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Tricia Shulist

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Feb, 2021

Stories (197)

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105 Followers

16 Following

197 Stories

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One Night at Ben's Diner

ONE NIGHT AT BEN’S DINER I looked around the diner. I could see how the place had gotten the abysmal online reviews that it had. It was shabby. Not shabby chic, but old, rundown, nothing-new-in-the-last-fifty-years shabby. I looked at the counter stools and the booths. The red naugahyde was ripped and torn, patched with so many different types of tape, that the seats were more tape than naugahyde. When this place was new — around the time of the dinosaurs — there must have been a lot of chrome, but not so muc...

2 likes

Happy Wife

HAPPY WIFE “I remember that you said you knew where we were going. “ Faye crossed her arms across her chest, frustration and anger marring her normally placid features. “I remember you saying that you had studied the map, and didn’t need to actually bring it with us.” “That’s not what I said.” Colin mirrored Faye’s body language, crossing his arms across his chest, staring back at her. “Oh no?” said Faye, raising her eyebrows. “What exactly did you say?” “I said that I had looked at the map and had a pretty go...

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Don't Settle!

DON’T SETTLE! Case Number: 202200019 Client: Acme Insurance International Day 1, February 26, 2022, 9:23 a.m. Gerald Springer, 34, claimed multiple injuries after allegedly slipping on the ice in front of 15 Woodsworth Avenue, home of Antoine Bellhouse, 66 and Carol Bellhouse, 66, on February 22, 2022. The Bellhouse home is equipped with a CCTV camera that recorded Springer walking by their property eastbound at 4:34 pm, and returning at 7:10 pm, but did not capture Springer’s alleged slip-and-fall. On ...

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Sweet Dreams?

SWEET DREAMS? “Please,” I said. “You have to be tired. Just a short sleep. Maybe even a nap.” No response. “Okay,” I said, again, “I didn’t want to have to scare you, but there are ramifications if you don’t get some sleep. It’s a big deal!” I took in a deep breath, and read from my phone. “Chronic sleep deprivation can lead to high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack, heart failure, or stroke. Those are just the big ones! There’s also obesity, depression, impairment in immunity, and l...

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You Ain't No Einstein!

You Ain't No Einstein! “You ain’t no Einstein, are ya?” Mitch just looked at Arnold “call me Arnie” Kalicki, his boss, and couldn’t help but be struck by the irony. No, thought Mitch, I’m no Einstein, but at least I can speak English. And I’m a member of Mensa. And I have two post-graduate degrees. And I’m a five-time Jeopardy champion. You sir, are a troglodyte. Mitch sighed. But Arnie didn’t know any of that. All he just knew was that Mitch didn’t know how to use the skid lifter, or as Arnie called i...

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Just A Boy

JUST A BOY Up here, in the northern climes, October is usually a brilliant month, the leaves falling from the trees, all shades of gold and crimson, swirling in the breeze. It does rain in autumn — quite a bit — but when it’s not raining, the days are marvellous with brilliant blue skies, the sun still strong enough to warm the earth. The evenings are cooler, almost crisp, preparing us for winter that awaits just around the corner. But it’s not that cold just yet, just cool enough for a jacket, or a sweater. This night it w...

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No Good Deed

NO GOOD DEED … Remy walked down the stairs to the subway platform. It was rush hour, and there was a lot of jostling, and unintentional shoving. Everybody was on their way somewhere after work — to meet friends, off to a show, drinks, dinner. The work day was finished, and the exodus had begun. Remy just wanted to go home. He was tired, and his day had been pretty crappy, what with being fired, and all. Fired wasn’t the way his boss had phrased it. He’d said “laid off,” with two weeks severance pay.&...

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Valentine's Day -- Yuck!

VALENTINE’S DAY — YUCK “Valentine’s Day is the worst,’ I said. My friend Frannie and I were sitting in a coffee shop, enjoying a cappuccino together at the end of the work day. It was Valentine’s Day, and the barista had made foam hearts on the top of our drinks. “There is no reason why it is celebrated,” I continued, “Other than to line the pockets of stores and corporations, and make people who aren’t in a relationship feel like losers. Except for the fact that it is prime season for cinnamon hearts — which a...

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Up In the Air

UP IN THE AIR “I hate this.” I looked at my mother, trying not to cry. “What do you hate, Sophia?” she asked. “I hate that we have to move, again. I hate that I’m going to have to leave all my friends, again. I hate that I have to start at a new school, again. I hate that I’m going to be the new girl, again. I hate that I’m going to a new country, again. I hate that I don’t speak the language, again. And, I hate that you’re okay with all that, because your job is sooooo important, and who gives a...

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One For All, All For One

ONE FOR ALL, AND ALL FOR ONE “I can’t believe you believed that!” Sam snorted. “Even I knew it wasn’t true, and I’m the youngest.” Aaron looked at his brother, eyebrows furrowed. “How the hell was I supposed to know that you guys were liars?” Dev started to laugh. “Because we’re triplets, you moron. Didn’t you notice that we all look exactly alike?” “Not when I was seven, I didn’t.” “Dude!” said Dev, “Did you really think that Mom and Dad wanted another kid because having two at once wasn’t enough? De...

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The Locked Door

THE LOCKED DOOR Azul Beard lived deep in the bayou of southern Louisiana in a huge, ramshackle house that had once been the home to the Beniot family, an important family who grew cotton and tobacco. The same family had held the property as late as the mid-twentieth century, when Bernard Benoit made a number of ill-advised investments, and the family was no longer able to afford their lavish lifestyle. Unable to pay the taxes, or pay off the second and third mortgages Bernard had taken out on the house, they had fled the lowlands fo...

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ALL'S QUIET ON THE MOUNTAIN

ALL’S QUIET ON THE MOUNTAIN Henry stood gazing out of the large picture window, listening to the tinkle of ice pellets hitting the glass. The window faced north, towards the parking lot. Not that you could tell it was the parking lot. It was winter in the mountains, and the parking lot was currently hidden under three feet of pristine snow. It had been snowing for two days straight. Behind him, the logs burning in the massive st...

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The Parr Tea House

THE PARR TEA HOUSE “Do you want to meet up tonight?” Tilda asked her best friend Bethany. “Sure. Where?” “How about the Parr Tea House?” “Eww! Sounds like fun! What time?” “Eight-ish?” “Sounds perfect!” said Bethany.“Text me the address.” Bethany ended the call. Even though she thought eight o’clock was a little early for a night of clubbing, she was super excited because this was the first time in almost two months that Tilda had wanted to get together for a night out on the town. Two months was a long t...

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More Than A Feeling

MORE THAN A FEELING It was a usual work day for Amber, and her alarm went off at seven, as usual. But what wasn’t usual was the fact that she was already awake, and had been hours. Instead of waking up as usual, she was staring up at the ceiling, wide-eyed, trying to remember the nightmare. The nightmare that had caused her to come fully awake, gasping for air, sitting bolt up in bed, hands clutching at her racing heart. She knew that it had been a truly horrific nightmare, but she couldn’t remember a single thing about i...

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Everybody Needs Some Buddy

EVERYBODY NEEDS SOME BUDDY “HAPPY NEW YEAR!” The cheer went up, reverberating around the square. I snorted. “Yeah, Happy New Year.” I looked out at the crowd. It was small compared to anything from before the pandemic, but still larger than the 2020 crowd, when there was no ball drop, and the only people allowed in Times Square were health care workers. The rest of the world had to watch the new year arrive virtually. This year the crowd was what, fifteen thousand? That’s still a lot of people, and a lot of g...

5 likes