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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#151: Back to the Reboot

This past week we’ve been inspired by Lightyear, Top Gun: Maverick, and all the prequels, sequels, and reboots hitting our screens lately. For many of us, reboots inspire a sense of nostalgia, or déjà vu. But how do you interpret them? Do you welcome new creatives and their reimaginings of the past, or do you crave something fresh in its own right?

Of course, repetition can be creepy — and it can even become boring — but it can also open the doorway to improvement and growth. However you feel about the ever-rebirthing media cycle surrounding us, we hope you’ll find inspiration in these week’s prompts:

This week's prompts

Write about a character who wakes up in their past life, or as a future reincarnation of themself.

Fantasy – 54 stories

Write about somebody breaking a cycle.

Narrative – 42 stories

Write about a character who keeps ending up in the same place.

Sad – 41 stories

Repeat the same line of dialogue, from the same character, three separate times.

Middle School – 58 stories

Write about a character who’s expected to follow in someone’s footsteps.

Kids – 38 stories

Stories

“Still Waiting” by Gordon K

Submitted to Contest #151

“Still Waiting.” Rick remarked into his phone begrudgingly. He had just left another voicemail for Zoe. It was supposed to be their first date, and she was forty-five minutes late. He had now left two voicemails and didn’t want to leave another for fear of being too clingy so early on in the relationship. The fact that he was already thinking of it as a relationship though was proof that he was clingy. He had to hold back. He couldn’t ring her again. Rick reminded himself that she was almost an hour behind schedule, and the likelihood of her...

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“Déjà Vu” by Betty Gilgoff

Submitted to Contest #151

“It isn’t important,” she tells herself as she reworks the measurements she’s just taken. It’s the mantra he’s taught her to use whenever she stressed. Having the numbers not quite right is definitely a stress. A fleeting sense of déjà vu interrupts her work. She sits down on the edge of the stool, letting the feeling pass. She knows better than to pin down the moment. She’s a scientist and won’t attribute it to more than the neuron misfire that it is. But still, she does. The little imaginary checklist in her brain that forever coun...

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“Callused” by Hilary R. Glick

Submitted to Contest #151

My hands ain’t bled since I turned five years old, and my brothers all followed my lead. Bobby’s stopped ‘round six, Colton was ‘bout seven, even Dusty’s hands was hard as a rock by the time he turned eight. But Emma’s hands didn’t callous ‘til she turned eleven. Papa says it’s because Emma’s a girl, and she’s got different obligations than us boys do, but she and I both know her being a girl’s got nothin’ to do with it. See, ‘round here, you don’t get a meal in front of you if you don’t work for it. Age don’t matter and sex don’t mat...

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“A Day to Remember” by Pam Lonsdale

Submitted to Contest #151

“Did you check the mail this morning?” I look up from the other side of the table where I sit with my morning coffee and toast, trying in vain to finish the news article I’ve already invested twenty minutes in. “Benny, it’s too early for the mail, we’ve only just gotten up. Are you expecting something?” The sweet scent of cinnamon drifts from his bowl of oatmeal, much of which he appears to be wearing. Remnants of his napkin, torn into dozens of pieces, now float atop the coffee in his cup. “Robbie said she sent me a ...

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“Wishing Well” by Brandi Yetzer

Submitted to Contest #151

Warning: a few cuss words are used.“SHIT!”I run to my closet, snapped out of the sleepy daze that had me locked into slow motion. The sun seeps through the curtains, blurring my vision. My arms swim about in front of me, searching for the clear bag covering the long gown I will soon drape over me.And no, it is not me getting married today.Today my little sister is getting married. Today, I join some of my closest friends — all of which have found their life partners — as my sister ties the knot with Liam. I’ll smile and be genuinely happy fo...

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“The Do-Over” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #151

At forty-nine years old, all that Keith had to show for himself, was his vast movie collection, and $422.53 in the bank. Nothing else in his possession was completely his. He was renting a one-bedroom apartment above a Chinese restaurant. The odors from the restaurant permeated the air of his apartment. Keith cherished his VHS and DVD collection that he began to put together when he was a teenager. He still reca...

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“The Grand Synthesis” by Mike Panasitti

Submitted to Contest #151

In my fourth decade as a subject of the most powerful empire on earth, I was struck mad and committed an affront against the Empire, a crime for which I was to be held captive indefinitely in an institution for deranged criminals.After twenty years of captivity, I was offered my freedom in exchange for a statement proving that I had regained soundness of mind. I embarked on formulating a grand synthesis, a credo of redemption based on all the great religious, scientific, and philosophical principles.I began by scouring the tomes of the ...

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“The Path of Wrath” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #151

With a spear jabbing at her face, Sir Danielle Longbow dodged and deflected. Her shield took the blows. “Why am I here?” Fending off the spearhead of an alien warrior she had no enmity with was an all too familiar feeling. “Because you love your family, you love your city, and you love your country. If you want any of them to survive, you have to kill this man, and the next three targets I give you.”...

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“Sins of The Father” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #151

What’s the point of being superhuman, of trying to make the world a better place if someone out there is counteracting my work? I’d guessed there were others like me out there doing what I do. I was naïve to think they would all have humanities best interests in mind. I hide in the home of a climate change activist. She’s asleep in her bed, next to her boyfriend. They don’t know what’s coming. I use chloroform on both, then inject a sedative that will knock them out for ...

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“Moment of Truth” by James Grasham

Submitted to Contest #151

Note from the author: This story contains a few instances of strong language. *** ‘Bloody hell Flint!’ Luthar exclaimed as he stood up in his stirrups, straining to get a better view of the city up ahead. ‘Threftall, capital of Peccothia and the biggest city in all the three kingdoms.’ Flint replied, chuckling at the wonder plastered across Luthar’s face. The white stone it was built from seemed to give out its own light, a stark contrast against the dull grey cliffs behind. Water plummeted from the high ridge, straight down into the...

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“The Unbroken Chain” by Paul Besancon

Submitted to Contest #151

This feeling. I remember this feeling. Cold. I remember it. It always made me feel alive. Alive? Am I alive? I am awake. The boy sat up, damp hair clinging to his neck. Reaching back, he realized it was his. Long. The cold from the wet concrete seeped into his exposed legs, giving him a vibrant chill. He didn’t mind. Despite the wetness in his hair, it swayed in the gentle breeze that swished around him, wrapping him in its cold embrace. He stood, patting himself down. Attempting to brush away some of the water, he realized he was wear...

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“The Cove” by Lee Disco

Submitted to Contest #151

McCann had pulled me aside from the cab I had been trying to call. There's something I want to show you, he had said. I had heard the other crew gossiping about him behind his back, eyes mean through folds of cigar smoke. On occasion, raunchy laughter sliced through their hushed voices. They thought he was crazy, with his endless bouts of silence spent staring at the horizon, poking at the wet, dull rope with the knife he always carried with him. And the muttering—he would mutter and moan in the cabin, rocking in his hammock, curled in a b...

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“The Change” by Donna X

Submitted to Contest #151

I spent the afternoon of my 50th birthday in my primary care physician’s office, enjoying our annual visit.We exchanged perfunctory greetings. How am I? Peachy. I pictured a wicker basket full of peaches, on top of a red-checker enrobed picnic table that screamed, “Summer greetings.”How’s life? Great. The only way it could be better today was if I were wearing a party hat, blowing out fifty candles on a fire-alarm, mile-high chocolate cake. It would take dozens of firefighters hours to sift through the molten lava of sugar, saturated fa...

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“An infinite repetition” by Connie Elstun

Submitted to Contest #151

The flickering of Christmas lights might have looked entirely out of place if not for the constant late spring rain storms and fog intrusion that made way along the foothills just outside the quaint town of Golden in Colorado. However, it was odd how the old string multicolor bulbs looked right at home amongst the ruin of the rundown old house.Young and curious Britney Marrs ritualistically noticed them. She said to herself one night on her way home from work, “What the Hell, curiosity killed the cat, but I must know why the lights are on ev...

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“Egging the Black Chevy Camaro” by CoCo Lee

Submitted to Contest #151

CW: Mild Swearing"This is a bad idea." Tommy shuttered."Oh don't be such a baby." Clemons retorted.They stared down the street, searching for Richard Smith's black Chevy Camaro. Tommy's slim hands shook the egg cartons as Clemons search intensified."I swear to God that Richard lives down Simmonds Lane." Clemons said sternly, like he was scolding the street for not being where Richard supposedly lived.Clemons was the most attractive of the two, he had golden-brown hair that was cut quiff, and dark eyes that were shifty and cunning. Clemons al...

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$250

Prize money

233

Contest entries

110

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jun 24, 2022 EST

Won by Kelsey H 🏆

Title: The Lake

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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