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John K Adams

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Aug, 2019

Stories (295)
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949 Followers
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295 Stories

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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...

22 likes 12 comments 12
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One Size Fits

Submitted to Contest #241

Britney offered her friends a plastic container filled with cookies made ‘all by myself.’Kerri held up her hand and shook her head. She’d tried the last and previous batches. Friend or not, there are limits.Taylor sighed, picked one and eyed it as if examining forensic evidence. She felt Britney watching as she nibbled and suppressed a wince.The three sat at their usual lunchtime table under the trees in the school patio. Lunch was almost over.“I made them myself with my Easy Bake Oven,” Britney said. Every time she brought cookies, which wa...

7 likes 9 comments 9
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Only Human

Submitted to Contest #240

Coffee splashed against the wall from the Styrofoam cup. A former baseball pitcher, Rex had aimed well. Fresh coffee ran down the wall over old coffee stains. A few people in the crowded break room flinched, but most ignored his outburst. They were used to it. Anita ran to mop up the spill with a cloth. She stood and shook the crumpled cup at Rex.“Get out of here, idiot. Don’t come back in here until you can act like a human being.”He laughed and sat at a table.Wyatt moved to Rex and murmured. “Let’s go. Take a walk. Cool off.”After a moment...

9 likes 6 comments 6
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Parked Up

Submitted to Contest #239

Jill leaned on the dashboard as Noah pulled into the parking structure. “I can’t thank you enough for driving me today.” He said, “You know I’d do anything for you. We came together.” Noah retrieved the ticket from the machine and watched the gate rise. Red lights on the tally board displayed available parking spaces. The first twenty-one floors read ‘FULL.’ A line of cars idled up the incline ahead of them. The glow of hundreds of brake lights lit their faces. Noah couldn’t believe how long it had been since he’d seen Jill. Friends since gr...

21 likes 12 comments 12
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Reunion

Submitted to Contest #236

Bags by the door, waiting for his car, Dashiell Holt rang up Aria, his ‘sig-o.’ Their shorthand for ‘significant other,’ ‘sig-o’ recently went viral on social media.Hearing her phone, Aria called for a break in the modeling session. The photographer nodded. Aria waved the make-up girl away.Dashiell said, “Hi, sorry to interrupt, babe. Calling to tell you I’m off to my reunion.”“You’re leaving now? Don’t go alone. Catch the next flight…”He said, “It’s okay. You’re busy. It’ll be dreary torture. And probably embarrassing.”“That sounds like a t...

10 likes 15 comments 15
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Debt

Submitted to Contest #235

Ryan peered over his newspaper as Jesse entered the coffee shop and walked to the counter. Hating surprises, Ryan always sat where he could see the door. ‘What’s he doing here? Does he never stop?’ Ryan knew his nemesis always appeared without warning. Though it sometimes felt there was no escape, he prided himself on always finding an out. ‘Look at him. He can go anywhere, any time, and savor a rich, extra foam cappuccino, while I pinch pennies on the go. So unfair.’ In no hurry, Jesse stood as if modeling his tailored suit, awaiting his t...

15 likes 6 comments 6
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Twice Twenty-one

Submitted to Contest #234

Sitting at the bar in Tavernier’s Pub, Arlene stared at the glass of ice that had held her drink. The place was nearly deserted. She wished she was elsewhere. ‘What am I going to do?’ Wiping glasses, Ken, the bartender eyed her. She signaled for another. ‘What can I do? What happened? Too much to wish for a second chance?’ She thought about her twenty-year marriage to Charlie. ‘So much promise gone south… What did I miss?’ Ken replaced her empty with a fresh drink. He wiped the bar top. Arlene said, “Thanks, Ken.” Returning her look he coc...

8 likes 4 comments 4
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