Word Count: 393
He was unarguably the smartest kid in his class. Though a sixth grader, Steven was probably the smartest kid in the whole school. He loved books more than ball games. He loved math and literature and science. Science he loved most of all.
He’d spent almost a year on his entry for the state Science Fair project this year. It was the most important thing in his mind and he dedicated all the time he could give it, determined to have a legitimate win.
Steven felt he’d won last year but he was never awarded the prize. The committee decided that since a little girl had been killed in the explosion and so many others hurt that it was best to just not declare any winners at all.
Oh, they knew that it wasn’t his fault because he had no intention of setting it off and didn’t think he even could, and only reprimanded the two older boys who had because they thought it’d be fun. No one felt they had really believed there was any danger, just laughed at Steven when he warned them that what he had built for display was a bomb.
Some believed he should be banned from submitting an entry. His parents finally convinced the committee that even Steven hadn’t believed it would work. He was warned not to make anything explosive. To focus instead on something that would benefit all.
Why would I make something that wouldn’t do what it was supposed to? But he was smart enough not to say that to even his dad. He had no intention of setting it off and tried to stop those two jerks that did. He really did deserve to win, he felt. It was the best project at the fair last year.
The committee took a long time at his table. Asked questions and inspected his work. They had to agree that his chemical substitute for flour was a great concept. It would save on agricultural land use, was cheap to produce, and with the nutrients added in, much more healthy than rye and wheat for the heart.
Steven was awarded first prize of a thousand dollars. He was given a plaque with his name in gold. But the celebration dinner planned for April was cancelled because so many of the committee members were hospitalized or already dead.
This probably more coincidentally creepy than you know, Susan – we quite frequently come to Orkney for the Science festival, (although it’s the Blues one we are here for this time) and my husband’s name is Steven – I shall check carefully all white powders I am offered this week!
Uh-oh. I was hoping you wouldn’t make the connection…
Perhaps (she says, bluffing) I’m cleverer than you?
(Yeah, well …)
Most people are!