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Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jan, 2020
Submitted to Contest #286
The gel for the ultrasound was much warmer than Danny had anticipated, especially on his groin. His brain initially braced for a cold snap. Now, it was rifling through what he ate for breakfast (toast), his 10 a.m. meeting (could be an email), and even that time he went on a beach vacation with his grandparents (just…no)—anything to avoid an awkward crescendo with the professional technician doing her job. Danny’s 36th birthday came and went without significance. He and his wife had a very nice dinner at Fifth Avenue Italia where she g...
Submitted to Contest #274
It was always just the two of us. No matter where we laid our heads, we were always within arm’s reach. I was too young to remember all the places we had slept, but I knew she was there. Until the day she left. We drove through our small hometown, and she parked the car on Main Street. She had told me it was Main Street once before. I remembered that by feeling our tiny car bounce like popcorn on the cobbled bricks. It was one block of shops and businesses that had the most traffic in our town—outside of a high school football game on an aut...
Submitted to Contest #249
It was just the two of them. Ben, sitting on a barstool under a dim light fixture. Shalene Mond, the leggy brunette actress from that horror movie The Terror of Tomorrow to his right enjoying a nightcap. Dinner had been perfect. A few laughs. A few truths the tabloids didn’t even know. A few times their eyes met during sips or bites that caused beads of sweat to form on his neck. It felt like a dream. Across the bar, Ben could hear a guitar strumming but didn’t think the place had live music. He searched for the source of the music, finding ...
Submitted to Contest #234
It was only four hours until Luke Harlon’s final birthday. At least, that’s what he told himself. He always prepared for the worst, even if the chances were always only one percent that getting your code selected actually happened. He sat alone on his worn, gray couch and stared at the television. The soundbar’s audio reverberated around the minimally decorated apartment with an upbeat ad for an exercise bike. Luke might have chuckled at the irony of that timing if he was paying attention. Millions were watching this same parade of definite...
Submitted to Contest #206
The sedan carrying the double date eased into the parking spot. It might be the gentlest part of Grant’s day. His nerves were palpable. Adrenaline coursed through his body like ants slowly gnawing away at his stomach before making their way to his heart and throat. They hadn’t even entered the park yet. The torrid mixture of his anxiety and the August sun beating on the concrete beneath his feet was already causing beads of sweat to run from Grant’s scalp through his gray T-shirt – an admittedly stupid wardrobe choice in retrospect. Lucy...
Submitted to Contest #77
It was officially seven seconds past the hour. I knew that not because I was counting or watching the clock, but the room was so silent that I felt the tick of the paper-thin clock hand as it began its journey for the 19th time that frozen January day. One of the worst parts about winter is the sun being around for no more than a cold, visible breath, if at all. At what had then become 7 p.m. and 21 seconds, I sat in my dark cubicle alone, staring at the spreadsheet on the screen as the numbers began to form a dark gray blur, much like the...
Submitted to Contest #68
It festered with him for the better part of a decade, but Lucas had finally had enough. His time in college was almost up. Even though that made him an “adult,” he was about to actually be an “adult” with “responsibilities.” So dammit, it was time to start acting like one. His hand-me-down car was parked on the top of Valley Crest’s tallest hill; it was the closest thing to a skyscraper his rural hometown had. Blinking slowly to register the gravity of the moment, Lucas let out a quiet, deep sigh. “It’s time to be a man,” he aggressively...
Submitted to Contest #57
The cockpit might be claustrophobic to some, but to Neil it was theatre seating for an IMAX view of the world. As a pilot for British Airways, hundreds of thousands of passengers entrust their lives to him every year. He understood that responsibility and took it to heart every time he clipped on his wings, put on his hat, and buckled his seatbelt. Staring out into the thin, wispy afternoon sky, he couldn’t help but feel empowered, ready to take on the— “Neil. Neil! Stop daydreaming and pay attention, lad. ...
Submitted to Contest #55
Rain dancing around her umbrella to the tune of the evening’s gale-force wind, Pamela began to question if accepting Jolie’s invitation was the right move for her Tuesday night as she entered the darkened meeting space in the dilapidated building. Being new to the town of Warlow, she struggled to make friends in the unnervingly tight-knit community. She moved there for a new job a month prior while knowing nothing about New Hampshire or the other towns that made up the hairline of the country. The cross-country trip was made wi...
Submitted to Contest #51
Mike shimmied out of the backseat of the Ford Focus with a nod of thanks to Harold the Lyft driver, who was now almost a Ben Franklin wealthier after bringing him from the airport terminal to the dilapidated curb now at his feet. His duffle bag, containing enough items to get through the 24-36 hours of his stay, was slung over his left shoulder as he faced his immediate future. “Well,” he said aloud to himself with a breathy sigh. “Here goes nothing.” This was the first time Mike had stepped foot in Yellow Brook, Indiana for nearly two d...
Submitted to Contest #50
Cal laid on his side next to Aubrey on top of the furrowed sheets. He stared at her, gently smiling, as everything in the room remained silent while his eyes met hers to carry on the conversation. A gentle, “What?” came out of Aubrey with a laugh at a decibel level that competed with pins on floors. “Nothing,” Cal responds with a smile. And in that moment, he genuinely means it, his own brain unaware of what’s to come. After six years, he knew he could have these two-word conversations forever. To him, they car...
Submitted to Contest #23
The fervent movement of Trevor’s eyes gave the impression that he was seated on a witness stand. Taillights. Flurries.Zero bars.Taillights.A mortaring, fluffy monsoon. Zero bars.Shit. He had hoped that he could fill the momentary deafening silence with the noise of his thumb scrolling social media. No such luck. His 2006 Toyota Corolla was a worn, red speck in the multicolored vehicle mosh pit, creating a Jackson Pollack original on the snow-covered rural Ohio highway. Cell service could only be a mirage at this point.He th...
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