Kendall Defoe

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2020

Stories (169)

169 Stories

5413 karma pts

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“Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Genus, Species” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #86

He found his gloves, hat, knee pads and tools, so he was ready to get to work. The garden was still thawing out with large patches of snow melting in the fresh sunlight and water draining out in the pipes and gutters he had built when he moved in. The sun kept things going in these times. The heat was growing in his back and head, sweat forming a small river; a wet animal feeling was heading down his spine, and the damp earth providing some cooling and chilling climate for his work.“Uncle Dave?”He turned on his knees, seeing his ne...

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“25, 10 or 5” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #85

“That’s the thing about this city,” said the driver as he parked the limousine. “No one ever really gets away from it.”“Oh, yeah?” I looked at my watch. All I had to do now was wait in the parking lot, pick up a package, and then let this guy take me back to the airport. Only problem was I wasn’t sure how long I would be there. I knew that we had to be there at noon, but after that…“You think that people want to get away from this place?”“Sorry?”“What I said before about the city. You think people really hate the place that mu...

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“Click, Click” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #84

Well, golly-gee and wow; I really did not think things would go that way! My name is Horatio. Horatio K. Sweeting (don’t ask what the K means; I won’t tell). I am a shelter boy, a bunker baby; an underground groundling (read that word somewhere, so I will use it, by gum). My father built this place way back when TV was still in black and white and no one had the corking idea to make a videotape so that we could save everything. But he knew; he knew. We had the latest stuff in there and when we knew that the human race was not go...

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“How He Got His Vacation Time” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #83

He did not take the news very well. “Why do you hate me, Jim?” “Danny…” “Daniel. I told you that many times. Now, why do you hate me?” Jim Stephens, a man who had managed Daniel Simon’s team for only six months and already wanted out, held his head up and repeated what he said. “All staff is going to be required to work through the long weekend. All vacation time is therefore reduced for essential workers.” “Essential…” “Look…” “How essential am I? All the paperwork is in and you won’t even need to have me on for the group projects.” “Y...

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“Self” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #82

It was a beautiful day when my life ended. Okay that is a bit dramatic; not my real living, breathing life. The life that I knew with responsibilities, work, friends, enemies, a purpose… That was all over. The fact that it is connected to work should make me smile. And you may think that I am still an asshole once you hear what happened. But I gotta talk about my life now and my life then… So… * …we are all stuck indoors now; the quarantine continues; the boredom grows. I am lucky enough to work from home teaching kids th...

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“Lights, Camera, Action...” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #81

“I’m so glad that you called me back.”“I am glad you answered.”Good move; nothing too aggressive or sloppy about that. Gotta make sure to have more lines like that later.“Have you been to this restaurant before?”Okay, be honest with her.“Once or twice. There was someone I dated who liked Indian food and she recommended that we try this place. That must have been over five years ago…”Good save; very good save. Maybe he will stay on for this particular mission. “I see…”“No, I just… We had known each other for a long ti...

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“Kitty and the Wind” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #80

You can call me Kit, or Kitty, or K. Just don’t call me Kate, or Katey like my mom tries to call me because she thinks it is so “ladylike” and “proper”. It’s Kitty with my friends, and I think that we are going to be very friendly when I tell you my story. So, nothing happens in my town. We live near the ocean and it is colder than cold after November, so when we have Christmas or New Year’s Day, we gotta stay inside and keep the fireplace full of driftwood or whatever scraps we can grab from the lumberyard my dad works at (he alw...

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“Ammunition” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #79

“Now.” He would not disobey his father. Even if he was no longer a child, even if it clearly not his fault, he was willing to accept that he was going to have take responsibility. “Yes, dad.” * The best thing about this time of the day was that the house was usually empty and quiet. His younger sister was with her friends at someone’s house (always late for dinner most days; she got permission for this when their mother saw how quickly the tears came); his mother was still at work (pick-up was around 4 pm; another hour to go and th...

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“Nick, Laura, Stephen and Sarah” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #77

“Hello?” “Hello!” Sarah was still taking things out of the car, so I was the one who was surprised first. A woman answered the door…actually, I think that was not quite true. She heard me unlock the cabin and stood waiting for me to enter. She was beautiful in a sweet, girl-next-door kind of way with pockets of energy that seemed to be out of her control. “Hello!” “Umm… Yes, hello.” It was Sarah’s turn to be surprised. “I think that there is a mistake here.” She put down the boxes of food and looked around. It was a very ...

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“Light” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #76

“How do I start this one?” “What? I’m sorry. I was not really paying attention.” “I was saying, how do I start on this one?” “Start what? What are you talking about?” “This. Everything that I talked about with you. How do I get started on it?” “Oh…that again. Well, you need a new plan. Something that you can follow through on without screwing up too much. Always start that way and you won’t get lost.” “Yes, yes. This is a big one, so I need some sort of guideline or map…” “Or just a regular plan. Don’t get too stuck in the det...

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“The Solution at Walcott Place” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #75

The device was humming, so they knew they just had to hit the button. “Good morning! How are we today?” The hologram was always a nice touch, thought Mildred. She and her partner made sure to get the most interactive features on the device. They had set up the appointment over a year ago and were not going to miss the set up for the price they paid. “Oh, uh, WE ARE WELL!” “George, again, you really do not have to raise your voice and yell.” “Oh, sorry.” He was still the same man that she responded to and pair bonded with after thei...

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“Bucket” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #74

Where did he want to begin? 10. Forgive Michael That seemed fair to Steven. Michael B. was his oldest friend; the one who first invited him to hang out when they were just kids who were new to each other in that neighbourhood; the one that he played road hockey with, traded comic books and baseball cards, chased girls that did not have any interest in them, and on and on; the one who truly understood what his friend was all about. But there were certain things that haunted Steven’s thoughts at the end of the year. Laura Smit...

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“One Hand” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #73

“Will ya marry me, my laydeeee…?”It was flattering to hear it a second time in the last hour. Laura was heading home and the homeless man was probably thinking that she was someone from his better past. He was dirty, badly shaved and stooped over with the weight of his life, but he did smile and charm her with his question. And what if he had a ring? Anything could happen on Christmas Eve…She was waiting in line for the bus when she heard the proposal and saw him looking at the crowd that was eager to part and avoid him.So, why not have...

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“Leiloa” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #72

1. This all began on a Tuesday afternoon. It was not a very difficult day for Daniel. He went in around ten in the morning, put on his name tag, cleaned out the three main floors of the office by two, ate his lunch, ordered some extra cleaning supplies for the bathrooms (low on toilet paper on all floors), and then, when the last of the staff wished him good night, went home. His car was still having problems – transmission was acting up; tires had to be changed before winter hit – but otherwise, it was just another Tuesday. Anothe...

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“The Sweetlake Incident” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #71

The following information has been recorded to provide a detailed record of the incident in the small town of Sweetlake. The reader is cautioned not to attempt such a stunt, whether it is for charity or the desire to appear in a record book. We thank the representatives of the Guinness Book of World Records for deciding not to record any further contests determining the world's largest cookie, although records for pies, cakes, tarts, Nanaimo bars and other treats will continue to be accepted. They felt that the Sweetlake incident is an ex...

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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