Student Projects/Story

Short Story Of Short Stories

One thing that’s great about short stories is how quickly they can ruin your life. Maybe you start reading one over your lunch break and, if it’s the right one, before that peanut butter cup you brought for dessert even has a chance to finish its melting shape-shift into some kind of sugary cement, the whole world has been destroyed around you and then rebuilt, and nothing is quite the same again.

This happens whether you like it or not. Great stories practice this violent beauty on you in a variety of ways: some by making an absurd world familiar (or vice versa), some with a slow burn, some with a voice that colonizes your thoughts. Some do it quietly, almost without you even noticing, and some do it with high wire acts of imagination or intellect that make you into a breathless witness. The trick, then, is finding the right story, one that is capable of such a thing. This is no easy task. Tastes differ, of course, and it can be confusing to spot the small boat of a great story on the wide sea of fiction. What any reader can offer you in terms of guidance is actually the same thing that any good writer can offer you with the story itself: a way of saying, This is what moved me and made me feel strange and alive in some way; here, why don’t you give it a try?

A Smart Idiot

Ajay Avasthi, an eight-year old boy who dislikes school and fails every tests or exams. He finds all subjects difficult. His classmates nor his teachers have anything nice to say about him. He was popularly known as an idiot with attitude. However, Ajay's internal world is rich with wonders which he is unable to convey to others; magical lands filled with colors and animated animals. He was an artist whose talent was unrecognized.

Ajay's father, Sanjay Avasthi, is a very successful lawyer who expects his children to excel in every subjects. Ajay's mother, Sonam Avasthi, is frustrated by her inability to educate her son. His brother, Shahid, is a very smart student and an outstanding athlete which Ajay is frequently reminded of.

"Ajay!" yelled his mother.

Scared and horrified, "Yes mom," Ajay replied.

"What is this?" asked his mother with Ajay's report card on her hand.

"You're failing in every subjects," she said.

"I'm sorry mom, but I don't understand any of the things they teach me because I'm not able to read or write anything," Ajay replied.

Glowering at him, Ms. Avasthi said,"That's it, you're going to a boarding school."

It was the day when Ajay's parents are going to drop him off at the boarding school. They reached the school and enrolled him there. Ajay, depressed and lonely, couldn't stop his tears as his parents drove off. At the boarding school, he sinks into a state of fear and depression. On the first day at the boarding school, Ajay's teacher asked him to read a sentence from the old and rusty book. However, he couldn't read the sentence. His excuse was that the letters are dancing. His teacher thought he was trying to be funny so he send him out of the classroom. Ajay's situation changes when a new teacher, Mr.Amir, joins the school's facility. Mr. Amir, young and ebullient, is a very friendly guy with a great a sense of humor. Within a very few days, Mr.Amir observed that Ajay is unhappy and contributes little to class activities.

"Is everything okay my child?" asked Mr.Amir.

Looking down and silence was the only reply that Mr.Amir got from Ajay. Mr.Amir sees some kind of fear in Ajay's eyes which he is really concerned about.

One day when Mr.Amir was checking the class works of each of his students, he noticed something weird about Ajay's work. He quickly went on to review Ajay's work from other classes and came to the conclusion that Ajay might be dyslexic. He noticed many signs of dyslexia. For example, some of the words were spelled differently each time and some words were written backwards. Mr.Amir, concerned and worried, decides to visit Ajay's parents to let them know about Ajay's problems. On his day off, Mr.Amir visited Ajay's parents. That was the day when he noticed that Ajay is an amazing artist. Stunned by Ajay's artwork, Mr.Amir asked his parents why did they send him to a boarding school. He tells them about Ajay being dyslexic and how Ajay is a bright child, but processes informations in a different manner than other childrenss. However, Ajay's father believes that the idea of dyslexia is simply an excuse for his son's poor academic performances.

"Mr.Avasthi, can you please read this?" asked Mr.Amir.

"No, I cannot because it's written in Chinese," replied Mr.Avasthi.

"Stop giving me excuses and try to read this," said Mr.Amir in an angry tone.

"Are you crazy, I don't speak Chinese," said Mr.Avasthi.

"Just like you can't read this, Ajay also can't read because even English is like Chinese to him," explained Mr.Amir.

There was a silence in the room for a few seconds.Looking at Ajay's picture and crying, Ajay's mother asked,"Why did it have to be my son?"

"There's no answer to that question ma'am, it could happen to anyone," said Mr.Amir.

Mr.Amir tells them that it's not because of Ajay's attitude that he has a poor academic report, it's because of dyslexia. He also tells them that he can provide some extra tutoring to help Ajay. Before leaving, Mr.Amir asked Ajay's parents if he could go and have a look at Ajay's bedroom. There he finds a diary, a diary that tells the story through pictures of how Ajay was separated from his family. He sees many other well structured artworks on the walls. Mesmerized by Ajay's work, Mr.Amir tries to find a way to make Ajay start painting again.

The next day in class, Mr.Amir gave the diary to Ajay and brought the topic of dyslexia, and offered a list of famous people who were considered dyslexia. As Mr.Amir was speaking, Ajay was getting furious because he thought Mr.Amir was talking about him. Later Mr.Amir reveals that he was actually talking about someone else. The bell rang, and as the students were leaving, Mr.Amir asked Ajay to stay behind. He tells Ajay that he too experienced the same difficulties with dyslexia. Mr.Amir then visits the school's principal, and gets the permission to become Ajay's tutor. Mr.Amir attempts to improve Ajay's reading and writing by using special techniques developed by the dyslexia specialists. Within few months, Ajay develops an interest in reading and writing.

On the last day of school, when Ajay's parents met his teacher, they were left speechless by the transformations they see in Ajay. Overcome with emotions, Mr.Avasthi thanked Mr.Amir. Ajay moved back in with his parents and started attending the local school and often visits Mr.Amir for tutorial. Impressed by Mr.Amir's work, the principal asked him to be the assistance principal which Amir refused to do because he loved teaching kids.