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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#157: The Green-Eyed Monster

Reality TV is a big guilty pleasure of mine, and the guiltiest of all those pleasures is probably Love Island. I've spent the last few weeks glued to my screen each night, chatting about it to anybody who's willing to listen — and a good few people who aren't.


One recurring theme of the show is jealousy; contestants break up and make up endlessly, and jealousy often has a hand in the drama that plays out between them. Of course, jealousy isn't always of the romantic variety, and envy over what we don't have can infiltrate our lives in strange and unexpected ways.


This week's prompts tackle the green-eyed monster, and how it can lead us astray — plus a tiny nod to Love Island. I couldn't resist.

🥇 Winner

“Wish You Were Here” by Zack Powell

Bonjour from the city of love! I don't have much space on this postcard, so I'll keep things brief. I'm heading to the all-you-can-eat crêpe buffet soon anyway. My new lover, Jacques, doesn't mind a woman with a few extra curves. More cushion for the pushin', you know?Oh, you should see him. Jacques is quite the looker, a total zaddy. Like George Clooney without the drug problem. I'm talking high cheekbones and a strong jawline. An accent that can turn cheddar into gouda. Washboard abs you could do two and a half loads o...

184 comments 184 WINNER 🏆
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⭐️ Shortlisted

“Alice Through the Broken Glass” by Riel Rosehill

The significance of stage fright and anything other than life itself evaporated the moment the window shattered from the impact of my body.Sparkling shards formed an iridescent cloud around me, suspended under the clear blue sky. The glass sang a wind chime tune, a backdrop to my sharp intake of breath and the heavy thump of my heart.As the distance between me and the window grew and my blond wig blew into my face, tears flooded my eyes. I messed up now. Not only was I going to die, I was trying to be A...

103 comments 103 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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“The Perfect Couple” by Aeris Walker

She thinks she wants him, but really, she needs me. He doesn’t appreciate her like I do, won’t love her like I could. She is blind to his control, but I want to free her from it. For her—for us. So we can be together.We will be together.***It is week one of filming. The chosen few arrive on set with glossy hair, and bright smiles, and a suitcase bulging with only their best—the most flattering colors, the sexiest silhouettes; they are here to find love as the world is watching.<...

47 comments 47 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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“Bob Bought a Farm” by Michał Przywara

Bob Oaker braced himself against the shed door and grunted when the goat rammed it. He might have shrieked too but he chose to dis-remember that, as it was unbecoming of a man in the prime of his mid-sixties.But then everything grew silent. All he could hear was the wheeze of his own sweaty breath in the sweltering shed, the dzee-dzee-dzeeing of the cicadas – or grasshoppers, or whatever – and the caw! of distant northern cardinals.Well, he didn’t know they if they were cardinals. They might have b...

76 comments 76 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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“Haunted” by Terri Carter

TW: Domestic Abuse/Violence  I was so young when I fell in love with him. Seventeen is too young to know anything for sure, really. And it’s definitely too young to see through the sheep’s clothing worn by the fiercest wolves. Looking at him now, even in the midst of him resting so peacefully, I can see there is an evilness to him. Even if I didn’t have evidence by way of bruises a...

12 comments 12 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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This week's prompts

Write about a relationship, either romantic or platonic, that is being affected by jealousy.

Romance – 74 stories

Write about someone deliberately trying to make somebody else envious.

Dark – 25 stories

Write about a character who discovers the grass isn't actually greener on the other side.

Middle School – 45 stories

Write about two characters who both want what the other has, without knowing the feeling is mutual.

Adults – 28 stories

Write about somebody looking for love on a reality TV show.

Romance – 20 stories

Stories

“Wish You Were Here” by Zack Powell

Bonjour from the city of love! I don't have much space on this postcard, so I'll keep things brief. I'm heading to the all-you-can-eat crêpe buffet soon anyway. My new lover, Jacques, doesn't mind a woman with a few extra curves. More cushion for the pushin', you know?Oh, you should see him. Jacques is quite the looker, a total zaddy. Like George Clooney without the drug problem. I'm talking high cheekbones and a strong jawline. An accent that can turn cheddar into gouda. Washboard abs you could do two and a half loads o...

184 comments 184 WINNER 🏆
Read story

“Alice Through the Broken Glass” by Riel Rosehill

The significance of stage fright and anything other than life itself evaporated the moment the window shattered from the impact of my body.Sparkling shards formed an iridescent cloud around me, suspended under the clear blue sky. The glass sang a wind chime tune, a backdrop to my sharp intake of breath and the heavy thump of my heart.As the distance between me and the window grew and my blond wig blew into my face, tears flooded my eyes. I messed up now. Not only was I going to die, I was trying to be A...

103 comments 103 SHORTLIST ⭐️
Read story

“Paper Tigress” by Yves. ♙

Vidalia removed her mask, tucked her hair behind her ears, and leaned forward instinctively towards the makeup artist. He sprayed something into his hand, applied it to her face, and cocked his head, so that he would have been looking into her eyes had she not already been gazing into the distance.All contestants had been asked to come “hair and makeup ready” to the set each day, which Vidalia had assumed meant she could turn up in no makeup, but the producers had taken one look at her and blanched, which told h...

60 comments 60
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“Good Times” by Brynn Helena

[Prequel to my story 'Safe Space']She stood across the room surrounded by meatheads and bimbos, dressed in a red mini dress that left very little to the imagination. Every curve of her petite body was on display. Her warm ginger hair fell in ringlets around her shoulders, bringing out the natural red blush in her cheeks. When she laughed all the men leaned in as she did the same, their eyes dipping down to her prominent cleavage. She didn't seem to notice though, or care for that matter, sipping on what looked t...

35 comments 35
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“A Good Night's Sleep” by Kathleen Fine

Harvey was snoring louder than normal, so Gloria kicked his hairy leg aggressively under the covers. Without waking, he rolled from his back to his side, his big belly flopping on the mattress as if he were a seal basking in the sun. She noticed that his belly looked bigger than her sister’s had been when she was nine months pregnant. Feeling impish, Gloria poked her newly manicured finger into the flesh next to Harvey’...

26 comments 26
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“The Perfect Couple” by Aeris Walker

She thinks she wants him, but really, she needs me. He doesn’t appreciate her like I do, won’t love her like I could. She is blind to his control, but I want to free her from it. For her—for us. So we can be together.We will be together.***It is week one of filming. The chosen few arrive on set with glossy hair, and bright smiles, and a suitcase bulging with only their best—the most flattering colors, the sexiest silhouettes; they are here to find love as the world is watching.<...

47 comments 47 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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“Life in the Captions” by Kevin Broccoli

Hello there Instagram!!! Just stopped by to tell you that-- My little girl is officially graduating from high school today! Now you know Jed and I *refuse* to spoil our children #GoodParenting but since Kysa has gotten into *every college she applied to* we thought we’d reward her with a #BrandNewCar As you can see, we chose her favorite color--Burgundy. The...

42 comments 42
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“I'm Glad It Was Me” by Thom Brodkin

“I wish it was me.”It never occurred to me when I told Ms. Dot that my father had passed away that she would be jealous, but in some small way, it made the news I was sharing a little less painful. I, still being a young man, viewed death as a tragedy but to people like my father and Ms. Dot, it was a relief, a welcomed end to a life longing for completion. I guess her subtle comfort shouldn’t have been a surprise, after all, Ms. Dot had been looking over my wife, daughter, and me since we moved next door to her almost s...

14 comments 14
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“Something Broken” by Beth Jackson

“Vince and Sal have invited us out on their yacht next weekend.” Ben glances at me before dropping his gaze to his phone.The lounge is cold. I sip my coffee and stare at the wilting pot plant in the corner. And the silence hangs over the casually thrown gauntlet.He coughs. “I’ll tell Vince no, then?”I grip my mug. He’s serious. Tiny ripples of horror radiate through the coffee.He waits for my answer as though he’d asked if we wanted to spend a weekend with our closest...

33 comments 33
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“Bob Bought a Farm” by Michał Przywara

Bob Oaker braced himself against the shed door and grunted when the goat rammed it. He might have shrieked too but he chose to dis-remember that, as it was unbecoming of a man in the prime of his mid-sixties.But then everything grew silent. All he could hear was the wheeze of his own sweaty breath in the sweltering shed, the dzee-dzee-dzeeing of the cicadas – or grasshoppers, or whatever – and the caw! of distant northern cardinals.Well, he didn’t know they if they were cardinals. They might have b...

76 comments 76 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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“Bleeding Love” by Graham Kinross

Striding onto a stage in a suit made from a disco ball and the smooth silk of Barry White’s last breath, the host raised the mic to his lips and winked into camera one.             “Hello one, hello all. Love is here and it’s time to fall!” His classic catchphrase drew raucous applause from a crowd of men and women strapped into their seats to stop them rushing the stage.             Teeth whiter than a dia...

24 comments 24
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“Love, Guilt, and Meteor Showers” by Shuvayon Mukherjee

Content Warning: loss of pregnancy.She holds my gaze a heartbeat too long, and though we both recall the past, it’s the future we see clearest. I shouldn’t, but I’m powerless as my legs carry me across the atrium towards her. I can’t stop myself from admiring those lips, reposed against her wineglass. I can’t stop my eyes from tracing down her slender fingers, pale skin, gleaming fabric, and the shape of her body underneath. It doesn’t matter what I tell her, or what she says back. This love affair has only one ...

33 comments 33
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“Haunted” by Terri Carter

TW: Domestic Abuse/Violence  I was so young when I fell in love with him. Seventeen is too young to know anything for sure, really. And it’s definitely too young to see through the sheep’s clothing worn by the fiercest wolves. Looking at him now, even in the midst of him resting so peacefully, I can see there is an evilness to him. Even if I didn’t have evidence by way of bruises a...

12 comments 12 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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“Whatsisname from eBay” by Chris Campbell

“Please hurry up and open,” I mentally pleaded with the shop assistant through the crystal-clear window. She couldn’t hear me, but I knew she could feel my angst through the glass divider. ‘Limited Stock,’ said the posters stuck to the inside of the window. ‘Once they’re gone, they’re gone!’ It was the 1980s – the decade of desire. Computers, Rubick’s Cubes, Teddy Ruxpin, Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake, and the most anticipated arrival to my young impressionable life… Cabbage Patch dolls. What made the...

19 comments 19
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“Blind Date Done Deal” by Scott Christenson

“I’m trying to figure out who should be jealous of whom here?” Regina’s date asked, his handsome features glowing. She thought about how she would answer this question as the cameras of Australia's largest reality television show zoomed in.**Pre-Date Interview:“What do you hope for in life?” the director asked.“To be happy,” she said, smiling and looking straight ahead and not moving around in her chair as they had taught her. Her mother had told her ...

16 comments 16
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$250

Prize money

192

Contest entries

91

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Aug 05, 2022 EST

Won by Zack Powell 🏆

Title: Wish You Were Here

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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