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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.

This week's prompts

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

Romance – 71 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 – 44 stories

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

Adults – 27 stories

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

Romance – 18 stories

Stories

“Little Frogs ” by Mary Sheehan

Submitted to Contest #157

It was all Charlie's fault, really. They moved away because he fell in the pool. It meant Max had to leave his and Charlie's bedroom with the two cartoon frogs on the wall that Charlie and Da had spent hours labouring over with their paintbrushes. "My two little frogs" Da said, beaming at his sons, his paint flecked hands on his hips as he admired his handiwork. It meant leaving the street on which he, Charlie and the McCarthy brothers spent hours racing their bikes, up and down endless times, each of them hopeful that this time, they would ...

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“The 8th Iteration” by Mike Panasitti

Submitted to Contest #157

My name is Morris James©. I am a 27-year-old grime star and my death is highly anticipated by my multitude of followers. As an 8th generation clone, legally bound to the 23rd Century Global Media Corporation, which owns the copyrights to the Morris James genome, I’m expected to commit suicide, as six of my previous iterations have done. The 7th Morris James replicant is rumored to have absconded from a contract similar to the one that binds me. Its whereabouts were unknown until five days ago when my manager received a ho...

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“Ace With Spades” by Suma Jayachandar

Submitted to Contest #157

Mr Roy was sure of one thing the day he retired. He would bury the trophies won in his 30 years of corporate battles in the backyard of his home. And grow brinjals on them. He had observed; how the gardener tended to the lawn, grew seasonal flowers in the meticulously prepared beds, and harvested bountiful vegetables from the backyard of his company-given accommodation. He had envied the meditativeness he exuded as he tilled the soil, sowed the seeds and pruned the shrubs. A life full of beauty and harmony surrounded by nature, not sniping i...

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“…And we’re back.” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #157

The showrunner nearly tripped on some cables as he ran to meet the contestants.“Good of you to come in so early. I hope that the car got there in time and that you had…”Michael could tell that they were not listening, no matter how excited they were to be here. “It’s Never Too Late!” had been the top reality-television show on the network for the last five years, but it seemed as if the contestants were just getting worse and worse as the ratings got better and better. The woman – a “Rachel” in this particular season – was trying very hard n...

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“THe Other Woman” by Connie Neighbour

Submitted to Contest #157

The Other Woman It’s a fairly innocuous piece of furniture. About three feet tall, cheap pine with a dark brown varnish, a couple of dents along the edges. Just a normal, unobtrusive hall table. When we first moved in, I kept a vase of flowers on it. I wanted to live in one of those houses you see in magazines. Floor-length curtains, hand-carved tables from Africa, splashes of colour on the walls. And so I filled my one Ikea vase with discounted flowers until functionality won, and the table reverted back to what it has always been: a dump...

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“Lunch Is Canceled ” by Mike Lavine

Submitted to Contest #157

Life in her shadow became a long dark moment. It all started in the kitchen. John was seasoning a steak — with too much pepper, if you ask me — as he explained for the hundredth time why we should adopt a child. Knowing I was cornered until he was done pontificating, I leaned against the fridge, almost regretting my trip there for the glass of water in my hand, nodding and saying “uh-huh” at the appropriate intervals. He paused just long enough to chug the now lukewarm coffee I gave him earlier, then restarted his lecture wi...

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“Intrusive Thoughts” by Connor Greene

Submitted to Contest #157

Zach had saved a table at his favorite brewery, Top Hops. Neither his girlfriend, Emma, nor his best friend, Quinn, were here yet. He checked his watch, while tapping his foot impatiently. He hated sitting alone and being early, but someone had to save a table or else they'd just be standing around and not enjoying their drinks in the same way. This sense of duty to arrive early both compelled and prided Zach. It slightly bothered him that Emma was late, but he had gotten used to Quinn’s tardiness over the years of their friendship. A...

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“Just concentrate” by Joana Burrows

Submitted to Contest #157

It was going to be a horrible day. The teacher was making him play basketball in PhysEd class. It wasn't his thing. Not only was he an apartment child, with nowhere to practice, but he absolutely hated collective sports of every kind. Baseball, football, soccer, absolutely all sports. He tried to find the silver lining in the situation. His heart was in turmoil though, as was his brain. "Can't I practice running with the track team?," he asked. "Just give basketball a try, will you?" the coach answered. To make things worse, h...

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“If You Love Me” by Scott Skinner

Submitted to Contest #157

Speeding towards the sunset, listening to gangster rap, the volume all the way up, as the wind pours in and swirls cellophane wrappers from used cigars around the car; one whips me on the cheek before whooshing out the window- a kiss from the packaging of my vice. I put the Swisher Sweet back to my mouth and inhale. Ash vanishes in the violence of the tornado inside my car, and the flame on the tip of my blunt burns a brighter orange. The sunset is violet red, fading to black with each static thump of bass from my blown speakers as I hurl my...

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“The Four Horsemen” by L. E. Scott

Submitted to Contest #157

“Did you see?” Pestilence bragged standing a little taller than usual and puffing out their chest. “Pretty good, huh?”War rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. “Eh, two global pandemics in a couple centuries? That’s nothing to brag about.”Death took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He put his bony fingers together and rested them on what would have been the bridge of his nose if he’d had a nose. These two were always bickering, each trying to one up the other. Famine mostly kept to himself, bothering third-world nations an...

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“Fire of malicious love.” by Syed Mohammad Zahid

Submitted to Contest #157

Escorted by three boys, he was brought limping in severe pain. Nazakat was a very cute boy with chiseled features and a feminine look; face blushing adolescent, bearing bigger and more dramatic eyes in which God had applied kohl with His own hands. Hair had just started sprouting on his upper lip, chin, and sideburns had appeared, which he plucked with tweezers instead of shaving. He even had a tattoo on his chin. The brightly colored silk Kaftan smelt of his intense, musky perfume. The silk trousers were soaked with blood, oozing from a lon...

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“Elevator Bitch” by Katharine Widdows

Submitted to Contest #157

Jane:“Oh, hold the doors!”I teeter through the lift lobby in my sleek, yet second hand, Jimmy Choo's. Who am I kidding? Even if I do get the job, I can hardly show up to work five times a week dressed like this. Give me a pair of comfy flats any day and let my calves relax a bit. Dressed like this, no one would guess I get my hair done at Super Cuts. Don't think like that; rent to pay, rent to pay, rent to pay.This little skirt isn’t doing me any favours. It turned a few heads in reception, for all the wrong reasons. I'll never impress a chi...

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“How My Sister Stole Christmas” by L Key

Submitted to Contest #157

Content warning: This story is about Christmas. Yes, I know it’s only August! Please forgive me.How My Sister Stole ChristmasLucy was born on Christmas day. That should tell you everything you need to know about her. Somehow, I still remember that morning vividly. My favourite film, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, was playing on the VHS player and the smell of pine and sweet pancakes wafted around us. My Mum, belly all swollen like the stuffed turkey in the oven, was sitting on the sofa and my Dad next to me, cross-legged on the carpet. A se...

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“Smile For Me” by Kyla Writes

Submitted to Contest #157

Trigger Warning: This story contains stalking as well as implied signs of violenceAre you seriously going to see her, wearing the same suit as the one you wore on our first date?How unoriginal, James.I scoff and shake my head as I watch you make a pathetic attempt at making yourself look presentable, tugging at the lapels, adjusting your coat. You eye yourself on the rearview mirror, smiling smugly at your reflection as if you did a splendid job at making yourself look like a delicious meal. And as if that doesn’t cut it, you even comb your ...

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“Second to None” by Konner Blunt

Submitted to Contest #157

Five years. Five. God damn. Years. And this is what it had come to. A streak of orange light painted the inside of my car, the last signs of a dying day. The light illuminated the tear and makeup streaked face that I was unfortunate enough to catch a glimpse of in the rear-view mirror. “You’ve seen better days, Hun,” I said to myself, shocked by how the woman in the mirror looked. “Maybe that’s why it didn’t work out”. I chuckled, revealing a row of unhappy little teeth filling my mouth. It had been four days si...

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$250

Prize money

185

Contest entries

88

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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