Michael Jefferson

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Feb, 2022

Stories (115)

115 Stories

2220 karma pts

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“Drink Your Milk” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #250

B.J. Workman’s hammer bangs loudly against the Town Hall steps. Brady Tasker goes back to the truck for more wood and a cigarette. B.J. is known throughout the town of Dorset as a lanky, perpetually tanned, reliable, and likable craftsman with a loving wife and an average I.Q. He and his stocky, bearded drinking buddy Brady have been the town’s go-to builders for decades and are familiar faces throughout town. Standing in the hallway a few feet from the steps, Chief Colt Kennedy whispers to Mayor Grayson Levant. “Everything’s going according...

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“Love Isn’t Just Blind, It’s Ludicrous” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #249

Jammed like a pickled sardine on the express train to 14th Street with thousands of other commuters, Ryan Random knows there is more to life than assembling computer components and drinking mochaccinos with his co-worker. As platforms and people flash by in a dizzying blur, Ryan closes his eyes, his mind conjuring up a cozy villa in Greece with a passing stream surrounded by fig trees and grape leaves. Standing in front of the villa, her features a misty blur is a woman. Opening his eyes, Ryan finds himself next to a grey-haired old man no t...

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“The Wind in the Willows” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #248

Willow, Montana1889 Hunk Harte lies back on his wife’s lap. Annabelle playfully twists his blonde curls, kissing him on the top of his head. The pair of teens gaze up at the starry sky. Annabelle points at a glowing light streaking across the sky. “Look, Hunk, a shootin’ star!” “Make a wish.” “I wish this moment could last forever.” “Carnsarn-it, Annabelle, you ain’t supposed to tell me, cause then it won’t come true!” An enormous shadow whisks by. “Land sakes! That things movin’ lickety split!” the freckle-faced bride marvels. Flames and ...

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“Shrimp Pizza and Spumoni” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #247

Kelly tries to ignore the noise in her head. Tap
 Tap
 Tap
 Terry, her husband, notices her frowning. “Something wrong, babe?” he asks, handing Preston, their three-year-old son, a chocolate Tootsie Pop. “I want one too!” their five-year-old son, Steven whines. “It’s just a headache,” Kelly replies, fumbling through her pocketbook. “I only have grape or orange left, Steven.” “But I want chocolate!” Tap
 Tap
 Tap
 Kelly takes a deep breath. Closing her eyes for a moment, she tries to concentrate on the carefree circus music in the background....

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“Lars From Mars” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #246

Astronaut Lars Bergman plants the Swedish national flag on the surface. Spencer Vertigo embeds the flag of the United States next to it. “This is Lars from Mars
”  “CUT! Off camera, Frazier Capstone the project’s director, slams his open hand against his forehead. “I never thought I’d see a Swedish ham,” Frazier comments, as the camera crew attempts to stifle their laughter. “This is supposed to be the greatest moment in the history of mankind. We’re not doing this to turn you into a Swedish Oprah Winfrey. Try it again. And this time co...

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“The Bluge” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #245

The Lone Order went all out for their Conversion Day Celebration. Five couples were married at an outdoor hall built for the occasion covered in flowers, which featured Abalone, Almas caviar, and a 10-foot-tall cake. The settlement’s leader, Juan Maria Mendoza, known as “El Condor,” served as the preacher. The Lone Wolves, the settlement’s band, played songs with the word happy in them: “Happy Together,” “Oh How Happy,” “I’m Happy Just to Dance With You,” and “Love (Can Make You Happy)” among a dozen others. The settlement’s brewery compan...

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“Sally Smackdown” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #244

Rolling over, Sheldon Luckinbill clutches his head, wincing in pain. “Had to be the life of the party,” he mumbles. Sheldon stumbles to the bathroom. Turning on the tap, he inhales a bellyful of water. Sheldon glances in the mirror at his sunken, bloodshot eyes and sallow skin, disgusted that he looks like some rummy twice his age. Scanning his hotel room, Sheldon chuckles at the number of empty bottles, mangled plastic cups, and discarded clothes, and is glad he doesn’t have to clean the catastrophe up. He throws his knapsack in the trunk o...

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“The Beast” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #243

When I wake up, I’m no longer a teacher. I’m a refugee half a galaxy away from my home on Erde II.  The refugee next to me, a bearded, olive-skinned man, says, “Welcome back, sleeping beauty.” I look around the sparse shack. There are dozens of bunks stacked on top of one another with men in them, conversing, sleeping, or crying. They all wear the same worn, dusty, striped clothes, and look as if they haven’t bathed or eaten in weeks. “Where is Ilsa, my wife?” I ask. “The pretty one? She might still be alive. You’re Hebron, aren’t you? ...

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“How Ya Gonna Keep ‘Em Down on the Farm” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #242

Standing in front of the Human Experience Museum’s farm exhibit, Curator C-114 drones, “This panoramic view represents what life was like on a farm run by humans before the Great Reckoning.” The exhibit depicts a woman wearing a floral apron looking inside an oven at a rising loaf of bread. On the other side of the exhibit, a man in a straw hat wearing coveralls sits on a tractor, happily sucking on a corn cob pipe as he culls a field of wheat. A model HW-41 android points at the mannequin of a blonde girl with pigtails petting a four-legge...

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“Lay Down, Stay Down” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #241

Three men make themselves uninvited guests at Aiden Davenport’s table. “Swanky,” says the lofty, heavyset man. “Yeah, this is one of the best culinary establishments in Vegas,” the skinny man at the other end of the table comments. “Can we order? I hear the Crispy Skin Grilled Duck Confit is to die for.” The pasty, scowling man in the middle with the slicked-back black hair gives the second man a bewildered glance. “I swear Danilo, you must have had a different father. We won’t be here long enough for you to write a review for Yelp. I am Mar...

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“The Tupelo Land Grab” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #240

Tupelo, Wyoming1878“This goes beyond the pale,” Eddie Ponderosa says, lighting a cigar.His stocky companion, Leake Bevil, offers a bewildered look. “What’s that mean? You been readin’ again, Eddie?”“I’m thirty- six, Leake. I’m lucky to have come out of the War in one piece. I don’t plan to shoot people for a living much longer.”“But we ain’t shootin’ people now. We’re gunnin’ for coyotes.”“Wolves,” Eddie corrects. Puffing heartily on his cigar, he climbs down from his horse.Reaching into his saddle bag, Eddie extracts a small telescope, focu...

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“Uptha Road” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #239

The smoke around Jack dissipates. He’s standing at a crossroads. All four signs say Uptha Road. An ostrich bounds down the road toward him. It stops to survey him, honking loudly. “Bad enough I’m lost. I don’t need any comments from the vegemite gallery.” “Vegemite? Yuk,” the ostrich replies. Jack stares at the ostrich. “Okay, so where’s the ventriloquist?” “What makes you...

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“Ray Danton’s Judgement” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #238

A loud snore wakes Carmine “The Coffin” Carlucci. Realizing he’d been the one snoring, Carmine sits up in his chair, adjusting his silk tie. He enjoys the perks of his profession, the gourmet meals, trysts with women out of his league, and his expensive, tailored suits. But good clothes, manicures, and daily haircuts can’t disguise the fifty-eight-year-old's thuggish appearance. Carmine is short, squat, and beefy with thick eyebrows, and beady brown eyes. The multiple scars on his face give him the appearance that his looks were created by ...

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“Wedding Bells Won’t Toll for Thee” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #237

“It’s time you boys contribute to the good of Catatonia!” King Rupert Dornhoffer shouts at his two belligerent sons. “I just won the European Championship Chess Tournament,” younger brother Humphrey replies. “That should help Catatonia gain some recognition.” “Yes. We’re now the destination for little boys who hide in their basement and play with dolls,” King Rupert mocks. “They were action figures!” Humphrey protests. Gabriel pushes his smaller brother aside. “I’m contributing to Catatonia’s popularity. I’m in the gossip columns every day....

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“Memories Are Made of This” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #236

  If there’s one thing Astea DelMonte loves, it’s casual walks in the woods. The fresh air and freedom clear her head, and the walks also help fulfill her commitment as Chairperson for the town’s neighborhood watch. Her favorite section is a clearing with tall trees and a thick floor of pine needles called Sunspot. Astea has spent many hours in Sunspot lying against a fallen log, listening to the birds chirp as s...

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Author bio

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