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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#139: Growing Up

As March reaches its conclusion and nature comes into full bloom (at least in the Northern hemisphere), it’s a time to reflect on growth. While shoots are emerging and flowers start to bud, it’s inspiring to think how big things flourish from such small beginnings.

This week’s prompts are about just that. Whether your characters have already gone through big changes, or are just beginning them, it’s time to get growing. I’ll see you back here for the next contest, when we’ll all be one week older and, hopefully, one week wiser.

This week's prompts

Write a story that involves a character donating a box of clothes which have been outgrown.

Middle School – 49 stories

Start your story with someone having their height marked on a door frame.

Middle School – 36 stories

Format your story in the style of diary entries.

Middle School – 53 stories

Start your story with the words: “Grow up.”

Angst – 63 stories

Write about a character sowing seeds for the future (literally or figuratively).

Spring – 39 stories

Stories

“Grow Up” by Tammy Hunter

Submitted to Contest #139

Grow up. “Grow up!” I yelled. I was tired of waiting for the little seeds to burst through the earth. If it takes this long for a seedling to pop up, how long will it take to produce something to eat? Mom came outside and told me to be patient and they will grow. It takes time, patience, and a lot of love for vegetables to grow from a seed. I told mom that it’s hard to be patient at 8 years old. She laughed and said, “Johnny, the seeds will grow as long as you continue to take care of them. Just be pat...

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“Wake up and Grow up Foolish Thinking People” by Tanzaniyah Kash

Submitted to Contest #139

GROW UP!The disconnection in our dysfunctional families are created by unlearned parenting skills cell phones science ect. and our own bad decisions to support the world wicked ideals as verity. It is a program agenda accepted too easily every second of the day without us having any real concern for each other image. When the image we all should be reflecting is the gift of God's image that is free which is ( ABSOULUTE GREATNESS). When we create negative behavior toward each other consequently we stay apart hating each other while seeking th...

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“A Full Turn” by Ravi Srivastava

Submitted to Contest #139

A Full Turn “Grow up, man! How long will you keep...

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“Grow Up” by Ancilla Designs

Submitted to Contest #139

“Grow up.” They all said. Their hurtful words stabbed me like a knife. “You need to grow up, Kiera.” “Your ideas aren’t good enough.” “Be better at what you do.” These statements were all that I got every day at school. I was enrolled in one of the top schools for inventors, the Invention Academy. And, if I’m being honest, I was kinda the nerd that everybody always hated. Until one day, I triumphed. “Hey, Ben.” I said as I closed my locker door, “How was your weekend?” “It was pretty good. I came up with a new idea for our invention that w...

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“Time In the Seed” by Dylan Miner

Submitted to Contest #139

“Grow up.” Ms. Veemothe said, “You’re almost eleven years old, this is unacceptable behavior. You cannot act like this, do you understand?” She didn’t get an answer, but she did receive silent indignance. She burned two eye-shaped holes through her son’s forehead, hoping for an explosion of some sort. After the fit little Goldy just threw, combustion seemed a fitting punishment. No such thing transpired and Mrs. Veemothe retired from her son’s bedroom with a sharp thwap of the door. It left the whole house shaking, shelves and frames and the...

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“Memories” by Giles Denton

Submitted to Contest #139

“Hurry up Allie, we’re going to be late!” Dan called from downstairs. His voice muted by the walls between them.Allie had been scratching around the attic for the last hour trying to find the right boxes. How do we have so much stuff? she thought to herself as she moved another stack of heavy cardboard boxes out of her way, dust flying up her nose and over her hair and face.“I can’t find the one with the children’s old clothes!” She yelled back downstairs, mainly to herself. Dan didn’t listen at the best of times and he’d probably disap...

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“A Box of Growing Sorrows” by Abbey Gowan

Submitted to Contest #139

There are so many beautiful things about growing up. Growing taller, figuring out who you are, always coming up with new dreams and unreachable goals for the future, and outgrowing past goals - whether you reached them or forgot about them over time. Something that once seemed so important, and so exciting can easily become something you barely even remember less than a year later. It almost seems silly that I used to think about certain things, places, or people so much. Especially now, I couldn’t even picture most of those things anymore. ...

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“The Runaway” by KBK Miller

Submitted to Contest #139

I watched as a row of blue bubbles burst and felt the rush of excitement surge through me. I might win this level. I’d been playing it for three days now. I’d refused to pay for any upgrades in the game and decided I would only rely on my skillset. Focusing, aiming, and firing, I let out a small squeak, a stacked row of red bubbles bust, almost putting me at the top. I looked around my quiet apartment for acknowledgment and was soon disappointed when I realized my cat was highly uninterested in what I was doing. I frowned and continued to pl...

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“The Memory Box” by Tiffany Banks

Submitted to Contest #139

The Memory Box Ryan dances to the music in his head as he moves around the kitchen laying out the fixings for a sub. At 60 years old he is still limber enough to glide and spin effortlessly around the kitchen but after one too many dips he is quickly reminded that there is a difference between young at heart and young in body. Resigned to just bobbing his head with steady hands he places the top bread onto his masterpiece. Reaching for a knife he expertly holds the sandwich in place as he cuts it in half. He stands back to admire his work...

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“The Quilted Woman ” by R. Naomí

Submitted to Contest #139

Violeta Tevy was six months pregnant with her second child and could not understand why the visions were coming back to her. She knew she would eventually return to the Quilted Woman for help, it was only a matter of time; the Quilted Woman knew Violeta Tevy would return, it was only a matter of material. After marriage, and a move to the UK, Violeta made it a cryptic mission to become normal. She had been accepted into a relatively prosaic and pragmatic family and was determined to make the most of it. She learned major things about...

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“Coping Memories” by Patricia Morales

Submitted to Contest #139

Trinity bent over to pick up the fallen sign again. She sighed as the rain made the black ink drip. The nasty wind did not make matters easier either. Instead of thumbtacking the sign, she decided to duct tape it, no matter how horrific it looks. Her goal today was to sell her outgrown clothes, it was okay if her stand didn’t look as desirable as she hoped it would be. The cardboard box that was packed with neatly folded clothes was now soggy. Trinity rubbed her temples, this is a disaster, I picked the worst location to sell. She decided ...

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“Growing love ” by Laura Annese

Submitted to Contest #139

Not all days last the same. I mean, they all have 24 hours but some seem longer and never ending. Gracie was looking at that pole by the lake. The same on where her and Gabriel marked their heights year by year. They grew up together like best friends and grew apart after the summer when she realized she loved him deeply. Four months she had spent in that small town since she moved there. It was a bold decision. She was far away from home in that unique place that used to be so fun, the same pl...

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“Marks On a Door Frame” by Ingrid Robertson

Submitted to Contest #139

She stood against the door frame and faced forward, but she was wiggling too much. “Stand Still” he told her, and there was a smile in his voice when he said it. She looked up at her dad. “And toes together, put your back against the wall…” He was looking at the straight edge he held at the top of her head, and drawing a bold line with a permanent black marker. When she stepped away from the door frame she had to raise her eyes to see the new mark. “Look how much you’ve grown!” He said, and gav...

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“Between Three and Four Feet” by Savannah Munholland

Submitted to Contest #139

I tap my foot as I watch the cake in the oven. Is it supposed to start rising yet? The cake is still pretty flat to me, and it’s already been in there for five minutes. I open my phone and swipe down the excessive intro to the recipe until I reach the actual instructions at the bottom, which I read through another three times to make sure I got it right. Arthur barrels into the kitchen, clutching his new toy plane that he drags through the air and a pencil. He crashes into my legs in a hug, pressing his face into my thigh and holding ...

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“Marks of Growth” by Abby Livingston

Submitted to Contest #139

“What? There’s no way.” I pull away from the wall and look at him incredulously. “See for yourself,” he replies, covering a laugh with the back of his hand, the one that holds the pen. I turn to analyze the marks on the doorframe. The newest marker of my height is, in fact, lower than its predecessor. “I did not SHRINK,” I say shrilly, turning back to him. His eyes are closed with mirth, and I allow myself a small smile. “I am twenty-seven years old! Not eighty! This is absurd. I was probably wearing shoes last time and made a ...

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$250

Prize money

239

Contest entries

135

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Apr 01, 2022 EST

Won by Alex Sultan 🏆

Title: buried in saipan

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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