Brittany Gillen

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jan, 2020

Stories (10)

10 Stories

406 karma pts

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“Protecting My Potatoes” by Brittany Gillen

Submitted to Contest #92

Crouched low, underneath the boardwalk, I peered through the slats to see six superheroes flying over my hiding spot.  None of them glanced my way, but I knew if I set even one toe outside the boardwalk’s shadow, I would be spotted.  Looking out through the bushes to the ocean side, I counted fifteen more superheroes playing volleyball on the beach, nine superfamilies building sandcastles, and six female superheroes sunbathing or reading a book.  My predicament was trouble of my own making.  I never sh...

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“Don't Feed the Visitors” by Brittany Gillen

Submitted to Contest #53

Seventy-two popsicles are currently melting as a result of my dying freezer.  Having that many on hand is ridiculous, I know.  I blame my wife.  She does the shopping.  Admittedly, I do the eating, but still, even for an avid enthusiast such as myself, seventy-two is a bit obsessive. My love of the cold combination of sugar and water began when I started to grow a beer-gut.  Oddly enough, I don’t drink beer, and yet, there it was.  My bulging belly, distorting my perfect waistline...

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“The Purple Bumper Pursuit” by Brittany Gillen

Submitted to Contest #50

The chase started because Milo was deaf.   Teddy and Milo were listening to music in Teddy’s bedroom on his MP3 player, and they were in the middle of an argument over the volume level.  Milo wanted to turn it up to eleven, and Teddy kept trying to convince him that if they didn’t turn it down his mom would come in and take it away.   As predicted, Teddy’s mom opened his door and pointed to the player in Teddy’s hand. “Too loud boys,” she yelled.  â€śYou couldn’t even hear me knocking on the door!”...

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“Counting to Six Hundred” by Brittany Gillen

Submitted to Contest #49

The life of a snail is not as dull as you think.  Most people assume that, because snails are slow, they never go anywhere.  Well, most people are wrong.  I go places. I’ve seen the whole lake! How is that possible you ask?  You just have to be patient and wait for it.  That is what I am doing right now.  Waiting.  Snails are good at waiting. Today is my nephew Archibald’s birthday.  The first swirl on his shell is complete, signaling his readiness to separ...

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“A Fowl Liberation” by Brittany Gillen

Submitted to Contest #27

The train was set to leave the station at midnight, full to the brim with merchandise and passengers travelling from Omaha, West to the California coast. The engineer, Tommy, let out a slow breath and watched it crystalize in the air.  It was going to be a cold night and a long quiet ride.  He pulled his parka closer around his face and felt the warm fur tickle his nose.  Shivering, he pulled himself into the engine, and with one last wave to Fred the stationmaster, he released the brakes and headed out int...

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“Crickets, An Ugly Rug and Impulsivity” by Brittany Gillen

Submitted to Contest #25

Frank’s New Year’s Resolutions parties were the worst.  Every year he invited us over to his house on the first Saturday in January for brunch and resolution planning, and every year Cassie, Judy and I had no choice but to schlep over to his apartment to “start the year off right.”  Frank had been my best friend since childhood, so I knew how much of a thrill he derived from a goal accomplished, but seriously, he did enough resolution planning with his life-coaching clients.  I don’t know why he had to do it wit...

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“The Unexpected Bounty” by Brittany Gillen

Submitted to Contest #25

Pam stood at the end of the aisle and took a deep breath.  Only one book, she told herself.  Only one book.“Excuse me,” a voice said from behind her.“Oh, sorry,” she apologized, stepping to the side and pushing her hair behind her ear.  â€śI didn’t mean to create a log jam.”  Pam laughed nervously.“No worries,” the girl behind her said.  She walked into the aisle and stopped about halfway down, slowly scanning the titles with her finger.Pam couldn’t help but stare.  The girl was way t...

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“Bioluminescence in the Interstellar” by Brittany Gillen

Submitted to Contest #24

Wrong, wrong, wrong.How could this be happening? Every single reading Jerrie took didn’t make sense.  Yesterday, the readings were spot on, perfectly in range.  Today… today was just wrong.  Most scientists felt a thrill when readings turned uncharacteristic, hoping for a breakthrough discovery, but Jerrie knew that her readings were not uncharacteristic.  They were just wrong.  She also knew the reason.“Charlie!”For the last two months, she had been living in a tiny research capsule jus...

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“Winter In A Day” by Brittany Gillen

Submitted to Contest #23

Experiencing winter sounded like a good vacation suggestion.  The word winter literally had the word “win” in it, so it had to be fantastic.  The only decision left to make was where?  I remembered from my science class that every part of the Earth experienced some form of winter during the year.  Winter was really just a word that meant the opposite of summer, and I had experienced plenty of summer in my three decades of life. I wanted to experience winter in all its traditional glory.  Cold...

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“Danny’s Delectable Diet Drink” by Brittany Gillen

Submitted to Contest #23

“Is it safe?”       Mandy swirled the purple liquid around the bottom of her chipped mug.  Then she lifted it to her face and sniffed.  Her nose wrinkled.       â€śOf course,” I assured her.  â€śI tested it on Boris this afternoon.”       Mandy looked over at my tiny teacup puppy.  Boris gazed up at her with his big fluffy face and then proceeded to vomit large green chunks all over the floor. &nbs...

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Author bio

Brittany Gillen is a stay-at-home mom living in Michigan, USA. She loves writing and reading stories in all genres.