PJ Aitken

Author on Reedsy Prompts since May, 2021

Stories (49)

49 Stories

2458 karma pts

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“In It To Win It ” by PJ Aitken

Submitted to Contest #128

“Two sugars?” asked Tony holding Colin’s cup of tea out towards his illustrious boss. “… no just milk, Tone,.” Colin responded with his voice set to “Won’t Suffer Fools” mode. “Really? Since when?” asked Tony sounding like he’d just discovered who assassinated JFK. “Since always, Tone. You just keep forgetting!” sighed Colin at his dim PA whilst also rolling his eyes, he decided not to pat his head as well. “No boss I don’t! If you took two sugars I’d remember that.” insisted Tony sounding like an injured bird if they could talk and make tea...

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“Hello From The Other Side” by PJ Aitken

Submitted to Contest #127

“Welcome back everyone to “Morning Call with Sandra and Derek” live from OTV London Studios! Today we have renowned psychic Todd Mentaliss with us and he will be helping our viewers with their problems. Welcome Todd!”“Thanks Sandra! It’s a pleasure to be here! I’m excited about helping your viewers out there!”“Keep that excitement going Todd as we head straight to line 1 where we have Jess from Liverpool. Jess, how can Todd help you today?”“Hi Sandra, so great to talk to you. Hi Todd! I’d like you to help me…”Now Todd, this is Jessica Stanle...

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“Ear, There And Everywhere” by PJ Aitken

Submitted to Contest #126

“Read the story, Daddy!” Poppy screamed from her room.Daddy Horse rolled his eyes wishing he could close the chat like on Zoom,“Which story is that my love?” said Daddy Horse under duress from his wife,Who was standing on one of his hooves and pointing towards his face with a knife,It was late on New Year’s Eve so Poppy wanted to celebrate in her own way before bed,With the book she’d heard her Mum and Dad read cover to cover echoing a million times in her head,“The one about the ears, silly!” Poppy enthusiastically responded sounding like s...

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“In Sickness And In Elf” by PJ Aitken

Submitted to Contest #125

“Did you get the red onions?” asked Jackie surveying the items she had put into the fridge in the last five minutes. “What are you talking about?” Matt looked in the fridge over Jackie’s shoulder trying to compute his girlfriend’s latest line of questioning. “Don’t you remember? I specifically told you to get some red onions.” Jackie pointed to the list Matt had discarded on the kitchen table. Matt picked it up to inspect Exhibit A. “Wasn’t on the list you gave me!” Matt walked over to Jackie to prove his claim with a slightly smug look on h...

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“Party Animal” by PJ Aitken

Submitted to Contest #124

After yet another day of meetings, meetings meetings, Ronnie the Rhino was in search of a good time as he needed to let his wispy hair down and have some fun. He liked to think he worked harder than most but every now and then he wished he could go back to earlier in his career when he had more time for himself and his ever growing family with much less pressure. Knowing the frustration of his current work /life balance Ronnie’s friend Tommy Tiger had invited him to the “party to end all parties” and that was exactly what the doctor ordered....

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“That’s Snow Business!” by PJ Aitken

Submitted to Contest #123

Hey folks! And we’re back on The Run and straight into zone 2, the Snow Zone! After surviving skydiving against fireballs and plane explosions, the remaining contestants need to keep moving to stay warm and alive in this treacherous ice zone full of nasty surprises. I’m hearing the first contestant has just landed so let’s get back to the action! Johnny Landing on zone 2 first gave Johnny an immediate advantage. He ran over to the first vehicle he could find, a luge which was a glorified silver tea tray with handles either side. Grabbing the...

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“Ignore The Mess” by PJ Aitken

Submitted to Contest #122

“Careful with that!” said Mrs Confidence to the removal team as they walked into Confidence Towers. She had been planning this move for nearly a month whilst her superhero husband was out saving the day. So far today she had been liaising with the previous Mayor Happiness, the removal team, the lagoon renovators for the back garden, the dog sitter for their pet ice cream Vanilla and then her family. The Confidence house working like clockwork was also completely down to her and the move was going well so far for the same reason. “We will be ...

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“You Shouldn’t Have!” by PJ Aitken

Submitted to Contest #121

Tommy Trent was a very spoilt child. He would prefer to describe himself as “knows what he wants” but the rest of his family and friends knew the truth. He was the kind of child who expected a gift when giving other people gifts. For example, on his friend Trevor’s tenth birthday, Tommy got him a mobile phone on the basis that he also got one, but a slightly better model with more storage.  Every Christmas and birthday Tommy would provide several copies of a detailed list of presents with prices and recommended retailers. Any deviatio...

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“Captive Audience” by PJ Aitken

Submitted to Contest #120

Back in my day it was much simpler, people were either alive or dead. When you’re alive, you’re alive and when you’re dead, you’re dead. It’s the Grand Old Duke of York of life and death. Every day is different and nothing stays still but you’d think those two things would remain the same whilst everything evolved around it. My entire life I’ve made a good living from these two facts being set in stone whilst I reaped the rewards. These days the world and its residents above and below have evolved to be cockier and more rebellious, thin...

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“Do You Smell Carrots? 🥕 ⛄️ ” by PJ Aitken

Submitted to Contest #101

“STEAM THE POO!” screamed Callum at his mates who knew instantly what he meant as they joined him in running as fast as they could across the snow-covered sports field. Over the many years of their friendship growing up together, Callum, Seth and William had generated a range of catchphrases only they would understand. Along with “Steam the poo!” their current favourites included referring to girls as “Yucks”, parents as the “Enemy” and anyone who had really annoyed or upset them as various chocolate bars including “Fruit and Nut”, “Twix” an...

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“Seggs Head” by PJ Aitken

Submitted to Contest #100

“Dad, where are you?” asked Natalie hoping she had everyone’s undivided attention immediately. “Hey Sweetie, I’m in the study. I’m on a call, I’ll come through for dinner soon.” said Keith knowing this won’t be well received by his daughter or long suffering wife. “No worries, I have sooo much to tell you. So where was I, Mum?” “You were telling me about the greatest lesson you’ve ever had.” said Becky hoping her daughter stops talking at some point. “Oh yeah! It was amazing! So you know we’ve started learning about y’know boy and girl rude ...

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“It’s Not Life or Death” by PJ Aitken

Submitted to Contest #99

Jenny was dead. Even though she was only 11 she had hoped to go out with a bit more style than just in her sleep. She’d spent a long time getting a reputation amongst her friends as someone who could look after herself and also defend them if they were being bullied.  “Big Bad Jen” they called her – no bully too big for her despite being slim and petite. Her dad didn’t like this as would always lead to him having to come into school to have difficult conversations about her behaviour and how it could impact her future prospects bla...

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“Running Down A Dream” by PJ Aitken

Submitted to Contest #98

His eyes exploded open to then scrunch up once more as soon as the harsh sunlight hit them. Mikey had had one of those dreams again but this felt more real than usual. He wracked his brain trying to remember every detail before it faded away. The lake. Sound of a boat’s engine. Voices. His best friend Warren was there. A close up of the T-shirt they bought during a group trip to the Mall last week. A huge explosion. A time – 9.15am. Then Mikey woke up… Laying deathly still in bed wi...

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“The Night Walk” by PJ Aitken

Submitted to Contest #97

Simon stared out of the window of his conservatory wondering what time it was. He had lost count of the days he had been sleeping on the sofa. Was it weeks? Even months? Time had lost all meaning with the lack of sleep occurring so often, it was like he never slept. He had never planned for it to be this long but the alternative was too unbearable to think about. It seemed to start on his twelfth birthday where his hearing seemed to improve dramatically overnight, well more like during the night.   That night he went to bed at 10.3...

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“Sweet Shopped” by PJ Aitken

Submitted to Contest #96

The last 18 months had been a whole new level of stress for Terry with lockdown after lockdown causing his little corner shop to be on the verge of closing permanently. After months of only scraping by with his loyal customers popping in when it was safe, today was the day when lockdown six would be lifted and Terry would see his finances finally turn a corner. He’d woken up early to stock the shelves with his big sellers and put out his huge sign to lure them in. Cheapest Chocolate Buttons in Town!   The first hour had been slow g...

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Author bio

An aspiring loon who is enjoying writing a large portfolio of fantastic future bestsellers. First children’s book available to buy now here https://pjaitken.uk/the-run Second book on the way in 2024