Inside the ping pong ball

I was not always the best student. I freely hold up my hand and admit that sometimes I didn’t pay attention. My mind would wander beyond the confines of the classroom to the fields and woods outside, or to the latest book I was reading.

My form teacher, Mr. Griffiths, was mostly patient, but eventually, even he would snap and I would be punished in some way. His punishments were always original. One memorable afternoon I was tasked with an essay on the subject of the inside of a ping pong ball!

A whole side of A4 had to be filled, not with a single line “I must pay attention”, but with my first piece of creative non-fiction. Not that I knew that was a thing back then!

So here goes, I’ll try to create at least the opening paragraph of what was definitely not a masterpiece!

“White, bright light pouring in. Its luminosity suggests space, expansiveness. Nothing is something when it’s contained by the outer shell of a ping-pong ball. Whole it might contain the world, but Schrodinger like we won’t know unless we cut it open to investigate.”

And now it’s your turn. How would you open a piece of creative non-fiction about the inside of a ping-pong ball? Share your first lines or paragraphs below. Try to do it quickly without overthinking or overworking it too much and see what you come up with!