Menu

Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog
Directory
Contests
Magazine
FAQ

John K Adams

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Aug, 2019

Stories (294)
Comments
Library
947 Followers
1156 Following

294 Stories

8818 karma pts

?

DMV in Retrograde

Shortlisted for Contest #198 ⭐️

“You nervous?”“A little. You know… I’ll be okay.”“I’m sure you will. I’ll be at the café. Text me when you’re ready.”Corey, fifteen-and-a-half-years-old, repeated ‘You got this,’ to himself. If only he believed it.He’d driven hundreds of miles practicing over the last few months. But until he passed this test, to the world, he knew squat.First tests… firsts of anything are mysterious to the uninitiated. Rites of passage used to mean something. Crossing that line meant leaving childhood forever. He’d take on the mantel of adulthood and everyt...

30 likes 22 comments 22
Read story

The Olympics Gamed

Submitted to Contest #197

Mars, the god of war, clapped his hands and addressed the crowd. “Welcome! What a beautiful morning here on Mount Olympus.” The crowd cheered. Epimetheus suppressed an ironic smile. The god of afterthought and the father of excuses considered his lowly status amongst his peers. “Some gods get all the breaks. Why is the god of war presiding over the opening of the Olympic Games?” No one answered him. Sitting on his lonely cloud, the other gods considered his location ‘nosebleed’ territory. Mars continued, “Minotaur, Chimera and Cerberus wa...

12 likes 7 comments 7
Read story

If Only

Submitted to Contest #196

‘Drab. Who would design anything in drab?’ Carole looked around. It seemed everything sang a dirge of that same ‘blah’ color. Evelyn entered. Carole stopped sketching and watched her daughter make herself breakfast. She sat opposite her mother without speaking. “Good morning…” Evelyn nodded and took a bite. Carole returned to her sketch but soon set the charcoal onto the table. “Is something wrong? Are you not speaking to me?” Evelyn swallowed. “You always say not to talk with my mouth full.” She took another bite. Carole rolled her eyes...

12 likes 10 comments 10
Read story

The Front Man

Submitted to Contest #195

‘Here we go,’ thought Angel, standing outside the rear entrance of Joaquin’s. About to start his shift as busboy, he wondered, ‘Should I go in? I never felt like this.’ He weighed his options. ‘Why should I quit? It’s not my problem. Let them sort it out. Why should I start over?’ The door burst open. Pretending graciousness, waiters, Diego and Cisco offered each other the door. Then jostling, they squeezed through together. Diego pointed a finger in the other waiter’s face. “Not cool, Cisco. You don’t poach customers.” He scoffed. “You’re ...

15 likes 11 comments 11
Read story

Seed Crystal

Submitted to Contest #194

Ian needed an entry point for his story. No portal, no story.The sun shone through his window, creating a bright trapezoid on his floor. Dust drifted through the beam. The house was quiet.All he needed was a simple dust mote on which his story’s beautiful snow flake could form. He could pick any one.‘Always to the dust returning.’Ian never called it ‘writer’s block.’ ‘That’s a faulty understanding of the problem.’ Ian felt he needed to find this story’s crystalizing agent. With enough research and life experience he could conjure a story on ...

17 likes 8 comments 8
Read story

Hamster Wheel

Submitted to Contest #192

Elaine said, “I hate to tell you this…” Greg looked up from his newspaper. “What?” “Oh, never mind.” “Elaine, what?” “I don’t want to fight.” “Who’s fighting? Talk.” “We’re… in a rut.” “We are?” He reached for her. “Greg, our hamster wheel...” He stared. “It rattles and spins but never goes anywhere.” “Uhm, Honey, if it rolled away, you’d lose the hamster…” Elaine rolled her eyes. “Never mind…” “No, what’s this about?” “We’re too comfortable.” “You want discomfort?” “We used to have adventures. I don’t want to watch the clock until qui...

15 likes 9 comments 9
Read story

Eric’s Last Stand

Submitted to Contest #191

Was this Eric’s last stand? He hoped not. But the past year made him think it might be. Eric stood before the one room cabin. It was his, a gift from Simon, his dying friend. Eric had never seen it before. Spiders had spun brocades under the eaves. He felt numb. That was an improvement over the despair he’d nurtured lately. Maybe numbness was something he could build upon, use as a springboard. Regardless, numbness would do for now. He’d heard, ‘nothing to be done,’ too often. The doctors said it about his late mother, before she passed. To ...

18 likes 9 comments 9
Read story

Yuuna’s Ghost

Submitted to Contest #191

Suggested by, ‘101 Zen Koans,’ by Secret of Zen. Riku’s young wife, Yuuna, became ill. The doctor’s tried everything but told Riku to prepare, her death was nigh. Riku loved Yuuna deeply. Seeing her suffer tortured him. He gladly tended to her smallest need until she was gone. When she became too weak to stand, she said, “I may not last the night. But I’ll always be with you. Promise me, you won’t find another woman. If you do, I’ll haunt your memories and bring you trouble all your days.” Yuuna passed away that night. Riku mourned her...

22 likes 12 comments 12
Read story

Easy Peasy

Submitted to Contest #190

“Speak now,” Kurt told his wife, Madison. She heard her brother, Lionel’s, voice through the phone. “Hello? Mad? You there?” The previous week’s events flooded Madison’s memory. So much unnecessary drama. They hadn’t seen each other since their mother’s memorial. She suggested meeting up. Big deal. She would fly to see her daughter, Wilma, in Seattle. Why couldn’t he meet in the middle? Portland’s halfway between Seattle and Los Angeles. One state each way. Travel is so difficult. And family connection, so important. On Monday, fishing for e...

10 likes 5 comments 5
Read story

Roads Not Taken

Submitted to Contest #189

“In the middle of the journey of our life I came to myself within a dark wood where the straight path was lost.”           Dante “You okay?” Driving, Anton glanced at his wife, Renee. “Sure. Thinking. Why?” “We’re not there yet. But you were slowing. You know, checking in.” “It’s nothing… Well, it’s, you know.” She nodded. “Damn road is so dark. And, to be honest, I’m dreading this ‘reunion,’ tonight.” “Why? These are your friends. High school, right?” He nodded. “You’ve known them long...

10 likes 4 comments 4
Read story

The Catch

Submitted to Contest #188

“So, what’s the catch, Mom?” Marilyn hated Adam’s incessant disputing everything she said. ‘Six years old, and such an attitude.’ Giving birth was the easy part. She gained no status from that task. Adam kept her playing catch up. Always one, no, ten steps behind. How did he get so smart? Though glad of that, his sharp tongue exhausted her. To Adam, she could do no right. Before he could talk was really hell. “It’ll be fun. You’ll see your friends. And make new ones.” She knelt beside him. “You’ll learn new things… reading, writing. Your wor...

12 likes 6 comments 6
Read story

Playing the Odds

Submitted to Contest #186

“Hey, Ryan.” “Foley! What’s up?” “You hear ‘bout the lotto?” “Of course! Bought a ticket.” “You? I thought you didn’t believe in that…” “I don’t. But with a prize of almost a billion, I figured… can’t hurt. Doing my part. Goes to the schools and all that…” “You said some politician skims...” “Same dif. They take their cut either way… I figure it’s a win-win. Brings the customers in.” “You have an edge because you’re the licensed seller…?” “Course not, Fole. How would that look? Bought an app though. Uses algorithms to shave a few points off ...

19 likes 7 comments 7
Read story

Of Breath and Blood

Submitted to Contest #185

Princess Hannah awakened in dim, cold light. Her head ached. Confined within rigid walls, she couldn’t move. Something smelled bad. Groping to consciousness, she sensed eyes upon her. Grotesque faces watched wherever she turned. But moving she realized they were reflections of herself. As bad as she felt, she hoped these hideous images were not true. ‘No princess could survive looking so wretched. Am I dead? If I look like that, this must be hell.’ Memories of last night’s palace ball came in fragments. The minstrel artfully played his lyr...

16 likes 9 comments 9
Read story

Cape Not Included

Submitted to Contest #184

“Houston, we have a problem.” It was the same, old, never changing story. Houston Feerless was no superhero. He knew that. And most of Belleville knew that. But they treated him like one. Everyone called him for almost anything at all. People have problems. Houston almost always fixed them. He couldn’t get a moment’s peace. If the phone wasn’t ringing, someone was knocking his door, or leaving a note on his windshield. He couldn’t say how it got to this point. He’d grown up in Belleville, always willing to help. But when did he become the...

9 likes 6 comments 6
Read story

Golden Thread

Submitted to Contest #183

Harry didn’t wait for his first art class to begin painting. He completed his first canvas before the instructor, Mr. Ambrose arrived. Several blanks leaned against the back of his chair. Mr. Ambrose described his expectations. He required but one complete canvas by semester’s end. But he would decide what ‘complete’ meant. “Paint what you like. Put your heart into it. Fill the canvas. This is Painting 101. Not cartooning. Not sketching. Explore the limits of the canvas. Use it. Whether a flower, a portrait, or a landscape, create a new uni...

18 likes 6 comments 6
Read story