Go for the Gold
Kimberly Hart clasped her hands together and closed her eyes; this was the day she'd been waiting for, for years. Today was the day they chose the U.S. Olympic team for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
Kim and the rest of the gymnasts were in Boston, Massachusetts at the Fleet Center where the Olympic trials were taking place.
"And the 2000 U.S. Olympic team is."
Kim squeezed her eyes shut tighter and said a quick prayer.
"Elise Ray, Kristen Maloney, Jamie Dantzscher, Dominique Dawes, Amy Chow and."
As the anticipation grew Kim's heart started beating faster and faster.
"Kimberly Hart!"
Kim's eyes shot open a huge smile spread across her face as Amy Chow turned to her and hugged her.
"Congratulations." Amy said.
"Thanks. You too." Kim said, "This will be so fun."
***
"Kimberly Hart!" the announcer said, "Those are the six gymnasts going to Sydney."
Tommy Oliver jumped up off the couch and pumped his fists in the air "Yes!"
"Look at Kim she looks so happy." Adam Park said.
Kat Hillard smiled "I'm so happy for Kim."
"She's worked so hard for this." Tommy said. On the TV they were showing the six gymnasts plus the two alternates who were going to the 2000 Olympics.
"Wow you guys know a celebrity now." Justin Stewert said.
Rocky Desantos nodded "Yup. It's gonna be so much fun telling people 'I went to school with gold medallist Kimberly Hart.'" Although Rocky was no longer a power ranger he still hung out with them all the time.
Tanya Sloan shook her head "Rocky you don't even know if they're gonna medal."
"I wish I knew the number there. I'd love to congratulate her." Tommy said as the phone rang. It rang a few times before it stopped.
"Ya know Tommy when the phone rings that means you pick it up and say hello." Tanya said as Tommy's mom came into the room with the cordless phone.
She handed it to Tommy.
"Who is it?" He asked taking the phone "Hello?"
"Tommy did you see it?" Came a high pitched scream.
"Kim is that you?" He asked.
"Yeah. Can you believe I'm gonna be in the Olympics?" Kim asked, "I'm so excited."
"Congrats Kim!" Rocky yelled.
"Who's at your house?" Kim asked.
"Well that was Rocky as if you couldn't figure that out on your own." Tommy said.
Kim smiled "Tell everyone I said hi."
Tommy turned to the others "Kim says hi."
"I wish you guys could come to the Olympics too." Kim said.
"Yeah so do we." Tommy said.
There was a short pause on Kim's end "Tommy I gotta go but I'll talk to you soon ok."
"Ok Kim. Bye." Tommy took the phone away from his ear and shut it off "She's so excited."
"What do we wanna do too?" Kat asked.
"Go to the Olympics." Tommy said.
Adam stood up "It would be so cool if we could."
"Maybe we can." Kat said.
"How?" Tanya asked.
Kat thought for a minute "Well we still have our house in Australia and my parents said a few weeks ago that they would like to go back to see the Olympics. I could ask them if you guys can come."
"It costs a lot to buy a ticket to Australia." Tommy said.
"We can figure that out." Adam said, "It's only August. The Olympics don't start until the end of September."
"What about me?" Justin asked, "I won't be able to go."
"Oh yeah." Tanya said, "I guess we forgot you have school."
Justin shrugged "Well I don't really know Kim so I wouldn't really be missing much."
Kat looked at each of her friends "So are we gonna go?"
Tommy nodded "Yeah. But let's not tell Kim."
"Yeah let's surprise her." Rocky said.
***
A few weeks later Tommy, Kat, Tanya, Adam and Rocky were in the airport waiting for their flight to Australia. Kat's parents couldn't get away until the next day so they were gonna get a flight the next evening.
"So Kat who will you be rooting for?" Rocky asked putting down his backpack.
"What do you mean?" She asked running a hand through her blond hair.
Rocky smiled "Will you be cheering for the United States or Australia?"
"U.S. of course." Kat said.
"I'm gonna find Kim when we get there." Tommy said "She told me on the phone that they were gonna be practicing all day."
"Does she know we're coming?" Adam asked.
Tommy shook his head "I want this to be a surprise."
"How are you gonna get into the Super Dome?" Kat asked.
He shrugged "I'll figure it out when I get there."
"I wanna go sightseeing." Rocky said "I mean last time we went to Australia we didn't see all that much since Zedd trapped us in that mansion back here most of the time."
Adam laughed "Rocky's right. And since Tanya's never been there we can show her around."
"Flight number 7348 to Sydney, Australia is now boarding at gate 12. I repeat flight number 7348 to Sydney, Australia is now boarding at gate 12."
"That's us." Rocky said picking up his bag.
"Sydney here we come!" Tommy said as they headed to gate 12.
***
Kim stuck her hands in the container of powder next to the uneven bars, rubbed it on her hands then jumped onto the springboard and grabbed the uneven bars. She did her routine without a mistake and dismounted.
"Very good Kimberly." One of the two Olympic team coaches said.
"Thanks." Kim said.
"Take a break then we'll work on your vault." He said.
Kim nodded "Alright." She was about to walk back to where she left her bag when she heard someone clapping. She looked up and saw Tommy walking towards her.
A smile spread across her face "Tommy!" she ran to him and threw her arms around his neck.
"It's nice to see you too Kim." Tommy said, he had missed the feeling of her arms around his neck and the warmth of her body against his.
She released him and took a step back "What are you doing here? Not that it isn't great to see you."
Tommy smiled "We came to see the Olympics."
"We?" She asked, "The others are here? Where are they?" They were now walking to the chair Kim had left her stuff on.
"Adam and Rocky took Tanya sightseeing and Kat is hanging out with some friends she hasn't seen in a while." He said.
"What about Justin? That's his name right?" Kim asked picking up her bag and hoisting it over her shoulder.
Tommy nodded "Yeah that's his name. He couldn't come cause he has school and stuff."
"Oh that's right." She said, "I forgot it was September. I mean it's so nice here."
"Yeah it is." Tommy said "So uh what are you doing today?"
Kim thought for a minute "Well I um still have to practice my vault and floor routine. But I should be done around…." She looked at her watch, which read two fifty "Seven."
"Seven? Then you'll probably be hungry right." Tommy said.
Kim nodded "Yeah probably."
"Would you um want to have dinner with me tonight then?" Tommy asked, "Unless you have to like go to bed early tonight or something."
She shook her head "Nope. The opening ceremony is tonight but I don't have to be there and gymnastics doesn't start until Sunday."
"So dinner tonight." Tommy said.
"Where?" She asked.
Tommy shrugged "I have an idea."
Kim smiled and pulled a pen from her bag "Let me give you the number to my hotel room. Do you have paper?"
He shook his head "No but um I have a hand." He stuck his hand out.
She smiled and shook her head "Just don't wash it off before you write it down on a piece of paper."
"I won't." Tommy said as she wrote the address on his palm.
Kim looked at her watch again "Well I have a few minutes before practice starts again why don't we like go get something to drink."
Tommy offered her his elbow. She hesitated for a moment then slipped her arm through his.
***
"So you guys are going out tonight." Rocky said.
Tommy nodded "It's kinda weird ya know. I mean it seems like we dated so long ago."
"It's been almost two years since she broke up with you." Rocky said.
"Yeah I know." Tommy said, "Every time I think of us getting back together that letter keeps popping back into my head."
"Maybe you could ask her about that tonight." Adam suggested "I mean it wouldn't hurt."
Tommy shrugged his shoulders under the grey blazer he wore "I don't know."
"It's up to you Tommy." Rocky said, "You don't have to drudge up the past."
He glanced at his watch "I gotta go. I'm supposed to meet Kim at her hotel in twenty minutes and I still have to call a cab."
The three guys walked out into the living room where Kat and Tanya were watching TV.
"Looking good!" Tanya exclaimed smiling "It amazes me that any girl would dump you."
Tommy smiled slightly "Thanks Tanya."
"So where are you guys going?" Kat asked.
"There's this restaurant that me and her went to when we came here for a school trip." He said.
"Oh how sweet." Tanya said.
Tommy smiled slightly "Yeah."
"So are you nervous?" Kat asked.
"Yeah I am." He said wiping his hands on his pants "It's just been so long."
Rocky put a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder "Everything will be fine Tommy. Trust me."
"Thanks Rocky." He said picking up the phone. He called a cab and waited by the window, when he saw it pull up in front of the house he picked up the bouquet of flowers he'd bought "Well there's my cab."
"Good luck." Adam said as Tommy opened the door. Tommy said goodbye to his friends then went outside and got in the cab.
"Where to mate?" The driver asked.
Tommy gave him the address of Kim's hotel then sat back against the seat and let out a sigh.
"Isn't that where all the Olympians are staying?" He asked.
"Well I know the American gymnastics team is." Tommy said watching the buildings go by.
A few minutes later the cab stopped in front of a large hotel. Tommy paid the driver, grabbed the flowers and got out of the cab.
As he walked into the hotel lobby he noticed no one stopping at the front desk so he headed straight to the elevator. As his finger hovered in front of the button to summon the elevator to the bottom floor the door to his left opened.
He waited until the occupants of the elevator got out before stepping inside. Tommy pressed the button to bring him to the sixth floor. Soon the elevator stopped and a bell indicating it had reached the sixth floor rang.
When Tommy stepped out of the elevator he saw a hallway to his left and a hallway to his right, he pulled a piece of paper from his pocket, on the paper was written the address of the hotel and Kim's room number.
After a few minutes he realized which way the numbers on the doors went so he turned around and walked down the hallway to his left. Half way down he stopped and checked the paper again; he was standing in front of Kim's room.
Tommy took a deep breath then knocked on the door. A few seconds went by before the door swung open. The girl in the doorway was shorter then Tommy and she had her light brown hair pulled back in a ponytail.
"Hi can I help you?" She asked.
"Um yeah. Is Kimberly Hart here?" He asked.
The girl smiled "Oh you must be Tommy. Kim's been telling us about you. I'm Elise Ray." She said moving aside "Come on in Kim should be ready any second."
"Thanks." Tommy said entering the room. The four other girls in the room came over and introduced themselves to Tommy.
"Hi Tommy." He looked over to where the familiar voice was coming, Kim was standing in the doorway to the bathroom, she was wearing a black knee length skirt, a navy blue tube tank top and open toed high heel sandals, her shoulder length brown hair was down.
Tommy smiled "Hi Kim. These are for you." He handed her the flowers.
She took them and sniffed in the lovely aroma "Thanks."
"So are you ready to go?" Tommy asked as she looked around for something to put the flowers in.
"Um yeah. Amy think you could call downstairs and see if you can get something to put these in for me?" Kim asked.
Amy Chow nodded "Sure Kim." She took the bouquet and set it down carefully on a table then went to the phone. They said goodbye then went into the hall.
"So where are we going?" Kim asked as they got into the elevator.
Tommy cleared his throat "Remember that place we went when we came here with school?"
Kim nodded "Oh yeah."
"I remembered how much you liked it there so…." Tommy said as the elevator stopped and they stepped out. They went outside and got a taxi.
Soon they were at the restaurant and were seated, they gave their orders then sat in an awkward silence for a few minutes before Kim cleared her throat.
"Tommy about that letter." She started.
He took a sip of his water then shook his head "There's no need to explain. I understand really."
"Aisha told me how upset it made you. I'm really sorry I shouldn't have done it that way." She said "I was afraid that it wouldn't work out with me in Florida and you in California so I thought it would be better if we…."
Tommy interrupted her. He could see how upset just talking about the letter made her "Kim it's alright really. I understand I really do." He reached across the table and rested his hand on her's.
She looked down at his strong hand on top of her small hand then she looked into his eyes "Maybe we could…." She hesitated "I don't know start again?"
He looked into her soft brown eyes "How?"
"Well after the Olympics I'm moving back to Angel Grove." Kim said.
Tommy's eyes were wide "You are?"
She smiled and nodded "Yeah I am. I miss you guys terribly. Especially my mother." She looked back down at his hand then back in his eyes "But I miss you most."
He could see tears glistening in her eyes "I miss you everyday."
Kim smiled as the waiter came with their orders.
When the waiter left Tommy picked up his glass "To a new beginning."
Kim did the same "To a new beginning."
***
The last night of the Gymnastics team portion of the Olympics Tommy, Kat, Adam, Rocky and Tanya sat in the audience awaiting Kim's final routine.
"Hey Tommy you never told us how it went the other night." Adam said as one of the Japanese gymnasts did her floor routine.
Tommy smiled "She's moving back to Angel Grove after the Olympics and we're gonna start over."
Rocky hit Tommy on the back "That's great man."
"First time Olympian Kimberly Hart!" They stopped talking and turned their attention to the floor as Kim came out to do her balance beam routine.
She turned to the audience and smiled then jumped up on the balance beam. Everyone watched in silence as she jumped and spinned, there wasn't a sound until she did her dismount, which she stuck perfectly. The arena erupted in applause, The rangers were clapping and screaming the loudest.
Kim stretched her arms out above her head and the biggest smile crossed her face. She knew the U.S. team would now place first and get the gold medals.
There were still a few more gymnasts after Kim but the rangers knew no one could top her. After the last few went the judges announced the winners.
As they suspected the U.S. team won gold. Kim stood in the middle of her teammates as they held their gold medals in the air.
The rangers quickly made their way down to the floor but stayed over where the team had left their things. After a few pictures the team came over to get their things.
When Kim saw Tommy she ran to him and threw her arms around him "I did it."
"Yeah you did it you made your dream come true." Tommy said as she released him from her grip.
"Congratulations Kim." Rocky said as they hugged.
"You were really great." Adam said.
Kat nodded "The best I've seen."
"Are you sure you should say that with the Australian team here?" Rocky asked "They might overhear you and kick your butt."
Kat laughed "Rocky I'm sure they won't."
"That was amazing." Tanya said.
"Thanks guys." Kim said smiling.
"So are you coming home with us?" Adam asked.
She nodded "Yeah I am. I accomplished one goal in my life now I have to accomplish another." She looked at Tommy.
Tommy took her hand "Come on we gotta go celebrate."
"I gotta change first." She said.
"Well then you'd better hurry because Rocky's getting hungry." Tanya said "And he might leave without us to find food."
Kat nodded "Yeah you know how he gets when he hasn't eaten for a while."
"Kim we'll wait out front for you." Tommy said as the others started towards the exit.
"I couldn't have done this without you." Kim said.
"What? Of course you could have." Tommy said.
She shook her head "No. You gave me the courage I needed to get through this. Thank you so much for coming all the way here for me."
Tommy smiled "I'd do anything for you. You know that." They looked into each other's eyes for a few minutes then they both leaned in and shared their first kiss in two years.
The End