Place your characters in a tough situation, where nobody wants to acknowledge the reality of what's happening.

Posted in Angst on Jul 12, 2024

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✍️ 84 stories

“Thursdays” by Shaun Liriano

Submitted to Contest #259

It was Thursday. Bobbi did not mind Thursdays too much. At work, Thursday was referred to as Friday Eve. A breath away from the weekend. Although the weekend would disintegrate any ideas of rest or leisure like a snap from Marvel’s Thanos, Bobbi still looked forward to Thursday’s arrival each week. Thursday was a day to look forward to. Thursday was a trusted friend. Bobbi left Gateway Auto Sales as soon as her shift was over. She worked in the business development center, affectionately known as BDC. She managed calls, scheduled appointment...

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“The Dinner” by Michael Balliew

Submitted to Contest #259

My mother could be heard frantically moving about the kitchen, her quiet sobs almost muffled by the sounds of cabinet doors slamming and pots and pans clattering together. Leona, my sister, and myself sat caddy corner with each other at the end of our long dining room table. Her face was buried in a teddy bear that had most definitely seen better days. At the other end of the table sat our father, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead. He was still wearing the clothes he’d worn when he’d gone on a supply run early this morning. “Dad...

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“The Rover” by Madeleine Foster

Submitted to Contest #259

When she was five years old, Aisha drew a picture of Mars and gifted it to her Mum. She had used her reddest crayon. A gorgeous red - unspoiled, its tip still pointed. An unworldly declaration of love. Thirty years later, with the red planet crumbling under her boots, the drawing struck her as a little naive. The vista that unravelled before her - its arid undulations, its butterscotch sky - were all brown. She held out her gloved hand and watched the alien dust land in the palm. It looked like soil. Like gravel. It brought to mind the...

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“The curse of Pint 6” by Sarah Cope

Submitted to Contest #259

The curse of pint 6 She stood across the bar, holding a pint glass tilted at a perfect 45-degree angle while the fizzy yellow liquid filled the glass, this was the pint she had been dreading pouring the most, out of the hundreds she had expertly poured over the last 11 hours, it was this one she really wished she didn't have to pour. it was pint number 6 for the blonde-haired blue-eyed guy, sat propped up in the corner on an old rickety bar stool, he smiled at her a crooked clumsy sort of grin, as she popped the larger down on a damp beer ma...

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“The Hotel” by Jacob Melanson

Submitted to Contest #259

My name is Jackie Moffit. I moved to Chicago on the heels of the 1893 Columbian Exposition, much to the chagrin of my parents. Coming from rural Iowa, the bustling metropolis of the Windy City seemed like a far-off dream. But by the recommendation of a great-uncle and the grace of God, I was offered a receptionist job at a new hotel in the City. This would be my introduction to the devil. On my first day, I eagerly meandered to the reception desk to make myself known. “Hi, I’m Jackie. Nice to meet you!”, I exclaimed with an outs...

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“Live From Life” by Mark Wild

Submitted to Contest #259

Female news presenter: “This just in: Recent reports show that the number of single people in the world is now at a staggering zero. Reports show that even all the animals seem to have teamed up in pairs. So, for the first time in history, every living creature on the planet has found a partner.Let’s go to our reporter in the field, Arturo.”Male reporter: “I am standing here at city hall where the last scheduled marriage has just taken place.Surrounded by friends and family, this couple said yes to each other on a truly special day. Because ...

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“Time Wasn't Ours” by Zoe Muir

Submitted to Contest #259

Everyone treads lightly, steps quietly around the girl. No one utters a peep of a word nor a tiny sound. Noises from outside are loud inside. The room is cold, empty, numb, like a stilled hospital room. Sobbing is echoing off the walls of the large room, hitting like a hammer on everyone’s ears. The sun makes no difference to the darkness of the room. Gloom takes it up in full space, seeping outside, reaching neighbours yards and homes and ears. “Wake up, wake up, wake up,” repeating. Over and over, she keeps saying it like it’ll work, like ...

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“A hard head makes a soft.......” by Lapanda Mason

Submitted to Contest #259

A hard head makes a soft....... By LaPanda Mason Symphony was riding on the elevator with her co-workers. It had been a long Friday, so she was looking forward to the weekend. They were sent home early because there was some talk about a virus going around that was very contagious. The mayor ordered everyone to go home and stay inside. “I’m sure this will all be over soon,” Symphony said to no one in particular. One of her co-workers replied, "I'm actually a little scared Symphony! Shit, I have never heard of the may...

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“Eggshells and Pachyderms” by Patrick MacDonald

Submitted to Contest #259

Eggshells and Pachyderms How best to kill him she thought? She stared down at her husband. Tom was lying on his back, his mouth slackly open, snoring noisily. He had seemed to fall asleep almost immediately they had retired to bed, while she lay there, crying softly in the dark. She couldn’t sleep; even his snoring seemed yet one more weapon deployed against her. She knew he hadn’t really gone to sleep that quickly; that he had lain there awake, deliberately ignoring her obvious misery. God, she hated him. She thought back over the day’s eve...

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“The World in Room 212” by Devyn Johnson

Submitted to Contest #259

Alice’s hands shook as she walked down the hall. The squeaking of her sneakers on the floor, the smell of disinfectant, the buzzing of the fluorescent yellow lights; it was too much. Everything was overwhelming. At the end of the hall, she took a steadying breath, trying to quell the shaking in her hands as she paused in front of room 212. Alice could hear the rhythmic beeping of the monitors and the muffled sound of someone crying from outside the door. She took one last deep breath and opened the door. &n...

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“Invisible Love” by Siraf Arts

Submitted to Contest #259

Invisible LoveBy Sedigheh Javidi The old man stands behind the door of the manager's office, eavesdropping. A nurse hurriedly places a file on the desk and pulls out some phone numbers from among the pages.- "Here, this is their son’s number."The manager dials the number. No one answers. Frustrated, She slams the receiver down.The thin, bony hands of an old woman wrap around the old man's arm. She peeks into the office with curiosity and laughs.- "They're very busy."The old man asks:- "Where were you?"- "I was putting on lipstick. Look, am ...

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“Protocol” by Monetta Little-Ragan

Submitted to Contest #259

It was just another day at the bank. Jasmine Thompson had been working at First National bank for the last five years. She loved her job as a teller because she was able to interact with people and help them solve problems but it wasn’t overly complicated. After serving her country for ten years in the United States Navy, it was exactly the kind of job she was looking for to supplement her military disability pay. One of the benefits of working at First National was she also had the privilege of working with her best ...

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“Abeline” by Mel Harris

Submitted to Contest #259

The tears were coursing down my face and my shoulders were screaming as I pumped his chest to the counting coming through the phone, the responders were coming and I just needed to hold on til they arrived. Mum and Joe stood to one side, watching, their faces in shocked open-mouthed poses, their arms holding each other up. - nothing’s happening, I gasped. Keep going, 2, 3, 4The responders arrived and shooed us out of the room while they worked on dad. Mum, Joe and I stood in shocked silence until I realised what we were doing ...

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“ARCADE” by Leila Guerrios

Submitted to Contest #259

“How many pennies do you have in that slot? I don’t have all night here,” came the low voice of the arcade owner. He was an older man with a thick mustache and bushy eyebrows. No one appeared to know who he was or where he had come from. He had—it seemed—materialized in thin air and then went on to re-open the old Clemont Arcade. Nobody could seem to trace him back to anyone else and what people did know was relatively useless. He had a tall physique and looked somewhat like an ancient philosopher, which, in short, didn’t h...

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“A Lesson Learned” by Maggie Bayne

Submitted to Contest #259

A LESSON LEARNED "Say, who is that over by the window? He's kind of cute and I've seen him around school." Denise smiled at her friend, Angie, and gestured with her left hand which was holding a gin and tonic. The Friday night faculty gathering had grown rather dull in the last half hour. Angie glanced up and smiled. "Oh, that's Brian Thompson. He's a fourth-grade teacher. Yea, he is kind of cute, I guess, but looks like he is about 16." "So, have you met him?" Angie nodded. "Really immature, if you ask me. But quite amusing and always has a...

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Place your characters in a tough situation, where nobody wants to acknowledge the reality of what's happening.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 84 stories

“Thursdays” by Shaun Liriano

“The Dinner” by Michael Balliew

“The Rover” by Madeleine Foster

“The curse of Pint 6” by Sarah Cope

“The Hotel” by Jacob Melanson

“Live From Life” by Mark Wild

“Time Wasn't Ours” by Zoe Muir

“A hard head makes a soft.......” by Lapanda Mason

“Eggshells and Pachyderms” by Patrick MacDonald

“The World in Room 212” by Devyn Johnson

“Invisible Love” by Siraf Arts

“Protocol” by Monetta Little-Ragan

“Abeline” by Mel Harris

“ARCADE” by Leila Guerrios

“A Lesson Learned” by Maggie Bayne

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about two people who aren't admitting their true feelings for one another, despite it being obvious to outsiders.

Write a story that includes the line, "Is nobody going to say it?".

In a small town, a powerful family have a dark secret that nobody wants to discuss. One day, an outsider arrives, who's not happy to simply drop it.

Set your story in a world where conversation about one particular topic is banned — but there are ways to get around the rule.

Contest #259

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

297

Contest entries

143

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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