The next morning, Bo woke up with a big smile on his face.
He still couldn't believe the day before had actually happened.
Video games, ice cream for dinner, a sports car, an A-plus on a homework assignment he didn't even remember doing.
He had never had so much fun in one day.
And then he reached into his pocket.
Yep.
That lucky charm was still there, small, shiny, and warm to the touch.
He slipped it back in his pocket as he headed downstairs.
"'Good morning,' his mom chirped.
"'I just won the lottery.
Isn't that exciting?'
Bo blinked.
"'Wait, what?'
"'Yeah, I only bought one ticket,' she said, spinning in a little happy dance.
"'And boom!
A million dollars'.
And then his sister ellie, ran into the kitchen wearing a golden crown.
I just got picked to be princess of the spring parade out of everyone in the school me, can you believe it?
Bo scratched his head.
Whoa, that's awesome, But it didn't stop there.
When Bo got to school, his best friend Gabe was doing cartwheels in the hallway.
I just found a puppy, Gabe shouted.
He was waiting for me right outside my house.
His tag even said Gabe's dog on it.
My name is actually engraved.
And the principal, he was doing jazz hands at the front of the school.
No classes today, kids, he announced.
Every student gets a trophy and every teacher gets a nap.
Bo stared at the charm.
Okay, this is starting to get weird.
At recess there was a bounce house just randomly in the middle of the playground and someone was handing out cotton candy the size of basketballs.
One kid said his goldfish turned into a talking dolphin last night.
Another girl said her backpack started printing out hundred dollar bills.
Everyone was smiling and laughing and jumping and celebrating, but then it started to feel a little too good.
Gabe's new puppy was barking nonstop.
It bit three kids and knocked over the lemonade stand that Christian and Brendan had set up.
And remember Bo's sister Ellie, who got picked to be the princess of the spring parade?
Well, guess what?
She got kicked out of the parade because six other girls said that they also got picked to be the princess of the spring parade.
And they all had the same crown.
And Bo's teacher, Mrs Van Toll, who was usually calm and quiet, started spinning in circles, yelling I'm rich.
I'm rich!
Ha!
I quit as she ran out of the building and started spinning herself around on the school merry-go-round, as the school secretary eventually walked out to her with a concerned look, saying Mrs Van Toll, is everything all right?
Bo stood there frozen, watching the madness unfold.
Everyone was smiling, but their eyes looked a little wild.
He ran to the edge of the playground and pulled the charm from his pocket.
What's going on?
I didn't ask for all this.
I just wanted a little good luck.
And then, poof.
A puff of glittery smoke appeared next to him and the leprechaun popped out of nowhere, looking extremely annoyed.
His hat was lopsided, his boots were muddy, and he had a half-eaten shamrock cookie in his beard.
You little rascal!
You broke it, didn't you?
You did!
Broke what, Bo said?
The balance, the leprechaun shouted, waving his tiny arms.
Look is like a seesaw, my friend.
It needs both sides to work.
Too much on one end, and everything tips over.
And right now, the whole town is drowning in it, so it is.
Bo looked back at the school.
One kid was riding a flamingo, another was dancing on top of a vending machine and a teacher was even planting jelly beans in the flower garden and singing opera.
I didn't mean to break anything, Bo said.
I just thought it would make life a little easier.
That's the trick, isn't it?
Luck's not meant to do everything for you.
It's just meant to give you a little nudge when you need it most, you know.
Bo sat down right next to the leprechaun.
So, what do I do?
Well, the leprechaun said, reaching into his coat you can return the charm and I'll put things back the way they were, although there's a bit of a clean-up needed here, mind you.
Bo sat there for a minute as he hesitated.
He thought about all the fun stuff, the games, the A-plus grades, the amazing food and desserts he could eat whenever he wanted.
But then he thought about his friend Gabe's wild puppy and his sister's parade disaster and his dad spending all their money on a car that he couldn't even drive.
I think I'm ready, Bo said, holding out the charm.
But just before the leprechaun could take it, they could hear a loud explosion come from downtown.
Bright green fireworks exploded in the sky, giant clovers lit up the clouds in a golden rainbow, burst out of the grocery store and people started floating into the air laughing and spinning like balloons.
Oh, The leprechaun groaned, standing up fast.
It's spreading faster than I thought.
Bo stared at the leprechaun.
What do you mean?
If we don't stop it now, this whole town's going to float away into the clouds on a cloud of marshmallow madness.
Bo sat there in shock.
Huh.
That's kind of weird.
I didn't expect that exactly, but what are we supposed to do?
We have to go, said the leprechaun, grabbing his sleeve.
No!
Bo looked back one last time at his school, now completely covered in rainbow glitter, and took a deep breath.
Okay, he said, let's fix this.
And with that they vanished into the forest on a mission to restore the balance of luck before the entire town changed forever.
But that's a story for another day.
