Cruise 3
"That was very amazing," Tigress said excitedly. "I've never had that kind of experience going to the islands. It was truly eye opening. Especially how you haggled the price on that vendor." Po chuckled. Po and Tigress were going around the island of Cozumel, and they went to a vendor selling fruit. Po noticed, however, that they sold two types of fruit. $5 for oranges and $3 for "naranjas". For the tourists, there was no difference, but Po knew full well that that was robbery. So he asked the guy,
"Could we get some naranjes?" The vendor seemed upset that he saw through the ruse.
"We only sell oranges. We don't have naranjas," the vendor said. Po smirked and said something in Spanish that Tigress didn't understand. Whatever it was, it seemed to scare the vendor. He then sold the oranges for $3.
"What did you say to him that made him so nervous?" Tigress asked as they boarded the ship.
"I said, 'And I'm sure that the authorities will love to hear how someone on their island cheated the tourists.' It's bad for the island if they have incidents of the tourists getting affected by the islanders. Tourism is their main import. Now if the tourists act bad, the island can threaten to not allow people in, which hurts the cruise company, which also affects the jobs in the U.S. It's interesting how things work."
"I didn't know you speak Spanish," Tigress said, "What was wrong with what the vendor was selling?"
"The Spanish word for orange is Naranja," Po explained. Tigress instantly knew what happened.
"Wow, but wasn't it kind of bad threatening him?"
"Hey, he shouldn't have cheated people out of their money," Po said.
"I had a great time, though. You really did show me a side of the island I didn't know about. And helped me avoid high price items."
"Almost all the islands do that. Not the way the vendor did, but they usually spike up the prices when it's tourist season. That's why I know a lot about the islands so I can avoid doing that."
"I didn't think you had the time to do anything else, considering how stressful your work is," Tigress mentioned.
"I have a number of people who are from the islands. They tell me all about it," Po replied. "You learn a lot from listening to people." They made their way to the main promenade.
"So, what about the dinner? It's formal night," Tigress said. Po thought about it. Dinner time on a cruise isn't necessary to attend, but it does give a little high-class social time.
"Mine is at 7."
"Mine too. We could sit at the same table," Tigress replied. "Are your friends coming? I would like to meet them. Especially this, Dr. Monkey you keep talking about," Tigress smirked. Po nervously chuckled.
"Yeah, I think they're going to be there."
"Great. I'll be seeing you, later," Tigress replied with a smile. She went off to find her grandpa.
"See you," Po said. Tigress went to the library where she saw her grandpa and her uncle Tai-Lung playing chess. Tigress rolled her eyes.
"Don't you ever get tired of playing that game?"
"No," They both said. Tigress sighed.
"Anyways, I was coming to tell you that I'm not going to be eating with you today," Tigress replied.
"Oh, going out with a certain panda?" Shifu smiled. Tigress remained silent. "Ah well, we understand. We'll keep your seat warm."
"Thank you, grandpa," Tigress said. "I'll get myself ready." Then she went to her room.
"Hmm," Shifu murmured.
"What? Are you caught in my trap?" Tai-Lung smugly said, referring to the chess.
"I'm wondering about Tigress with this panda. Do you think they could make it long distance?" Shifu asked.
"No," Tai-Lung simply said. "Either he would have to move to where she was or you would have to move where he was."
"Why me?"
"Because Tigress lives with you."
"So I would have to change the entire playing field?" Shifu said.
"Correct, and checkmate," Tai-Lung smiled. Shifu sighed and shook his head.
Later, Po was the first at the table. He fiddled around with his tie. His dark brown suit seemed to heat him up very quickly, even though the dining room was fairly cold. "Hey, Po!"
"Ah! Oh, it's just you guys," Po sighed. Viper, Crane, and Monkey sat down around Po.
"Why are you so uptight? Did you get a message from the office," Viper said firmly. "I told you not to bring work with you."
"Oh no, it's not that. I... I'm expecting someone to come here," Po replied.
"Oh, and who's the man of the honor?" Monkey asked. Po looked at him.
"Well, it's good to see you again. I haven't seen you after I accidentally walked in on you and that-"
"Okay! We get it," Monkey interrupted. "So who is this guy you found?"
"Actually, it's a woman," Po shyly said. Everyone was shocked.
"And... you found her?" Monkey replied. Po rolled his eyes.
"Why are you so surprised? I see women all the time," Po said.
"Yeah, but you don't usually go on dates with them. Wait, is that why I didn't see you in the bedroom? You would usually go in there," Monkey said.
"We're not going on a date. We're just friends on a boat together," Po replied.
"Hello Po," Tigress said. Everyone looked at the stunning female Tigress. The simple red sparkling strapless dress caught everyone's eyes. Po stood up and offered up her seat.
"Hello, Tigress. Everyone this is Tigress," Po introduced. "Tigress, this is Crane and Viper and the famous Dr. Monkey."
"It's great to meet all of you," Tigress said sitting down. "Especially you, Dr. Monkey. Po's told me a lot about you."
"All good I hope," Monkey chuckled, "Um... where exactly did you meet Po?"
"The library, why?"
"Nothing, nothing," Monkey recovered.
"So, Tigress, how have you and Po been getting along?" Crane asked.
"It's been great. He's been a great tour guide when we got to Cozumel."
"You got him off the boat?!" Viper exclaimed. "That's remarkable!"
"Why?"
"They're just teasing me," Po muttered. "I don't usually go out much."
'Try never," Viper replied.
"Well, he's been great to be around so far," Tigress smiled. Po nervously smiled back.
"Hehe, hey, why don't we get something to eat?" Po said, directing the attention elsewhere.
After the dinner was done, the group all went their different ways. Tigress and Po walked through the garden of the ship. The lights from the nearby shops and walkway lights set the mood. "I really liked your friends and you were right about Monkey," Tigress smirked.
"Yeah, he means well, though," Po replied.
"It's really been fun with you, Po. I haven't really had something like this in a while. You've really opened my eyes to different things," Tigress said.
"Come on, I only took you around the island and introduced you to my friends," Po said humbly.
"Yeah, but you've really been an interesting person," Tigress said. "I look forward to seeing you around on the ship later on."
"Hey, maybe we can get together and see a movie. I heard they have a theater," Po suggested.
"You like movies?"
"Not really," Po said, "But I'm willing to try if you want to," Tigress smiled.
"It's okay, I don't really like movie theaters either. I'm more of a watch stuff at home person," Tigress said. They finally got to Tigress's room. "Well, this is me. Thanks for introducing me to your friends. They were really nice."
"You're welcome," Po smiled. Tigress kissed him on the cheek.
"Goodnight Po." She smiled going into her room.
"Goodnight," Po replied. He stood at the door for a while then went to his room. Dr. Monkey was in there going to bed.
"See, I told you wandering would do you good. And she's smoking hot," Monkey smirked.
"Yeah, hey why did you ask her where we met?" Po asked.
"Because I'm wondering if there are more ladies like that here," Monkey smirked. Po sighed and facepalmed his head.
Continued
