1570+ High School Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. Looking for stories that high schoolers actually want to read? The high school short stories in this collection are real and relatable for any teen.

🏆 Winning stories

“Multiple Choice” by Zack Powell

🏆 Winner of Contest #198

Okay class! Pop quiz. If you've been doing the readings, this should be a piece of cake. Remember to fill out both sides of this paper. You have the whole class period to finish. Good luck.1. Christopher Columbus first traveled to the Americas using which means of transportation?A) A cargo shipB) A steam locomotiveC) A Boeing 747 airliner D) A vintage red 1985 Camaro with a crack in the middle of the windshield and no heated seats2. What is the term...

238 likes 185 comments 185

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“Burn Damage” by Madalyn Meyers

🏆 Winner of Contest #83

Beth sauntered toward the sound of crashing water, the twinkling dance of a shoal marker providing promise that she was getting close. She felt the unfamiliar tickle of sand beneath her feet as the chilled grains molded together under the weight of each determined step. As if suddenly passing through a barrier, what had once looked like an endless ether of uninhabited space now abruptly registered as the reflective sur...

379 likes 127 comments 127

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“Primum Nil Nocere” by Jeff C. Carter

🏆 Winner of Contest #48

The big day had finally arrived at the School for Gifted Children, and the dean practically kowtowed from his own office. The staff and a coterie of New York’s most influential parents were ecstatic to host their esteemed guest, the one and only Dr. Warren Albright. He looked as though he’d stepped out of the glossy author photo from one of his best-selling books. His hair was chestnut brown with frost t...

359 likes 204 comments 204

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⭐️ Recommended stories

“The Coraline Factor” by Kaitlyn Wadsworth

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #244

As Vikky walked down the paths leading to the school’s quadrangle, other students moved aside or stopped what they were doing to look at her. Her black hair bobbed, her skirt swished, but her footsteps seemed to glide. Laura and Faye trotted behind her.As they approached where the blood-nosed boys wrestled each other with the ferocity of alligator lizards, Vikky let out a loud wolf whistle, making everyone else turn around. She raised her hands together and widened them out in a gesture demanding that the spectators move aside. They parted l...

23 likes 27 comments 27

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“State” by Cameron Navarre

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #235

A gunshot crackles through the air. You flinch. A wisp of smoke rises across the field. A blur of bodies bursts away from the gunman. Arms and legs swing furiously. You anxiously shift your weight back and forth. Your foot begins to shake. Breathe. The mass of sprinting bodies curves and hurtles towards you. You stare at the white tape on the ground in front of you.  If you start too early or too late, you’ll ...

10 likes 5 comments 5

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“Redemption Time” by Gregg Voss

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #231

I wasn’t praying.             The thought had crossed my mind, but with some people, prayer just doesn’t work.             “You’re destined to be one of the greats, glory to God.”             Pops. Him and the same garbage he had poured into my head since I was old enough to pick up a basketball.             “You will thank me later for all this. Just remember Proverbs.”             Com...

18 likes 9 comments 9

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✍️ All stories

“Runaways” by Jazmin Quito

Submitted to Contest #246

Trigger Warning: Car Crash For years it was all just a joke, something stupid we said to pass the time. Daydreaming of a life that was yet to come.  “It’s all fun and games” We said deep down we knew it was something more. Something pulling us in. We convinced ourselves that it was a joke until that night. Something clicked in our minds and the pieces of what felt like a lifelong puzzle were put together. We sat on the swings outside of my old elementary school. The summer breeze sailed by as the sun set and the street lamps turned on....

2 likes 0 comments 0

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“BFF” by Elizabeth Loman

Submitted to Contest #246

Katie scrunched herself further into the little crawl space, giggling quietly to herself. She loved hide-and-seek. Okay, so maybe sleepovers with games were a little too middle-school for Katie's 16-year-old self, but they were so much fun! Katie loved a good game, loved the anticipation, loved the rush that only came from someone squealing Found you!  The whispered din of a confused group of teenage girls reached Katies ears, and she had to clamp her left hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles now. She was the last to be found! The ...

3 likes 1 comment 1

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“Clowning Around” by Elizabeth Cat🌟

Submitted to Contest #246

(The vice versa option)I cover my ears as I rush out the school doors at the end of the day. There’s kids talking on the phone. Other kids yelling. Playing music. It’s chaos.I’m reaching for my bicycle when someone grabs my shoulder.“Hey Trent, guess what?!”I turn around fast, a stiff frown forming on my lips. “What?”It’s Jacob. He’s always screwing around so much that he’ll never get a grade higher than a c. And he has a really messy, goofy afro.“I was gonna tell you a time traveling joke, but you didn’t like it.” He’s smiling so hard that ...

3 likes 0 comments 0

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“The Coraline Factor” by Kaitlyn Wadsworth

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #244

As Vikky walked down the paths leading to the school’s quadrangle, other students moved aside or stopped what they were doing to look at her. Her black hair bobbed, her skirt swished, but her footsteps seemed to glide. Laura and Faye trotted behind her.As they approached where the blood-nosed boys wrestled each other with the ferocity of alligator lizards, Vikky let out a loud wolf whistle, making everyone else turn around. She raised her hands together and widened them out in a gesture demanding that the spectators move aside. They parted l...

23 likes 27 comments 27

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“Traitors” by Ashley Sawh

Submitted to Contest #244

I awoke with a pounding headache as I reached for my phone, checking the time only to see thousands of messages across all social media platforms coming from all of my friends, and then some. What could they want? Ring ring.  Ring ring.  It was Monica, one of my best friends, what could she want? It’s not like she wants to suddenly talk to me, she basically ditched me at Colin’s party yesterday. Colin’s my boyfriend, and we’ve been together for a year, well, almost a year. It would be exactly a year in a couple of days, and I was b...

9 likes 2 comments 2

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“The Revelation” by Mallory Jones

Submitted to Contest #243

Ding-dong-ding-dong. That was the sound of the end of day school bell ringing. Typically, Harper felt that the consistent ding-dong-ding-dong sounds were annoying but today was different. Today those sounds that permeated throughout the school were harmonious sounds of freedom. Harper navigated her way through the narrow hallways filled with other teens whom seemed to be walking aimlessly without a purpose. Although Harper did not have any particular plans after school, she just wanted to drive far away from the campus ASAP. It was spri...

4 likes 0 comments 0

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“The Rogue Wave of the Mystical Coast” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #243

The surge of icy water swept over her feet. Then rising above her knees, it pulled Elsie into the tumbling ocean surf, along with her puppy and her friend.They surfaced in a cave of sloshing water.Earlier, Elsie was walking on the beach she loved near the lighthouse. It was a mystical and magical place. The next moment the ocean flooded the sand and surrounded her with a rogue wave surge.Elsie and her friend Bret saw the dark, furry head of her puppy, Teddybear, emerge.A swell of water lifted them, then dropped, and they stood on a...

33 likes 25 comments 25

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“Desktop Suitcases” by Candy Grace

Submitted to Contest #243

Lavender whisked past a crowd of high school seniors as her desktop suitcase clinked and clattered against the not-so-smooth tile flooring. She couldn’t believe she was going to be late. She shoved her long dark brown hair out of her face and continued running towards her first period class. Naturally, freshmen at Rocket Sky High School had their classes on the other side of the campus building from the bus gate. And they were required to bring in their desktop computers, as the computer labs on their side of the school still didn’t have pro...

3 likes 1 comment 1

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“"Ouch, That Hurts"” by Marian Fleming

Submitted to Contest #241

As I reached our daily lunch table with my tray full of unappealing Italian day lunch special, one of my best friends was saying catishly, "Marie thinks I'm going to nominate her for 'Best Personality', but I'm voting for Tracy instead." The eyes that had been eagerly focused on my friend, now known as 'the backstabbing bitch' by me, raised to see me standing behind her as she declared to whom her loyalties belonged. When Jamie saw their looks of warning, she turned around and her expression quickly turned sheepish and her pink cheeks drain...

6 likes 2 comments 2

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“Fear of Drowning ” by C.N. Jung

Submitted to Contest #240

When he was just six years old, Nick Hall landed in foster care. His mom, addicted to her drugs more than to her son, couldn't be his anchor. His dad? He vanished the moment he learned he'd be a father, leaving Nick to face the world solo from day one. Nick grew up fast, figuring out ways to take care of himself, like dragging chairs to grab food from atop the counter and getting himself ready for school—all on his own.  His mom, lost in a drug haze, missed his first morning of first grade. So, Nick, determined and a little excited, dec...

11 likes 6 comments 6

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“Journal Entries: February 12-15, 2007” by Jeremy Tewari

Submitted to Contest #241

Feb 12: It was cold outside today so I decided to ruin Tony Beckett’s life. I feel I need to justify this decision. First of all, no, Tony Beckett has never wronged me. He and I have spoken 7 times exactly, thrice in the hallway before lunch, once at Jonathan Derelict’s house party, once at the Cinnabon, and twice after being partnered up for class discussions (once was Spanish and once was AP Macroeconomics). All of these conversations failed to be noteworthy, but he was always pleasant enough, and friendly despite our lack of acquaintance....

18 likes 7 comments 7

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“Tumbleweeds” by D.S. Rhodes

Submitted to Contest #240

"Ay, chihuahua! This fucking wind!" "Oh, si, Eddie. What would Holbrook be without the wind?" "Uh...peaceful? Calm? Quiet? Pleasant?" Eddie Ochoa and Lena Garcia, on their way home from Holbrook High ("Go Roadrunners!") shuffled down Buffalo Street, the gusts of wind shoving them from behind, nearly knocking them off their feet, filling their eyes with pollen, dust and sand. White cotton was everywhere, a blizzard unleashed by the cottonwood trees, drifting up at curbs and along fences, creating the illusion of snow on a warm, windy spring d...

12 likes 4 comments 4

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“Where the Answer Blows” by Jeremy Stevens

Submitted to Contest #240

I’m not talking ‘bout moving in, and I don’t want to change your life, but there’s a warm wind blowing the stars around, and I’d really love to see you tonight.All the feels, that song gives me. I switch off the transistor —yes, I said transistor, all I can afford— and, having mopped the floors, I step out for a cigarette. There is indeed a warm wind, just as the song said, a warm spring wind that disseminates the potpourri of evening rain and mown grass and Bradford pear; perhaps it is blowing the stars around, I do not know, for I am surro...

3 likes 3 comments 3

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“A Crumpled Piece of Paper” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #240

From the partially open, third floor window of a hospital a crumpled piece of paper fluttered and fell, landing on the ground and then rolling and bouncing away, driven by the wind across the parking lot to a busy city street. At that point it was primarily propelled by the passing of car after car down the road, without any of the drivers or passengers taking any notice of its presence. It reached the end of its journey getting stuck in a bush in front of a building almost as big as the hospital, and in some ways serving the same ...

10 likes 5 comments 5

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“Light Headed” by Sabrina Grace

Submitted to Contest #240

It was cold and sharp, and it took her breath as she entered the room. Winds created from potent magic that rushed over her no different than the winds themself.Wind magic eluded Hellena, it was so close to light in terms of technique and ability and yet a wholly different beast. The cutting winds that had just rushed over her were nothing more than the practice of Edwin, probably the best in their year at wind magic. It wasn't a matter of pure power or talent either; he was very skilled at the technique involved, evident from the intensity ...

4 likes 1 comment 1

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