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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write about a character who has a ‘hot and cold’ personality — or is affected by someone like this.

Posted in Character on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 30 stories

“Fairytale Romance” by Susannah Meghans

Submitted to Contest #134

Fairytale RomancePresent Day         Jessica sat in the corner of a bustling coffee shop, sipping her delicious latte while people watching. She had learned the hard way to cherish these moments of peace. As I watched another couple holding hands, my mind drifted back to the beginning of my own fairy tale romance or so had I thought. As a matter of fact, it all started here.Six Months Ago         Jessica had been enjoying her lunch at this same coffee s...

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“Hooked” by Art Vee

Submitted to Contest #134

August was sitting on the waiting shed.She had both ears occupied with headphones, fingers tapping beside her, dancing in a slow staccato along with the thumps of her heart. She didn’t even like the song that much, not really. Not on her very first listen, nor her second, nor the many times that came after it. But August still gave it a chance just in case, because she wasn’t the one who gave up so easy. And because it was one of Rachel’s favorite songs.Rachel.Where are you, Rachel?August looked down at her crossed feet. The song was beginni...

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“Thank you for being there when I didn't need you” by Juliane Enggård Nebel

Submitted to Contest #134

Dear Marie, We went shopping today. I held your clothes as you tried them on. Hours passed this way, walking in and out of shops, laughing, talking and buying. Afterwards we went to the nearest McDonalds and ate. Somehow the place always brings out feelings for us. It was here you told me about your abusive mother for the first time, and it was here that I told you that I was gay. Almost every time we had been here since, it ended in deep talks and tears. This time we talked about your traumas, specifically the one with Markus. It had been a...

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“The land of Fire and Ice” by Marnie Schmidt

Submitted to Contest #134

Note: There is one mention of the word crack head and self-harm when Tamara is tired and annoyed with Casey.CaseyThe 16-year-old boy screamed infuriated at his worn out and sweaty carer. He shrieked again this time piercing the delicate ear drums of anyone in the small apartment building. Tamara (the carer) held up her hands to try and placate Casey. Tears streamed down his face as his throat and head began to ache monumentally and his chiseled face started turning a bright red. With a deep guttural wail Casey lashed out and with his sh...

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“How Far is Far Enough?” by Mason Hatton

Submitted to Contest #134

One night in San Francisco my girlfriend at the time had a “hot and cold” personality which laid waste to one particular night in all the worst ways. Laughing as we approached a tall silver pole about twice as thick as a street light. Attached to it was a metal ladder that made its way up the length of the pole into a basket up top used to maintain and replace the bulbs. I had climbed similar structures before, but I really was not completely confident in her capability of climbing. Made all the more risky due in part to the bottles of wine ...

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“A New Beginning ” by Angel Vargas

Submitted to Contest #134

Matilda and I stand together in silence, watching the sunrise in our favorite park, and the only thing I can think is “fuck this.”The day starts with the usual routine. Get up at 4am. Drink free-trade coffee. Eat a quick breakfast. Take a bleary-eyed perusal of emails and texts on my Obama-issued flip phone.. Then I flop onto my ancient, sweat stained couch and wait, a knot forming in my stomach. I’m expecting a call from a Portland temp agency to tell me if they need me to report downtown to yet another grueling factory job. &nbsp...

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“Ozzie” by A.L. Shilling

Submitted to Contest #134

OZZIEBy, A.L. Shilling**Ozzie furiously typed out a message on their phone. It was time to let the world know exactly how they felt. They had been silent for too long. If Ozzie didn’t speak now, they would likely never be able to again. There was so much to say, but a sentence or two would have to do. But it had to be perfect. Their message had to reach as many people as possible and it had to be absolutely clear. There could be no room for doubt. They deleted the message they were about to send, deciding at the last second that the exp...

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“I Will Build You a Bridge” by Victoria Luu

Submitted to Contest #134

Drowning is the risk you take. The descent into dark water pulls the breath out of you. In, you will your body and the lungs obey, filling with artificial air carried through a tube leading to the surface. Out the waste gasses go in bubbles that effervesce against your helmet's narrow visor. Your legs find their footing and your body re-centres under this new gravity. Your blind hand reaches out with a spark. She lays her fingers across the scrunched forehead. “Hot.” But not terribly so. The little mouth tightens and his face is etched ...

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“The Power We Wield ” by Carolina Barros

Submitted to Contest #134

I shapeshifted last night. At least in my head, I did. The red iron taste of blood is even now present in my mouth. I still remember the wind tousling my hair (fur?) back as I moved skillfully down the hill, my elongated body slipping under branches and roots. Everything else is…a blur. I found you in the same spot as we started, alcohol on your breath and a pile of vomit next to you, the only thing keeping you company as you snored, naked, on the ground. Quite a sight, really. I had to backtrack, butt naked, my own unshod footsteps. ...

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“the good, the bad, and the ugly” by Francesca Wieck

Submitted to Contest #134

It always starts with hope and ends in disappointment. The flitter of butterflies against your stomach, the flush of blood to your cheeks, the nervous glances, the thinly veiled stares. The giddiness overriding your entire system after one single compliment. Oh, how I wish I could hold onto that feeling. The simplicity of it all, of the way my body would respond to his touch, a simple nudge enough to send me spiraling. How I wanted nothing more to make him happy and to keep him safe. How I hoped and dared to dream that he could be mine,...

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“Moth” by Dean Atlas

Submitted to Contest #134

I work around a lot of people, so generally an individual doesn’t catch my eye. She did. The first time I saw her I was in the middle of struggling to change the trash. It seemed like everyone at the mall that day decided to throw their full drinks away. After a couple of minutes of persistence and on the verge of losing my temper, I finally hefted it out and I looked up. What I saw I will never forget. She sat at a cell phone cover kiosk thumbing through a tablet sitting on her lap. Her hair danced as she twirled bronze strands around her ...

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“Uncomfortable Silence” by Diane Murphy Wall

Submitted to Contest #134

Anna loved her boyfriend but could never get a good read on him. She knew it was the nights that he went out of his way to pick the perfect restaurant and end the night cuddling on the couch that kept things going.  The other evenings were uncomfortable. He would invite her over for dinner but hardly speak to her. She would try to keep the conversation going only to get short responses. There were silences between bites of steak and extra sips of wine to take the chill off. They would awkwardly sit on the couch before she ...

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“Trapton School for the Unlearned” by C.B. Oates

Submitted to Contest #134

Cindy Saysmore is my single, solitary friend here at Trapton School for the Unlearned. It’s ok though. Cindy's extra, so she’s enough. My parents switched me to Trapton this year, and it’s been a whole thing. My name is Sofia Sitzalone, and I’m in the fifth grade. I feel like I live with a brown paper bag over my head. I like Cindy. She says all of the things that I wish I could. We think just alike, but she is fearless. Miss Gruntles calls her ‘brazen’ and ‘Little Miss Saysmore’, but I vehemently disagree, in silent protest, of course.“Sofi...

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“The Ragin' Cajun” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #134

I received the phone call every boyfriend dreads. “This is Carrie. I’m at the boutique. Veronica’s going crazy! Get down here!” Veronica Rennie was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. She had captivating emerald eyes, platinum hair that cascaded down her back, perfectly sculpted legs, and a generous figure packed into a 5’ 4” frame. And then there was her sultry southern accent, which seemed to spring forth whenever she wanted me to blindly follow her commands. She also ate lithium like breath mints and was a poster child for manic ...

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“Controlled Burns” by J.W. Mack

Submitted to Contest #134

The window over the sink was larger than it needed to be, a seemingly frivolous luxury for the tiny kitchen. In a house that exuded pastoral simplicity, it seemed out of place. Maggie imagined the discussion they must have had during the construction. “Let’s put a big, nice window here.” “We don’t need anything like that.” “Yes, but wouldn’t it be nice to have but one thing that we want?” Freckled hills and hardwood forests filled the view. It could be a pretty view, she thought. She ran her fingers down around the window’s edges, feeling ...

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