Your character checks their balance at an ATM and is surprised by the number they see.

Posted in Adults on Oct 31, 2022

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✍️ 32 stories

“25” by Liz Molloy

Submitted to Contest #159

Immobilizing fear consumes Maeve once the time strikes midnight. She can hear her fellow neighbors rejoicing the New Year in the apartments surrounding her. In any other year, she would have joined in on the celebration, cheering along with screams of joy. But this year is different, this is the year she is turning twenty-five. This is the year her fate will be determined.In another lifetime, turning twenty-five as a woman was regarded as any other normal birthday milestone. In this life, turning twenty-five to many women means facing the en...

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“Credits and Debits” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #159

Well blow me! Verner ended his visit and took the slow walk away. It struck him for the very first time in his mundane and miserable life that he did the self-same thing at communion when he was a boy. Head down and quiet. Strange thing to do when you were supposed to be communing with people, but that was how it was done back then, or if it wasn’t then no one batted an eyelid when he acted like that and he knew he’d gotten it from someone. So there it was. This time though he found a spot at what he considered a safe distance and watche...

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“7-7-7” by Cody Cooper

Submitted to Contest #159

TW: SUICIDE, SEXUAL HARASSMENT Frank awoke from his delightful dream thanks to a shrill beeping noise. The beeping kept Frank from remembering the details of said dream, so as much as he wanted to return to whatever that magical world was, all he could muster was a half-awake mumbling “How do I forget to turn off my alarm on July 4th.” Each beep felt like a jackhammer crashing against Frank’s ears, so after a few seconds, Frank finally turned over and hit the “alarm off” button. &...

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“Spending without Guilt” by Jocelyn Yeomans

Submitted to Contest #159

Oh my. That’s not right. It’s nice to see but its $100,000 more than I should have. I was standing in front of the ATM machine having just withdrawn some cash and was staring at the receipt.. I immediately thought I should go into the bank and question it when another thought came. Hold on now. It might be ok. Wait until I am home and check the computer. Might be another windfall I hadn’t expected. Remembering back 10 years ago when I had found I was entitled to a pension from my husband’s work. ...

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“For the Money of Love ” by Gill James

Submitted to Contest #159

For the Money of Love They were a pain the backside, the ATM machines at his local supermarket. They always had the sun shining on them and you couldn't see the screen. Glyn tapped in his credentials from memory. He hoped he'd got enough credits to cover the tokens he wanted to extract. They said today that every citizen should keep at least 200 universal credits in cash tokens because of predicted power failures. Oh, what the heck. He may as well take the full 200. He held his breath as he keyed in the amount. Thankfully there were no...

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“The Little Things” by Ashe Greenwood

Submitted to Contest #159

Whrrrrrrr. The machine moaned as it compiled my cash to spit it out. It made a click as it stopped, then the little door slid open. I reached in to grab my money. Thumbing through it, I counted, just to make sure it was correct. My dad always taught me to do this, as he claimed he had been ripped off before. Five hundred I thought. Perfect, it was just enough to cover the rest of rent for the month. I had dropped off another five hundred dollars last week, and three hundred fifty the week before, but I had to stay on top of things every ...

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“My Hand for a Watch” by Mark Chadish

Submitted to Contest #159

Lucille can’t believe her eyes. She checks the balance for the 5th time. She is not sure if it’s the hangover, the sleep deprivation, or both. Again, the numbers show the exact same unbelievably large number. One hundred thousand euros. And the seven thousand two hundred eighty she had before but who would read after the first two commas anyway. Her heart is palpitating. “This changes everything” she mutters under her breath. “I can finally finish my studies, pay for mom’s hospital bills, get a pick-up truck for the business-“ “Hey lady, it...

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“Wow! Where did the money come from?” by Kaitlyn Wadsworth

Submitted to Contest #159

Most of us have dreamed of a huge deposit of money mysteriously arriving in our bank accounts. Trust me, even if you truly believe the deposit to be legitimate and then spent it, if it is actually not yours, you will be expected to pay back every cent (dime or penny), whether you can afford it or not.I knew a young lady, let’s call her Florence, who found a windfall in her bank account.At this stage she had been saving up for a plane fare to attend a family reunion which had been planned for a year and a half. In the mean time she had marrie...

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“Call My Number” by Spencer Schmidt

Submitted to Contest #159

Frank was enjoying his lunch. He had already eaten his turkey sandwich and was finishing up his tomato soup. Basic, but very good. He still had 20 minutes left in his lunch hour, so he decided he was going to check his ATM balance. It was payday, so he wanted to make sure that they had deposited the correct amount into his account. The last pay period they were off by 43 cents, and he wanted to see if he could avoid that headache this time. He pulled up his account on the machine, and typed in his password. He was not sure how, but someone h...

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“Places to Be” by Peter Briggs

Submitted to Contest #159

At first it was a mixture of disbelief, joy and relief. I thought I’d faint on the spot. Then the person behind me would step over my body and make a quick withdrawal while my card was still in the ATM. Or they’d murder me if they saw the number and grab as much as they could. Or, better, they’d abduct me and slowly withdraw it all over time. Time and money go together well. There was now more than $17,000,000 in my account. The man standing behind me peaked over my shoulder and, wondering what was taking so long, said, “Must ...

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“Father's Redemption” by Alexa Zanzotto

Submitted to Contest #159

"Can't believe I let him play me like that, again!"Lusa cursed her father for the umpteenth time in a row. She ran, late for class, even though she had been on time as she left their grubby, far-too-small apartment. He stopped her while she attempted to go and watched her struggle with the broken knob before engaging in a conversation."Dad," she sighed and halted her frantic jiggling of the door handle, "you know I can't keep giving you cash, only for you to waste it on your stupid gambles, or investments, or whatever you use it for."He had ...

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“The MacLarsen Incident” by Khalid Hussein

Submitted to Contest #159

Kal was stocking shelves. This was his least favorite part of the job. He enjoyed the customer service element, helping people solve their problems. At an arts and crafts store there was always a parade of characters with questions. The most annoying customers were those who really just wanted him to do their project for them. He would sometimes indulge the pushy old ladies or lazy teenagers, and go beyond his job description by helping them cut foam boards, or even drawing out schematics for their projects. This was not why he had gone to a...

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“I'm Buying” by Margo Harris

Submitted to Contest #159

CHECKING ACCOUNT BALANCE: $2.78 “Seriously?” I ask the ATM. “How can I only have two dollars and seventy eight cents?” I go over the last week in my head starting on Friday. Cameron threw a massive party that night. It was BYOB, so I did. I may have spent $50 on alcohol alone. It was gone in twenty minutes flat. It was a great party though. “Yo, Asher! Thanks for bringing beer buddy. Come give me a hug.” Cameron was already drunk and pulling me in for a tight squeeze. “No problem, Cam. I figured today is payday, so I was able ...

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“Love, Lust, & Luxury” by Goddess V

Submitted to Contest #159

In my chambers I walk to the ATM, Awareness TeleMonitor. The balance of my essence in the Universe is lower than usual. Something is off, but I am unsure of what. I call my siblings in to inform them. I have a plan and I need their advice. I need to understand what has happened. “Are you sure about this?” My middle sibling asks me. “I feel like I need to,” I replied. “And of all days, today seems like a great day to manifest.” I turn to my youngest sibling who sits in a chair across the space. They pi...

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“The Missing Funds” by Marie White

Submitted to Contest #159

He glared at the ATM as he would have one who’d suggested a hike in Death Valley. That couldn’t be right; the account had had five thousand dollars more a few days ago. Money didn’t just disappear. He’d get to the bottom of this. Not caring that it would catch the attention of the couple in tank tops and cutoffs milling around, eyeing shelves full of Butterfingers and Milky Ways and Snickers and Reese’s peanut butter cups, and the spindly teen at the register who looked as if ...

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Your character checks their balance at an ATM and is surprised by the number they see.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 32 stories

“25” by Liz Molloy

“Credits and Debits” by Jed Cope

“7-7-7” by Cody Cooper

“Spending without Guilt” by Jocelyn Yeomans

“For the Money of Love ” by Gill James

“The Little Things” by Ashe Greenwood

“My Hand for a Watch” by Mark Chadish

“Wow! Where did the money come from?” by Kaitlyn Wadsworth

“Call My Number” by Spencer Schmidt

“Places to Be” by Peter Briggs

“Father's Redemption” by Alexa Zanzotto

“The MacLarsen Incident” by Khalid Hussein

“I'm Buying” by Margo Harris

“Love, Lust, & Luxury” by Goddess V

“The Missing Funds” by Marie White

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with a character accepting a bribe.

Set your story in a world where the currency isn’t money — or at least not money as we understand it.

Write about somebody down on their luck who unexpectedly comes into a large amount of money.

Write about a character who’s never encountered a problem they couldn’t buy their way out of — until they do.

Contest #159

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

216

Contest entries

88

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: