cop grinned.
"Then it's a good thing I called for backup." He said. "I hate to interrupt the show and ruin it for the nice, innocent people, but it's my job. I have to do what I have to do." Victor nodded.
"Yep! Have to do what you have to do!" The other officer got out. "Okay, let's do this thing!" And everyone, but Ming, Miram, Priya and Abby went inside.
Benoit and his boss got arrested. The audience were disappointed that the show got cut short, but got mad at Benoit after they found out that freak shows were illegal and understood. Mei was back with her mom and friends. Her new friends were with them.
"We're finally free to do whatever we want!" Samson said with joy. "I prayed and prayed that this day would come and it finally did!"
"Unbelievable!" Brielle stated. She then smiled. "But, I'm glad. Now maybe I can fulfill my dream and put my mermaid tail to good use and be a lifeguard and save people's lives!"
"Will I ever see you guys again?" Mei asked.
"Who knows?" Beutrica said. "It's a big world out there, but anything's possible, so, maybe?"
"And maybe not." Brielle said. "It's highly unlikely that we're all be together again."
"Emit ehe fo lla tenwod eibbed a hcus eb t'nod!" Margret said with a sigh.
"I'm just stating facts." Brielle said. "Unless we exchange phone numbers, it's highly unlikely."
"But it was very nice to meet you." Bretrica said to Mei. "As well as your mom and your friends, and we couldn't be happier."
"Me too." Mei agreed with a smile.
"Mom." Mei said to her mom while waiting for a taxi. Ming looked at her. "If it wasn't for my choice to be a giant red panda for life, this wouldn't have happened." She sighed. "I'm sorry. I should have finished the ritual."
"No." Ming stated. "You made a choice, Mei, and I stand by it. Remember, your panda, your choice, You just need to be more careful is all." Mei smiled.
"Thanks, Mom. I will. And I wanted to call the police, but my big bear paws were too big for the buttons, and I broke my phone. I'm really sorry, Mom." Ming sighed.
"I tried to call the police several times. But each time, it was a bad operator that refused to help. Can you believe that? The Canadian Police Force of all people. But, I'm just glad it all worked out in the end and we're together again." Mei smiled.
"I'm glad too, Mom."
"And we will support you too." Miriam said as well. "And we will always be there for our bestie."
"I know you girls, will."
"We're glad you're back too."
"Just wait until we tell Tyler what he missed out on!" Abby spoke. "He'll be so jealous! Saving you Mei, it was an adventure of a lifetime!"