Highly Commended Story - Why The World Spins Round

“Why The World Spins Round” by a student of St. Catherine's British School, Greece, is a Highly Commended story in the junior category of the first biannual Short Story Contest 2019.

Why The World Spins Round

Why does the world spin around? It’s the question I’ve been asking myself for years now. The thought first popped into my head when I was just five. And it’s been stuck there ever since.

I asked my teacher every single day, and she always gave me the same answer, “Check the science book on the shelf.” So when I possessed some decent reading skills, I did, hoping to find the answer I’d longed for so long. But it wasn’t the one I wanted. I’m sure every other kid would have walked away satisfied, knowing the earth spun around to give different parts of the earth, sunlight in the day and darkness in the night. But not me. And up to this day I have been taught LOGIC. The word I hate. Because I have been taught the same answer over and over again, the one which people seem to think is right. I’ve never been much of a ‘science girl’, and my mind and heart tell me that is not the answer. People are fed up of me asking, so I just keep myself quiet nowadays.

The screeching noise of the bell infuriates me.

School has begun. SCHOOL. My least favourite thing besides LOGIC. Because what does school teach?? Logic. School claims they know why the world spins round. That if you believe in something other than what they tell you, you are wrong. They stuff useless facts into your head. Why do we need to know what the periodic table is when we apply for university? Everyone in school thinks I’m queer. I don’t think like a normal 8th grader. Because I have an imagination that others lost long ago. The logic monsters came and stole that part of their brain, and it seems that I was the only one able to fight them. The teacher blabbers on about square roots, and class ends. As we flood out, a boy shoves me to the ground. “Wake up, you dreamer,” he laughs.

That night, when I go to bed, I dream of going off to my own magical land. Anti-logic land, where animals can talk, and dreams come true, no matter how ambitious. And as I walk down chocolate paths, I come to a tent. The blinding lights from inside attacks me. A monkey bows down low. “Welcome to the tent that holds the answer to your deepest question, why does the world spin around? Ready to find out the answer? Step inside my dearest…...” And just as I walk in, I am awakened by the intermittent buzzing of my alarm clock. I was so close………..

I groggily get out of bed. I eat breakfast, and go outside. A fresh morning breeze permeates the air. I feel free among the trees and the birds. I play a game of chase with the wind. I’ll never know why the world spins around, but I know that logic always loses. ALWAYS.