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John K Adams

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Aug, 2019

Stories (301)
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958 Followers
1172 Following

301 Stories

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Queen Mab

Submitted to Contest #258

August Grand stood on the front porch of what had been his mother’s house. It needed paint. Floorboards needed replacing. Intermittent bumping announced the breeze had found a loose shutter. He knocked the antique knocker three times.It had been years. Memories flooded – not all good.He looked at his daughter, Sage, with mixed emotions. Almost old enough to drive, she wanted to spend time with his siblings. ‘Live and learn,’ he thought.They waited for Ginny, his sister, to answer. The curtain moved and the latch clicked. Ginny opened the doo...

22 likes 9 comments 9
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Doubles

Submitted to Contest #257

The twinkling lights strung from the trees made the patio a magical experience. Light music from the acoustic trio filtered up to them. Mark and Sandy’s favorite restaurant, they always came for their anniversary and often throughout the year. While waiting for the hostess to escort them, Mark discreetly placed his hand on Sandy’s bottom. She swatted it away with a laugh. “Mark!”“I couldn’t help it. It begged me.”She flashed her smile. “Did I tell you how great you look in that dress?”“Yes. Thank you, again. Your hand confirmed it… Thought o...

19 likes 15 comments 15
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LEAF BLOWER CANTATA

Submitted to Contest #257

ACT I-Scene 1-SETTING: A small neighborhood cafe.AT RISE: SAMMY, 30's, is seated at the central table.BEN, 30's, agitated, enters.BENYou won't believe it. I am so fed up to here.SAMMYYou're late.BENI know. Where's David?SAMMYI don't know. He's late too. Have a seat.BEN          (Moves about)I'm going to file a lawsuit. They are a plague!SAMMYWho?BEN      Leaf blowers! Don't you know what they are doing to this city?SAMMYLeaf blowers?BENThey kick up dust. They're ...

18 likes 13 comments 13
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In the Moment

Submitted to Contest #256

Hector finished the sparring round. His second touched gloves with him and left the ring. Hector leaned on the ropes. Heart pounding, his lungs ached for breath. ‘How many punches make a round?’Vinnie, his manager, approached the ring smiling like a shark. A snappy dresser, he shopped at the thrift store across from the used car lot.“Great job, kid! Keep that up, you’ll mop the floor with him. You’ll have Reese begging for mercy. This is your moment. Everything will be different after Saturday night.”Hector didn’t understand. “My moment?”His...

14 likes 14 comments 14
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Promises – based on a true story

Submitted to Contest #255

When Jeannie, Gil’s wife died, he stopped going to church. He’d take his son, Cliff, to the twenty-minute Mass at the French church on Christmas and Easter. Gil preferred watching the ducks in the early light from atop the bridge in Cass Park. That was his place of worship. It felt more real. From that vantage he sensed the whole world arising as sunlight shone through the treetops.Before they married, he and Jeannie threw stale bread to the ducks and laughed at their jostling for morsels. Meadowlarks sang arias from the trees. It felt ...

19 likes 16 comments 16
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Ballroom Casanova

Submitted to Contest #254

Noel Needham humbly credited women’s attraction to him to one simple fact. He always wore a suit jacket to his weekly, ballroom dancing class. His refined look outclassed other men wearing sport shirts and shorts. He believed presentation was everything. His tux was reserved for competitions. Of course, there was more to his popularity than snappy clothes. Noel was a master conversationalist. Bon mots and flattery tripped easily off his tongue as he led partners in effortless dips and turns. His physical grace and entertaining demeanor had w...

14 likes 20 comments 20
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Counterfeit

Submitted to Contest #252

Meeting longtime friends from her college days, Bonnie entered the club head held high. She saw pals, Chelsea, Nicole and Eileen sitting in a booth against the back wall. Bonnie’s emotions soared and dove. Navigating her way toward them, she felt drawn like a balloon in the wake of a cruise ship. Friends can be brutal. Would they notice the changes? Would they approve? Could they be honest? ‘Do I want the truth?’She hadn’t seen any of them since before her surgery. This could be an ordeal. Unless one knew, the work she’d had done was invisib...

21 likes 18 comments 18
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The Witness

Submitted to Contest #251

Dmitri disembarked from the plane at about 1 am. He hated the red eye. ‘I’m getting too old for this,’ he thought. Except for his fellow passengers, the cavernous terminal stood empty. Signs in the local language directed him to baggage claim and customs. He took the steps down. There was no escalator. With his backpack slung over his shoulder, he joined the throng at customs.Dmitri mulled over the cryptic email he’d gotten the previous day from his old friend Matthias.‘Need you to take a walk. Do not contact. You don’t know me. Visa, ticket...

15 likes 4 comments 4
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Diamonds, At Least

Submitted to Contest #250

Ben pulled Warren aside. He checked to see if anyone could hear. This was important.“I have to tell you something. But you have to promise you won’t tell anyone else. No one.”“Sure. What’s up?”“I found… a treasure.” Warren’s eyes widened. “What kind…?”“You have to see. Come over after school. I’ll show you.”Thrown together in their seventh-grade home room, Warren became Ben’s best friend. He’d never laughed so much in his life. Some of their teachers had reconfigured their seating charts five times in two months. A record.~A classic latchkey...

14 likes 6 comments 6
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Ya, Sure

Submitted to Contest #249

Valentina stood in the entrance to Palace Pizza. The breeze rippled her flower print dress. She brushed dark hair from her face. Awestruck, Dan’s and Seth’s mouths fell open. Patrick pointed at them, mocking, until he turned and saw her. He consciously suppressed the urge to approach her in adoration.She entered, passed the order counter and walked directly to the juke box. There, she pulled a roll of quarters from her purse, deposited one into the slot and pressed C-14.In a moment, the song, ‘Ya, Sure,’ began to play. A ballad of lost love,...

14 likes 13 comments 13
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Desperate Remedies

Submitted to Contest #248

Joaquin found himself in an unfamiliar neighborhood. Late for his meeting, attempting to avoid a clogged freeway, he took an exit. Now he was in it deep. Food trucks and sidewalk vendors lined the congested street. Brake lights glowed. Small time entrepreneurs moved from car-to-car hawking food, flowers and souvenirs. Colorful flags snapped in the breeze. A busker played an accordion. The mood was festive. Joaquin wasn’t in the mood.His autodial called the office where his meeting awaited. Project developers wanted his input. And dollars.The...

19 likes 11 comments 11
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Uncharted

Submitted to Contest #247

Cody thrived in his well-controlled world. He worked hard and played video games into the night. The vitality of the game’s characters inspired him. If they wanted something, they took it with style. He envied characters untethered by imposed social niceties. He loved exploring the secrets hidden within each new level. He wanted that life.Onscreen, his life was simple and direct. Those who dared interfere with his desires for a woman, a car or other treasures found life was brutish and short.Cody’d been up all night. And he’d left no one sta...

17 likes 9 comments 9
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Play Time

Submitted to Contest #246

Perched atop the monkey bars, London and Amelia compared notes on their new teachers. Now in fourth grade, London had Amelia’s teacher last year.Amelia asked, “You like Mrs. Eval?”“She was so great. I learned a ton.”“Who knew there was so much to know?”“Yeah, this year feels kinda like reruns. Okay, I get vowels. We need them, I guess. But let’s move forward, okay?”Amelia saw their friend, Daisy, lock her bike and enter the park. As if sleepwalking, her languid pace contrasted with the screaming children running about. A kicked ball narrowly...

21 likes 9 comments 9
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Cute As…

Submitted to Contest #244

I never expected to become a fashion icon. Does anyone? I’m the last possible candidate for such status. I never considered the potential impact of paparazzi, photo shoots, or celebrity on my simple life. There were none. My time was my own, until…But here I am, standing in the wings. (Wings – get it?) While awaiting my debut, I’m fighting off butterflies. My life transformed after that photograph went viral. Of course, Phil isn’t a mere photographer. He discovered me. He has vision. We became friends. He’s my trusted manager.And, thanks to ...

20 likes 19 comments 19
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The Lovers

Submitted to Contest #242

The young docent, Simone, led her group into the final gallery of the tour. They gasped at seeing the museum’s most popular painting, ‘The Lovers,’ by Veneer. It depicted a young couple realizing their love for each other.Eyes shining, as if in worship, they couldn’t look away. The tour group strained against the velvet ropes. They wanted to enter the painting. Exclaiming, they pointed at details, like the doves nesting in a branch above the reclining figures. And the raven watching from the shadows of the verdant foliage bursting with flowe...

23 likes 12 comments 12
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