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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a story about an outsider or social outcast who will do anything to fit in.

Posted in Angst on Nov 15, 2024

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✍️ 42 stories

“The Space Between” by Kashira Argento

Submitted to Contest #277

Sara learned early that there were lines drawn in the world - visible ones that separated properties and parishes, and invisible ones that cut through communities, marking who belonged and who didn't. In Millbrook, population 2,847, her line was drawn before she even took her first breath."Born in sin," the whispers followed her through Sunday school, where mothers pulled their daughters closer as she passed. Her own mother worked double shifts at the diner, leaving Sara to find her place in the world, to navigate the spaces between belongin...

13 comments 13
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“Busting Down the Barriers” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #277

                                 Busting Down the Barriers      Fred Bersentzen refused to allow a roadblock planted in front of him in his youth to stand in the way of his destiny.  In fact, he decided to use the constant fight to reach beyond that which held him back to hit the bullseye on his target to success, happiness and fulfillment. &nbs...

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“Justice or Injustice? You Decide!” by Charlotte Morse

Submitted to Contest #277

Swear words. Sexual abuse.Ben’s dreams were small, to have friends and for children to call round to play. But this never happened. He was, instead, the butt of their jokes and the innocent recipient of their brutal bullying. He was fourteen, with Downs Syndrome.As I stacked the final pieces of washing-up the doorbell rang and, quickly drying my hands, I opened the door to discover a group of seven girls, aged ten or eleven, standing outside. I’d spotted Ben hovering at the top of the stairs, waiting to see who the caller was.“Is Ben ‘ere?” ...

6 comments 6
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“Bill” by Arwen Aungle

Submitted to Contest #277

This contains violence, sexual abuse and alcoholism.Bill wanted to be a Bill more than anything. Except his name wasn't actually Bill. He joined the Society of Bill's under false pretences. Bill was actually named Bhandanattaram by his mother when he was born. Bill desperately needed his name to be Bill. He believed that by being Bill, instead of being Bhandanattaram, he would somehow succeed at everything in life. He lived with this hope burning inside. His eyes shone with the fervour of it. The light didn't know him either. The light that ...

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“Daughter of the Telephone” by Chaewon (Chloe) Kwon

Submitted to Contest #277

The day I became the Daughter of the Telephone, the reds, purples, and blues threw stones at me. Grey ones, like they knew what I was made of. I lived in the grey house with no windows, where the only things I had were a bed, a table, and a mirror. Grey things, like me. Grey skin, grey hair, grey eyes. The child of the grey house, as if that explained everything. They hated me. I felt ugly. The ache in my stomach wasn’t hunger—it was emptiness, a cavity where something human used to liveThe stones hit my skin like bullets, ricocheting off th...

1 comment 1
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“Listing Popularity ” by Erin Twohey

Submitted to Contest #277

It's easy to observe. I would not go so far as to call it a skill - however, it is evident that the people who always get to participate never take the time to observe.I am an observer. It is unclear whether I am an observer because I am an outsider or if I am an outsider because I am an observer. But how else would I get to be like them? Some may call is desperation, or simply just sad. They can stay on the bottom. I will never hang out with the losers. I will be popular or nothing at all. Through observation, I have learned who is pop...

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“Alpha Beta Sigma” by Nikko DeGoya

Submitted to Contest #277

Life was going perfectly—at least, it seemed that way. I had just moved in with my girlfriend, Mya, at the local state school, and I was part of the rushing process for Alpha Beta Sigma, the most elite frat on campus. Everything was falling into place. Over the past week, I’d met the brothers, proved my worth, and fit right in. Why wouldn’t I? Back home, I was the star of the football team, and most people thought I had the charm to match. Today's frat event was the infamous "Volleyball Blast" at the frat house, just a few blocks from where ...

0 comments 0
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“The Angry Duckling” by S. D. Vogt

Submitted to Contest #277

Once upon a time in the tumultous waters of high school, an ugly duckling longed to swim in a pond full of the most beautiful swans. Though beauty is said to be in the eye of the beholder, the flock had long ago decided that the duckling was too different to belong to their kind. Only eighteen years of age, her little wings had grown weary from trying to catch up to her peers. Day after day, she paddled twice as hard as the others, yet she always fell behind. This duckling was, of course, a young girl. And high school, with all its jagged e...

2 comments 2
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“Silk” by Henry Zahn

Submitted to Contest #277

Early mornings, well before his father’s shift, a posse of trucks and trailers would park outside the breeding shed. Billy had no interest in what went on, other that the fact that it woke him up. So, he watched.        The trucks would sit there—their heavy idle engines humming—until the driver side door opened, initiating the same series of events. The big door off the back peeled open, falling hard, it’s hinges whining, then out comes a very small man with a rope attached to a horse. They’d clamber ...

2 comments 2
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“Cob” by Justin Hughes

Submitted to Contest #277

Cob dragged his dark, stone legs over the next clump of soil and grass, grunting in exhaustion. His rugged, rocky limbs ached violently, but not nearly as much as his heart. He yearned for something—something he wasn’t sure he could ever reach. However, he’d be damned if he didn’t try.At the top of the starlit hill, he straightened his posture, standing firm and tall, and gazed up at the midnight sky. He could see everything he had ever wanted in those stars.He carefully arranged his words in a polite manner in his mind, preparing to speak h...

1 comment 1
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“Between Shine and Shadow” by Luke DeRoy

Submitted to Contest #277

Lionel brushed his hands on his keyboard, having typed not a key in the hours that had passed since lunch. The sun shone brightly. November afternoons in Western Massachusetts were getting warmer every year. He thought about his prospects after work. He debated whether he would go for a walk or visit the library, perhaps read awhile on its front lawn like he used to. Most likely, he thought, he would go home, crawl into bed, and turn up the TV really loud. Cold Case Files. And he needed beer.Cheryl and John’s voices drifted over the cubicle ...

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“Crows' Tale” by Conor Murcar

Submitted to Contest #277

Clouds stretched out across the sky like a blanket with golden light spilling through. A dirt path cut through an open field, its edges covered in lush vegetation and dotted with Black-eyed Susan flowers swaying gently in the breeze. In the distance, the gentle roar of a river flowed over the meadow’s quiet song. At the heart of the field stood a single red maple tree, its deep red leaves dancing against the cloudy sky. On one of its extended branches, two crows perched, their feathers black as midnight.  The crows sat in silence, their...

1 comment 1
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“The price of popularity:” by Cohdee Dimarco

Submitted to Contest #277

By Cohdee Dimarco, 14 My breath shuddered as the icy wind lashed against my skin, its cruel touch biting into my thick curls now glazed with ice. I stood uncomfortably at the towering gates, their dark shadows looming over me. In the distance, children’s laughter and shrill screams echoed—grating on my ears like nails on a chalkboard. Desperately, I clasped my hands over them, trying to drown it all out. “Mika, are you alright, darling?” A warm, firm hand pressed against my back. I turned to see my soft-hearted aunt Susan, her gaze filled wi...

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“The Beggar of Josseah (A Tale of Tarot #4, As Written by The Fool)” by John Divinagracia

Submitted to Contest #277

The Hermit’s name was Sangaroa. For many days he traveled on roads flattened by oxen-pulled carts or on trails not even hunters in their forest dens knew existed. He used a sturdy stick to support his unsteady and gaunt frame, and he tucked himself warm and dry with rags he could pick up along the way. But one night in his travels through the land, rainfall lathered the path. The Hermit sought for shelter but found none save for the village of Josseah. Lights glowed from windows. Silhouettes of families and friends darted within warm homes....

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“The Voice of Thousands” by Bailey Graham

Submitted to Contest #277

You’ve heard the rumors more than anyone. It’s the only way you get to be a part of the conversation. Through the rumors, the conversations that fill the air. They circle around you, filling your head to the brim with hope. A creature, a light, an abomination lurking in the caves just outside of town. People have claimed to see it, have talked to it, and have come back with different descriptions and interactions with the beast. “It can grant you your deepest desire.” Desire is a strange way to describe what you want, but it does the job. ...

1 comment 1
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