49 Lulu Kawaii

49 Lulu Kawaii Lulu Kawaii? That is the best name!' gushed Little- Bit. And you are so beautiful. 'Why thank you, little lady,' said the panda, grinning. 'I think you are as pretty as a peach too.' As she smiled, her tiny nose crinkled and Little-Bit giggled. 'Er, hello, Miss Kawaii,' stammered Peanut. 'We were wondering if you might know how we could get to the Rainbow Lake?' Lulu bent down to stroke Doodle, but he backed away, tail between his legs. Awwww, bless your heart. Are you nervous, boy?' Her honeyed voice was soft and soothing. 'I guess I am quite big, and, well, if you haven't met a talking panda before

it might take a bit of getting used to. As she spoke, Doodle relaxed and let her stroke him under his chin. Slowly his tail started to wag. 'There you go, fella. See? I ain't gonna hurt you.' She turned her huge eyes to Peanut. ' Now, where did you say you was headed, sweetie-pie?' 'The Rainbow Lake. We've heard that it's... quite a sight. The slightest suggestion of a frown appeared on Lulu's forehead. 'The Rainbow Lake?' she stood up. 'Heavens to Betsy, it certainly is a sight. Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. But. her eyes suddenly got even shinier, 'everything is... different now. 'Can you show us how to get there?' Peanut was trying to work out ways to ask whether Lulu was their Resistance contact without actually asking if she was their Resistance contact. 'Can you help us?' The panda blinked three times. ' Well, that just dills my pickle. Of course I can help you. Y'all just. come with me. Peanut looked into Lulu's beautiful, black eyes. They were so big that she could see a full-length reflection of herself in them, as clear as day. Then she noticed. As her depth of focus adjusted, she saw a faint red pin-prick of light inside Lulu's eye, and she heard a whirring sound.

Peanut reached inside her cardigan. Aw, that's so kind of you, Lulu. 'Y'all are so welcome. I'm happy to help. The Rainbow Lake is just down yonder. The panda turned to point down the street, and Peanut seized her opportunity. Quick as a flash, she took her marker pen and drew a line around Lulu's ankles, circling her three times. Then she pulled the ends as hard as she could. ' Peanut! What are you doing!' shouted Little-Bit as Lulu fell forward and landed flat on her face. 'We need to get out of here! Fast!' shouted Peanut. ' Lulu! Are you OK?' said Rockwell, ignoring Peanut and running forward to help the stricken bear to her feet. 'I'm so sorry. My friend here appears to have lost her mind. The panda pushed herself up on to all fours and turned to face him. Rockwell jumped back in shock. Lulu's flowers were broken and strewn across her forehead. Also, her eyes were glowing bright red and looking decidedly less adorable than they had done seconds before. A small door slid open where the little, smiley mouth had been and a voice, neither soft nor soothing, bellowed, 'CODE RED! CODE RED! I HAVE LOCATED THE CONSPIRATORS!' Then came the deafening, high-pitched sound that the children had heard before.