Start your story with the arrival of a new person in a town full of gossips.

Posted in Adults on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 41 stories

“Tongues wagging over Freggy” by Rolade Berthier

Submitted to Contest #131

The jacaranda trees were blooming with their purple flowers, and the University of Queensland campus was bustling with students. Lea had just moved into a multicultural college, known as International House, and there was already a knock on the door of her room, which was on the second floor of G-Tower. She turned around but continued getting out jeans and personal belongings from her 20-kilogram brown suitcase that still had a Qantas etiquette. There was another knock, followed by another one."Hi, I'm Chen. Would you like to join us at toni...

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“Fire on the mountain, Run Boys, Run” by B.T Beauregard

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #131

The Hickory Stump had sprung from the ashes, and yellow tape, and crumbling concrete of Seventh Ave. There was never a construction crew, never any solicitation of Appletowns city hall, only one morning it was there, building permits nailed to a sign upon the door, an envelope, fat and stuffed with bills beside it. The sign read in a flashing green and blue:OPEN: 3AM-? CLOSED: SUNDAYS.The buildings, which had turned to ash around The Hickory Stump were, according to fifth generation Fire Chief, Trevor Denricks at the press conference covered...

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“Foreigners, and Other Cannon Fodder” by Alex Larson

Submitted to Contest #131

“My, my; ain’t he a strange-looking fella,” my Gran whispered to Ma. I looked too, and he seemed pretty normal to me, ‘cept for the dark hair and the way he walked. “Curious gait, don’t he,” Ma agreed with Gran. It’s not that he walked or looked exceptionally quizzically, but the only thing to feed into the rumor mill and gossip well this week was a two-headed snake young Sam Bailey caught playing near Miller’s Pond, and that wasn’t much for the ladies to chew on. Here in Albion, we have a few different means of currency and trade. First, mo...

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“The Beauty Salon” by Lori Clark

Submitted to Contest #131

Maggie's was the place. What it was the place for was up for debate. Today, I was there for a much-needed haircut. I'd planned weeks ago to grab that coveted first appointment of the day. Get in, get out, and avoid the regulars, the ladies who stopped by nearly every morning. Maggie's was the place to go for the latest news, aka Gossip. I had lived in the same small town my entire life, except for seven years, which I still referred to as the greatest brain fart I'd ever had. Not because I'd left town, but because of him. The reason I'd l...

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“An Overnight Guest” by Audrey Shaw

Submitted to Contest #131

The splintering wooden door rattled as it was knocked upon, startling the woman inside her small, street-side home. Well, not entirely street side, as it was the last door on the right tucked in the alleyway between two brick, ivy-ridden buildings. Therefore, her front door was significantly removed from the street, making late-night visitors, or visitors of any sort, incredibly rare. The woman froze, head swiveling to face the narrow hallway leading to the front door. Her chest thundered, and an ache tightened her stomach. Silence f...

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“Word of Mouth” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #131

“WELCOME TO WHISPERS.” That is what the sign read as Larry drove into town. Coming from a big city, this quaint small town was just what he needed to escape from his high anxiety lifestyle. The muffler on his 2002 Chevy Camaro SS rumbled as he coasted down Main Street with the top down on his cherry red convertible. The sunlight reflected off the high gloss paint job, catching the attention of onlookers. &...

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“The Rise Of Madam Kate” by Philip Ebuluofor

Submitted to Contest #131

She is 65, around 5f 3. Dark and slim. Mrs. Kate Okorie had been a teacher in the kindergarten school run by the Catholic Church in my countryside town for maybe 15 plus years before calling it quits. She sat at a corner and smiled to those gathered there. It wouldn’t be exaggeration to say that almost all the generation x born in the five villages that made up St John’s parish received their nursery education from her. It would be nice to give you some little background gist on the woman. I am sure you have knowledge of whe...

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“Regrets” by Marie Cunningham Davidson

Submitted to Contest #131

As the diminutive figure stepped down from the Greyhound coach in Bairnsdale, Victoria, head down, dark tresses firmly held in place by a blood-red knitted beanie, Lisa Stephens glanced up surreptitiously through hooded hazel eyes, to see if she’d caught any unwanted attention. So far, so good. Jerking the dark leather hoodie over her head, Lisa strode quickly to the luggage retrieval area at the far end of the coach station, promptly grabbed her luggage and hurried over to the cab rank. Dressed in black jeans and black urban boots, the cr...

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“Small Town Talk” by Cindy Strube

Submitted to Contest #131

Small Town TalkTime was, you could'a fired a shotgun down Main Street at high noon on a Sunday, and not hit a soul. Nowadays, you'd get hauled in just for havin’ a gun - not to mention, you’d be likely to hit somebody even if you's a poor shot.Progress, they call it. Town's gotta grow to stay alive, they say. (Hrhmm!) Fact is, this town was mighty lively some years back… ‘Course, it was a while before my time, but I know plenty about it. Most of us older folks do - we just don't talk about it. Plenty of talk went on back then.You see th...

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“Floating” by Dimarnae Deveau

Submitted to Contest #131

SLAM Ah yes, a familiar feeling. New school. New locker. Same cold, unyielding metal. Ouch. “Dyke” I hear one of the girls who just shoulder checked me into my good friend Mr. Locker say under her breath. Her friends laugh. Gotta love High school. Continuing my trek down the hall I see people staring at me, I know what they’re thinking. Everyone does. A few of them Giggle, pointing. It’s like one of those scenes in a movie where someone’s having a nightmare about showing up to s...

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“Gone Again” by Isabela Maher

Submitted to Contest #131

“She’s back!” I heard someone whisper excitedly behind my shoulder. That sort of thing seemed to be happening a lot lately - ever since I moved back to my childhood town, actually. I had been living in Anningham for just a few days. It was more than enough to let me know something was up. I turned around in the line so my back faced the deli’s counter. Not one set of eyes was on me, although the feeling deep in my chest said otherwise. I turned back around to look at the beautifully decorated chalkboard menu. “Shhh! She noticed you!” a diffe...

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“Pinata Club” by David Zeleny

Submitted to Contest #131

Piñata Club Sabastian and I ascended the driveway as the dachshund snarled, bounced, and pulled too hard at its collar, wheezing. Had its chain been longer, or staked into the grass closer, the dog could’ve reached the cement. “I dare ya to go pet it,” Sabastian said. He shoved my shoulder. I stumbled onto the grass. The mutt nipped at my ankle mid-retreat. I glared at Sebastian, exhaled through my nostrils. He didn’t care. “I’m just trying to toughen ya up, buddy. This summer, we’re gonna get ya nice and strong. That way, senior year, yo...

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“The Butcher in the mist” by Michaela Davis

Submitted to Contest #131

The man who is known as the butcher was not loved by his neighbors, the only encounter he has with people is those who come to his shop and order sliced ham or lean meat. The butcher was an odd man some people might say. On a cloudy day, there was a knock on the butcher’s front door, he opened it only to discover a small girl with two braids and a white floral dress with small daisies on it, she did not move nor did she make any sound, she stood there and stared at him. The man comes around her holding out his hand only to see the butcher’s...

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“«One Cigarette City.»” by Евгения Черногорова

Submitted to Contest #131

«One Cigarette City.» All you have time to do in this city is smoke one cigarette. Then your eyes will do all the talking for you. The windows here are huge eyes. They are watching you. Even James Fisher, head of the small police department, hides his fears and weaknesses deep in the bottom of his whiskey glass. His gray pupils have many answers to hundreds of questions, and he knows how to breathe with you in tact. How's that? Oooh, it can't be explained. Magnetism, charisma, a subtle hint of nature that his presence throws women in the ...

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“The Flood” by Jonathan Sadler

Submitted to Contest #131

The whispers seemed to begin even before the horizon betrayed the arrival of the Stranger. Before certain cataclysmic events, such as earthquakes, they say all kinds of animals will start to act strangely. Birds may fly in unusual formations, rats and snakes will abandon their homes, cows will cease to produce milk. Humans also have the capability to sense impending catastrophe, but it manifests in us through disrupted thought patterns. We may tend to be highly irritable in situations which usually cause us no distress; we may find ourselves...

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Start your story with the arrival of a new person in a town full of gossips.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 41 stories

“Tongues wagging over Freggy” by Rolade Berthier

“Fire on the mountain, Run Boys, Run” by B.T Beauregard

“Foreigners, and Other Cannon Fodder” by Alex Larson

“The Beauty Salon” by Lori Clark

“An Overnight Guest” by Audrey Shaw

“Word of Mouth” by Greg Gillis

“The Rise Of Madam Kate” by Philip Ebuluofor

“Regrets” by Marie Cunningham Davidson

“Small Town Talk” by Cindy Strube

“Floating” by Dimarnae Deveau

“Gone Again” by Isabela Maher

“Pinata Club” by David Zeleny

“The Butcher in the mist” by Michaela Davis

“«One Cigarette City.»” by Евгения Черногорова

“The Flood” by Jonathan Sadler

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about two characters whose first impressions of one another are wildly inaccurate.

Write a story that includes (or subverts) the enemies-to-lovers trope.

Write a story about a group of sisters, or a group of brothers.

Set your story in a drawing room.

Contest #131

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

185

Contest entries

128

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: