Write about someone who has long since quit but decides to go another round for old time’s sake.

Posted in Adults on Oct 28, 2022

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✍️ 38 stories

“The Folly of a Post-retirement Assignment” by Annie Blackwell

Submitted to Contest #166

Puking into the train’s toilet going to her first day on the job didn’t bode well. Alice had chosen a Wednesday to emerge from her year-long retirement. It can’t be too bad, she reminded herself, despite her stomach thinking otherwise. Hump-day starts only required surviving three days before she could recover from the shock of new material, politics, office space, computer filing systems … and colleagues.They all turned and stared at her like she’d jumped off Mars, as Liz, the EA from HR, in her short tight skirt and ultra-high heels, escor...

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“Billy’s life” by Howard Chavarria

Submitted to Contest #166

Billy has been taking care of his son by himself for the last eighteen years. Ever since his wife passed during the child-birth of their son Bobby. Billy was a successful lawyer that did very well for himself, and when Bobby was born he decided to stop working and put all his focus into his son until the day he leaves home. It’s the day Billy has been fearing time for the young man he had raised to be on his own in college and Billy now having his house to himself didn’t know what he would do. Bobby since his dad was feeling blue so h...

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“Lily's Place” by Ash Tenebris

Submitted to Contest #166

The Resala House is a brutal family of huntsmen; soldiers trained to kill the unholy magic users that curse the land. Two years ago, Oliver Resala killed one of these curses, and Piper was caught in the middle of it. She was a barkeep who witnessed the huntsman kill a boy who had been living with her as he struggled to get on his feet. She would’ve been killed alongside him for housing such magic if it hadn’t been for the letters they exchanged stating he wasn’t one of the cursed. Two years and Oliver never went back to the tavern Piper wor...

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“on the sidelines, sometimes” by Angel C

Submitted to Contest #166

(contains sensitive language and sex) I think we went, that day, to the Thai restaurant towards the end of campus. Across the road from the university union, and close to the class we shared, it seemed a good choice for lunch. I remember feeling worried that you wouldn’t want to come with me. Once the class had ended, and the shuffle of notebooks and murmur of chatter began, I thought your kindness to me would end. I thought you’d only spoken to me because we sat together. On those hard, red, plastic chairs. In the middle of the small clas...

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“Double Agent” by Josh Mullenax

Submitted to Contest #166

The company Rolex said 6:43, but he knew it was running five minutes fast. After 45 years of service, they gave him a watch that ran fast because ‘he’d be slowing down in his old age and needed to plan accordingly.’ He thought constant math would keep him sharp so he left it. He shook his head knowing that his days of precision timing, down to the half second, were done though his body and his wife, Yuval, knew he was done a few years before. When everything is always on fire, agents never have time to think about themselves. Maybe that’s wh...

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“Once More” by Eric Shelton

Submitted to Contest #166

We could hear the sounds of battle from within our tent; the war cries and the crashing of swords and shields and axes. Battles have this pulsing quality to them like the ebb and flow of blood that can be felt through the veins; this pulsing thundered in my ears. The sounds flowed through me leaving a cold terror in their wake. I barely kept myself from shaking. Sitting opposite of me in our tent looking more bored than anything else was my charge, Harald. To my young eyes he was an old man and, since I was so young and inexperienced, I was ...

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“The Humble Hero” by Kimberly Walker

Submitted to Contest #166

The Humble Hero I’m too old for this! I have tried to retire for ten years and you all keep pulling me back to coach or run in these races every time. I knew I couldn’t handle a whole race, please. I will always love you and the races, but I am no spring chicken anymore. I only do it to raise awareness for my charity, (S.H.E). Shelter for Help in an Emergency. I plan to pass the baton to someone else this year, and if you’re interested in winning, you’ve got to put someone faster on the anchor leg. My heyday was twenty years ago. Your...

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“Tell Me a Story” by Wil Montgomery

Submitted to Contest #166

TW: the mention of alcohol use, some profanity, and implications of child abuse but it is never explicitly stated or mentioned in any way.Despite the dim lighting, the air of the casino was bustling and lively; it smelled sickeningly sweet and filled with foggy choices. There was a maddening ringing that could be from every inch of the shaggy, red carpet, followed by cheers and yells; others looked on with careful glares. The bartenders polished glasses and gave half-hearted sentiments to those drowning their loses in the sweet nectar of the...

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Write about someone who has long since quit but decides to go another round for old time’s sake.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 38 stories

“The Folly of a Post-retirement Assignment” by Annie Blackwell

“Billy’s life” by Howard Chavarria

“Lily's Place” by Ash Tenebris

“on the sidelines, sometimes” by Angel C

“Double Agent” by Josh Mullenax

“Once More” by Eric Shelton

“The Humble Hero” by Kimberly Walker

“Tell Me a Story” by Wil Montgomery

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with someone saying “I quit!”

Write a story about someone who knows it’s time to retire or change jobs, but is hesitating.

Write about a rivalry between two coworkers that has unforeseen consequences.

Set your story at a retirement or leaving party.

Contest #166

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

181

Contest entries

74

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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