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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.

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

“NAIL HEAD” by Del Gibson

Submitted to Contest #109

NAIL HEAD by Del Gibson Five years ago, Dr. Roman Wilson quit his job as a clinical psychologist, and this is why… Amanda sits on the soft white leather couch. Her legs are crossed, they are jigging up and down. She is sitting in her psychologist’s office, Dr. Wilson, telling him about her life, and what happened to her and her family, all of those years ago; in the house on Broken Hill. “So, like I was just saying. The first time I saw Nail Head, I was six or maybe seven years old,” she grips the couch with white knuckles. “Mum turned...

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“Merry Christmas” by Sarah Wheeler

Submitted to Contest #109

He heard a quick rap on his office door. “Come in,” he said, but the door was already opening. It was Martin, in a sleek navy suit and patterned tie, holding the door with one tanned hand as he casually leaned into the opening. “Hey, Chris! Glad to see you’re still here,” Martin said, flashing a brilliant smile. Some of his dark hair was beginning to slip free from the rest, which was neatly slicked back. “Martin, what can I do for you?” Chris asked, swiveling in his office chair. “Just wanted to remind you that we need to get thos...

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“The Graveyard Shift” by Veronika Jordan

Submitted to Contest #109

It’s not every day you stumble across a dead body. Actually, in my case it’s probably about once a week, but then I’m a vampire hunter so it’s my job. In this case, I literally stumbled across her. Tripped over her in the park where he’d left her and fell flat on my face. I say he because they usually are - the vampires not the victims. She was so pale with no visible injuries apart from the tell-tale two red marks on her neck. I knew what I had to do next. Find the killer before he found his next victim. In legend, the...

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“Keep The Change ” by R.S. Louvierre

Submitted to Contest #109

“Hello”, he greeted the customer as they walked in. The customer was a gorgeous woman with tan skin and auburn hair. Adam, as printed in black, bold letters on his nametag, could not help but watch as she walked towards the Pepsi cooler door. She was wearing tightly pressed blue jeans, a blue collar shirt that hugged her bosom, and a pair of all gray Vans on her feet. It was 9:30 in the evening, and his shift at the local gas station was already dragging on. The usual rush hour crowd had dispersed hours earlier, the side work had been...

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“5 Yen Coin” by Jihan Qanita

Submitted to Contest #109

It was 10 o'clock in the evening. The night sky was moonless with the clouds covering the stars. In a quiet neighborhood, stood the only place emitting lights from its inside. A 24-hour convenience store. Behind the counter, a young man played with his phone by himself. His name was displayed on the plate by his chest, but people usually just called him Shin. He was a college student. Today was the first day he officially worked part-time for this convenience store. He was short on money because of his hobby and just at that time, he saw...

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“In memory of Hanna” by Howard Englander

Submitted to Contest #109

Word Count: 2,984 In Memory of Hanna It had been three months since the surprise party. Jakub was stunned when Hanna walked him into the room filled with dozens of friends wearing party hats and broad smiles. A pianist and a bona fide chanteuse with a Marlene Dietrich accent led the singing of Happy Birthday. A pair of waitresses served fancy appetizers and flutes of champagne. Hanging across the back wall behind the makeshift bar a banner read HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAKE EDELMAN – 73 YEARS YOUNG. Surrounded b...

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“Flying with Sparrows” by Mei Ling

Submitted to Contest #109

Flying with Sparrows by J. M. Oxford Sparrows parade on tree branches outside my window. They cozy up to each other until taken by flight. I dream of flight – far away to exotic territories; an island would do. Oh, Monday, Monday – coffee, and e-mail. Let’s see. August 29th, 1960, an offer from the university featuring a study abroad program – Spain, Germany, Costa Rica, and Cuba … Cuba! Oh, imagine an island get-away. Monday mornings feel a bit confining. It's as if I need to break out of a cocoon of comfort to trudge the road of contin...

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“A Dream Job” by Ramona Scarborough

Submitted to Contest #109

A squat grey building of only twenty-four stories dwarfed by blocks of skyscrapers was not what I expected. However, etched in the stone arch above the front entrance were the words, Institute of Dream Research. I have been hired as an expert in a new specialized field of study. I am an Oneironaut, a person who, while asleep, can be the master of my dreams, almost like a director of a play. This ability is called lucid dreaming. While asleep, some people may have occasions when they know “this is just a dream.” However, most people while l...

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“The Killing Pages” by Daniel Brown

Submitted to Contest #109

TW: graphic depictions of violent acts Day 1 I answer an ad formatted like a Black Ops mission that leads me to a colorless office building. You come here and read for money 772 Iris Boulevard The blacked-out words catch my wayward cigarette ashes like the cracked sidewalk catches raindrops in its crevices. I stare into the grey above and wonder if the job will be as intriguing as this ad. If my burnt fingertips will s...

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“The Sun Shines Brighter ” by L.J. LaBree

Submitted to Contest #109

CW: abuse, violence“You aren’t going anywhere! You work for me! I own you!”It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.I fight to keep my frame from shivering as her voice claws to an octave higher, the stapler waving around her head like a magpie waiting to divebomb an unsuspecting victim.This isn’t the first time she’s threatened to hit me with the small mechanical device. It isn’t the first time she’s followed through with her threat, either.She screamed and screeched like this for another 20 minutes, never seeming to take a breath in between ...

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“The Prompt” by Ben Rounds

Submitted to Contest #109

Brian’s hands shook slightly as he read the prompt. “Oh, sweet Jesus,” he breathed. “What is it honey?” said Penny, padding into the kitchen on bare feet. Brain frowned and shook his head. He did not like to be disturbed when he was working, but, “It’s this week's Reedsy prompt,” he sighed. “What's wrong with it, honey?” she said. Breathing in deeply, Brian lied. “It’s just that it’s so stupid,” he said. “‘Working Hard, Hardly Working.’ Honestly, what sort of-” The espresso machine flared to life, grinding out a sin...

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“the Internalizer” by Alboricah Rathupetsane

Submitted to Contest #109

Grandma used to liken my personality to a pot of simmering broth. ‘Comfortable and settles well in the belly, it does,’ she’d often tell me. ‘But sometimes, people leave such things on the stove for too long, forgetting that a lid can only ever contain so much. And just like that, something comfortable and nurturing becomes dangerous.’ I’m reminded of her words now as I read an email from my boss’s boss instructing me to put together a detailed report on the new project. I don’t mind hard work, but I mind doing work that isn’t mine. More tha...

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“The Graveyard Shift” by Lucia Faulkner

Submitted to Contest #109

When I’d found the ad for this job in the newspaper it seemed like a miracle. I’d been out of work for a few months, and was becoming somewhat desperate as my already meager savings ran lower and lower. The job was for the night shift at a local cemetery and paid well above what it seemed to merit. I’ve never been particularly bothered by the dark, though the cemetery did add a level of creepiness, but I figured that at this point it was better than nothing. I met with the groundskeeper the next morning. He was an older gentleman, L...

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“Sweeping lights to Soggy rocks” by J .

Submitted to Contest #109

Long blasts of boat horns lauded the quest of numbing winds leaving the calm lands for restless seas. Star-studded horizons and wavering waters had already merged together in the face of stark darkness. Foaming waves continued its relentless crashing on to the gritty shores. Tommy shrugged and rubbed his palms together as he hurried along a road past the main gates of National Coast Guard buildings, towards the armory counter. Large beams of light shooting from the eye of the lighthouse, skipping and sweeping the waters was a thing to watch....

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“Braiding Bonds” by Ben Connolly

Submitted to Contest #109

The sky is patchy with sparse, moonlit clouds. The pavement, wet from showers earlier in the day, glistens with the reflections of orange lamps and the locks on bay doors shining either red or green. At two in the morning on a weeknight, most of the city is dormant; but on the outskirts, far from any residential grids or common businesses, the warehouse yards are alight and churning out their goods like machines. Not every warehouse is required by its company’s customer demand to run through the night, but Henry’s does; and if it’s meant to ...

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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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