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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

“Space Time Continuum” by Trinity Womack

Submitted to Contest #154

"In just a few days, we will be sending one of our scientists, Timothy Archer, into the past with our time machine. For the last few years, many of the StineCorp scientists have been working on this time machine. Months of hard work, millions of dollars, and an endless stream of coffee..." Joseph Stine, owner of StineCorp and the lead scientist on the project, paused a moment as the crowd laughed politely. He continued speaking, but Jeff was no longer listening. He pushed his way out of the crowd, dodging elbows and shifting feet as he...

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“The Intergalactic School For Secretaries” by Kathryn Gabrielle

Submitted to Contest #154

Would you "fit" in this weird and crazy school? Blast off and take this voyage along the Intergalactic highway to this strange school for secretaries!The Intergalactic School for Secretaries.The Year is 2500.The Human Race is now part of the Intergalactic Educational System.If we are to compete in our galaxies, we must be well educated!"Come right on in, Miss Duncan. Have I got a school for you!", my overzealous high school guidance counselor waved me into his office.I rolled my eyes, expecting the same old, same old stuff. You know, Ivy to...

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“... To The Third Power” by Randy Murrell

Submitted to Contest #154

James McCoy sat in the rain. His ability to care about getting wet had faded beneath the sorrow that bent his lips into a frown so deep and entrenched upon his face that it seemed impossible for a boy of thirteen to feel so deeply that it had aged him. At least it had today, under these clouds and in this storm. In one hand James held a crumpled and slightly dampened piece of paper. The wrinkles created by the folds nearly thinned the paper to the point of falling apart. He was so sure, so sure that his tender ...

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“Heather of the Moors” by Cindy Calder

Submitted to Contest #154

Her name was Heather, like the heather that was scattered endlessly across the beautiful moors.The moors of Dartmoor called to Heather, both in her waking hours and in her dreams. They beckoned as she slept in the comfortable bed that had once belonged to her parents, and each morning as she awoke, the smell of heather along with a fine mist seemed to permeate the room. She knew well enough, however, that these things were merely the remnants of her dreams that lingered so.Born in 1928, Heather had been named for the purple, flowering plant ...

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“The Grand Finale ” by Ash Wahl

Submitted to Contest #154

I’m not from here. Not exactly. But how to explain that I jumped from another time? That my old life ended in 1896, and that my new one started nearly a century later? It’s complicated. In my former life, my brother and I were perhaps the most celebrated circus performers of our day—and not just because we were twins. We were acrobats, most famous for our high wire and flying trapeze acts, although you’d have loved to have seen us on horseback. As kids, we were virtually fearless—always climbing something treacherous; doing aerial backflip...

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“Time is an Illusion ” by Denise Guth

Submitted to Contest #154

Time is an illusion Strolling the beach with his metal detector Marcus ignores the looks of the evening joggers passing by and shaking their heads at him. The earphones connected to the detector have been unusually quiet this morning not even a small murmur indicating the possibility of loose change or lost trinkets left behind by long forgotten beachcombers. He is lost in thought as he absent-mindedly swings the machine back and forth. In his mind’s eye he is not alone but with this wife Nadine they met on this very beach 70 years ago. S...

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“Stuck” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #154

Edison Gates tries to remember what he does for a living, where he lives, and who he loves, but his memory is a scrambled haze. He only knows that wherever he is going is better than wherever he had been. Edison looks at himself in the rear-view mirror. North of forty, he’s hollow-eyed, his skin is blotchy, his dark hair is thinning, and his lean physique lacks muscle. “…Must have a desk job…,” he mutters. The radio blasts Golden Earring’s “Radar Love.” He steps on the gas, trying to ignore the darkening sky ahead. The first crack of th...

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“gaps in our lives” by Angel C

Submitted to Contest #154

(note: contains sensitive language)A soft squeak came from my shoe as I entered the hospital room. He turned his wrinkled neck, and with kind gray eyes smiled at me. The sunlight in the room felt nostalgic, aching, old. End-of-life sunlight. The sunlight of thirty years ago. Sunlight of someone receding into memories. I smiled back, and sat in the tiny plastic chair next to the bed. “Hi Dad. It’s so odd seeing you like this. It doesn't suit you.” His eyes seemed to film over as I said this. He looked up at the cream-white ceiling, his mind d...

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“Ripples in Time” by Ross Williams

Submitted to Contest #154

“Professor Delorian, why does it matter which theory may or not be correct?” asked Trainee Patterson, adjusting his tie self-consciously as all the eyes in the lecture hall stared at him, some judging his good looks, others scoffing at the ignorance of the question, while those closest to him nodded their heads in solidarity. Even here, in a place that shouldn’t exist, the cliques of yesteryear still somehow held sway. The professor, a tall woman with short hair just starting to turn gray, looked up from her lectern mid-speech and took off...

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“A Welcome Haunting” by Cortni Abbott

Submitted to Contest #154

TW: Mental health, gore, violence, grief Fan blades are whirring above my head and blowing cool air onto my face, the smell of manure is drafting in the open window from the farm down the road, and the sound of your voice is croaking, “my beloved.” I glance over to the pillow beside me and, to my horror, see you staring at me wide-eyed, with blood pouring from your mouth. I gasp, but I can’t move. I can’t even speak. Towering over your body beside the bed is a dark figure engulfed by the shadows. As a car drives by the house and headlights...

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“A Crack In Time” by Mark Nero

Submitted to Contest #154

Another day… another tax dollar… I thought to myself, as I boarded the cramped train on my way to work. Being an accountant for a law firm was ironic, as I was constantly in control of millions of dollars but none of it was mine. Our offices in the Sydney CBD, were opulently decorated and a very nice place to work in. Especially as we were located on the twentieth floor of an Art Deco building, with amazing views of the Royal Botanical Gardens and Sydney harbor that laid beyond it. By some miracle, I was able to grab a seat for my forty-fi...

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“Anesidora and the Box” by Bon Steele

Submitted to Contest #154

Nine year old 'Dora stared at the little box on the parlor desk. Her brow furrowed and she took a small step closer. Father had said he'd left a gift for her to find downstairs. A small surprise from his latest journey. He was a merchant working for the East India Trading Company and was always bringing her little trinkets from his travel. Usually, it was something that they could talk about and maybe look into his books to see if they could learn more. The box was small, maybe 4 inches on each side. Whatever wood it was made of gleame...

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“A Penny for Your Time” by M. G Teagan

Submitted to Contest #154

I do not know how I came to be here. I’m stuck in this cold white-tiled tunnel, polished and hard, watching the strange trains without wheels taking and bringing people every minute. I'm caught in this never-ending bustle of what they call Life. I yearn for the day to be free of this commotion, to no longer hold this tin cup in my hand and wear this sign around my neck saying, ‘A Penny For Your Time.’ A man, no more than forty, with a large suitcase clamored out of the subway train with a briefcase under his ar...

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“Your Happy Helper” by Jax Ruddock

Submitted to Contest #154

The brown blades of the fan circled over and over as I stared up at the ceiling, a gentle breeze blowing over my skin. It let out a small tick tick tick as the pull cords swung around, clicking the small dice decorations together. I glanced over to the window. My curtains shut out most of the light, but some moonlight spilled over the top, softly illuminating the ceiling. I pulled my teddy bear closer to me and kissed the top of his head. “Looks like it’s just you and me tonight, Bubbles,” I whispered and smiled. He didn’t answer.I roll...

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“Warm October Rain” by Adam K.

Submitted to Contest #154

“We’re running out of time”, Luke muttered, looking out of the rounded windows of The Capitol Limited. The October sun was beginning to set as the train churned up the tracks past Cumberland, Maryland, turning the leaves yellow and orange, a sign of their impending death as winter approached. At the age of nineteen, Luke just had one of the best weekends of his life.Lost in thought, he turned and looked back at Jesse, sitting in the seat across from him. A bottle of Coke sat between Jesse’s legs; his bold green eyes were looking do...

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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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