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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#155: Swings and Roundabouts

One of my favorite British expressions is “swings and roundabouts”. It’s a tricky phrase to define, but it basically means a situation where good and bad, pro and con, ultimately cancel each other out. You might be up at one point, and down at another, but you’ll always end up somewhere in the middle. For example: “It rained on Friday. The laundry I hung out to dry got wet, but the flowerbeds needed watering, so, you know — swings and roundabouts.”

Much of life is a case of swings and roundabouts; accepting the good with the bad, and going along for the ride. This week’s prompts are all about this sense of balance, and the imperfect situations that we still make work.

This week's prompts

Start your story with a character facing a situation that isn't awful, but isn't great.

Middle School – 34 stories

Write a story that includes a character using the phrase “swings and roundabouts.”

Thanksgiving – 37 stories

Write about a character who gets good and bad news in quick succession — not necessarily in that order.

Angst – 46 stories

Write about a character who is pathologically ambivalent, until something shakes them up.

Narrative – 33 stories

Set your story in a kids’ playground, or at a roundabout.

Kids – 44 stories

Stories

“Roundabout” by Italia Gionti

Submitted to Contest #155

Every sunrise and every sunset, I was met with the cracking road accompanied by the gasoline of thousands of vehicles stained on its path. I had one of those vehicles. I wouldn’t be surprised if some drool from man’s best companion was there, too. I brought Blue back home with me on that roundabout. My first adult decision after renting an apartment was to satisfy my childhood dream of owning a dog. She was a rottweiler I found at a nearby shelter and was only a few years old with her ribs poking out of her sides. Despite the breed be...

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“Playground Memories” by Judi Wallower

Submitted to Contest #155

Playground Memories “Hi. My name is Kyle. What’s your name?” “Hi. It’s Cari. I just moved here.” “Is that your mom over there?” “Yeah.” “She’s talking to my mom.” “Oh.” “Do you like it here?” “It’s ok. My mom said we had to move on account of my mom and dad split up.” “Oh. That’s too bad. Hey but it’s nice here in Hightown. What grade will you be going in when the summer is over? “Fourth grade.” “Hey me too. Maybe we will be in the same class. That way you won’t feel alone, you’ll have me.” “That would be fun.” “Do you have a pool at your ...

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“Imaginary Struggle” by Aleksandre Khundzakishvili

Submitted to Contest #155

“If I were held at gunpoint at the end of a thousand different lives, I would not change my mind. The truth sits on the tip of my tongue, but I would take another nine hundred and ninety-nine bullets in my forehead to not admit the truth.” Deep down, he knew his mother never loved him. But he would not let himself admit the truth, not even in the depths of his heart. He scribbled these words below a sharp sketch of a beautiful woman on the endpaper of his yellow-covered notebook. With his eyes closed, he then leaned against the b...

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“Swings” by Mimi F

Submitted to Contest #155

I struggle up the hill to the playground, snow crunching under my boots. The streetlights are on, and everything is glowy and orange, almost dreamlike. The swing creaks as I relax my weight onto the stiff seat. It's not because I'm much bigger since I last came, though I am. These swings have creaked and groaned since I was young. The familiar sound brings me back to that time, hearing the repetitive squeaking as one swung forward and the other backward. I remember my small hand interlocked with another, giggles and footsteps tracing up ...

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“Resurrection” by Catrina Bowles

Submitted to Contest #155

When my mother passed away, I abandoned my city centre and relocated myself to a small bungalow on the edge of town. When I was living downtown, every time I would leave my tiny apartment to get groceries, I’d be jostled on every side by sallow-faced businessmen rushing between coffee shops and office buildings, shouting through their Bluetooth earpieces. Just hearing words like “synergy,” “innovation,” and “client-centric marketing,” was enough to make my blood boil. I’d come home and break the eggs simply setting down the shopping bags, as...

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“22 x 14 x 9” by Molly Killian

Submitted to Contest #155

If Alice had one superpower, it was her ability to get shit done. This first manifested itself in the throes of childhood, in one of the torture prisons known as “Girl Scout camp” where you pack seven outfits but return home wearing the same underwear. All the chatty pre-pubescent girls would gather around the minivans, singing songs about mosquitoes and ill-named, ill-fated children we did not want to become (“she had ten hairs on her head, five were alive and the other five were dead”). The caravan would wind its way through the backwoods...

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“Changing Tides” by Brittany Tatman

Submitted to Contest #155

The tides were changing, sending whitecaps careening across the ocean with the ferocious intensity of the little sailboat churning within them. The rain had begun to fall less than an hour before, first a steady shower, then a furious drenching, the surface of the water boiling beneath its punishment. A twelve-foot wave reached over the bow of the boat, its sharp claws slicing into the lines reaching up to the mast and throwing the young man clinging desperately to one onto the deck. The wave threw him against the railing, the ringing impac...

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“Port City” by Valerie Cuffie

Submitted to Contest #155

It was the first time out of state and on a bus by themselves. Josiah continued to stare out the window while replaying his last conversation in his mind. Malachi stirred in the seat next to him, mumbling as he called out for their mother. Turning slightly, Josiah patted his little brother's back to comfort him back to sleep. This had taken a toll on both of them, Malachi was taking it the hardest. Their parents continued to leave messages advising everything was okay. But if everything was okay, why did they have to leave their home? ...

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“The Interstate” by Cody Olson

Submitted to Contest #155

The interstate across the street never sleeps. A constant hum penetrates the windows of my home at all hours of the day and night, little vibrations finding my ears everywhere I go. The hum doesn’t care if I’m sleeping, eating, writing, crying, or talking; the hum is relentless. You might think the morning and evening rush hours are the loudest, but the bumper to bumper pack moves slow and careful. I imagine a bigger city would be full of horns and sirens, but this is Iowa. Iowans reserve their horn only for the most pressing of situations, ...

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“The Vision of Torund” by M.K. Kitch

Submitted to Contest #155

It had been 10 years since I had an intimate moment with someone I loved. My husband, King Aelstan III, and son, Prince Prathelwood, were slain by the beast of Eldermoore, a fierce dragon from the legends of old. My daughter, Princess Aesha, left 14 months after their death and after the countless deaths of warriors, knights, hired swords, and local town drunks who had sworn the oath to come back with the head of the beast. I can never forget the way she looked at me. We were both in pain but I found solace in the fact that I believed ...

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“Swings and Roundabouts ” by Aimee Rousseau

Submitted to Contest #155

“What if I can’t get pregnant?” she asks timidly, as she sneaks a bite of cookie dough from the tray of unbaked cookies. “Why do you keep asking that? There’s no reason to believe we won’t be able to get pregnant,” her husband responds, eyeing her curiously. She doesn’t answer, focused on the cookies. She allows herself a moment to daydream about the children with whom she will one day bake cookies. She imagines a bunch of noisy children helping her bake, who will likely make a mess all over the kitchen counter. Sh...

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“Saving Grace” by Marilyn Briant

Submitted to Contest #155

“Swings and roundabouts innit?” Jennie answered, raising her eyebrows, pulling her lips back in a wry smile. I looked at her, taking in the spiky, pink hair and unbelievably tight jeggings. How did she get those things on! I didn’t respond. But I thought about what she’d said. Perhaps she was surprised I’d even asked the question. Couldn’t understand why I thought it was strange she’d joined the Fallen Angels. Thought I knew it was obvious that becoming one of them wasn’t any worse than trying to stay safe in that neighbourhood, or living ...

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“Tell Me” by Roxanne Abner

Submitted to Contest #155

TW: manifestations of a mental health disorder and some description of physical violence You know what? I don’t know if I should tell you this or not. I, myself, am a bit distressed at the moment. Therefore, I could use a clear mind, a reasonable mind, a partial mind to judge the whole situation. Yes, what you see is correct, this is the corpse of Mother. Yes, I was the one who killed her, you can see the hammer clearly in my left hand and a blow on her right temple. Her body scattered on the floor. But let me explain how I got into the si...

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“Never Over” by Sheri Dusseault

Submitted to Contest #155

An image was taking shape in the corner of the hospital room. Not so much a vision but a vague impression. A humanoid form but elusive as willow the wisp, shimmering a little but full of shadows. Muddy brown shadows mutated into a subtle sparkle, a glimmer. It was beyond beautiful and yet dreadful. Although it was noiseless, I could sense it wanting to speak to me. I heard it calling over the beeps and sighs of the machines breathing for me and monitoring my every vital sign. I knew what it was, of course. Had been expecting it. "...

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“The Urgent Escape” by Madeline Honig

Submitted to Contest #155

Jay enters the apartment in a hough. He slams the door behind him, locks the dead bolt and secures the chain. He moves immediately to the blinds and separates them so that he could peer through. “Did you talk to him?” Vanessa curled up comfortably on the couch, suddenly her attention away from The Real Housewives on the tv. Her Lululemon loungewear hugs her small body and her body hugs her tiny chihuahua, Mr. Snuggles. Jay got a whiff of a mix of skunk, Vanessa’s Victoria Secret perfume, and stale beer. He r...

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$250

Prize money

194

Contest entries

78

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jul 22, 2022 EST

Won by Lonnie Russo 🏆

Title: Someone Has Died

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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