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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#128: Tea Time

Did you know that January is National Hot Tea Month? Tea is a wonderfully diverse beverage that’s enjoyed in many different ways all over the world. It can be a soothing drink, a social drink, and has even sparked conflicts (think the Boston Tea Party, or the First Opium War).

Inspired by the history and cultural significance of this beverage, here are the prompts for this week’s contest:

This week's prompts

Start your story with someone making a cup of tea — either for themself or for someone else.

Fluff – 171 stories

Set your story in a tea house.

Spring – 36 stories

Write a story about a tea party that your character is reluctant to go to.

Summer – 44 stories

Write about a character who’s dying to “spill the tea” (gossip) about something.

Fluff – 21 stories

Write a story about a conflict that breaks out over something ordinary (like tea, perhaps).

High School – 26 stories

Stories

“Bad Tea, Good Friends” by Rachel Kenley Fry

Submitted to Contest #128

Ava’s dress was not even pretty and the hot chocolate was SUPER watery.That’s what I’m gonna tell my mom when she akses me about the tea party. Pecause really, grown ups think Ava’s dresses are so cute, but they’re waaaay too pink and the sparkles get everywhere. Green dresses are ackshully way awesomer, pecause Merida wears green and she’s the best Disney Princess that nobody even knows about. And this hot chocolate is just like, warm water, but it has some cocoa in it, but really not very much and it’s not really as yummy as when my mom ma...

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“Making Amends with A Baby” by Charlie Murphy

Submitted to Contest #128

“When is she gonna arrive?”"Any moment, now, sweetie, " Mommy said.“But, when?” I stomped my feet.“Be patient, honeybear.”I pouted."Want me to sing you a song?"Ding-dong!“I'll get it!” I ran to the door and opened it.“Hey, Jade,” Beth said.“Beth!” I hugged her.“See, Jade? You gotta be patient.”“Sorry, Mommy.”“That’s my lil guy.” She pinched my cheek.I smiled. I didn’t care Beth saw.I started acting younger than I really was three years ago. I didn't like to talk about what happened before, but I loved being babied!It's just who I am!”Thank y...

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“No Matter What” by Connor Greene

Submitted to Contest #128

When the lumber yard of Boston Harbor was in sight, Adoniram Douglass felt completely overjoyed. Three months of traveling by sea and he and his son, Cully, would be in the colonies in a matter of hours. Leaving Ireland was not easy. Especially during such a time as this. Rumors of revolution were in the air, and even breathing a word of agreement or compliance with the American "rebels" was grounds for arrest, beating, and hanging. He and Cully had come to escape the violence. Adoniram was a hard-working man whom violence seemed to follow...

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“Strange Tea and Its Consequences” by Bruce Friedman

Submitted to Contest #128

My day started off in an unusual way. I’m an experimental psychologist doing research on how brain pathways are affected by psychotropic drugs. The lab next to mine was occupied by Jack Sprague who was pursuing a similar line of research but using only one drug, psilocin, which is to say magic mushrooms. Jack was a pioneer in this research and had invited me to have coffee with him that morning. This was quite a surprise. We were not close so I was curious about what he had in mind.Regarding psilocin, there’s a consensus that it will em...

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“Another Cup, Dear?” by Jonathan Sadler

Submitted to Contest #128

(This work of fiction contains sensitive content involving the death of a child.) Mamie heard the high-pitched whistle of her country kettle as the water began to boil and gently pushed herself up from her careworn recliner. "Another cup, dear?" she asked, as she moved from the living room into the kitchen. Her husband sat at the kitchen table, arms resting comfortably next to his breakfast plate. Mamie smiled when she looked in his eyes; those deep, dark eyes that she had loved for years upon years. She passed by and gave him a gentle kis...

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“Tears of a Samurai” by Howard Seeley

Submitted to Contest #128

Tokyo, Japan: 1876 Japan, the land of the gods, was once a beautiful place. The hills, lush in growth, revealing all the beauty known to the civilized world. City streets swept daily, and all forms of filth, disposed of. All the people knew their place in society. Peasants, courtesans, merchants, even the untouchables. The world was orderly, and it was all due to the presence of the Samurai. Sadly, that was a heartbeat ago. A divine wind from the east blew across the coastal shores and through the palace gates of Edo. But the wind did not...

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“Sixteen Rungs” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #128

"I'LL BE THERE IN A MINUTE!"The arriving dusk of day began to hide the barren foliage of the oncoming winter. It wasn’t a particularly good example of a day. Heavy cloud cover had hidden any hope of the sun breaking through its defensive shield. The passing of each hour, thickened the ground fog, blanketing the dead garden - that once beautifully presented the epitome of springtime bloom and summer blossom - with ghostly shapes and wildly, imaginative apparitions of hidden memories wisping through its curtain.Lies were easier to voice, these...

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“Summers in Darjeeling” by MichElle Colpo

Submitted to Contest #128

Camellia, staring out the tiny nine by twelve-inch double insulated window of the airplane, saw nothing but large white fluffy clouds bouncing back beams of joyous sun into the cab. She wished she was as happy and carefree as the clouds they flew over. She felt more like angry bashing thunderclouds, lightning bolts clashing against each other in fits of rage. She was eighteen years old and still being forced to visit her extended family in India over the summer. This was her ...

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“Let Her Be Little” by Jacqueline Gualtieri

Submitted to Contest #128

He adjusted his bow-tie for the third time in the vanity mirror. His charcoal eyes were weary as he pulled it apart and started it again. The little red bow always looked a little eschew. When he finished it for the fourth time, he ran his hand through the tuft of hair on the top of his head, pulling it up to give it volume and then flattening it back down again. “What’s wrong, Hector?” Teresa asked, popping into the mirror behind him. Her tan skin shone in the fluorescent light, as did the muffins in her hand. “I made these fresh fo...

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“Healing Tea” by Noelle C. Lee

Submitted to Contest #128

As I arrived home from work, I entered the apartment to see my dining room table set with all my best dishes. Settings layered from dinner plates to finger bowls at the top with doilies separating each layer. Crystal stemware positioned atop of each setting. Sterling silverware shined and properly placed. Emily Post would be proud. My prized hand painted chinoiserie white and gold edged teapot only used for the most special of occasions adorned the table as its centerpiece. Surrounding the teapot was a trio of pastries; muffins, sc...

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“Alexander” by F.O. Morier

Submitted to Contest #128

There are people of whom you simply cannot guess their age. Alexander was such a man. A mysterious ageless being, who came from Russia once upon a time. and once upon another time; I met him. I had a summer job in a small hotel, as a jack of all trades. I don´t drink tea more than once a year, and that´s my absolute limit. I am a coffee junkie. There was a tearoom attached to the auberge and alexander managed it. During the day he would serve tea, to whoever was willing to follow his rules on the art of drinking tea. To the uneducated mind...

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“The Fifth Path” by Tay Mor

Submitted to Contest #128

5:15 AM. The only sounds in the house are the consistent hum of the old deep freeze and Marie shuffling around in the kitchen. The sounds, the movements, the routine, are the same as always. The soft flick as the kitchen light turns on. The tchsss tchsss of her house slippers dragging on the kitchen floor; it is so hard for her to step lively at this time of the morning. The rush and ting of water as she fills the kettle. It’s still dark out; in early fall the mornings are always like this, and truth be told, Marie ...

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“Liquid Courage” by Sarah L

Submitted to Contest #128

Amara waited with baited breath as her grandmother carefully lifted the steaming cup of tea to her lips, blew on it, then sipped. The lines on her grandmother’s mouth deepened as her lips screwed up, then became straight once more as the old woman sighed and shook her head. “I’m sorry, Amara. It just wasn’t right. You’re sure you were truly feeling the calm flow through you?” “I’m pretty sure I was,” Amara replied, rubbing her arm without meeting her grandmother’s eye. “Could I try it again, Mimi? Maybe I’ll get it—” But before she cou...

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“Tea Leaf Tells” by Tara Jones

Submitted to Contest #128

There is something about how she swirls her tea that always makes him suspicious. She hula-hoops it gently in her hands gazing in it as if searching for the bounty of a riptide deep, peering into its tide-pooled chamber. She searches the depths, and swirls the detritus in her handheld eco-system, instead of answering his questions. There is something about her demeanor that has changed ever since she lost the uncle he never met, the generous one who changed her life with the charitable act of dying. Something about that sudden moment had cha...

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“Presentation Is Key” by Hannah Barrick

Submitted to Contest #128

I gave Jerry a pained expression when the doorbell rang. “Here we go.” I could almost smell Paula’s perfume drenched clothes from here. “Now, come on…” Jerry admonished, “You promised to be civil to my mother.” He placed a light kiss on my cheek before turning to get the door. “I will if she will.” I murmured. Paula breezed in, perfume in tow, and swept me into a big hug. “Mia, darling! So good to see you!” “Thanks Paula. Good to see you too! It’s been a long time.” I smiled back at her while she looked me up and down. “And don’t you j...

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$250

Prize money

298

Contest entries

160

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jan 14, 2022 EST

Won by Jay Wayne 🏆

Title: my fellow passerine

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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