The Piano Prodigy

This is an excerpt from the story 'The Piano Prodigy' which earned a special mention in the Campfire Young Writer Awards. I received the award on 20th Oct 2012.

“I ask you for the last time, are you coming shopping with me?”

I didn’t look at Aditi. I just lay on the bed without a sound.

“Nisha, my dear sister?”

I sighed, “No.”

“Well, I’m going, then. Don’t say I didn’t tell you about the sale at the mall.”

“Aditi, I’m not feeling like going out today. I’ll see you later.”

SLAM!

‘She’ll break the door someday,’ I thought. ‘Then she will make me pay for it.’ I thought I could try and soften her a bit, maybe reduce a few things from the shopping list I gave her. I picked up my mobile phone and dialled her number.

The number you are trying to reach is currently switched off. Please try later.

‘Is she really that angry with me? She switched off her phone? I don’t think so,’ I thought. But Aditi never switches off her phone. That’s odd.

I opened a closet and pulled on a jacket. Maybe a walk would drive away my tension. I grabbed an umbrella in case it started raining and set off.

The Curse

This story 'The curse'  won second prize in the Scholastic All- India Storywriting competition.

“Oh no!” Said Aryan. “It was a brand new ball. Now it has got stuck in that tree. Who will go and get it now?”

“Should we send Sunita up?” Vishal asked.

Gaurav followed Sunita up the tree.

“See, the ball is up there,” Sunita whispered,“Just shove me up, will you?”

The kids were practicing for the school Cricket Tournament.

Suddenly, Gaurav found himself falling from the tree. He grabbed Sunita’s leg in surprise. They both fell out of the tree and started spinning rapidly. Gaurav thought he saw the sun very close to him.

“Don’t leave me, Sunita!” He yelled. Behind him, he could hear Sunita crying. Suddenly, they fell on solid ground. Sunita was still sobbing.

Gaurav reached out his hand and patted her head. They opened their eyes and found that they were in a strange world.


This story is published in the book 'For Kids By Kids- The Best of Scholastic All- India Storywriting Competition 2011'. Please read the book for the complete story.