The Travelers Wish (The Wattys 2016)

Chapter 17

I practiced some of the defensive and offensive moves Leonardo had shown me for about 20 minutes.

Failing miserably, falling on my face after every kick and tripping over my own 2 feet.

I guess in my normal form I'm my klutzy regular self.

I only go Bruce Lee when Iv got a Shell on my back.

After one particularly klutzy mishap I fell straight on my ass.

I heard laughter behind me.

"Stick to your day job."

Raphael Mocked me.

"You ok?"

Asked Michelangelo concerned.

"Yeah Mikey, I'm fine, only my pride is bruised."

I stood up.

And something in the corner of the room caught my eye.

Something slightly hidden behind a torn old brown curtain.

I got up and walked over to it.

I pulled back the curtain and hanging from the ceiling about 8 foot off the ground was a pair of gymnastic rings.

"Roman rings!"

I exclaimed.

"You have roman rings?!"

"Your getting all excited about those things?

I found those in a junkyard, and only hanged them up because Mikey saw them in the Olympics, and I believe they are called gymnastic rings."

"Yeah we used them for a bit for upper body strength training."

Continued Leonardo

"In the circus, we call them roman rings, my mother used to perform them in the show."

I tried to jump to reach them, but my 5'3 build was just to short, my fingers missing the rings by just inches.

I tried again with the same results.

"Ugh, white people can't jump."

I complained.

"Yeah but green ones can"

Said Mikey as he jumped and reached them easily.

Effortlessly pushing himself up into a handstand with a hand in each ring.

He fell forward and gracefully propelled himself in a full spin all the way around before catching himself in another handstand.

Just like an Olympic gymnast.

Man he'd make one hell of a circus aerialist.

He hopped back onto the ground.

I tried to jump again, and failed.

Raphael still silent

Sighed like he couldn't take watching me try and continue to fail. He stepped behind me, grabbed my waist and lifted me up to the rings.

I did not expect that.

But hey it got me up there.

I swung up and hooked my knees into the rings, then I sat up, grabbed the ropes and pulled myself to a standing position with each foot in a ring.

"That was never In the Olympics.."

Mikey looked at me questionably.

I slid down into a perfect split.