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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#154: The Right Timing

It has come to our attention that Backstreet Boys (you know, the famous boy band from the 90s) recently announced that they'll be releasing a Christmas album. Naturally, this week's prompts are all about timing.

In a rapidly changing world, it can be hard to keep up sometimes. The newest TikTok is old almost as soon as it has gone viral, and trends come and go quicker than the seasons. And yet, some things are timeless classics. Taking inspiration from the ebb and flow of time, here are this week’s prompts:

This week's prompts

Start your story with someone saying, “We’re running out of time.”

Middle School – 77 stories

Write a story about someone who feels increasingly irrelevant.

Sad – 57 stories

Write a story — romantic or not — about two characters who can’t find the right timing.

Romance – 32 stories

Write a story about an object that has been around for centuries or passed down generations.

Kids – 46 stories

Write a story featuring an element of time-travel or anachronism.

Science Fiction – 68 stories

Stories

“The Schedule ” by Emily Etheridge

Submitted to Contest #154

The city stunk of garbage that’s been baked on a cement skillet and left out for the flies and anything else hungry, and desperate enough to deal with it. The cars where loud and endlessly honking as they swerved in and out of each other in a never-ending race against time that they’ve already lost. But that’s big city life. A continuous race towards something, if for those who are lucky enough for the opportunity, or a climb to survive for the rest of the unlucky majority. &n...

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“The Right Time” by Ramona Scarborough

Submitted to Contest #154

The Right Time Our paths crossed many times. In middle school, I didn’t like you, the class clown. If I had known what your home life was like, perhaps I would have understood. Television was your escape from your drunken father beating your mother. Your bigger, older brother bullying you. Everyone appeared to like the comedians on the screen. Maybe if you could make people laugh, they would like you. You fought on the playground. I avoided you and your fists. Your red hair and freckles, your stick out ears invited name-calling. Your poo...

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“Bad Timing” by Heather Rocco

Submitted to Contest #154

“Sonofa…” Lauren growled for the third time in two minutes yanking her delicately heeled foot out from under her assigned partner’s massive loafers. “Sorry…sorry…” Brian mumbled as his Irish skin blushed another deep shade of “I’m-so-embarrassed” fuschia. He glared at his size 12 feet and scolded them again. “Come on, guys, get it together,” and offered Lauren an impish grin as an act of contrition. But she wasn’t having it. Mark Anthony’s “Dimelo” pulsed through the studio’s sound system and guided all the other ballroom d...

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“The box of...” by Snehil Mishra

Submitted to Contest #154

And this my dear is the box of stupidity, used to be tip-top, bright and shiny, you see the label, “Graceful Ageing”.My great great great great great grandpa got this from his neighbor who got it from his great great great great great grandpa’s neighbor, its more contagious than any deadly infection, there is no cure to it and you pass it on to not only your own blood but to anyone who comes in contact. The origin of this gift is unknown. As I am about to give my life son, I pass this treasure to you and your family and I pray a...

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“Cross of Scotland” by Amanda Blackwood

Submitted to Contest #154

WARNING: Sexual assault and human trafficking are mentioned throughout the body of this submission, as I am a REAL SURVIVOR of human trafficking. How many times have I been openly criticized for keeping that old cross? It was forged in 1811, created in Edinburgh, Scotland. It's the only remaining artifact I have that was ever given to me by the man who forced me into human trafficking. I can understand all too well why people would think I would want to get rid of such a momento, but it seems people are entirely too closed off when it come...

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“Sahara Beige” by Marylin Wolf

Submitted to Contest #154

"I summon you, Florence Nightingale, to come forward. Florence, if you are here, please make yourself known," Brad said, speaking into the silent space of the dimly lit room. My hands are slightly clammy and sweaty from excitement and a little fear. My arms start to strain as I hold Angela and Alice's hands over the brown coffee table in the center of our group. Brad is across the coffee table from me and has his eyes closed, trying to stay open to the spiritual world."Brad, do you feel anything?" Alice asks. She had severe doubts about the ...

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“The Time Clock” by Alisha Proffitt

Submitted to Contest #154

*Trigger Warning* This story deals with themes of suicide. Noah Reynolds sat on the couch, curled up with his wife, Heather, as they watched a movie. His phone rang. On the screen was the name Meredith. It was his best friend’s wife. He had agreed to meet up with him for drinks but bailed at the last minute saying he wasn’t feeling well. Honestly, he just didn’t feel like going out tonight and wanted to spend a quiet evening at home with his wife. He couldn’t surrender his man-card by admitting that to his buddy though, so he lied. M...

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“The Tea Service” by James Mckinley

Submitted to Contest #154

The glint of the enamel coating was a little dull. The gold trim was slightly faded. The serving tray had seen better days, but my Grand mother was still proud of her tea service. She would bring it out every time I would come to visit. She would take such care to place the cups on doilies and the pot containing the hot water in the center along with the cream jar and the sugar bowl. The service was able to accommodate 6 people and came with accompanying small plates for serving scones. My grand mother was ever so proud of her tea biscuits. ...

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“The Box” by Lonnie D.

Submitted to Contest #154

TW: Mental Health and Suicide/Self-Harm Nina My breathing keeps the rhythm of the beat. While my hands and feet create the tempo, banging against every inch of this box. There are no windows, no doors, no emergency exits. In my bed, I snuggle up under covers, but in the box my teeth chatter as a constant chill runs along my spine. It’s dark in here, but I still have a perfect view of the neighbor’s house across the street. You would think that the thickness of the walls would keep the voices out, but I can still hear her footsteps creak aga...

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“Bound by Time” by Cheryl Martin

Submitted to Contest #154

I stand naked before the full-length mirror in my bedroom. It tells truths. I am old now, but I don't have to be. There are ways. I look at my body. A deep crevasse runs upwards on my left cheek, and many tinier lines crackle across my right. My eyes - left blue, right green - were once vibrant, but now they look dull. They see everything; they see nothing. My breasts sag; I can only see the top of my areolas. Not a surprise, they've been large since puberty. I look at my belly. It is no longer flat, but rather it plunges out and over so I ...

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“The Great Pyramids of Giza” by Judith Robinson

Submitted to Contest #154

The Great Pyramids of Giza Egypt is an Arab nation in the northeastern corner of Africa. A small part of Egypt, the Sinai Peninsula, extends into Asia. Most of the country is covered by dry windswept deserts. They receive little rainfall and depend on the Nile River. The story of Egypt dates back more than 5,000 years to about to 3100 B.C. In prehistoric times, they had cities and kingdoms that grew up along the Nile. They developed systems of government, mathematics, and science. They remained under various forms of royal rule until the 195...

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“Under Pressure” by Ashley Ulery

Submitted to Contest #154

There was very little to harvest in the years after the Great Wash. I was fortunate. My family grew up poor but pleasant, and I was raised on canning jars of beans and venison. I remember having bountiful years of humid summers where we barely had enough jars. I also remember having depression years of dried plants that barely produced a handful of fruit. In those years, my grandmother somehow made every last vegetable stretch through the winter, so we never suffered for hunger. It was because of my childhood knowledge that we made it throug...

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“Black Orchid” by Alex Woodward-Herborth

Submitted to Contest #154

My family was once wealthy. Or so I was told. Great heroes that protected the land from evil. Favor of the emperor and all that. Spent on booze and extravagant parties. Eventually I guess the royals got sick of us. My mother certainly did. Packed her bags and left in the night, never to be seen again. Father was barely effected by her leaving. I suppose he was too drunk or hungover at the time. I'd always thought I could be the hero to restore the family's honor. That if I was given a chance and our family heirlooms I could travel the land a...

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“The Djed of Osiris - Part 1” by Sami Awa

Submitted to Contest #154

The Djed is an Ancient Egyptian symbol for balance and permanence. It is associated with Osiris, the god of death and the underworld, and is believed to represent his backbone or spine. The Djed symbol is a pillar with a broad base which narrows as it rises and is crossed at the top by four parallel lines. It is believed to represent a sacred tree with its branches bundled together into levels. Djed amulets were worn by Ancient Egyptians and believed to protect the wearer in life and death.----------------------------------------------------...

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“Where the Current Takes You” by Lizzie Hudson

Submitted to Contest #154

The arriving cars snaked around the loop of road that ended at the cul-de-sac and her treacherous driveway. The Oldsmobile gleamed with blue avarice; the station wagon growled with hunger. From her perch at the window, she considered calling the whole thing off. She was irritated by this intrusion, this glut of strangers who sulked the air with greed and voids to fill. To take- and specifically to take from her. And then: a nip of fear. Something she couldn’t quite place. Three sharp raps. She pulled at the seam...

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$250

Prize money

280

Contest entries

112

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jul 15, 2022 EST

Won by Suma Jayachandar 🏆

Title: Moonlight and Madness

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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