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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#109: Working Hard, Hardly Working

For better or worse, a lot of our identity (or at least, how people perceive us) is tied to what we do for a living. As well as making up the daily rhythm of our lives, a lot of our goals and aspirations are career-based. Whether you’re a workaholic or living for the weekend, this week we’re diving into the world of work, writing about dream jobs — and the not-so-dreamy jobs.

🥇 Winner

“Diner At The End” by CJ Rodgers

🏆 Winner of Contest #109

It was around ten after Life when he came in. Nightshift was the best shift, to the three that worked at the diner at The End. It let the dishwasher have a break when their feet started to hurt. It let the cook wear headphones while he worked. And it let the waitress write in her journal. The customer was no one special. An average joe with a bit of scruff and a plain, if respectable outfit. He sat at a booth near the kitchen and ordered a cup of coffee, some pancakes, and a side...

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⭐️ Shortlisted

“A Thousand Years in Tokyo” by Alex Sultan

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #109

Anyone who wins the lottery on their first ticket should be considered a time traveler. A win on their second ticket as well and they're giving themselves away. Takeshi yawned. The car radio read 2:45 a.m. He drank the last of his coffee, cold and bitter, then clicked on the overhead lights. In a couple of minutes, a woman by the name of Naoko Asari would walk out of the gas station with two winning lottery tickets. She’d cash them in before returning to her time.He would arrest her before she could.Takeshi checked his service pistol. He rel...

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“Always Check the Dryer for Crayons” by Beth Jackson

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #109

CW: miscarriage “It doesn’t hurt,” the radiographer says, her voice light and cheery. Youthful. She shakes the gel, it slaps against the ends of the bottle, the vulgar noise harsh in the softness of the dim room."It did last time.” The words escape. Their weight settles on my chest, and each wretched syllable wraps around my throat and squeezes, forcing bitter tears from my eyes.The transducer is cold as it skims the barren expanse above my pubic hair. She pushes hard on my bladder, and I squirm and hope it holds under the incursion.“Th...

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“The Last Train” by Marlee Brooks

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #109

“You should have just let her jump the gate,” my coworker, Angie, said. “That’s against the rules,” I sighed. That’s how all my fellow train station managers feel. If a customer’s solution is too complicated, my coworkers let them go through the emergency exit gate. She shrugged in response. I heard a tap on the glass and turned to find a confused-looking customer, card in hand. I hate when they tap on the glass as if I’m a fish in an aquarium. After I assisted them, I wrote “DO NOT TAP ON THE GLASS PLEASE” on a sticky note...

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“Come Away, O Human Child” by Mary Sheehan

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #109

They say we are made mostly of water, but I am made mostly of air.At work, they call me The Shadow, because I’m built like a narrow doorway and glide noiselessly on the red rubber floors. My world is populated by the ghosts of my past; most prominently the spectre of my sister, Grace.On the geriatric rehabilitation ward, I check cannulas, pass out painkillers, hold hands and heave bedpans. I gently guide my patients through basic motions and write up their treatment plans. I gravitate towards the elderly; they have stories to tell and I like...

Read story

“The 9PM Clock In” by Janey El Napier

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #109

Dot was new to the night shift. She was very much a day person – all sunshine and blonde curls and dresses that hit just the right part of her knees so that the fabric flounced perfectly. She drank lavender tea and read poetry and was rather sure that without the sunlight on her skin every morning, she would shrivel up and die. But that was probably rather dramatic. The ten-minute break between the day and night shift was like a dam between precision and insanity. Though Dot was never one for precision, soft-edged and gentle-smiled as ...

Read story

This week's prompts

Write about a character who has landed their dream job, only to discover it isn’t quite what they imagined it to be.

Dark – 34 stories

Start your story with a character quitting their job, or getting fired.

Angst – 35 stories

Write about a character who leads a secret double life outside of their day job.

Thriller and Suspense – 16 stories

Set your story during the night shift.

Dark – 53 stories

Your character sits down at their desk on a Monday morning and finds a completely unexpected email in their inbox. Write about what happens next.

Thriller and Suspense – 24 stories

Stories

“Diner At The End” by CJ Rodgers

🏆 Winner of Contest #109

It was around ten after Life when he came in. Nightshift was the best shift, to the three that worked at the diner at The End. It let the dishwasher have a break when their feet started to hurt. It let the cook wear headphones while he worked. And it let the waitress write in her journal. The customer was no one special. An average joe with a bit of scruff and a plain, if respectable outfit. He sat at a booth near the kitchen and ordered a cup of coffee, some pancakes, and a side...

Read story

“A Thousand Years in Tokyo” by Alex Sultan

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #109

Anyone who wins the lottery on their first ticket should be considered a time traveler. A win on their second ticket as well and they're giving themselves away. Takeshi yawned. The car radio read 2:45 a.m. He drank the last of his coffee, cold and bitter, then clicked on the overhead lights. In a couple of minutes, a woman by the name of Naoko Asari would walk out of the gas station with two winning lottery tickets. She’d cash them in before returning to her time.He would arrest her before she could.Takeshi checked his service pistol. He rel...

Read story

“Always Check the Dryer for Crayons” by Beth Jackson

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #109

CW: miscarriage “It doesn’t hurt,” the radiographer says, her voice light and cheery. Youthful. She shakes the gel, it slaps against the ends of the bottle, the vulgar noise harsh in the softness of the dim room."It did last time.” The words escape. Their weight settles on my chest, and each wretched syllable wraps around my throat and squeezes, forcing bitter tears from my eyes.The transducer is cold as it skims the barren expanse above my pubic hair. She pushes hard on my bladder, and I squirm and hope it holds under the incursion.“Th...

Read story

“The Last Train” by Marlee Brooks

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #109

“You should have just let her jump the gate,” my coworker, Angie, said. “That’s against the rules,” I sighed. That’s how all my fellow train station managers feel. If a customer’s solution is too complicated, my coworkers let them go through the emergency exit gate. She shrugged in response. I heard a tap on the glass and turned to find a confused-looking customer, card in hand. I hate when they tap on the glass as if I’m a fish in an aquarium. After I assisted them, I wrote “DO NOT TAP ON THE GLASS PLEASE” on a sticky note...

Read story

“Mac” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

Submitted to Contest #109

It is Alex LaCroix’s fault. Even as a 1st grader, I know he is pure Virginia white trash—all the LaCroix’s are, my mother says. Still, blonde haired, blue-eyed Alex Lacroix is the most handsome boy in class, if not the entire grade. Even if he is shorter than I am. It will be two decades until I understand the Napoleon complex, but Alex LaCroix has it in spades. Regardless, I’d have done anything for him, an angry little boy whose mother worked nights at ShopRite. We are lined up for a field trip to the woodlands behind the sc...

Read story

“Come Away, O Human Child” by Mary Sheehan

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #109

They say we are made mostly of water, but I am made mostly of air.At work, they call me The Shadow, because I’m built like a narrow doorway and glide noiselessly on the red rubber floors. My world is populated by the ghosts of my past; most prominently the spectre of my sister, Grace.On the geriatric rehabilitation ward, I check cannulas, pass out painkillers, hold hands and heave bedpans. I gently guide my patients through basic motions and write up their treatment plans. I gravitate towards the elderly; they have stories to tell and I like...

Read story

“Su-10’s Interns” by Stevie B

Submitted to Contest #109

Damn, another one had quit on her yesterday! Su-10 (a funny and attractive brunette who worked in the financial industry and who was coincidentally the subject of an ongoing debate among the guys at The Court Street Bar and Restaurant about whether she was really part Asian or only an impression based solely on her use of eyeliner) had had it with interns! They were mostly over-privileged sons and daughters of the upper echelon’s clients at her corporation and in her strongly opinionated point of view were absolutely worthless. Less than wor...

Read story

“The 9PM Clock In” by Janey El Napier

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #109

Dot was new to the night shift. She was very much a day person – all sunshine and blonde curls and dresses that hit just the right part of her knees so that the fabric flounced perfectly. She drank lavender tea and read poetry and was rather sure that without the sunlight on her skin every morning, she would shrivel up and die. But that was probably rather dramatic. The ten-minute break between the day and night shift was like a dam between precision and insanity. Though Dot was never one for precision, soft-edged and gentle-smiled as ...

Read story

“Hope Rising ” by Daniel R. Hayes

Submitted to Contest #109

(Content Warning: Some mild violence.)She falls like a ghost lost in the endless void. Light-as-a-feather, yet heavy as a concrete brick, she falls. Her eyes point to the sky as the wind whips through her golden locks, so vast, so beautiful. The blue floral dress that she spent so much time contemplating whether or not to wear that morning flapped in the updraft of gravity.There were no tears to cry. What would be the point of sobbing anyway? Her life would soon be over with a bloody splat on the pavement below. People would glance at her li...

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“Descent Into Darkness” by Mister X

Submitted to Contest #109

August 2020How do you define the dark? At its core, it’s the absence of light. If that’s the case, then night similarly would be the absence of day. I work at night. I exist in the dark. As such, I have the time and the quiet to contemplate these things. I’m not sure how I ended up living my life at night, but a few things I am sure about. Silence is loud and darkness is maddening. I used to know the light, I used to embrace the day. Day people seem to live; night people simply exist. September 2020The thing about ni...

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“The Mysterious Email” by Jaituni Sanghavi

Submitted to Contest #109

He had tears in his eyes and his slender body was shivering.He never knew that one email could change his life forever.He couldn’t believe what his eyes saw.It seemed surreal, bizarre!It was as though the universe had played a joke on him and he couldn’t help but laugh and cry, quiver and stand still at the same time.*6 hours earlierIt was a dull Monday morning for 25 year-old IT Professional, Scott Harris.With an impassive look laid over his face, he entered into his office.He didn’t want to work today; and certainly not after having the mo...

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“Karma and Santayana” by Susanne Perry

Submitted to Contest #109

CW: strong languageFinally, the day had arrived. After forty years of smart-ass students, irrational parents, inept administrators and clueless coworkers, it was my last day in this godforsaken classroom. When I became a teacher all those years ago, it wasn’t to have the summers off as some asshole idiot will tell you, thinking he’s so clever. Yeah. Ha-ha.In truth, my motivation was a love of history. I became a history teacher because history was all I wanted to talk about, all I wanted to read about. I needed a job after college and I want...

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“Mondays” by Holly B

Submitted to Contest #109

I hadn’t been to work in weeks. I yawned as I pressed the start button on the coffee pot. As the familiar aroma met the air, my mind wandered to my daily commute and the monumental to-do list that awaited me. My co-worker Bill's last day was Friday. So not only will I be catching up on work that I missed while I was away but also committing to the work of two people until Bill’s replacement can start in one more week. My other co-worker and close friend Mandi asked me if I could pitch in for the goodbye party for Bill. They got...

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“Reunited Seasons” by Dhruv Middha

Submitted to Contest #109

*Silent Chimes of flakes, jingling Bells of Church, and the joy of Christmas spread Over The Rainbow of a shopping Street. It all makes sense on the night before Christmas.*It was the time of Christmas I was enjoying my night working at the gift shop. Yeah! you heard it right I love working there, why, you'll know as the story progresses. I was swiping the gifts filled with the emotions of people, while they were pushing each other creating a hustle. My fellow employees were calling each other all over the store. When all of a sudden I get a...

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“Midnight Hunger” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #109

TW: discussion of suicide.People are hungry. It awakens after midnight and gnaws at them. Masks come off. Those insatiable needs drive them like voracious sheep.I dropped a guy at SFO to catch the red-eye. He told me, ‘All cities are the same.’ He’d traveled the world and said they are interchangeable. Indistinguishable. That’s a lot of baby birds wanting food.Everyone seeks a friend. Whatever your personal definition of ‘friendship’ might be.At that hour, people wander the streets, stripped of dignity, clothes, pretense... Everything bared....

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$250

Prize money

162

Contest entries

149

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Sep 03, 2021 EST

Won by CJ Rodgers 🏆

Title: Diner At The End

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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