470+ Middle School Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. Keeping the attention of a middle schooler is hard. But our collection of gripping middle school short stories will do the trick!

⭐️ Recommended stories

“An Aye for a Legg and a Legg for an Aye” by Mister X

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #183

If Lucky Chances wasn't the worst singles bar in South Florida, it's only because the Board of Health had closed down the others. There were just so many hepatitis cases one county could handle at a time.Woodrow Aye arrived at happy hour promptly at 6:07 p.m., just after clocking out from the big box retailer that kept him gainfully employed, assuming wearing a blue vest and bitching about the Miami sports teams constituted work. After a few spritzes of Drakkar Noir and a drive-thru dinner at BurgerFace, Woodrow walked int...

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“The Student's Struggle” by Michał Przywara

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #155

Harvey Deenwaller really shit the bed when he tried out for the basketball team, because he forgot what we all knew: junior high school was bullshit. Trying leads to judging, judging leads to failing, and failing leads to being a loser. Of course we only heard about him, but it was all anyone talked about all day, and when we got into seventh period English we found out that Stacey McCain had seen it. She was ...

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“THE SEA SPIDER AND THE BLUE HAIRED BOY” by Theresa Anna

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #135

When the giant sea spider swallowed the entire town of Cobble, it was decided that something should be done about it. Flee, the next town over and slightly higher up, had watched the unfortunate event from their balconies and terraces, very pale and very shaky, and also very quiet—in case the sea spider decided to look up and think about dessert. But lucky for the town of Flee, the sea spi...

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“Perilous Playground of Pubescents” by Erin Keeney

Submitted to Contest #246

Perilous Playground of Pubescents“Impossible. You can't do it, Mrs K. we know you can't!!”These little 5th grade shits, she thought, always taunting their substitute teacher. Mrs K was enduring this latest gig at a private school in an affluent Chicago suburb for the last couple of years. She’d finally settled a decades long divorce, her youngest son was off to Boston, and her 70th birthday loomed. Attorneys fees left her bankrupt, and no amount of 'The Secret', as many times as she watched that DVD and practiced the techniques, was&n...

3 likes 0 comments 0

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“My Worst Enemy” by Dominic Figueroa

Submitted to Contest #246

Max liked to sit alone at lunchtime on the playground, which was enclosed by wooden boards with red paint flaking off. His favorite thing to do was to listen to the rhythmic squeak of the swing as he swung back and forth. Every time that he kicked his legs out at the height of the swing, he felt free like an eagle taking flight. It was the only place that he felt free. “Here we go again,” Max murmured under his breath as two of his classmates approached. The two boys start...

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“Sewer Pipe Village” by Robert Pyke

Submitted to Contest #246

Dad raised Robbie sternly. Every man was sir or mister. And every man, whether as stern as Dad or as kindly as Uncle George, was to be obeyed without question. That was before Robbie’s evening in Sewer Pipe Village. Sewer Pipe Village was the name Dad gave a dozen giant concrete cylinders strewn in a clearing of scrub—cottonwood and sassafras—across the tracks from their home in Indian Hills. It was along the South Crick, a ditch really, part of a system to drain the swamps south of Lake Michigan, land far enough from the beach for steelwork...

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“Kings of the Jungle Gym” by Natalie Ballestero

Submitted to Contest #246

The sun beat down upon the black asphalt of the playground where the many ages of children mingled during their last afternoon recess. The sounds of basketballs bouncing, and chatter filled the warm air. Off in the distance sat the many jungle gyms that the children didn’t bother to use anymore, and sitting upon the very top of one were two young boys. They sat upon their perch looking down upon the playground as if they were the kings of the domain that lay below them. Their faces showed their shared boredom of their cur...

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“Little Boy Blue and His Striped Balloon ” by Leilani Velazquez

Submitted to Contest #242

“Lilia. You’ve gotta think. Where did you see Thomas last?”Lilia sighed heavily, staring blankly down at her palms. “We went to the museum.”.“What … museum?” “In the woods. Oh, ma. I’m sorry. I really really am.” Lilia scrunched her face and sat weeping in her chair. “Officer Rick”“It’s pronounced Rick-ee, ma’am”“Officer Ricky, You’ve gotta believe I had NO idea about Lilia and her friend sneaking off into the woods like this. I wouldn’t have allowed it. We’ll talk about this later young lady, but you need to give us more informati...

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“One Size Fits” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #241

Britney offered her friends a plastic container filled with cookies made ‘all by myself.’Kerri held up her hand and shook her head. She’d tried the last and previous batches. Friend or not, there are limits.Taylor sighed, picked one and eyed it as if examining forensic evidence. She felt Britney watching as she nibbled and suppressed a wince.The three sat at their usual lunchtime table under the trees in the school patio. Lunch was almost over.“I made them myself with my Easy Bake Oven,” Britney said. Every time she brought cookies, which wa...

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“Unexpected Betrayal” by Keila Aartila

Submitted to Contest #241

I hopped off the school bus, hitting the ground at a dead run ahead of my two younger brothers; dropped my book bag at the house door and ran down to the barnyard. I couldn’t wait to touch the little horse who would be waiting to see me, after a full day of going through the motions of attending my Middle School classes. I wanted to get home to continue the training of my young horse. He was coming along sop well! The horse had been purchased for a small fee from a poor quality situation. He was of unknown breeding, and a non-extraordinary b...

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“A Fable: The Gardener and the Potter” by Mary Bendickson

Submitted to Contest #241

A Fable: The Gardener and the Potter Samuel, a slightly stooped, aging gentleman of humble means in a humble village, visited with his eldest daughter. “Is all well with you and your new husband?”“All is wonderfully well. He treats me like a precious flower. Seeing to my every want and need. Gordon is such a hard worker. He works from sun-up to sun-down in our fields growing the best crops any gardener would be proud of.” Marigold marveled.“Is there anything you need from me, My Dear?”“Well, the only thing I could request is that you pray f...

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“Woodland Avenue, Brookside ” by Jim DeMaio Jr.

Submitted to Contest #241

It's taken me a long time to think seriously about this former friend and someone who passed away at eighteen years old. He's someone I've never forgotten about, and he haunts my dreams.Joe was a really sensitive, loving kid who was always taller and skinnier than me. When my family built a house in the township of Mendham I started going to the elementary and then the middle school. I was in Mrs Thomas' class and it's likely there I first met Joe.His parents lived in a stone covered ranch house on Woodland Road and Summit Road. The house se...

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“My Gemini ” by Marcos Argueta

Submitted to Contest #240

Hello, Alexis. I guess I'll just start this by telling you, I love you. It's crazy. We've talked a handful of times but I think there's something right here. I think you know this too. I mean why else would you kiss me. To drive me crazy? When you told me that you liked my vibes I thought you were just being kind. I like that you're nice is natural. When you laughed at my jokes, I wished I could be funny forever. It's hard being hilarious. When your fingers played with my lips and you bit the bottom one, I lost it. I'm not normal anymore. ...

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“Just When You Think You Know Her” by Jeremy Stevens

Submitted to Contest #241

I was always the first to bed. I would ask if she’d like to join, but she’d always have late night things to take care of, things she couldn’t get done during her busy day. Tabitha had a tough job, and I often commended her on how well she was able to balance work and home. I knew she loved me. It was our mutual respect for each other’s space that had kept us so close, for so many years.Or, so I thought.We met at the fundraiser. She was part of the production, and I was, well, a benefactor. Don’t get me wrong here: it wasn’t a black-tie affa...

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“Property of Calypso” by Karol P

Submitted to Contest #239

   The twelfth tree in front of Allen Redvers Middle School bloomed pink two months early. It was only March; the flowers were the effect of the striped blue-and-yellow crochet wrapped around its trunk and branches like a sweater. Carden Bailey and Ozri Geller stood in front of it, gazing up.    “Calypso strikes again,” said Ozri. Carden didn’t answer, touching the tree with one pink-gloved hand. It was warm, as i...

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“Remnants” by Russell Mickler

Submitted to Contest #239

Bright. The boy shielded his eyes from the sun. Insects buzzed, and a stench of fresh-mown hay and cow manure lingered. Silhouettes of long cattle shelters and silos wavered on the horizon. Dairy farm. A half mile from home. 2,640 feet; a mile is 5,280 feet. In the distance, a yellow school bus rounded a corner to accelerate up the country road. He checked his analog wristwatch, his fingers forming a sharp right angle. Late. Four minutes. There are sixty minutes in an ho...

25 likes 28 comments 28

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“Lost Connection ” by C.N. Jung

Submitted to Contest #238

“Nah, bro. That’s crazy!” Levi couldn't believe his ears. He chomped down on a cheese puff, feeling the artificial cheese cling to his fingers. The orange dust was everywhere, but who cared? "You're telling me she actually said that with a straight face?" He flicked the crumbs off his hand with a little more force than was necessary. "Yeah, for real, I swear!" The crackle from Levi’s hea...

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“Scratch that Itch” by Keith Menendez

Submitted to Contest #237

What is a kiss?  I’m not looking for a life changing answer.  I’m curious, sincerely.  It’s not like I haven’t received pecks from my family.  Mom gives me good kisses (That sounds weird).  I should be more specific.   At Daniel Webster Middle School, what is a kiss?  Putting lips on lips or lips on cheeks or other body parts. Very unsanitary.  Gross.  But at my school, if this happens between a non-family member; a girl or a boy, then it’s like the moon landing (if you believe it; I have so...

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