Pogo

I grabbed her by the neck, and in my heart, all I wanted to do was beat her until she was covered in blood.

But then I saw her face. She was covering it with her hands, trembling. Fear radiated from her, her whole body shaking. It reminded me of myself when I was a cripple. That same helpless look. No, hers was worse—she looked utterly terrified.

I let out a slow breath and dropped her onto the floor. My mind screamed at me: How can you be so foolish to let her go after everything she did? Turn around! You still have a chance to get your revenge! But something inside me wouldn't let me.

As I walked off the stage, heading to change, I heard footsteps behind me. Jenny and Jake were running after me.

"Hey!" Jenny called, practically glowing with excitement. "I can't believe you're the panda!" Her joy was written all over her face. "This is so great!" she said, throwing her arms around me in a hug.

"I guess you don't need protection anymore," Jake said with a grin.

Did he think I'd forgiven him for what he said earlier? When I fully mastered my powers, I was definitely going to beat him senseless.

"I told you I'd prove you wrong. I didn't die." The words tasted so sweet. Winning felt wonderful. It had been so long since I'd won anything—well, except the world record for being powerless.

"Who said you wouldn't die?" came a sharp voice behind me. I turned to see my brother, Ray, standing there with a look of disappointment. "You still have to fight the panther."

Was he that eager to see me dead?

"That's enough, Ray. No one is going to die," my dad said, walking over with Mom by his side. He was holding my cousin Phoebe in his arms like a sack of potatoes.

"What happened to her?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Dad glanced down like he'd forgotten she was even there. "Oh, her? She fainted from disappointment."

Why is my family so messed up? I thought, shaking my head.

"So, how about we celebrate?" Mom asked cheerfully, as if none of this was strange.

"Can we just go home instead?" I replied.

"Sure," Mom said with a shrug.

I waved goodbye to Jake and Jenny, then bolted for the car. The truth was, I wanted to get home as quickly as possible—not to avoid celebrating, but to finally see my guardian.

Normally, you can't see your guardian when you're using their powers—they're inside you, granting you strength. If you upset them, they can stop granting you power altogether. But when you're not fighting, some guardians will come out to talk or share information. I just hope mine likes me enough to show up, I thought, crossing my fingers.

The car ride home was quiet for the first two minutes until Phoebe woke up. She looked around, disoriented, like she'd forgotten what had happened. But when her eyes landed on me, they widened with fear.

"Y-You…" she stammered, covering her face with her hands. "I'm so sorry! For all the times I cheated, for all the times I called you a cripple, for everything!"

I couldn't help it—I burst out laughing. Her sudden change in attitude was hilarious. Seeing her groveling just because I was suddenly stronger than her? Funniest thing ever.

When we got home, I ran straight to my room and slammed the door. It was time to meet my guardian.

"Panda spirit! Oh, great panda! Panda!" I called out, pacing back and forth. Four minutes passed, and nothing happened.

"This is useless," I muttered, flopping onto my bed in defeat. My body sagged with disappointment.

But then the room began to shake. Light, bright and blinding, filled every corner. Oddly, there was no heat, just energy.

When it was over, I looked up and saw… a panda. Floating. In mid-air.

It wasn't what I expected. He was the size of a teddy bear, with a yellow handkerchief tied around his neck and a bamboo stick dangling from his mouth. His left eye was normal, but his right eye was shaped like a star.

"How'd you like my big entrance?" he asked, gliding gently onto my bed. "I spent all that time you were calling me planning it."

"You wasted all that time on that stupid entrance?" I asked, staring at him in disbelief.

"Yep!" he said, flashing a big smile. " The name's Pogo. Nice to meet you?"

"Got it," I said, already sensing that we weren't going to get along. "So, how do I control my powers?"

"You've got it all wrong," Pogo said, chuckling. "You don't control your powers. Your powers control you."