Yeah, I totally made it to the Olympics, against all odds, but that was just the beginning. I kept reminding myself of what needed to happen as a part of my complicated plan to trap the leprechaun.
- Get to the Olympics. Check.
- Win the Olympics. In progress.
- Wave the gold medal around like some kind of lunatic.
- Locate the leprechaun attracted to the gold.
- Utilize LeRoy’s trap, whatever it happened to be.
- Get my 3 wishes.
Of course my mom had to make some kind of big fuss about all the time I spent in the gym working on my rhythmic gymnastics routine, but she went with me to all the competitions anyway. It didn’t help that she argued with all of the coaches and booed the other people going for the Olympic spots, but I pretty much blocked her out and kept the peddle to the metal. I had to get a special break from school for all the competitions, so I didn’t really get to check up on how LeRoy was working out, but otherwise things were going to plan.
And when all was said and done, I was invited to be the first male to compete in the discipline. I didn’t care about any of that, but my mom was pretty impressed by it all. The entire journey, though, was relatively easy, and it made me just a little worried that something big would happen to ruin my dreams of those 3 wishes. I did get a good sign, though, the day before we arrived at the Olympics. It rained all night.
Early in the morning I went outside while the rain began to slow, and I saw in the distance a brilliant rainbow. It reminded me of the beginning of my journey, when I went chasing rainbows, looking for that pot of gold, and I suddenly knew what I had to do. I laced my running shoes up tightly and took off, knowing deep in my gut that it was the right thing to do. I’d like to say that I ran like the wind, but it was more like a gangly 15-year-old who is trying to outrun the bullies at his school. I was panting before I had gotten 20 paces away from the hotel. But I kept soldiering on.
I ran until I was out of breath, and then I kept running, but the rainbow mocked me as it often liked to do. Then I twisted my ankle right when I thought I was there and fell in a heap on the ground. I swore I heard maniacal laughter, a sound not unlike cackling, in the distance. So yeah, I made it to the Olympics, but I didn’t even get to compete. It was a cruel type of irony, but it didn’t make me give up on my dream. Quite the opposite.
I returned home with a renewed vigor and a sense of purpose. I was going to catch that leprechaun come hell or high water. I just needed to figure out one more time how to get some gold.
Sam
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