Leprechauns: The Truth

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Copyright

Published by The Speckled Ducks, Somerset College, Somerset Drive, Mudgeeraba, Queensland 4213, Rishi Athota, Giulia Provenzano, Ananya Garg, Advika Srivastav, Nitika Bethi, Iris Monod, Isabelle Furrows, Leylah Zubair and Aditya Naik.

Copyright © 2020, Somerset College

All rights reserved. This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Enquires should be made to the publisher.

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Message of good-will:

This book is dedicated to all of the children going through a difficult time right now that need some light in the darkness. We hope that this book can be that for you, and we are in awe of your bravery and perseverance as you continue to fight such a horrible illness. You are amazing, astounding people. We are thinking of you and are sending you all the love and strength in the world.

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Acknowledgments:

A special thanks to our sponsors and all the people that organised this opportunity for our school to participate in this project. Thank you to Dr Brohier for organising this day in our school and allowing us to dedicate a whole day for this important cause. Thank you to the Kids Cancer Project for Write a Book in a Day, we are so grateful that we may be a part of this incredible initiative.

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Chapter 1: A Bright and Sunny Morning

“Ugh!” grunted Bobblina , dragging her heavy bins down her front path. Her neighbour, Bryan, stood on his front steps laughing at her feeble attempts in doing so.

“Why don’t you use your muscles ? ” laughed Bryan. “Oh wait, you don’t have any.”

“Why don’t you just shut up! I’m actually trying here!”

“Keep trying you little...”

He was abruptly cut off by Gregoreex, his loyal dog. Gregoreex looked like a ferocious wolf ready to pounce on anyone. Then, he did just that. The massive dog pounced on Bryan, pushing him to the ground. Br yan’s world turned into a frenzy of ferocious licks. Now it was Bobblina’s turn to laugh.

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“At least I know how to spell Gregor eex !” She shouted.

“It’s a silent X and pronounced GREG-OR-Y !” Bry an argued back.

Turning back to her house, she let her feelings go and chortled, whilst barely being able to walk. Her white house shined in the rapidly enlarging sun. Her watch read 4:07 am. It was gonna be a good day.

Even though it was so early in the morning, Bobblin a’s shadow was already visible. Being 7-foot 4 inches did have its benefits. At least she was tall, unlike her absolute muppet of a neighbour. Bryan was just 5 foot 4 inches and was about the weight of a baby killer whale. Her lavish, two-storey mansion was now abandoned, except by her. It used to be a handsome house when it was well-tended to back in the day. Decades of neglect left it looking very underwhelmed. When Bobblina inherited it just a few years ago from her family, it was decaying. She made it look much more suitable. It was now quite a nice house, with a nice backyard and a gate that lead onto Bryan’s house. It was always locked. Bryan's house, on the other hand, was a much more handsome house. As it had been well looked after for many years, it was utterly spotless. Bryan resided in it currently, along with his stepdaughter, Patricia, although she was rarely seen or heard from and he was certain that none of the neighbours even knew she existed. Her face was the unknown mystery of the neighbourhood. No one had seen the face hidden by hair and beanie. Nevertheless, Bryan and Bobblina had been childhood friends for many years. That friendship ended abruptly when Bryan ditched Bobblina to hang out with the cool kids, who wore cork hats and ate Bunnings’ snags . Ever since then, there had been bad blood between the two of them. This carried out too many aspects of life, including throwing out the rubbish and trash-talking the other, which they both did often.

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Chapter 2: The Campsite

Sunlight beamed down on the campsite as Bryan and Patricia arrived, they parked their combi van and jumped out eagerly, excited for another adventure. The two of them settled in a clearing surrounded by tall gumtrees; they stretched up towards the blue sky and cast shelter over the campsite. They decided on a spot for their tent on the ground next to the large lake that sat nestled in amongst the gumtrees, the bright light from the sun glistened on the surface. They pitched the tent, and excitedly discussed their plans for swimming in the lake and basking in the late summer sun. “Can we start a campfire once it gets dark?” Patricia inquired ; she hammered the pegs into the ground and the tent started to take shape. Bryan smiled down at her, nodding enthusiastically. “Of course!” Over the years she had adopted his adventurous spirit, this camping trip was not their first and certainly would not be their last. Gregoreex ran around the campsite, his tail wagged with excitement as he explored his new environment. Patricia played fetch with him whilst Bryan set the campfire. They never left the house without Gregoreex’s favourite toys and he ran around happily, kicking up dust. The sun began to set and Bryan, Patricia and Gregoreex huddled together around the fire, laughing and talking until the embers grew cold. Bryan told ghost stories, making Patricia jump at every shadow and noise in the bushes, and Gregoreex cowered under her legs. After a while they settled down to sleep in their tent, Gregoreex curled up on a blanket on the ground between them and they listened to the sounds of owls hooting and crickets chirping as they drifted off to sleep. Bobblina sighed and sat down at her desk in her small office, miles away from the beautiful nature of the campsite where Bryan and Patricia were. Papers were scattered around her and she had dug through them, trying to find the notes from her boss. She had just been given a new assignment; rumours had been circling about prosperous gold mines in and around a popular

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camping site. If they were true it would mean big things for the village that sat close by. It would also mean big things for Bobblina; this would be her first big scoop as a journalist and she desperately wanted to impress her boss, who was her biggest critic and never satisfied with her work. She pulled up pictures of the campsite on her laptop. It was big and sat at the bottom of the mountain. There were hundreds of caves in the mountain, all intertwined and, if she was lucky, home to millions of dollars of gold that could make her career. She had to be the first journalist to cover this story. The closest hotel to the campsite was three hours away. This excited her ; she’d always loved the outdoors and now she got to camp out in nature and not worry about having to drive to the campsite, adding hours of driving and road rage to what would be an already packed schedule. She skipped downstairs, excited to dig out her old camping gear. Her parents kept all their belongings stacked up in the shed and she dug through the containers. She finally found the tent squished underneath boxes of clothes and toys from her childhood. It was old and musty, but this didn’t dampen her excitement . She smiled to herself and grabbed it. Then she headed upstairs and got ready for her trip the next day. She had to get this story, no matter what. Chapter 3: Something’s Going On Bobblina got out her stuff from the van and walked over to the nice, shady patch of lush green grass behind the cave. “Lovely,” she whispered to herself as she looked up at the brilliant blue sky and felt the warmth of the golden sun as it bronzed her pale skin. She dumped her tent gear onto the ground and decided to lie down and take a break after the 2-hour drive. Bobblina drowned in the soft gras s and looked up at the patterned clouds. Slowly, her eyes began to flutter shut and she let her mind go to rest, falling asleep in the colourful new world. Soon after, Bobblina awoke to the noisy sound of some people emerging from the campsite office. She thought she almost saw the glossy brown hair of her rival neighbour. ‘ No, ’ she thought, ‘that’s impossible ! ’ However, the unmistakable voice of Bryan Carter confirmed her biggest nightmare. Bobble was mortified, she risked a peek and leaned out from the cave, which she cowered behind. Standing there like an adored celebrity, which he was in a way, the unquestionable figure of Bryan Carter, with his shiny, brown hair and short appearance, stood less than 100 meters away. Bobblina sunk back into the shadows of the cave and took a deep breath. “Ugh,” she scoffed “does he have to follow me around everywhere! There is not enough hate in this world to express how much I hate that guy!”

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“Yes, I'm coming Bryan! Is there a dunny anywhere around here? I haven’t gone for almost 3 hours!” A girl!? Bobble listened in further but was overwhelmed by a rush of emotions. Curiosity, jealousy, annoyance and frustration. She wasn’t sure why she felt t his way but decided to put her emotions aside and start making her tent. She marched over to her camping gear on the grass and began to unpack and build up the tent. Finally, she stepped back and admired her work. Bobblina had built up her tent by herself, pride washed over her as she went back to her van to get her suitcase. As she walked over to the carpark, she saw Bryan and the unfamiliar girl leave to go to the main campsite office on the other side of the area, probably looking for the dunny. Suddenly, a sneaky thought drifted through her head and she smiled cunningly at their cramped little tent. Surely, they wouldn’t notice! Bobble consciously walked over to their tent and pulled down the zipper hesitantly. Only a little look. She peeked inside for any evidence or information about this girl who was accompanying Bryan. All of a sudden, nasty thoughts went through her head and she began to feel uncomfortable about sneaking through their stuff. She pulled away in an instant. “Oww!” she shrieked, then slapped her mouth with her hand, being conscious that she was not in a position she would like to be found in. As she fumbled with the zipper and the piece of hair tangled around it, it came out with some struggle. Just as Bobblina was about to sigh in relief at this easy escape, she heard the raspy voice of Bryan. “ Okay, okay, I know it’s hot Patricia! The water here might be a bit dirty. I’ ll just go get the water bottle from the tent; I ’ ll be back in a minute. ” Patricia?! Bobblina thought. Getting her priorities straight, she whizzed around, her heart thumping in her chest. As she was about to pull away, she accidentally knocked out the peg holding up the tent on the right side. In a panic, she got to her feet and stumbled across the campsite. She ran as fast as she could to the other side of the cave and hid, waiting until she would be exposed for her appalling and child-like behaviour. Chapter 4: A Block of Gold Bryan was suspicious. Not knowing that Bobblina was the one who picked out a pin from the tent by accident. He stopped caring about the tent coming down, he just wanted to put it back up. He stayed calm while Patricia kept sweating. “Don’t worry sweetie, we’ll fix the tent now, but I need your help again. Quick!” Immediately grabbing the pins and poles.

“But Bry, It’s so hot, I can’t!” Patricia replied. She knew she would get the tent done if she would help Bryan pitch it up as soon as possible.

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“We’ll get it done in no time and we can go for a walk,” Bryan suggested to her while Patricia takes their bags out. It was a good idea. Maybe they could find a cooler place to spend the afternoon. As soon as they finished setting up their tent, they immediately grabbed their bottles and went to the bubbler to fill them up. Patricia was enthusiastic with their hike coming up and so was Gregoreex, “Let’s go!”, “Woof!” They made their way through the f orest, cooling them both down. They felt much better. They felt free from everything. With the sun fading through the clouds, it was the perfect temperature. Bobblina followed the three through the forest. She was sweating as well. The wind breezed through her golden blonde hair, but it took her more time to cool down. She was still focusing on where they were going. She could see Patricia doing something. Patricia felt too motivated to walk so she took off her beanie and began to run around the trees, sti ll holding on to her hat. Gregoreex followed. “Not so fast!” Bryan was so happy not to get mad at his stepdaughter’s enthusiasm. While trying to catch up with her, they found a lake. The scenery was beautiful. Patricia could feel the dusty air creeping on her skin when she laid down on the gravel.

Bryan took his shoes off and continued to walk around the lake, thinking whether he should go for a swim. He strolled along the rocky path until he felt something smooth under his feet. Lifting his foot, he looked down to find something shiny. It was gold . A full block.

“Patty! Come ‘ere!” he called while gripping onto the gold . Patricia got up and dashed towards him. She saw it. She began staring, she found it mesmerizing. put it in his pocket, and they decided to trek passed the lake again. Bryan put his shoes back on and they both continued their long hike. Just a few seconds later, they found a dry dusty cave. “What are we gonna do with it?” She questioned. Bryan was not sure either. He

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Bobblina found Bryan, she detected him with the other two walking inside a cave she was in. She felt wary of what they were doing. She stayed back as far as she could. Still trying to not get noticed by them. Patricia was curious. She wanted to know what was inside this cave. Together, they both went inside. It was dark. Gloomy. Gregoreex let out a soft growl. “We should go back,” Bryan suggested. Patricia ignored her stepfather’s order and continued looking around. “YA DAMN RIGHT THIS AIN’T A GOO D IDEA!” a loud voice from somebody was getting closer. Closer to Gregoreex. Bryan adjusted his eyesight and he found the voice. It was a leprechaun. “ What the heck ?” Bryan and Patricia were surprised to see a live leprechaun standing directly in front of them. It was not even a jolly leprechaun. It looked angry. It looked hungry . “I’M WARNING YOU TO GET OUTTA LEOPARD’S SI--- !” before he finished his sentence, he could smell something. Something he wished to claim. Looking confused, Bobblina saw the grouchy leprechaun and she began to feel hesitant. Unsure of what to do. Should she help Bryan? How can she come to his aid without the family knowing how and why she found them? “Sweetie, I’m tellin’ you this ain’t a good idea!”

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Chapter 5: The Hungry Leprechaun

Leopard snarled at Bryan and Patricia. Bobblina looked on behind a large rock.

“I’m hungry , give me food, ” demanded Leopard. His demands echoed across the cave, giving Leopard a frightening authority in his voice. Patricia shivered. It had started to become colder as the three descended deeper into the cave. Bryan rummaged in his bag to find any remnants of the food that they had eaten for breakfast and triumphantly pulled out a half-eaten banana. Bryan handed the bruised banana to Leopard and sighed in relief. Bryan cou ld feel Leopard’s anger rising. But he only had one piece of gold and did not want to give it up. He began to grow scared. Leopard lowered his gaze to Gregoreex. Gregoreex growled at Leopard and lunged forwards to bite him, sensing Bryan’s fear. Leopard grabbed Gregoreex mid- jump and smiled wickedly, baring his small and pointy teeth. Patricia screamed in fear and started crying hysterically. She was was extremely attached to Gregoreex. “How nice, you have a dog made of gold ,” Leopard smiled cockily. “I’ll eat it for my dinner!” “No, that’s Gregoreex . Gregoreex is a real dog, he’s not made of gold ,” Bryan pleaded. Leopard was so hungry; he began to grow delirious. “Ok, then. I guess I’ll just have to turn your ‘real’ dog into gold myself .” Patricia whimpered and stopped crying. Bryan put his hand on her bony shoulders, but Patricia swatted it away. She absently stared into the darkness of the cave. Leopard grabbed Gregoreex by the collar and tied him onto a nearby rock. Gregoreex whimpered in fear. “No , give me gold , I only eat gold, ” growled Leopard. Chapter 6: B obblina’s Whistle “Oh no!” Bryan gasped. “No, No, No. Not Gregoreex.” Tears clouded his vision as he saw his beloved dog tied up against the wall. Bryan’s b reath began rasping and his limbs felt numb. The gloomy, cool cave suddenly felt abnormally humid and the pleas of his young daughter blurred. “Dad,” cried Patricia. “Dad, p -p-p-lease, help Gregoreex! ” she started to sob. “Please ! I am not ready to lose him yet.” Patricia’s sobs filled the cave, her cries echoing through the thick cave

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walls. Patricia thought back to what she just said. ‘Did I just say dad?’ she thought. ‘ Oh no. I just called Bryan dad. I admitted how I really care about him.’ Whilst the father and daughter wept at the sight of the young dog, Bobblina watched from the back of the cave. “What has gotten into them” she muttered. “There’s no point wasting t ime crying; they need to get up and save Gregoreex.” Sighing, she carefully examined the scene that lied in front of her. A hysterical Bryan on his knees, a squealing Patricia running around, and a berserk leprechaun with a tied- up dog. Bobblina didn’t want to admit it but she had a sudden urge to help the poor Carter family. Despite all they had done, Bobblina knew that helping them was the right thing to do, although she would regret it later. Over the past couple of days, Bobblina had grown to admire the Carters and she knew that they weren’t half as bad as the neighbours she knew a few days ago. Maybe, just maybe, they could be friends, and maybe, Bryan would help her with her bins next Friday morning. But that would never happen if she continued to stand here without taking action. She needed a plan, and a fast plan too. Gregoreex’s bark of consternation brought Bobblina back to reality. How was she going to get a hyper dog, self-centered man and a frightened little girl out of the capture of a leprechaun. All by herself too. Bobblina was meant to write about stories, not be in them! “Wait!” she shouted out loud. “Wait! What was that saying again?” she muttered out loud . Something about rainbows she recalled. “Rainbows... gold ... green creature. What did dad use to say? Ugh. I wish I listened.” Bobblina thought harder. She needed to remember. “Wait. I remember.” “Where there are rainbows, there are leprechauns. Where there are leprechauns, you must use the sacred silver whistle .” exclaimed Bobblina. “I remember now, this is what the whistle must be for. ” Bobblina lost her father at a young age and had limited memories of him. Taking a deep breath, she pulled the whistle of the chain around her neck. She hadn’t removed the whistle for 23 years as it was one of the only possessions she had left of her father. Bobblina was certain that this is what the whistle was for. Bobblina hastily took out her whistle and sprinted to the leprechaun cave, ignoring the cries of the Carters. She blew into the whistle . A shrill noise filled the cave and Bobblina covered her ears. The shrieks of Bryan and Paticia were silenced and the leprechaun looked up in pain. His eyes burned daggers into Bobblina as they turned a deep blue colour. Ignoring the burning sensation in her lungs, she continued to blow into the whistle . The leprechaun began to sway towards the tied-up dog, and he fumbled with the ropes, eventually untying Gregoreex from the rock. Bryan just stood there in shock, admiring the courage that Bobblina showed while Patricia engulfed Gregoreex in a hug.

“What are you doing here Bobblina?” inquired Bryan.

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“I just saw you and Patricia in the cave with the leprechaun and I got scared that something would happen to you.” explained Bobblina. “I don’t know what to say, Thank you.” whispered Bryan. Bobblina smiled in response and walked out of the cave, thankful for the events that just occurred.

C hapter 7: Love is in the Air It was mid-day when Patricia finally woke up and left the tent, she found Gregoreex digging a hole, still wondering why his name is spelt that way. She found his favourite tennis ball; almost losing him made her even more excited to play with him. She threw it and Gregoreex ran across the campsite, he panted excitedly and eagerly retrieved it and returned it to his owner.

Bobblina and Bryan sat curled up on the wooden seats and looked out over the lake and watched Patricia and Gregoreex play. They had grown closer, years of arguing and fighting melted away as they began to see each other differently. They talked for hours, swapping stories and different perspectives from their childhoods. The distance between them didn’t seem so large anymore.

Bobblina moved into their campsite, moving her gear into their area and making an even bigger setup. They spent the rest of the weekend there, discussing their trip and roasting marshmallows. Bryan was no longer so brash and rough towards Bobblina and she now smiled at him softly. They shared looks across the fire; Patricia noticed this and rolled her eyes. If they had got it together and figured out, they liked each other sooner, they wouldn’t have had to spend so many years fighting. By the time the weekend came to an end they were not only basking in the glow of the late summer sun, but also of their blossoming romance. They skipped stones on the lake on their final night, enjoying their final moments in the place they fell in love. Chapter 8 : Going Back As the deep orange sky faded through pink and purple to a deep glittering blue, the family combi van drove over deep crimson roads. On the way home, they decided to complete the weekend with the final Bunnings’ snags at the stand. It truly was an extraordinary camping trip.

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Monday rose, setting them in the reality of the working week, and Bobblina sat at her computer. She gazed out of her window from the second storey; she could see Bryan and Patricia in their jammies, making breakfast at the kitchen stove. Looking back down at her laptop she remembered the job. What was meant to be a controversial article on the possible establishment of a gold mine had now become the story of a wild weekend adventure, and the discovery that leprechau ns’ obsessions with gold was due to the metal ’ s status as their primary food source. By Tuesday afternoon the local newspaper was distributed, Mining and Leprechauns: The Truth, splattered over the front page. Her first cover page. The by-line declared Bobblina for all to see. Her boss had showered her with praise, she had finally impressed her and Bobblina was practically glowing with pride. As the sun set once again, the sound of vehicles revving echoed as neighbours arrived home from work, the neighbourhood once again filling with the sounds of everyday life. Resounding knocks originated from the door. Bobblina swept her blond hair over her shoulder as she strode towards the entrance. The wooden door swung open, Bryan and Patricia stood on the doorstep. It had been a couple of days since they had had the chance to meet and spend quality time now that relationships were mended. Wide grins stretched over their faces as Bryan waved the newspaper in his hand.

“Congratulations! We’re so proud of you Bobblin a! You were so courageous and now you’ve written this incredible, literally unbelievable story,” Bryan cheered.

Bobblina grasped both their shoulders and pulled them in, her arms winding around their shoulders as the tops of their heads reached her own shoulders.

“Thank you so much for coming you two,” she expressed her gratitude.

“Gregoreex misses you,” Patricia informed her as she pulled away from the embrace.

Bobblina smiled widely at that. “ I miss him too! Come in, come in, make yourselves at home! I was just sorting out dinner.”

Patricia went ahead as Bobblina and Bryan followed at their own pace. He held her hand and halted, facing her.

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“Wel l Bobble, I brought you a celebratory gift! I hope it reminds you of our adventure, reconnection and the start of our relationship. It may or may not be made from the gold I found at the lake.” She was speechless; she couldn’t find any words that could appropriately describe the love and gratitude that she felt when she looked at him. He hugged her lovingly as glittering eyes traversed the soul that stared back.

“How about we have a games night tomorrow at our house ? You could catch up with Gregoreex! ” Bryan offered.

As day turned to night, and bubbly barks were heard about the neighbourhood, their mixed family gathered around the coffee table. They sat cross-legged on the floor, laughter, joyous shrieks as Bryan tickled his stepdaughter, filled the room. Gregoreex joined in the puppy pile. The warmth and heart apparent in the scene were the most important things in their life. No matter how much adversity was faced, whether their relationships experienced turbulence, love and respect were always at the heart of the flame.

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A journalist, a stepfather, a mysterious girl. A dog, a camping trip, a leprechaun. This trip can’t get any worse...except it can! Two enemies in one place. The tension in the air unmistakable. But, soon, a dreaded situation will take place, where one must save the other...will this hatred ever turn into love?

Age recommendation: 10-16 years.

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