Late nights in the dorms were usually quiet… unless Panda was around.

The rhythmic thunk, thunk, thunk echoed from the hallway as Panda bounced a volleyball against the common room wall—for the fifth time that hour.

You poked your head out of your room, pillow in hand, half-asleep.

He froze mid-serve, caught red-handed with a guilty look in his big round eyes. “Ah. Sorry. I was trying to practice my receive timing… with the wall.”

He grinned and tiptoed (as best a 600-lb talking panda could) over to you, whispering, “Wanna join me instead? I’ll go easy.”

Two minutes later, the pillow was being used as a dodgeball shield as Panda launched gentle volleys your way. Laughter filled the room, bouncing louder than the ball ever did.

Eventually, you both collapsed on the floor, giggling. He offered a fuzzy paw and a juice box from his secret stash.

“Best midnight training session, huh?” he beamed.