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A weekly short story contest
Author on Reedsy Prompts since Nov, 2023
Submitted to Contest #280
âH-hello everyone. My name is Liz Landers. And goodness, there sure are a lot of you. Iâll try to make this quick but as my mama always says when I get started nothing can shut me up again.Like one time at my Grannyâs Iâ âOkay, I see that look you're giving me maâam. Iâll stay on track. So about five months ago I came home from my first year of college and I was broke poor. My parents said they were gonna kick me out if I didnât start making some money and the streets didnât sound too comfy so I went around town looking for work. âIt took a ...
  My name is Alisha Turner and I woke up in a good mood on a sunny morning. I pulled apart the blinds to see my weird neighbor Karson dragging my dead dog Bernie across his backyard. Unfortunately, this is not the first dead animal I've seen Karson handle. When we were ten our neighborhood had a problem with rats which mysteriously started clearing up on its own. One night I was putting some food out for Bernie when I saw Karson taking bags of deceased rats and dragging them to the shed. I guess I thought maybe it was some sor...
The bus driver was nervous. Bernice could tell because he was speeding more than usual and he had a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead. He had the news station on his radio and he seemed to be barely paying attention to the road. He kept looking at the sky like he thought it was about to fall. It almost made Bernice laugh. Heâd been that way for 67 days. Why was he still so scared? They reached the middle school where Bernice and her fellow 8th graders got off. The bus driver gave them a distracted: âDo good in school.â Before he drove off ...
Recipe For Disaster Ingredients-1 Middle School (perhaps it could be called LittleBrooke Middle)-1 New Kid (who could be called Micheal)-1 Bully (possibly a kid in your class named Kaden Price who has spent the better part of 3 years trying to make your life a living nightmare)-300 Afternoons spent in a locker-3 Years-1 Negligent teacher (Mrs. Price)-1 Unhelpful Principle (Mr. Principal)-2 Best Friends-1 Dangerous Idea-1 16 oz Soda-3 Fireworks-1 Celebratory PicnicInstructions:Take the bully (Kaden) and the teacher (Mrs. Price), and mix...
The grim reaper is still following me. I look behind me to check again. The Reaper is about 20 feet away and gaining. As I speed up I pass a zombie, a wizard, a ninja turtle, a ballerina, 7 witches, a knight in âshiningâ armor, and a middle-aged man with the words âIâm a muggleâ on his shirt. I try to wipe off the sticky mud on my shirt. Each costumed child (and middle aged muggle) holding a pillowcase bursting with candy. In my neighborhood we take Halloween seriously. There are full on fistfightsâand sword fights, depending on the co...
â109 Ways to Suddenly and Violently Die In Idaho Falls.â I glanced up at Linh with a âwhat is thisâ look in my eye. Linh nodded eagerly. âYes! See! See!â âUm, no,â I answered. The thin paperback book in Linhâs hand titled 109 Ways to Suddenly and Violently Die In Idaho Falls held exactly no answers for me, and I told Linh so with a look. In my mind the look said: âI know what youâre doing and would you please, please stop already.â But it may have just been a confused look since Linh took the chance to immediately start talking. âSudden and ...
Submitted to Contest #241
Niko woke up to the sound of a gunshot. Luckily for Niko his life did not end with that sound, as would be expected. âSugar snaps!â That was another thing you would probably need to know about Niko (the first being he was not already dead), he had an obsession with food that blended into his language, that and he was, to put it plainly, pretty weird.Niko tore through his living room where he had fallen asleep doing history homework, his books and papers flying everywhere, and raced to his bedroom. The gunshot sound had been loud (as gun...
Of course, it started innocently enough. Most incidents do. At first no one was particularly worried. Theyâd done enough worrying. It was âtime to healâ as the principal said. Anyway, things go missing all the time. Especially at schools. And especially-especially at middle schools. No one even noticed until a Monday in february.That day the students, all twenty-two of them, filed into class. Talking loudly, chattering. Earbuds in, music playing. It wasnât until the eighth graders were seated that they realized something was amiss. One ...
The little bakery was bustling on a chilly Friday afternoon. The decorations of red and white hearts were littered across the counter and walls. Advertising a Buy-One-Get-One-Free cake sale in honor of Valentine's day. The mood overall was joyful. There were, however, few exceptions. The first being the couple in the five seat booth. They had gone from yelling, to crying, to pleading in the last twenty minutes and the owner was considering booting them. But there was no need. The girl ran from the cafe screaming that he was âruining he...
âWe have all the time in the world,â Cayenne says, nonchalantly leaning against a shelf of macaroni and cheese. It's basically her catchphrase. She says it all the time. You swallow nervously. Youâve never been able to say no to Cayenne before and you canât now. Sheâs a good friend and all but that's not what makes it so hard to say no. Thereâs something magnetic about her. Nobody can say no. At first you were surprised when she began to talk to you. You were sure she was speaking to the non-existent person behind you or perhaps the i...
The young girl only awoke because her head had slipped from its precarious perch on the window glass and bonked her in the arm. But now that she was awake she felt a sense of anxiety. Like a thousand butterflies swirling in her insides. What if she missed it again?Her cheek was sticky from being smashed onto the glass and her arms were asleep. She knew she shouldnât fall asleep again but she was oh-so-sleepy. âLittle girls shouldn't be up this late.â That was what Daddy would say. But Daddy wasnât here right now.The little girl hummed a...
Once upon a time, on a cold Christmas Eve night, enchanting music and blinding lights guided guests to the Everest's house and out of the howling wind and frosty precipitation into the welcoming party. Far, far away, at the North Pole, elves were hard at work. Hammering, drilling, painting, carving, and preparing to bring joy to all the little boys and girls in just a few hours' time. Two such guests were Cora and Holly. Holly loved all things Christmas, including Conner Everestâs annual, supposedly famous, Christmas Eve party. Famous...
 The air was saturated with the scents of roasted pig, sweet caramels, toasted nuts, dried fruits and several more exciting foods. The smells would have been enticing if not for the vast amount of sweaty people hurrying along the narrow streets. The food mixed with the sweat made the air heavy and humid and some people went as far as to put a clotheâs pin on their noses. Of course, it was even worse for the cat crossing the walkway whose nose was fourteen times better than any humans. But the Cat didnât complain. Mostly because, being ...
All she had to do was survive three hours. Just three. Macy was better than this. Dinner at her house usually ended in verbal sparring, passive aggressive comments, and the occasional fistfight. But this year would be different. Well, Macy couldnât speak for her family members, but she would at least try harder. Macy wanted to enjoy her first thanksgiving back from college. Sheâd only been at college a few months and she was honestly missing her family. Okay, she was missing some of her family. The old, oak stairs leading to the front do...
âI still canât believe you did this to me.â Kelly said. The sun was starting to set and the red-pink sky was peaking through the window. Her time was almost up. âI know, ChĂ©ri,â Kellyâs blonde cousin, Gaby, said in her extremely fake French accent. Further worsened by the bad reception Kellyâs phone had. âIt isnât fair! Why must ve be sep-ou-ra-teed.â Kelly rolled her eyes. Gaby was still trying to perfect her French and it wasâŠnot going well. âThat was terrible, Gabs,â Carlos said, sticking his shaggy blonde head into the camera. Ke...
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