Max let her pull him back toward the party, but this time, his smirk had softened. For all the chaos and ridiculousness of the night, this—this was the part he'd actually remember. The music pulsed through the house, neon lights flashing as a sea of teenagers danced, laughed, and enjoyed the one party they weren't supposed to be having.

"My first real party!" Evan cheered, hopping onto the crowd with unearned confidence.

Thud!

He hit the floor like a sack of potatoes.

"Don't worry, guys. We'll get this right." He stumbled up, adjusting his jacket as if nothing had happened.

Across the room, Cherry elbowed Phoebe, nodding toward Evan. "Someone should tell him that no one's gonna catch him."

Phoebe sighed. "Eh, don't worry about it."

Right on cue, Evan tried again.

"Crowd sur—"

Thud!

He groaned from the floor. "I'm beginning to think it's me."

Phoebe and Cherry shared a look before Cherry smirked. "You think?"

Max strutted up beside them, grinning smugly. "Told you I know how to throw a rocking party."

Phoebe crossed her arms. "Yeah, yeah. You throw one good party and now you're—wait." Her eyes widened. "Where did you put Mrs. Wong?"

At the same time, Max's expression shifted to panic. "Where did you put Mrs. Wong?"

"Me?—Stop that!" They pointed at each other in perfect sync before both turned and scanned the room in horror.

"We lost a frozen woman!" Phoebe shrieked.

Max grabbed his hair. "What are we gonna do?!"

Melanie, who had been munching on a slice of pizza, slowly lowered it. "Wait... what do you mean lost a frozen woman?"

Phoebe grabbed her shoulders. "Melanie. We froze Mrs. Wong. And now she's gone."

Melanie blinked. "Oh. That's..." She frowned. "Wait, am I supposed to be worried or confused? Because I'm both right now."

Max groaned, pacing. "She couldn't have just walked out of here! Somebody must have taken her."

Billy, who had just walked by, stopped in his tracks. He looked down at the puddle at their feet, then at Max. "Uh... I think I'm standing in melted Wong."

Phoebe shrieked. "AHH! NO!" She hesitated. "Wait... what does it taste like?"

Billy poked his tongue out. "Lemonade." His eyes widened. "And probably everyone who's ever walked in here."

Melanie gagged. "Well. There goes my appetite."

Phoebe grabbed Max's collar. "This is your fault! You just had to turn her into a Wongsicle!"

Max yanked free. "Oh, excuse me for trying to stop her from shutting down our party! What was I supposed to do? Politely ask her to leave?"

Melanie sighed. "I feel like anything would have been better than—y'know—this."

Max groaned, rubbing his face. "Okay, okay. We just have to figure out what happened. Wong was right here when we froze her, so how could she be gone?"

Phoebe scanned the room before her eyes locked onto the pizza table. "Look! The pizzas are gone!"

Max gasped. "No! Not the pizzas!"

Phoebe smacked his arm. "Focus! Maybe the delivery guy thought Mrs. Wong was an ice sculpture and delivered her somewhere!"

Melanie's face scrunched. "That's a huge jump in logic, but honestly, it's all we have."

Phoebe nodded. "The pizza place always delivers to the Sweep the Leg Dojo. If anyone has her, it's them."

Max sighed dramatically. "Guess we better go find her."

Phoebe turned toward the front door but hesitated, glancing back at the crowded party. She sighed. "If this is the only party we ever get to throw..."

Max smirked. "Then we're leaving through it in style."

With that, they straightened up, shoved their worries aside, and walked straight through the chaos, pretending like they weren't on the hunt for a missing frozen neighbor.

Max was slouched against the wall, arms crossed, clearly unimpressed. "Phoebe, we don't have time for this."

Phoebe, however, was too caught up in the moment, watching Cherry and Evan twirling around like they were at some grand ballroom. Cherry grabbed her hands and tried to pull her in.

"Oh, come on, Phoebe! Dance with us!" Cherry spun dramatically, nearly knocking over a chair.

"Whoo!" Evan cheered, completely invested in the moment.

Phoebe hesitated, torn between joining in and the urgent matter at hand. But before she could decide, Max groaned loudly.

As Phoebe and Max grabbed Melanie's arms and rushed her toward the exit, she dug her heels into the floor.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming! But can someone please explain why we're running?!"

Max glanced over his shoulder, eyes darting around the restaurant. "Because if we don't, Cherry's gonna turn this into a full-blown event, and I really don't feel like being part of a 'Great Escape' flash mob."

"Also, we really don't have time for more distractions," Phoebe added, tightening her grip on Melanie's wrist. "We need to get ahead of this before it gets messy."

Melanie scoffed but let them pull her along. "Oh, now you guys care about being ahead of the mess? Pretty sure we're already knee-deep in it."

Just as they reached the exit, Cherry's voice rang out behind them.

"Wait! Where are you guys going?! The fun's just getting started!"

Max groaned. "See? This is what I was trying to avoid."

Phoebe turned back for half a second, flashing an awkward smile. "Uh, bathroom break! Super important! Be right back!"

Cherry narrowed her eyes, clearly unconvinced. "All three of you?"

Melanie, still being dragged, twisted her head around and called, "Yeah! Emergency group situation! You wouldn't get it!"

Max facepalmed. "Mel, that made it sound worse."

Before Cherry could question them further, they shoved open the door and stumbled onto the sidewalk. Phoebe finally let go of Melanie's wrist, breathing out in relief.

"Okay, we made it out. Now what?"

Melanie folded her arms. "That's exactly what I want to know. Because so far, all I know is that we just ran out of a restaurant for no reason, and I'm missing out on free breadsticks."

Max exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. "Look, I'll explain everything later, but first—"

Before he could finish, the restaurant door flung open behind them.

"HEY!"

They all froze. Phoebe looked at Max.

Max looked at Melanie. Melanie sighed, shaking her head. "Well," Melanie muttered. "So much for a clean getaway."

☆

As Phoebe and Max stood outside the dojo, Melanie leaned against the doorframe, sipping her drink with a raised eyebrow. "Okay, there's Wong. What's our plan?" Phoebe asked, eyes locked on their target.

Max slurped noisily on his straw. "Mmm, I dunno. Maybe we could—"

Phoebe turned, exasperated. "Did you have to stop for one of those?"

"It's my birthday. I deserve a treat." Max smirked, holding up his half-melted smoothie.

Melanie, watching the scene unfold, was torn between disbelief and intrigue. "Wait, hold on—you guys froze Wong, and now you're breaking into a dojo? This is already my favorite Tuesday."

Inside, students were sparring while a burly, wild-eyed sensei with a ponytail paced in front of them.

"Okay, maybe if we ask the sensei nicely, he'll let us have Mrs. Wong back," Phoebe suggested. "He looks reasonable."

Before Melanie could respond, the sensei suddenly snapped his own arm with a sickening crack.

"Observe as your sensei breaks his own arm... and then resets the bone."

The students gasped as he screamed in pain, then promptly popped it back into place.

Melanie's eyes went wide. "Okay, what kind of dojo is this?!"

Max took a slow step back. "Yeah, Phoebe, you froze Wong. You handle this."

Sensei Kenny turned to his students. "Alright, mat rats, before our pizza party, we must bow to the chosen one!"

Phoebe seized the moment. "Now's my chance. I'll grab Wong while Sensei Psycho has his back turned."

Kenny suddenly whirled around, eyes locking onto them. "Brendan! Put down that stuffed crust! Your parents didn't pay for your class this week!"

Melanie blinked. "Okay, I love this guy."

Nothing got past Sensei Kenny. His gaze narrowed at Max. "And nothing gets past me. Especially some bozo trying to rob from my dojo."

Max laughed nervously. "Funny story! This is actually my ice sculpture. I just didn't want to interrupt your, uh... weird pizza party."

Kenny cracked his knuckles, then pointed dramatically. "Who are you calling weird? I'm an unlicensed karate master! Brendan, break my finger!"

Brendan hesitated before hesitantly snapping Kenny's finger to the side.

Kenny screamed. "PUT IT BACK! PUT IT BACK! PUT IT BACK!"

Melanie, utterly fascinated, muttered, "Oh my gosh, I could watch this man all day."

Kenny straightened his finger with a pop and grinned at Max. "You still wanna rob my ice sculpture?"

Max held up his hands. "Please don't hurt... you. I just want to take back what's rightfully mine."

"Okay," Kenny said, cracking his neck. "You have to fight for it."

Phoebe's jaw dropped. "Wait, what? You expect him to fight you?"

Kenny scoffed. "I have broken bones." CRACK! "You're not fighting me. You're fighting... BEGINNERS CLASS! CIRCLE OF DOOM!"

A group of small but furious children assembled around Max, their eyes burning with determination.

Max sighed. "Okay, fine. I'll take on these tots. But I'm warning you—I've got fists of fury."

Kenny clapped. "BREAK SOME BONES! MAKE THE GOOGLY-EYED CHOSEN ONE PROUD!"

The kids swarmed.

"Wait, wait, WAIT—AHHH!" Max yelped as the children pounced, wrestling him to the ground.

Melanie doubled over laughing. "This is amazing."

Max thrashed. "GET 'EM OFF! GET 'EM OFF ME!"

Phoebe, horrified, grabbed Melanie's arm. "We have to help him!"

Melanie, still laughing, wiped a tear from her eye. "I dunno, Phoebe, I kinda wanna see how this plays out."

Phoebe groaned and charged in, knocking the kids back with a well-timed spin move. She grabbed Max by the collar and hauled him up just as Kenny reset another bone.

Kenny grinned. "Nice moves. But the battle's not over."

Melanie, shaking her head, muttered, "Y'know what? I should've brought popcorn instead of a smoothie."

Phoebe pulled Max to his feet while the beginners' class regrouped, cracking their knuckles like mini action heroes.

"We need to go. Now," Phoebe hissed.

"Agreed," Max wheezed, rubbing his sore ribs. "I think one of those kids has titanium fists."

Sensei Kenny grinned, stretching his newly reset finger. "You still wanna fight for your frozen lady, or are you backing out like a coward?"

Melanie finally stepped forward, shaking her head. "Look, Sensei Snap-Crackle-Pop, as entertaining as this has been, we're taking Wong and leaving."

"And if I say no?" Kenny challenged.

Melanie smirked and cracked her knuckles. "Then I'll fight you."

Max's eyes widened. "Wait, what?"

Kenny grinned. "Ha! You think you can take me?"

Melanie tilted her head. "I know I can."

Without another word, she flicked her wrist, and a sudden burst of energy surged from her fingertips. A harmless but powerful whoosh of air sent Kenny stumbling backward, crashing into a pile of sparring pads.

"Ahhh!" Kenny yelped as he tumbled into the heap.

The students gasped. "She has the power of the chosen one!" Brendan whispered in awe.

Melanie dusted off her hands. "And that's how you take down a wannabe sensei."

Max stared at her, dumbfounded. "Where was that when I was getting pummeled by toddlers?"

Phoebe was already grabbing Wong. "No time to gloat—let's go!"

The three of them sprinted for the door. Kenny sat up, dazed.

"Beginners' class... circle of doom... avenge me..."

The kids started to charge, but Melanie turned back and shot them a look.

"Sit."

Instantly, the kids froze, then obediently plopped onto the mats.

Max gaped. "That worked?"

Melanie shrugged. "Kids respect authority."

As they burst out the dojo doors and made their escape, Max let out a breath. "Okay. That was... actually kind of fun."

Phoebe shot him a look. "You got bodied by a room full of children."

Max shrugged. "Still counts as a fight."

Melanie sipped the last of her smoothie, grinning. "Best birthday ever."

The doors of the small dojo creaked open as Phoebe, Max, and Melanie stepped inside, the scent of old mats and soy-scented candles filling the air. Melanie glanced around, raising an eyebrow. "So, this is where you guys train? In a strip mall? Classy."

Max crossed his arms. "Hey, don't knock it. This place has a—uh—certain... budget-friendly charm."

Phoebe rolled her eyes. "We're not here for the atmosphere, Mel. We need the ice sculpture, remember?"

As they approached the training area, the Sensei stood in the middle of the dojo, overseeing a group of students practicing exaggerated, theatrical moves. He nodded approvingly. "Oh, look, little—"

Before he could finish, one of the students executed a ridiculous move, causing their limbs to flail wildly.

"That's right! Slap him in a hokey-pokey! Whack his tramboozle! Chop him in a dewabula!" the Sensei cheered, laughing proudly.

Melanie blinked. "Did he just say dewabula?"

Max smirked. "You get used to it."

Suddenly, the Sensei froze. His expression turned serious as an invisible force seemed to shift the air around them. "Stop!"

The room fell silent. Then, dramatically, Max stepped forward and raised a hand. "I am the chosen one, and I have returned."

The Sensei squinted at him. "The chosen one... in a strip mall? I don't think so."

Melanie stifled a laugh, nudging Phoebe. "I like this guy."

Max sighed. "Just wait."

Melanie, unfazed, dramatically widened his eyes. "Behold my googly eyes if you dare."

The Sensei waved a dismissive hand. "Oh, please. Many people have googly eyes. Look at my assistant, Troy."

They all turned. Troy, a tall, awkward man in a gi, turned around, revealing the most ridiculous pair of naturally bugged-out eyes.

Max snorted. "Okay, that's actually impressive."

Melanie huffed. "Well, if I weren't the chosen one, would I be able to do this?" He waved his hands in an exaggerated motion.

The Sensei shrugged. "That's not very impressive."

Max hesitated, then whispered to Phoebe, "She was supposed to float, right?"

"Yeah," she whispered back, wincing.

"Oh, this is so painful to watch," Melanie muttered under her breath, already regretting tagging along.

But then—something happened.

A strange energy pulsed through the room, and suddenly, it wasn't Max who lifted off the ground—it was Melanie.

She gasped as her feet left the floor, her body rising effortlessly into the air. A glowing aura surrounded her, and the room went dead silent.

The Sensei's eyes widened. "It is you! You are the chosen one!"

Max's jaw dropped. "Wait, what?"

Melanie looked down at her floating body, completely shocked. "Oh. Well... huh."

The students all fell to their knees, bowing before her. "The chosen one has returned!"

The Sensei turned to his assistant, eyes wild. "Troy! Are you seeing this?"

Troy, still bug-eyed, nodded slowly. "Yeah, boss. Kinda hard to miss."

The Sensei spun back to Melanie, his excitement bubbling over. "Why are you here, great one? Do you want pizza? A free lesson? You need me to validate your parking? Brendan, get the stamp!"

Melanie, still hovering, blinked. "Uh... I'm just here for the ice sculpture?"

The Sensei nodded furiously. "Of course! Of course! You can have anything you want! You want a kid? Brendan, get your shoes!"

Melanie held up her hands. "That's... very generous, but just the sculpture is fine."

The Sensei clapped his hands together. "It's yours!"

Just then, Melanie lost focus, and her glowing aura faded. She dropped straight to the floor—right onto Max.

"Oof!" Max groaned. "Great. Not only am I not the chosen one, but now I'm a landing pad for the real one."

Melanie stood up, dusting herself off. "Honestly? I'm kinda into this." She grinned. "Alright, let's go get that ice sculpture. And also, someone please explain to me what just happened."

The Sensei watched her go, practically vibrating with excitement. "Did you all see that?! The chosen one was in my dojo! Floating!" He cackled, rubbing his hands together. "I'm so putting that on my flier."

As Max grumbled and marched toward the back of the dojo to retrieve the ice sculpture, Melanie and Phoebe exchanged amused glances before bursting into quiet giggles.

"I cannot believe that actually worked," Phoebe whispered, nudging Melanie. "You're seriously the chosen one?"

Melanie smirked. "Hey, don't sound so shocked. I am pretty awesome." She struck a mock-heroic pose, then broke into another giggle.

Max, overhearing them as he struggled to lift the giant ice sculpture, shot them a glare. "Oh, ha-ha. Laugh it up, chosen one and her sidekick." He grunted, shifting the weight of the statue in his arms. "This thing is heavy! A little help?"

Melanie crossed her arms. "Hmm... nah. You got this."

Phoebe nodded, playing along. "Yeah, Max, we believe in you. You don't need a thundersense—you've got raw determination!"

Max groaned dramatically. "Oh, fantastic. The chosen one and her cheerleader." He took another step, and the statue slipped slightly in his grip. "Oh, nope—nope—"

CRASH!

A loud thump echoed through the dojo as Max barely managed to catch the sculpture before it shattered. He looked up at them, exasperated. "Okay, now I need help."

Melanie rolled her eyes, sighing. "Alright, fine. But only because I don't want Sensei handing me a kid instead." She walked over and easily lifted the statue with a single hand.

Max stared. "Are you kidding me?!"

Phoebe patted his shoulder sympathetically. "Don't take it personally. She is the chosen one, after all."

Max grumbled as they made their way toward the exit, the Sensei and his students still kneeling in awe. Just as they reached the door, the Sensei called out, "Great one! Do not forget us!"

Melanie turned back, grinning. "Oh, don't worry. I won't. This was way too fun."

As they stepped outside, Phoebe leaned over and whispered, "So... what do you think being the chosen one actually means?"

Melanie glanced at the ice sculpture, then back at the dojo, where Troy was still staring, bug-eyed, in shock. She smirked.

"I have no idea. But I kinda can't wait to find out."

☆

Phoebe and Max trudged through the chilly night, shivering as they stumbled toward home. Phoebe struggled under the weight of a frozen Wong, while Max walked ahead, completely unbothered.

"Cold, cold, cold, cold—ugh! Max, you couldn't help me carry her?" Max groaned, shifting Wong in his arms.

Melanie smirked. "Hey, I am the chosen one—carrying things is beneath me."

Max rolled his eyes. "Oh, yeah? Well, the 'chosen one' got thrown off the party train, beat up by a biker gang, and missed his own birthday celebration. Feeling special yet?"

Phoebe huffed. "Okay, first of all—biker gang? They were little kids."

Phoebe smirked. "My birthday, my story."

Just then, Melanie strolled up behind them, hands stuffed in her jacket pockets, looking unimpressed.

"Okay, so let me get this straight," Melanie said. "I ditched my warm, bumping part for this?" She gestured at Wong,