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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

“Everest” by Leah Li

Submitted to Contest #109

He had reached the top. The climb was finally over. He was at the summit that overlooked all others, hidden high in the clouds over his world of a domain. He looked around his new office. The walls gleamed at him, not a speck or dent in sight. His new desk stood patiently in wait, handpicked from the antique store down the block. He’d gotten rid of the one Mike used to use, the creaky old thing with a broken leg. He had never understood why the old man had such an attachment to it, he had never bothered to ask. He let himself think about his...

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“End of day” by Dionisia Lampadariou

Submitted to Contest #109

New assignment “I want to be a scientist! I had to see how the cat would react!” Looking back, I see how weak I had been up to that point. After years of bracing myself for escalating tantrums, I still hadn’t built the emotional capacity to deal with a mutilated pet, and my 11-year-old refusing to hand me its tail. I put on a calm face and asked him to get washed while I scraped the entrails off the sink. I had less than 15 minutes to dispose of the kitten, and I had to make sure he wouldn’t dig her up again. A winless battle, unless he...

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“BREAKING POINT” by Betty Tyrrell

Submitted to Contest #109

It’s official. I’m on permanent strike. After 68 years of drudgery I’m throwing in the tea towel, shredding the dusters - and the garbage guys can have my well-worn collection of mops, sponges et al. I’ve been a house cleaner since I was 8 years young, after my mother was widowed and left with two children to support in the dismal post -war period. I was 6 when my beloved Dad passed; my youngest brother opened his eyes, ready to celebrate his 3rd birthday, just as my father closed his for the last time. He was 26. But I’m not after sympa...

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“Copy Room” by Rachel Deeming

Submitted to Contest #109

Advisory: sexual advances; swearingStacy sat at her desk, thinking what to do. She had set herself an ultimatum: if it happened again, she would quit.It had happened again.To most, it might seem innocent, the occasional brushing past her when she was sandwiched between the counter and the photocopier where there was minimal room and he just had to get through, groin against buttock, his against hers. Sometimes he had to reach for something on the shelf above at the same time, leaving her to lean forward just a little but enough for her rear ...

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“Two Sides of the Same Coin” by Kristin Rothell

Submitted to Contest #109

“Fuck you. I’m done.” With a fierce set to his sharp jaw, Ethan Tromblay stood and slapped his shield on his Commander’s desk. He unholstered his sidearm, ejected the chambered round, and released the clip into his waiting hand. He slammed them all next to his badge. Without a backwards glance, he swept from Commander Holleran’s office and into the bullpen. Silence reigned, but he didn’t stop to gawk at the novelty. His desk was his first stop – one devoid of any personal touches. He’d never ...

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“The Perks of Being Fired” by Pavel Šoral

Submitted to Contest #109

CW: adult content, strong languageDisappointedly, yet quite predictably, she was leaving the Head Director’s office. All eyes were on her, adding to her unbearable embbarrasment, as she was passing through the aisle of that clinically cold open-space she hated so sincerely. They all know, oh, how clearly, she thought bitterly, as she felt that salty aftertaste still lingering in her mouth. Well, life can be a tough pill to swallow. And sometimes even swallowing doesn’t help. Nevermind, lesson learned.She straightened her posture in a po...

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“The Defense” by Michele Duess

Submitted to Contest #109

I know I had to be fired, Mr. Dues, but did he have to call the cops?Yeah, yeah, still not sorry. How do I want to plead? Aren’t you the lawyer? Tell the judge...I don’t know. A reaction from the third vaccine affected my mental state. Better, call it an act of civil disobedience. Besides, I didn’t really hurt him. Gadget's lucky I didn’t have a Louisville slugger. Crybaby.Well, I guess you want to hear the story. So, relax as best you can in here. Got a cigarette by any chance? I didn’t use to smoke trust me. But 2021 isn’t shaping up...

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“Claire (de Lune)” by Calvin Alley

Submitted to Contest #109

My name is Claire, and I shower at night even though I don’t want to. Something about the fluorescent light, the dark window, the white tiles, it makes my skin feel too close to the bone. I tried, at first, to stay awake during the day, to shower and eat and everything while the sun was up. When it’s so bright outside you don’t even have to turn on the light, just keep the blinds up and let sunshine illuminate the bathroom, even through the fog and condensation on the glass - that’s when I like to shower best. But I work nights now, and even...

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“The secret job” by Florencia Menna

Submitted to Contest #109

Every morning the alarm goes off at 7am and Robert turns it off so that his wife Helen can continue to sleep for a while longer. He takes a quick shower and then dresses in his elegant suit that he had arranged on a chair in their bedroom the night before. He chooses the tie that best matches with the suit and takes a watch from the dresser drawer - he loves watches and has several, even very expensive ones, but one that is his favorite and is the one that his father gave him when he turned his birthday eighteen-. To finish, he puts on his b...

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“The Child in Me” by Alex Scott

Submitted to Contest #109

THE CHILD IN MEBy Moxy PanredeI look like a kid. If you saw me on the street with jeans and a t-shirt, you’d swear I was a twelve-year-old girl. I am 5’0 tall and weigh 120 lbs. I have cute chubby cheeks with dimples, brown wavy hair, and big blue eyes. Though I can pass for 12, I am actually 34. I have three beautiful little girls that look just like me. My oldest is 12 years old. I’d do anything to protect them. My husband is a wonderful man, a pastor at Our Lord, The Savior.I work at the local library where I am in charge of story time. R...

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“Zhizhu” by Mike Garrigan

Submitted to Contest #109

Sister Qian Guang pulled quackgrass from her pea garden. She built wooden trellises to support her pole peas, but only manual labor could stave off the weeds. As she yanked the last stubborn tuft of quackgrass from the soil, she felt a cramp in her lower back. She wiped the sweat from her brow with the sleeve of her alb.A thousand years ago, just before the Great Flood, Qian’s ancestors referred one’s main gig as a “day job.” But here, in the year 3021, nestled in the lowlands of New Shaolin Empire, agrarian subjects of the new Empress Yi La...

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“I'll Think I'll Keep My Old Car” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #109

“Oh I love it Margie but how could you afford a car like that?” I was happy for my friend but a bit envious at the same time. I looked across the road at my ten year old Datsun, a big dent in the side of the door where someone had rammed into me in the local shopping centre, without even leaving a note or a phone number. I had asked the manager of the supermarket if we could look at the CCTV camera, but of course it was broken, so with no witnesses, that was the end of it. Of course I couldn’t afford to have it fixed, not on my wage. My brot...

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“That Good Night” by Johannes Heinonen

Submitted to Contest #109

The lights were turned down, and the corridors were empty. John’s steps echoed in the empty space as he slowly made his way down the corridor, stopping at every door to look through the small windows into the dark rooms, making sure the patients were in their beds. The playroom and the prayer/meditation room were empty, as they should be. He noticed faint light coming from a window two doors down. He crept up to the window and peeked in. The boy in the second bed from the window was sitting up, reading a book in the light of the night lamp. ...

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“MIDNIGHT MAN” by Moss Hall

Submitted to Contest #109

MIDNIGHT MAN by Moss Hall &n...

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“The Museum Comes Alive” by Melinda Madrigal

Submitted to Contest #109

Every night at exactly midnight the Smithsonian museum comes alive. Midnight has come, Hazel, a paleontologist is working the night shift when something unexpected happens. I hate working the night shift, but my work demands it. The work I'm doing is too important to put down. The exhibit I'm putting together is called the beginning of life, which explores earths early past all the way to the time of the dinosaurs. This project has been my baby for over a year. I am very proud of the work I've been doing. Hazel looks at her watch, ...

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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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