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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#153: Fighting Talk

Whether you’re hot headed by nature, or the thought of bad blood breaks you out in a rash, arguments are unavoidable. As we age, we all realize that confrontation is often necessary. This week’s prompts explore the world of conflict and resolution — and trying to find the positive in the negative.

This week's prompts

Write a story about a character learning to stand up for themselves.

Character – 48 stories

Write about a character trying to heal an old rift.

Sad – 42 stories

Write a story about two characters who have been fighting for so long, they can’t remember what started it.

Sad – 27 stories

Write a story that includes the line “I can’t believe we’re arguing over this.”

High School – 60 stories

Write about a character who settles disputes for a living (a judge, mediator, school counselor, etc).

Middle School – 36 stories

Stories

“The Underbelly” by K.J. Dyer

Submitted to Contest #153

Rays of summers gold softened, giving way to purple hues of dusk. Susan’s stealth placement of her steps made no sound in the dry underbrush. She inched closer, straining against the thick brush that engulfed everything around her. Her sweat absorbed into the leather grips of her weapon, making it slippery if she had to do combat. Branches pressed deeply into her exposed flesh, droplets of blood trickling from the wounds. Up ahead she could see the thinning of the foliage as the trail widened. As she hunted, she could not let her guard down ...

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“Anxiety vs. Local Police ” by Bree Adly

Submitted to Contest #153

[childhood trauma, very little detail, anxiety attack]I sit in my old beater, windows rolled down and sweat beading over my body in the sweltering summer heat. My clothes are already starting to stick to me.The courthouse is only 10 minutes away.Why are you still sitting in this empty parking lot?? If you don't leave now you'll be late.I try to will my arms to move but they don't, as if they have gained a separate sentience from my body and now simply refuse to comply. Really? Just move!Nothing happens.I can't stop thinking about the money I...

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“A Trifle” by Julie Frederick

Submitted to Contest #153

“You will be back this afternoon, right James? For your birthday?” Rachel reminds her husband, placing two slices of Marmite-slathered toast in front of him.He lifts his head, smiles weakly. “Uh, I’ve just got to finish this chapter, Rach,” he says. “I’m so close…” He takes a reluctant bite, then another, more out of necessity than hunger. She can’t recall the last time he has requested a particular food, let alone helped himself to something. He’s become paler, smaller, his hair thinning.She has heard it all before. Too many times. The word...

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“Don” by Denae Burns

Submitted to Contest #153

The roses are pleased to be chosen for the funeral of such a prestigious man. They wait dutifully at the foot of his casket in an elegant vase, their white petals reaching towards the crowd gathering under the morning sky. A woman is first to approach the casket- the widow, as the roses presume. She is tall and slender, an angular force in a black dress, with a lace trimmed handkerchief clutched between two hands. She turns to gaze at the body nestled in silk. “Oh, Don,” she sighs, “You never were an early riser.” The woman chuckles before ...

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“The Coffee Cup” by Mochaccina La Bruja

Submitted to Contest #153

She always relied on cleaning to help steady her racing mind. It wasn’t that she necessarily enjoyed it, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Yet, there was something therapeutic about allowing incessant thoughts to escape through her busy hands. Each scrubbed plate and bleached countertop helped her center herself. The longer she spent tidying the kitchen, the more time she had to reflect on the meeting with her potential attorney. The idea of separating from her husband started as a young seedling the year prior. She tended to drive...

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“Store story” by Glenn Holt

Submitted to Contest #153

I can’t believe we’re arguing over this. Really there is nothing better I can say. While I sat there I began thinking about all the time I had spent at this place. I began thinking back, back, to everyday that I had worked here in the last three years. Like the time making the rounds that I got within 20 feet of Ronson, my nose began itching. When I emptied the trash, I had to hold my nose in fact if he sat eating dinner again. The trash cans were ten feet from him, so sometimes I waited until he left the area. He smelled worse than the tras...

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“Stella's ghostly mediators” by F.O. Morier

Submitted to Contest #153

Somewhere in a small room in a big city, a little woman with big problems lay on her bed. She had rented the room under a false name. Ms. Green, the landlady, had her doubts when she registered herself as Ms. Stone on the boarding house register. There was a set rule in the guest house; no visitors were ever allowed in the rooms. She could receive visitors in the drawing-room until ten PM at the latest when Ms. Green went to bed and thought it completely natural that all her guests did so too. Despite Mrs. green's rules, there was a visitor ...

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“Struck by Lightning” by Ashley Brandt

Submitted to Contest #153

The traffic on Deedson road was at a standstill. Griffith Middle School had seen its last day of the school year, and the students surged from the entrance, cheering and tossing aside their old notebooks like discard. On the front lawn, harried teachers called out commands to behave over the summer, and shouted at wayward students to cross at the cross-walk. Lawrence Weber opted to take the back way home, avoiding the mass of students entirely. He turned south instead of north, planning to circle back around at Woodworth street two blocks aw...

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“Catharses Via Passage to the Moon” by Bailey Thomas

Submitted to Contest #153

Caleb grunted loudly and shifted in his seat, his eyes darting across the aisle over to Hannah, whose head was bent over her book. He coughed and shot another look at the woman who only moved to flip the next page in her story. He sighed and tapped his foot on the ground impatiently, she still didn’t move. “You’re really not going to say a word to me this whole trip, are you?” he frowned. Hannah still did not say anything but she nodde...

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“Grandeur” by Deenur _

Submitted to Contest #153

GRANDEUR A short story by Deenur It was past 3:00am at the Loco Bronco, as Tony sat playing darts by himself. The country themed tavern’s neon signs, which normally provided the majority of lighting in the place, were turned off. The bar now seemed unusually gloomy, but Tony didn’t know if it was because of the lack of neon light, or the memories of earlier that evening. As Tony reflected back on the events, his thoughts were cut into by the noise of the closing crew cleaning up. A mop bucket banged i...

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“Fishing: A Painful Catharsis” by Ian Stobaugh

Submitted to Contest #153

“I’m sorry.” The words felt so jagged when they came out of my mouth. It took me twelve years to say it, and after saying those two words, I feel empty. For those years, I had been planning and thinking of this moment–now that it’s here, how has it gone so soon? Hours before, I had decided to go fishing. It wasn’t a big event, but it wasn’t a small one either. Fishing to me is like vacationing for other people. Most people do it often, but it’s always something that requires everyone’s attention. The only difference with my fishing is th...

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“The Marples vs the Ozbotz” by WRL Battle

Submitted to Contest #153

Top Five Things I Didn't Plan on TodaySeeing a tiny car drive through a hallway. Tripping over a crystal ball.Being hit with tarot cardsStepping on a rubber shoe. Getting hit in the face with a cream pie. Now I know what you’re thinking. How did I get myself in this situation in the first place? Well, I didn’t do it on purpose. Allow me to explain. I am friends with two fortune tellers, Janice and Patricia Marple, but people called them the Marple Sisters. Every Thursday they would walk into my mom’s floral shop and invit...

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“Reflections” by Jim Hirtle

Submitted to Contest #153

Reflections By J Hirtle He had already made up his mind. He will not look at the sorry son-of-a-bitch. Not at those eyes. Eyes the color of summer rain. Nobody knows what hides behind the eyes. Everybody knows that. The endless drivel has been going on too long. He doesn't care who is wrong or who is right. A position easily assumed when one knows he is right. And he didn’t care how long their friendship went back. Hell, could he even call it that anymore? It was an ugly misfortune of latitudes intersecting at the same place at the exact...

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“God! I Hate You” by Mariana Victoria

Submitted to Contest #153

I couldn’t believe he was doing this to me again. It wasn’t my fault he was such a jerk; I should be getting an award for putting him in his place, not a goddamned call to the principal’s office to discuss my “troubling behavior.” What about his troubling behavior of being the school’s official asshole? I mean, he’s been trouble a lot longer than me, that’s for sure. He smirked at me from his chair. He knows I’m in deep shit right now and is...

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“You Should Have Seen This Coming” by Ben Mears

Submitted to Contest #153

La Cuillère D'or was no stranger to couples. In fact, it welcomed them with open arms, a delighted handshake, a flourish of the violin, and two delicate flutes of champagne. After all, nothing makes a person feel more at home—and loosens their wallet—quite like a light buzz and a dreamy classical number. The authentic French dining experience was a highly sought-after commodity, especially for the romantically entangled, and nobody knew that better than the staff of La Cuillère D'or, or The Golden Spoon as their more phonetically challenged ...

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$250

Prize money

213

Contest entries

103

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jul 08, 2022 EST

Won by L. E. Scott 🏆

Title: Broken

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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