Write about a character who has a love/hate relationship with their mentor.

Posted in Character on Oct 27, 2023

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✍️ 36 stories

“Just Like Him” by Audrey McKenna

🏆 Winner of Contest #222

Content warning: sexual violence, languageWhen I was four years old, my sister and I were messing around at the pool. I slipped and hit my head on the concrete. It split open in the back. I remember the lifeguard gave me a squishy ball to squeeze. I remember she said I could keep it. I remember my dad scooped me up in his arms. It doesn’t make sense that it happened this way, but I remember he carried me all the way to the emergency room. I remember the pressure of my face pressing into a pillow as the doctor stapled my head back togeth...

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“Orphan Jack” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #222

TW: Swearing and mention of death.Jack strolled down the dusty streets of the port towards the space shuttle for his interview. Pale men and women, ignorant after months or years in vacuum, were shifting cargo. The suns of Hellebore cooked the flesh of offworlders to a glowing boiled lobster tan that was in vogue amongst incomers.Jack pulled down the brim of his cap. He lifted the collar of his boiler suit with one hand to save his neck from the crispy barbeque fate of the crowds. In his other hand he carried his beloved toolbox. He’d scratc...

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“Psychopomp, Day One” by Humble Sparrow

Submitted to Contest #222

The job description might have suggested bringing a vehicle suited for off-roading. Somehow, my sedan survived the overgrown trail with an intact undercarriage. At least I’d brought sturdy hiking boots, which took me safely down a wooded path to a cave. An aging man stumbled out of the shadows and glanced me up and down.“Feminism’s scraping the bottom of the barrel for male-dominated professions to infiltrate,” he huffed. “Not ...

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“Staying Alive in Slovia” by Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #222

The war against Blogaria has been raging for three years. It’s all we talked about in high school–our chance to fight for the glory of Slovia someday–so right after I graduated, I enlisted in the Slovian Army.As the chill early morning wind whips through the clearing, I stand tall and sing the national anthem of Slovia at the top of my lungs. The other fifty cadets around me do the same thing. I sing even louder. It’s our first day of deployment to the front line. After weeks of training, we’re finally here to show the Blogarians what a real...

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“The Devil's Own Children” by Jonathan Page

Submitted to Contest #222

It was just another day in Brooklyn. The spilling of blood was an appropriate offering to the denizens beneath the city whose cries for punition were unending. Eddie “Prime” Pino was driving his Mercedes Roadster with the top down on the Belt Parkway by Coney Island in the gray November dusk when he saw the emergency strobe lights of an unmarked Gray Chevy Impala blare behind him.As he pulled over on the side of the freeway, Eddie reached into the center console and pulled out a Beretta Model 71 pistol loaded with .22 caliber bullets, which ...

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“Theon the gemini” by Malaika Shaikh

Submitted to Contest #222

“Again.” Repeated more than 20 times in the past hour, Caelin was sick to her stomach of hearing that word. Theon rapped his wooden staff on the stone floor when she paused to breathe, she’d sprinted so many laps around the room that she’d lost count.“Did I say stop?” He growled. She gasped for air as nausea overtook her stomach. She didn’t even have time to warn Theon before she vomited all over the stone. Theon clicked his tongue and called for a servant to begin cleaning the mess. He approached her and smacked her back with his ...

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“In the Box” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #222

Riding the elevator up, Ernest dried his palms on his shirt. ‘Is it me? Or is it always this difficult?’It had been years. They never communicated. Would his father even be there? He almost stopped his ascent into the forbidden zone.Elevators terrified him. Could anyone design a better place to make one feel isolated and alone? Ernest hoped not.Except for the slight rocking, and hissing from the vent, there was no sense of movement. Claustrophobia hovered.The floors ticked by. The elevator slowed and stopped at the penthouse. The doors slid ...

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“I Am Going To The Mountaintop With You” by Hannah Lynn

Submitted to Contest #222

“Sitting at the lake I felt the peace settle in, the long awaited trip was here. Settling into the cushions with the view of the mountains directly across I searched my mind for the concept. My ad was due upon returning to the city and I was zapped, burnt out, overworked, and running on empty.”I looked at Nicole and smiled. “Thanks again for getting me this gig. She’s amazing.”“Yeah, right.” There was a tone in her voice I hadn’t expected. I darted a look at her. Did she look annoyed? It was hard to te...

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“Lizard” by Lydia Carter

Submitted to Contest #222

The knife sinks quickly into the man’s flank, the sound a wet squelch and a harsh, sharp cry. I pull back quickly, lest he have one final surge of adrenaline and make another swing at me. That’s how it usually goes, with men like this. Proud men, who fight until the end. I hate killing them the most. It’s shitty, to kill someone you ca see yourself admiring. In another life. Another time. Another me. He doesn’t have that final surge, though. He falls, the crack of his knees hitting the broken concrete sickening sound. I take ano...

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“The Mentor from Hell” by Rudy Greene

Submitted to Contest #222

He glided through the hospital hallway as if he was walking on air. Brimming with enthusiasm and confidence, it was the first day of his fellowship. Ronny Livingston had accumulated awards and accolades everywhere he went. Through college, medical school, internship and residency, he had shone. It was his destiny to excel, be the best. His parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts told him so. You could tell just looking at him that he was something special. He was tall, had a high forehead, a Roman nose, upturned mouth and those penetrating d...

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“Death’s Sacrifice ” by Kacie Dawson

Submitted to Contest #222

I startle awake to banging on my chamber doors "....ake up. My Prince...WAKE UP!" Sweat beads on my forehead slicking my black hair down, a sigh escapes me, another nightmare. You would think in the company of death you wouldn't have those anymore. Nightmares are for children, people with family's, with things to love and to fear losing. I already have nothing. No family, no home other then this rotten place. "one....one moment" I stutter crawling unsteadily out of my damp sheets to my door. I open the large wooden door fully, letting the co...

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“Death Be a Lady Tonight” by L.B Rinker

Submitted to Contest #222

Evil sought after Jacob's soul like it was some long-lost treasure, sunken to the bottom of the ocean…. And despite every shark, pirate, storm, or wave, Evil pressed on… stuck to Jacob like a leech. Sometimes he thought she lived in his head… in the vast, empty space between his consciousness, and his memories… right there in the sweet spot…. Her voice sounded so close when she spoke to him, like she was right over his shoulder, ...

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“Sleep Tight, Woman” by M.A. Grace

Submitted to Contest #222

The Orion-X, powered by the latest advances in helium-3 nuclear fusion technology, is the fastest spacecraft ever made in its class. At a maximum velocity of 31,000 miles per hour, our journey to the Moon will last just eighteen hours and six minutes from launch to landing. Even so, we’re each scheduled to grab six hours of sleep at various times. It’s my turn now.Weightlessness takes some getting use to, and we only had four months of astronaut training. So I’ll be learning some things the hard way. I waste fifteen minutes trying to secure ...

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“Coach's Talk” by Dhruv Srivastava

Submitted to Contest #222

“Ah, who am I kidding, you’re not listening anyway.” David Cross swung back the brown bag and felt some more cool courage flow down his throat. “Y’know,” he continued regardless, you always said you knew the best for me… what do you say now?” You’ve done well, replied a voice, somewhat distant amongst the wind which whistled through the hibernating winter branches. David scoffed. “Well, yeah… Well enough to be sitting here on my ass, wondering how you are.” I’m fine. The bottle was done, this one at least. David put it ...

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“Warmer Than Blood” by Drew Scott

Submitted to Contest #222

“Why did you turn me?” I asked Him once, a few months into my vampire life, and not out of maliciousness or a desire to draw out of Him any secrets. I was simply curious in my teenage fashion; I only wanted to know why I had become His companion in immortality, why He had chosen me and not any of the other beautiful boys at the Catholic school He plucked me from. He responded to this curiosity by ripping my door off of its hinges, by tearing my pillows until they exploded into puffs of down and cotton, by taking my favorite of His antique l...

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Ended on 23:59 - Nov 03, 2023 EST

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Title: Just Like Him

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Write about a character who has a love/hate relationship with their mentor.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 36 stories

“Just Like Him” by Audrey McKenna

“Orphan Jack” by Graham Kinross

“Psychopomp, Day One” by Humble Sparrow

“Staying Alive in Slovia” by Scott Christenson

“The Devil's Own Children” by Jonathan Page

“Theon the gemini” by Malaika Shaikh

“In the Box” by John K Adams

“I Am Going To The Mountaintop With You” by Hannah Lynn

“Lizard” by Lydia Carter

“The Mentor from Hell” by Rudy Greene

“Death’s Sacrifice ” by Kacie Dawson

“Death Be a Lady Tonight” by L.B Rinker

“Sleep Tight, Woman” by M.A. Grace

“Coach's Talk” by Dhruv Srivastava

“Warmer Than Blood” by Drew Scott

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with a student on their first day of apprenticeship.

Write about a mentor whose methods are controversial.

Write a story about a character who finds guidance in an unlikely place.

Write a story that includes someone saying, “You’ve got this.”

Contest #222

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

210

Contest entries

101

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: