Jungle Madness 2

Chapter 2, P3 - Icebreaker

A huge light from the projector hit him forcing the panda to shield himself by raising his arm.The Headmistress cleared her throat and continued with a smile.

"The opening ceremony used to pick two random students among the crowd to participate, but this year things have changed! Everyone give a warm welcome to Nova and Penny!"

Despite hearing his cue, the panda noticed another spotlight following someone else as he moved towards the headmistress. His eyes tracked his challenger, eagerly to identify who they were. It was as much an answer to his curiosity as it was a distraction, preventing him from overthinking about everything. He could hear cheers from his classmates behind him.

"Good luck!"

"You can do this."

"It's not a difficult challenge, trust me."

So many people, so much noise and attention it was frightening being on stage by himself where anyone and everyone could watch him, and he could see them as well.

"Hello..." He sheepishly waved, stopping on the left of the announcer. He fidgeted slightly, knowing he couldn't do anything more until his opponent appeared on stage.

A small penguin waddled her way to the stage. She was covered in beefy clothes for someone so tiny and round, her face barely visible through the giant hat and the scarf. If he had to guess, he would say she's about waist height to him. Nova sensed frustration coming from her. Though it probably wasn't aimed toward him, the panda was a part of the commotion which meant her anger was also directed at him.

"This is Penny, a young, rising ice skater. Her dream is to compete and perform in front of a huge crowd," Yvonne introduced, gesturing to the girl on her right. "On the other side we have Nova. This young panda is a jack of all trades and is currently honing his skills while searching for his calling in life. Today, these two will compete in our Jungle Madness: Tag on Ice."

The public roared, their voices piercing the atmosphere while Yvonne changed the pictures displayed on screen to a larger view of the arena behind the stage.

"As you all know, Jungle Madness don't have rules unless agreed on beforehand by all participants. Before we go to the rule phase I'd like to state the winning condition. It can't be changed so listen carefully. Nova has five minutes to capture Penny. If he fails to achieve the goal, Penny wins. I have added one special rule myself because we're all here to watch and we can't let you run around freely. If someone leaves the frozen pond you're automatically disqualified." Yvonne turned towards the contestants. "Any questions?"

They both shook their heads.

"Perfect. Norbert, please bring out the cards."

A hippopotamus with a purple hue stepped out from behind the curtains, stopping a few steps behind them. From his appearance alone he reminded Nova of a janitor. He held a small box in his grasp.

"You mean these three, right?" He asked, handing it over.

Upon opening the box, the camera zoomed in to show three cards embedded in their allotted slot on a foam pad. The three were all face down and looked clean and shiny due to their sparkly cover on the back.

"The contestants will now select one card only," she informed, ensuring the camera caught the contents of the box." Be advised, these are not normal cards. The winner gets to decide if they wanna be the opening rule or the closing. Both positions have several advantages and disadvantages, so it's only fair the winner gets to decide."

After telling both contestants not to reveal their cards, Yvonne went to the penguin first. She didn't explain why or the reasoning behind it. The lioness offered her the box, and once she had chosen a card, did the same with Nova. Why the lioness gave Penny priority sparked curiosity within him, but he didn't question it further. The last thing he wanted was to cause problems in front of a live crowd.

"Now, please reveal your choice to the crowd."