Kendall Defoe

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2020

Stories (152)

152 Stories

4909 karma pts

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“Monday Morning” by Kendall Defoe

“Next!”She did not mean to shout, but she knew what the morning would be like. The people waiting in line would be buying stamps, picking up packages, check post office boxes, etc…and then buying whatever groceries they could find in the drugstore before heading to the café or the metro. The day they decided to put her job in the middle of the brightness of a drugstore was the day she should have quit. But she was still here, after the move, wearing the uniform that indicated some level of responsibility and experience.Yes, ...

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“Notes for the Kingpin” by Kendall Defoe

Ms. Harold was dangling very precariously on a ladder as she searched for the box. It was another Friday and she was going to get this over with before the library closed. The usual patrons were in her section, including the usual teenage boys from the local Catholic school, St. Malachy. She would recognize their uniforms a mile away, especially after several years walking past their ogling and occasional whistling. At least they had to be quiet in the building, although they kept staring (dream on, boys). Apart from them, the usual loner...

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“''Flying Saucers?''” by Kendall Defoe

At first, no one believed it. No one who paid attention to the signals caught by scientists believed it. No one who heard rumours about those signals believed it. And when the press finally took the men and women in lab coats seriously, they still did not believe it. But it was true. Earth had received a signal and it was a message they could all understand: the planet had made first contact with life in outer space. The ce...

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“Let's Play a Game...” by Kendall Defoe

“Okay, we still have a ways to go… Wanna play a game? “Okay, let’s play, ‘I spy with my little eye…something that begins with the letter…’ Anyone? “Let’s start with L. Right, let’s see… Laptop – put that away, Billy; you got a phone. Laura, my amazing daughter…now scowling. Lilac air freshener. The love of my life… “So, what about another letter? “Anyone? “Okay, a different game. Maybe ...

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“Last Ride” by Kendall Defoe

Welcome aboard… Guess you are my last fare for the night. We have about thirty to forty-five minutes before we get to the terminus and usually no one ever takes this last ride. Take a seat. There are about thirty for you.Right at the front… Yeah, I’m a little bored, too. Working nights has made me think that I must have something wrong with me. Better to be up and doing this type of work when the sun is coming around and you can feel the rest of you waking up. Only doing this…for my own reasons.Night shift for you, too? Grea...

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“Kiddo” by Kendall Defoe

He always called me that. Kiddo. Hey kiddo; how are things, kiddo? Got your work done, kiddo? I never minded. He was my uncle, anyway. My favourite uncle who I saw once a year since he started school (could barely remember him living in our hometown; always heading out for university and then overseas for work). When the Christmas and New Year’s break came, he would be back with us for two weeks, staying with his mom, my...

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“Shoplifting” by Kendall Defoe

It was a Friday. That was why he had to do it. After work, when the traffic was not too bad and he could transfer between the bus and the metro (no construction that summer; rather odd), he would step into the mall, walk through a food court, the fashion district and toy departments to the escalators, head down to the second-hand department where you could pass by recycled items, small variety shops and tourist tr...

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“The Café” by Kendall Defoe

“Gonna be a hot one, t’day.”“Yep.”“Hmm…”The fly-speckled screen door was flapping lightly in the summer breeze as the last one walked in. That was Sal, an old-timer who still drove his Chevy up to the gas station-café every morning to get his regular cup of coffee and scrambled eggs. Chester and Mitch were waiting for him, already digging into their second cups of coffee and muffins they liked for their breakfast. It was warm, moving quickly to humidity as the sun crawled patiently over the horizon. There was not much...

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“A List of Demands” by Kendall Defoe

The young man on the phone was laughing after the first slap, but I kept my cool. “We are listening.” “Then you know that I am not screwing around and that I want to speak to someone higher up right now!” There was a particular etiquette in these situations and I was following it to the letter. My boss, the main officer on the case, put me in charge for a reason: he did not really care about this one...

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“Gork and Slarb Find Out” by Kendall Defoe

Gitfangula is a very strange place. As a planet, orbiting between the ancient worlds of Marnus and Minuous, it lives in a particular harmony with its past that many other planets and galaxies would envy and resent…if they ever managed to find it. The thing is…Gitfangula cannot be found by conventional ships that rely on anything besides timegates. This is one of the reasons why Gitfangula has been so peaceful for such a long time. The only conflicts come from within. All citizens of that orb have an instant psychic connection and can imme...

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“The Town Crier” by Kendall Defoe

“Hear ye, hear ye…!” He really went all out this week. I mean, no one expected Albert to wear the full outfit that early into the celebrations. It was six in the morning, and he was right in the dead center of Antonville, right underneath the bunting and the flags, standing by the statue of the town founder (not important right now, but you know the place is called Antonville, so…), and he did not even have a micr...

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“The Crossing Guard” by Kendall Defoe

“***** *****, please come to the principal’s office.” When you are young, it is possible to believe that adults are there for you; that they are aware of what is best for you; that they are doing the right thing. I thought so for a very long time, all through the great disappointment that was my father, his replacement who could not stand even in his shadow as an example worth following, and many other figures in ...

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“The Day in a Life” by Kendall Defoe

The alarm did not go off, but he was ready. Jason was always ready, but this was a day that was going to be extra special for him and maybe…a few others? The lamplight blinded him for a moment. There was a little time left for a shower and some cleaning up before heading out. The cat was fed – it kept showing up all month and he made sure the bowls were filled – and the weather finally turned (their first day that month ...

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“Try” by Kendall Defoe

Was it clear from the message what they wanted him to do? * The letter arrived in a beautiful envelope, with his name and address written in embossed letters on red glossy paper. He had woken up that morning wondering if he was going to speak to his neighbor about their dog and their children again (they were always teasing the poor thing when he saw them in their yard). At his front door, he picked up the ...

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“Zeppo” by Kendall Defoe

Sit down, sit down… There’s no point in having an office like this if I cannot share it with fans, especially ones like you. You really look beat up, as you should be if you really traveled all this way just to speak to me. My secretary would not have believed it without my letter and your determination. So please…take a breath and we can start. * You are absolutely right. Most of the fans know nothing abou...

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Author bio

I write and try to keep my hand in the game; I teach and try to entertain as I instruct; I have two guitars (one electric, the other peaceful), no pets, a lot of books and hopes and dreams that I have learned to respect. I promise to keep improving my tall tales and beautiful lies... Review submitted to Globe and Mail: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/e-vox-populi-our-readers-write/article1350857/ Private blog that should really be updated: http://undersolo.blogspot.com/ Look under 'D': http://www.thesquawkback.com/p/fngrlsdtb.html#d Another review: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2001/09/26/music/macy-gray-the-id/ And another review! https://www.moredarkthanshark.org/eno_int_suite-apr07.html Vocal+: https://vocal.media/authors/kendall-defoe Quora: https://www.quora.com/profile/Kendall-Defoe-1 'Talent is long patience.' - Guy de Maupassant “Write a short story every week. It's not possible to write 52 bad short stories in a row.” ― Ray Bradbury