Once upon a time, there was a little leotard. The little leotard lived on a plastic hanger inside a small family-owned store. Everyday she prayed and waited patiently for someone to buy her.

One day a cute little girl came into the store with her mother. The girl’s hair was slicked back into a smooth ponytail. She appeared to be a good gymnast by the confident way she carried herself.

“This is it!” thought the little leotard. She is the perfect girl to adopt me. The little leotard stood up just a little straighter and smoothed out all of her wrinkles, hoping to catch the girl’s eye.

“I want one with sparkles,” the girl told her mother.

So the little leotard turned in one shoulder slightly towards the light. The sun shone in through the window and reflected against the little leotard, sending shimmers in all directions.

“Over there, Mom!” the girl exclaimed and pointed towards the little leotard.

“It’s working, it’s actually working!” thought the little leotard. The mom and daughter started to walk towards the rack. As they walked closer, the little leotard closed her eyes and waited for the girl’s hands to grasp her lycra fabric. But alas, the leotard felt nothing but the brush of a shoulder. Opening one eye at a time, she felt her heart sink. Standing in front of the little leotard were the girl and her mother holding a purple, slightly more glamorous leotard.

Heartbroken, the little leotard sunk back into the rack and watched as the little girl left with her new purchase.

A few weeks passed by uneventfully in the store. People came in and out randomly, but still no one wanted the little leotard.
Then one slow, gloomy day at the store, the leotard sat in silence. With only the sound of the rain hitting the tin roof and the faint melody of a radio playing in the owner’s back office.
Suddenly, the little leotard was awoken by the chime of the bell on the front door as someone entered. The little leotard didn't even bother looking to see who had entered.

“Hello,” the clerk said to the customer.

“Hi,” replied a soft, timid voice.

“May I help you find anything?”

“Nope,” said the customer, a young girl named Audrey. Curiously, the little leotard decided to see who the girl was. Quickly scanning the shop, she saw that Audrey was a short girl with curly red hair. Audrey started digging through the racks of leotards. Her hair had been matted down from the rain and from the looks of her rain boots, she had tracked in some mud from outside. She looked dirty and a scent similar to that of wet dog lingered in the air as she walked by.
“I hope she doesn't notice me,” thought the little leotard. Not like she had much to worry about because nobody ever seemed to notice her. So the little leotard decided to go back to daydreaming and drifted off to sleep.
When the little leotard awoke, she was no longer in the store. She was in a room with purple walls and was shoved under a pair of shoes. But not just any shoes. The little leotard recognized the rain boots to be those of the little girl from the shop earlier today.
“How long was I asleep?” the little leotard asked herself. “How did I not notice being carried away by my new owner? This must be a nightmare,” she thought, pinching herself to see if that would wake her up. But nothing changed; her situation was real.
The next day was awful. Audrey wore her new pink lycra leotard to gymnastics class. All Audrey wanted to do was play and jump on the trampolines. When her class was sitting nicely, Audrey was fidgeting around and picking at her toes. When the instructor tried to give her corrections, what she heard went in one ear and out the other. And to be completely honest, she couldn't do a cartwheel to save her life. And that was putting it nicely.

When they returned home, Audrey dug in to big bag of Cheetos, which resulted in her wiping her orange, greasy Cheeto fingers all over the little leotard.

After her snack, she took off the little leotard and returned her to her bedroom floor.
The weeks went on, and the little leotard was beginning to feel old and exhausted. Audrey was growing and soon would need a new bigger leotard. The little leotard was faded, stained and slightly torn at the seams from the little girl. Still every week, the little leotard was loyal to Audrey and prayed and wished for her success.
One day after coming out of the wash, Audrey’s mother did not put her back in the usual spot. Instead the little leotard was placed in a bag along with some other clothing items labeled



















for donation. Later that day the little leotard was given to a thrift shop. The little leotard was old and worn, all of her sparkle and shine gone from the years of training.
As the years went on, the little leotard sat in the shop with no interest in ever being bought again. She never realized how much she loved Audrey until she was gone. The little leotard missed her. She missed her wild orange curls and often dirty nails. She missed the love and warmth of being needed.
One day the little leotard was sitting amongst the racks in the thrift shop, and there was a TV broadcasting the news. And all of the sudden the little leotard recognized something strange. And not just something; it was someone. On the TV was Audrey, who oddly wasn’t so little anymore. She was all grown up and was talking to a reporter. The screen switched over to a recap of the event. And on the TV was the Audrey, all grown up competing in the Olympics. A smile crept onto her face and the little leotard filled with pride.