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#104: Introverts and Extroverts

As the height of summer approaches and social distancing restrictions continue to lift, many of our social calendars are filling up fast. For the extroverts among us, this is unequivocal good news — coffee dates, happy hours, and weekend adventures with family and friends are back! But for introverts like me, it can be… a little overwhelming. And though things may soon get “back to normal” (knock on wood), it’s only natural for our muscles to feel a little stiff as we flex them for the first time in a long time!

In any case, whether you’re a staunch introvert or the biggest social butterfly in the world, you should relate to at least one of our prompts this week — and hey, if you end up writing an interesting story, that’s great conversation fodder for your next party.

Before you get to writing, one more thing: you’ll have to forgive me for asking you to enter your stories 24 hours earlier than usual. The deadline for submitting a story to this week’s contest is 11:59PM EDT on Thursday, July 29th. We’ll be going offline for a few hours to make some changes to Prompts — so watch this space!

🥇 Winner

“10 Years Of Space” by K. Antonio

He comes to me in pieces as I watch the stillness of space, envisioning new constellations in the array of unrecognized stars. I trace the sparks of light with my finger, connecting the dots and smudging the glass as a result. How many stars do you think there are in space? I imagine him asking. Can there really be other ones out there as big as or even bigger than the sun? I always admired his genuine curiosity, how he viewed things with a particular interest...

119 comments 119 WINNER 🏆

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⭐️ Shortlisted

“The Debate” by H L McQuaid

You savour these moments in the spotlight, swirling the attention like a fine wine in your mouth. All lenses narrowed on your charming smile, your blue eyes made bluer as your pupils contract to pinpoints, the only part of your body that shies away from bright lights. The reporters jostle for position, shoulders kicking toward the front of the stage. Ravenous, famished, churning the air as they sniff for political chum. I envy your ease in these situations, you slice through the tricky queries and lob back talking points, you smash the so...

43 comments 43 SHORTLIST ⭐️

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“Night Out” by Ruth Nowotny

Her throat was dry. She could hear the tap dripping intermittently into the aluminum sink behind her. The way the quiet pitter patter was unrhythmic and unpredictable sent a shiver down her spine. She buried her face into the couch. Dad said he was going to fix the pipes last weekend, but something came up. Maybe mom is sick, she thought. It didn’t matter anyway, really. Dad’s mind worked more like a river than...

3 comments 3 SHORTLIST ⭐️

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“Now You See Me” by Rebekah Taboada

“Are you coming tonight? Or are you staying behind with them?” Anna looked up to see a couple hovering over her, holding hands. The man simply seemed impatient, his eyebrows raised as he waited for Anna’s response. The woman’s concerned gaze remained fixed on the sleeping children, piled together like puppies. Anna stood, brushing off the seat of her pants and stepping a few paces away from the childr...

3 comments 3 SHORTLIST ⭐️

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“The Temperature of Home” by Bob E

He got engaged the same day I moved out. Whatever. Fair enough. No skin off my nose. Forget the skin off my knees. I found out later that he’d married her on my birthday. You try to think of these things as coincidences. Who knows? I’ve been moving around fairly randomly since then. Not a problem. No big thing. It’s just seeing what fits. The big round global dressing room. I’ve tried a lot of jobs, but ...

8 comments 8 SHORTLIST ⭐️

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This week's prompts

Start your story with a character saying, “Are you coming tonight?”

Middle School – 241 stories

Write about someone who everyone thinks is an extrovert, but is actually an introvert.

Character – 77 stories

Write about someone who wants to stay home alone, only for their plans to be disrupted.

Valentine's Day – 147 stories

Write about an introvert and an extrovert who are best friends.

Teens – 108 stories

End your story with the line, “I’m never going out with you again.”

Angst – 104 stories

Stories

“10 Years Of Space” by K. Antonio

He comes to me in pieces as I watch the stillness of space, envisioning new constellations in the array of unrecognized stars. I trace the sparks of light with my finger, connecting the dots and smudging the glass as a result. How many stars do you think there are in space? I imagine him asking. Can there really be other ones out there as big as or even bigger than the sun? I always admired his genuine curiosity, how he viewed things with a particular interest...

119 comments 119 WINNER 🏆

Read story

“Azure Rainforest” by Alex Sultan

For an entire half-hour, Cynthia threw up what felt like her body weight in blood, and by some miracle, she did not die. Passing out would’ve been nice. Her throat and stomach burned like she had drunk raw acid. Still conscious after the vomiting, she stared at the pool of blood drowning the blue grass. Blue grass. The grass glowed with an azure hue. This couldn’t be Earth anymore, could it?“Can you stand?” a quiet voice asked.Her arms trembled as she held herself up. It wouldn’t be long until they gave, and ...

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“If Loving You is Wrong” by Michael Martin

“Are you coming tonight?”Her alluring voice played through the phone, a siren call of smooth, sweet promises laced with unspoken dangers. A drug, one that got my heart high and my brain numb. My mind, at least its more moral aspects, screamed at me to stop before things turned physical.I’d stopped listening to that part of my psyche weeks ago.“I’m thinking about it. She knows what time to expect me, but I can tell her I hit traffic.”My chest felt like a black hole, an intense weight resting on it...

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“A Forgotten Spark” by Riley B.

“C’mon Jake, don’t bail on us again. You haven’t shown up the last three times. We’re worried about you, man.” My friend’s voice crackled through my phone, reaching my half-attentive ears. “Yeah Pat, I’ll do my best. I’m busy with stuff, so no promises.” “Not good enough, Jake. Tell me right now you’ll be here. Promise me, dude. None of this half-committed crap. We’ve had this planned for months...

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“The Life of a Lone Flower” by Lynn Penny

There once was a seed—a tiny, single seed—that fell from the top of the hill and into the cracks of the earth, finding its new home within a dark, lonely cave. The only light to reach the depths was from the small opening where the seed made its fall.It was a small fit for the seed to take root, but all the while, just as cozy as it needed to be. Day by day, the small ray of sun gleamed down on the tiny seed as it grew more and more. At first, there was just the tiniest bit of stem, but out of the blue bloomed the most b...

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“What if stars aren’t stars at all, but holes poked at the top of a container so we can breathe?” by Kendi Karimi

"Are you coming tonight?" Perhaps there was something wrong with me, in me? Why would I like JD so much and hate his coming to my house? To my space? I knew it was safe, so which was to blame between heart and mind? Why would I want to hear his voice everyday, and everyday switch my phone off just in case he calls? Am I an alien? And then when he kept quiet, was he thinking just the same? Was he thinking about my weird ways or about his? Was he doubting everything about our everything? When the other day he asked if I ...

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“an introvert and an extrovert - still friends, just not talking” by Laiba M

Maybe we could have lasted if you had different ways to cope.Maybe we would still be talking all day, good morning and goodnight texts, smiley faces, hearts, promises, hopes.Your honey-sweet words and thoughts traveled a long way to me, flying through state after state, sent only to me, and I would excitedly open every package. Every how was your day and stay safe, every tidbit of information about yourself, I would save in my precious storage room just for you.You said we would be fri...

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“Androids Don't Like Photos” by Shannon Ruane

Androids Don't Like Photos. Dr. Jacob Houghman panicked for a few moments, briefly unable to find his smartphone. He needed to place several important phone calls. "Are you coming tonight?" he asked each person and was relieved when they all said they would. He wanted everything perfect for this party. Presenting himself as an exclusive soci...

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“The best worst day ever” by J D Hernandez

“Are you coming tonight?” Marcus asked staring at the oncoming traffic. His friend Cassidy made a face. “I guess, it's over on Maroa, right? Cassidy said signaling for him to run, they darted across the street. Barely making it in time. Marcus rubbed his arm sheepishly. “Please come, it will be fun I promise” “Last time you promised we would have fun, we had to outrun the c...

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“The social scene” by J D Hernandez

For the average young adult, the college social scene is a terrifying and magnificent place to be, simply because most people think that they’re free. However, they would be greatly confused. Just like high school and all other places in life there are expectations. There are still smart people, cool people, and teacher's pets. Deciding where you want it to fit into this world mattered. For Logon Scott, it w...

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“The yin to my Yang” by J D Hernandez

The saying opposites attach spoke Volumes about the odd relationship of Mathew Tompson and Donovan Dinozzo.They were polor opposites. one up for anything, the other perfected it be just them or alone. One always causing mischief the other setting it right. It had been that way since the first day they had meet. In middle school some of other kids even used to tease them and ask them how they could be friends because they were so different. This use to offense Donvon who would then spend the rest of recess and break terrorizing them. The u...

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“The Debate” by H L McQuaid

You savour these moments in the spotlight, swirling the attention like a fine wine in your mouth. All lenses narrowed on your charming smile, your blue eyes made bluer as your pupils contract to pinpoints, the only part of your body that shies away from bright lights. The reporters jostle for position, shoulders kicking toward the front of the stage. Ravenous, famished, churning the air as they sniff for political chum. I envy your ease in these situations, you slice through the tricky queries and lob back talking points, you smash the so...

43 comments 43 SHORTLIST ⭐️

Read story

“Losing Friends Is Heartrending” by Johana Htwe

“Are you coming tonight?” Rachel asks me from across a table that offers six seats. She is sitting opposite to me while I am in the middle between my two friends; Meghan and Ella, and opposite to them are Rose and Lily.This is our group. We have been together since early months of first year in university. Rose, Lily, and Meghan hang out together most frequently while Rachel and Ella are closer. As for me, I show no favoritism but I usually spend more time with one of them when it comes to helping their assignments.Our surro...

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“First Day Fiasco” by 𝕂𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕖 𝕎.

Before leaving the car, I check my belongings. Retainer case, phone, money for lunch, spare hair tie. Looks like I have everything. I take a deep breath before opening my car door. I am so excited for my first day at the new job, but also a little unsure what to expect. I have never worked at an Icy Duke before. But making ice cream Snowstorms can’t be that difficult, can it? I enter the restaurant and pau...

104 comments 104

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“Error of his Ways” by J D Hernandez

Power companies and crewmates struggled to return lights and gas back to suburban California; the biggest tsunami on record had just decimated the coastline. The survivors struggled to repair and people were at their pettiest. Especially one family of four. Father Anthony Richards’ was a coldhearted businessman who only cared about his bottomline. As such Anthony had no problem bankrupting the school districts. Which had...

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$50

Prize money

677

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jul 29, 2021 EST

Won by K. Antonio 🏆

Title: 10 Years Of Space

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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