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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#158: It's All Good, Man

With only a few episodes left to air, the legal drama Better Call Saul is coming to an end. Along with the Breaking Bad saga, this spin-off garnered dozens of nominations and countless fans around the world through excellent character development and storytelling. Saul Goodman’s colorful suits, elaborate scams, and wordplay (“It’S all Good, man”) will be hard to forget.

Whether you're familiar with the series, or this is your first time hearing about it, there'll be something for you in this week's prompts — inspired by the show's characters and themes.

🥇 Winner

“Your Cat™️ Customer Service” by Scott Christenson

🏆 Winner of Contest #158

Hi, I'm Timmy McHill and drugs and AA started me on the road to where I am today in the world of feline telephone fraud. I’m not sure which one, maybe both. My career in Customer Service began right after I took a quick detour from university at age 19. My educational readjustment happened because the University Police didn't understand the economic theory of harm reduction. Since the nursing students I was attending class with had an inflexible demand for party drugs, they would be dealing with real drug dealers downtown, which was har...

147 comments 147

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⭐️ Shortlisted

“Like a Baseball Bat to the Face” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #158

“I need your car.”“Carrie, it’s the middle of the night—”“Simms,” she says in a low voice, unnaturally calm. “Walk back to your bedroom, tell your wife to shut up, grab your keys, and bring them to me.”“C’mon, Carrie,” he whines. Simms is as petulant as a boy whose mother dotes on him—one of the reasons Carrie dumped him in high school.Thirty years later, he is just as weak.“Now, Simms. Hurry.”Simms turns, complying with her request, not because he loves her—but because he loves his wife far less. “Goodness, Simmy! Who is at the door th...

106 comments 106

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“Love Letters from Lexington Prison” by Kathleen Fine

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #158

April 2, 2022Dearest Lou,I miss you so very much. Seeing you on Saturday only made me love you more. Did you get the $300 I put into your account before I left? To think that you are locked in that teeny tiny cell all alone keeps me up all night. My only solace is knowing I can visit you every weekend, even if it takes me 8 hours to drive to see you. I have enclosed the photo you requested of me and my daughter, Betsy. Have they accepted your request for a retrial? I know you are innocent of killing those girls. My Lou would never hurt anyon...

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“The Living Things” by Kelsey H

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #158

I came to this beach as a child, but that was before any of the bad things which would happen had happened, so it was another world. My parents smoking and arguing in the front seat as they searched for a park, me and my brothers jostling for space in the back, the scent of coconut lotion on my arms.As an adult, here in the night, it was a different place. Black water under a black sky. The car park emptied out, the tip of the cigarette glowing in the darkness of the car. “Here,” the man in the passenger seat said, passing it to me. I t...

Read story

“Maiden Voyage” by Gregg Voss

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #158

Vestal, Ohio The heat. The damn, ever-loving summer heat. It covered like a veil, even at 11:04 p.m., according to the clock on the squad’s dash. A single drop of sweat ran from Officer Todd Fowler’s hairline behind his right ear onto the collar of his navy uniform shirt, which was bear-hugged by a twenty-pound tactical vest that did nothing but absorb all that heat. Hell of a night for my maiden voyage, he thought, as his eyes flitted from the clock to the blue-screened laptop in front of the passenger seat to the unopene...

Read story

“Good as Hell” by Marie Mckenzie

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #158

***Trigger warning: Contains demonic themes***Two cowering figures lie beneath Tom Wescott’s bedsheets - his wife and her lover. I’d whispered in his ear all day, urging him to hurry home, to witness this betrayal. He’d chalked it up to intuition. But it was me, hard at work, tempting another wayward soul.As angry words crowd in Tom’s throat, his lips tremble. Beads of sweat roll down his forehead, past furrowed brows. His eyes are fixed on his wife. One shaky hand points a Glock 34 at her. His finger hovers over the trigger. The wife turns ...

Read story

“Tokyo smoke” by Joey Balk

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #158

[possible triggers: intimidation (slight), mention of drugs and trial] She flicked the wheel of the lighter. Sparks shot up, followed by a small flame which she held to the end of the cigarette dangling from between her lips. ‘Talk; you’ve got about five minutes to convince me to let you live.’ ‘In that case, mind if I have a cigarette too? That’s executioner etiquette, isn’t it, or is that just Hollywood?’ ‘Just Hollywood,’ she said, but offered me her pack of cigarettes with her free hand just the same. Her other hand, the one hid...

Read story

“Smoke and Sodium Lights” by Dave Bolin

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #158

It was a quarter after 9pm when Sandra walked out the front door of Legacy Nursing Home. Her eyes adjusted as she walked across the parking lot to the park bench in the lawn ahead. She collapsed on the bench with a sigh, and began rummaging in her purse. Finding her reward, she pulled her hand from the bag and shook the lighter out of the cigarette pack. One more shake, and the last of the cigarettes fell into her trembling fingers. Lighting it and taking the first drag, she slumped a little more on the bench and relaxed for the first time i...

Read story

“America's Dad” by Hilary R. Glick

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #158

(CELEBRITY NEWS TODAY) – Clark Fletcher, "America’s Dad", the beloved American actor best known for his starring role of "Doctor Mason McCarthy" in the decades-long melodrama, The Physician, died last night of natural causes at his home in Hollywood Hills. He was 84.Before his 100-plus film and TV credits, Fletcher began his career as an extra in films back in 1956, when he was only 18 years old. Hollywood producer, James Fillmore, stated in a 1965 New York Times Article, "The other [producers] were sleeping on him, using him as an...

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“Rock Bottom is Wherever You Stop Digging” by Althea Gowen

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #158

Oh no. No no no no no no. This can’t be happening. I sit up from the bench I was sleeping on, trying to take in my surroundings and not vomit. Oh, my aching head. Many of my hangovers have been terrible before but never THIS terrible.I am in an unfamiliar subway station. The smell of fuel and greasy food and dirty floors and public urination suddenly becomes too much, and I run into the station bathroom which is thankfully nearby, and up comes all my stupidity. Mixed together with the martinis and scotch and champagne and whatever else I’ve ...

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“Cigarettes, Chianti, and Karaoke” by Mary Jo Fortes

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #158

The hot ember of her Kool Extra Long cigarette mesmerized him each time she waved her hand in conversation. He had long since lost focus on her words and even her smoldering green eyes. All he thought of was that familiar smoky scent invading his nostrils, his neurons. They had just finished devouring linguine and clams, paired with Chianti, at Mama Rossina's Ristorante on Elm Street. It was, in fact, a date—their first date. They met at a party hosted by mutual friends and hit it off immediately. He asked her out toward the end of the nig...

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“For Maeve” by Cam Gray

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #158

I exit the corner store, a flimsy plastic bag filled with off-brand cheese puffs and a six-pack tucked in the crook of my elbow. Nothing out of place, we’ve been buying beer here since we first got fake IDs. The blue neon light washes over the dark parking lot, a peeling Toyota pickup with a for-sale sign still squatting in the far corner. Weeds twist up around the tires, tickle the low underbelly that has probably been butchered for parts. The same graffitied dumpster and the same patches of glittering broken glass.Maeve sits on the fa...

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“Unplanned Obsolescence ” by Aron Bennett

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #158

Screw-ups, breakthroughs, heavy downs, inspirational highs; the turmoil followed by the sweetest relief. That’s the process. Thereafter the wait, the crackling in the air, a callous foretaste; this time as with earlier times, another slow trundle back to the old drafting table; through pages of shame. Of waste. Sorry but not sorry. Sorry but it’s not right for us. It’s why I don’t bother anymore. Writing I mean. It’s why I don’t bother. I write instead for myself, for I am easily pleased. Or at least more easily pleased t...

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This week's prompts

Start your story with a couple sharing a cigarette in a parking lot.

Adults – 66 stories

Write about a character with questionable morals.

Dark – 41 stories

Write a story where the law plays an important role.

High School – 24 stories

Write a story about a character who is trying to become a better person.

Middle School – 42 stories

Write a story that includes someone saying, “It’s not fair.”

Middle School – 72 stories

Stories

“Your Cat™️ Customer Service” by Scott Christenson

🏆 Winner of Contest #158

Hi, I'm Timmy McHill and drugs and AA started me on the road to where I am today in the world of feline telephone fraud. I’m not sure which one, maybe both. My career in Customer Service began right after I took a quick detour from university at age 19. My educational readjustment happened because the University Police didn't understand the economic theory of harm reduction. Since the nursing students I was attending class with had an inflexible demand for party drugs, they would be dealing with real drug dealers downtown, which was har...

147 comments 147

Read story

“Like a Baseball Bat to the Face” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #158

“I need your car.”“Carrie, it’s the middle of the night—”“Simms,” she says in a low voice, unnaturally calm. “Walk back to your bedroom, tell your wife to shut up, grab your keys, and bring them to me.”“C’mon, Carrie,” he whines. Simms is as petulant as a boy whose mother dotes on him—one of the reasons Carrie dumped him in high school.Thirty years later, he is just as weak.“Now, Simms. Hurry.”Simms turns, complying with her request, not because he loves her—but because he loves his wife far less. “Goodness, Simmy! Who is at the door th...

106 comments 106

Read story

“Love Letters from Lexington Prison” by Kathleen Fine

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #158

April 2, 2022Dearest Lou,I miss you so very much. Seeing you on Saturday only made me love you more. Did you get the $300 I put into your account before I left? To think that you are locked in that teeny tiny cell all alone keeps me up all night. My only solace is knowing I can visit you every weekend, even if it takes me 8 hours to drive to see you. I have enclosed the photo you requested of me and my daughter, Betsy. Have they accepted your request for a retrial? I know you are innocent of killing those girls. My Lou would never hurt anyon...

Read story

“Yes, Daddy” by Brynn Helena

Submitted to Contest #158

“Are you sure about this, June?” Mila asked softly, cupping her hand around the flame of the lighter to help June light her cigarette. It was her third in twenty minutes, and June wasn’t a smoker; she’d taken the pack out of Mila’s purse earlier that day before she'd gone to work at the hospital. Mila stared at the blonde with concerned eyes, one of her hands rubbing circles into June’s back as they sat perched on a chipping, yellow curb stop in the hospital parking lot. The sun was beginning to set on a late-August day. Summer was quic...

Read story

“The Living Things” by Kelsey H

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #158

I came to this beach as a child, but that was before any of the bad things which would happen had happened, so it was another world. My parents smoking and arguing in the front seat as they searched for a park, me and my brothers jostling for space in the back, the scent of coconut lotion on my arms.As an adult, here in the night, it was a different place. Black water under a black sky. The car park emptied out, the tip of the cigarette glowing in the darkness of the car. “Here,” the man in the passenger seat said, passing it to me. I t...

Read story

“Rhetorical Cigarette” by Michał Przywara

Submitted to Contest #158

Cheryl’s skipping Christmas this year, again. Because Brian dumped her, because she screwed things up. Again.She shivers in the crisp night air, behind Bill’s Beer ‘n’ Beef, in the derelict lot. It’s a good bar to cut loose in, and forget. Her hands cradle her lighter, giving her cigarette a chance to live, and she bobs along subconsciously in tune with the driving bass inside. She lost Brian because she screwed up, and she doesn’t want anything to do with her parents and their endless criticism.For a moment, the bass is joined by melody and...

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“If They Run You Over, Don't Scream” by Shuvayon Mukherjee

Submitted to Contest #158

Today is my birthday, but I'm wearing a Halloween costume. It’s my first time as the bait.“Remember what we talked about, Kayla, dear,” Mum says, hugging me tight. “If they run you over, don’t scream.”Next to her, Dad nods. “Don’t make a sound. It’ll ruin the surprise, and more of ‘em will come. They’ll take you away. Do you want that to happen?”I sniff and shake my head, releasing a captive breath that plumes through the night air. Goosebumps pepper my bare arms. I can’t tell if they’re from cold or fear. We let silence wash over us as...

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“Amaranthine” by Shaivi S.

Submitted to Contest #158

The stars are dim tonight. Not hidden, no, under the soft blanket of the clouds, but lusterless in the velvety night sky. Trapped in a ceaseless dark cage, they whisper for help, I conclude. As twilight bids farewell, I avert my gaze from the window, heavy thoughts blurring my vision. I stay huddled under my avalanche of covers, the coffee in my shaking hands left untouched. I know it's too sweet, anyway. If you hadn't been so busy these few long days, perhaps you would have offered to blend it for me. Giggling in the kitchen as I begin my e...

Read story

“Maiden Voyage” by Gregg Voss

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #158

Vestal, Ohio The heat. The damn, ever-loving summer heat. It covered like a veil, even at 11:04 p.m., according to the clock on the squad’s dash. A single drop of sweat ran from Officer Todd Fowler’s hairline behind his right ear onto the collar of his navy uniform shirt, which was bear-hugged by a twenty-pound tactical vest that did nothing but absorb all that heat. Hell of a night for my maiden voyage, he thought, as his eyes flitted from the clock to the blue-screened laptop in front of the passenger seat to the unopene...

Read story

“Good as Hell” by Marie Mckenzie

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #158

***Trigger warning: Contains demonic themes***Two cowering figures lie beneath Tom Wescott’s bedsheets - his wife and her lover. I’d whispered in his ear all day, urging him to hurry home, to witness this betrayal. He’d chalked it up to intuition. But it was me, hard at work, tempting another wayward soul.As angry words crowd in Tom’s throat, his lips tremble. Beads of sweat roll down his forehead, past furrowed brows. His eyes are fixed on his wife. One shaky hand points a Glock 34 at her. His finger hovers over the trigger. The wife turns ...

Read story

“Interview with the Vigilante” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #158

Detective Nunez sips coffee, looking around my apartment as if he’s just a visitor. “Congratulations on your promotion,” I say. “Officer to Detective, that’s a promotion, isn’t it?” My voice is dead. I keep looking at Billie. Why is she messed up in this? Why did I think I could live a happy life? “First I want to say congratulations to you,” he says, smiling. He aims an open palm at Billie’s convex ...

Read story

“Tokyo smoke” by Joey Balk

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #158

[possible triggers: intimidation (slight), mention of drugs and trial] She flicked the wheel of the lighter. Sparks shot up, followed by a small flame which she held to the end of the cigarette dangling from between her lips. ‘Talk; you’ve got about five minutes to convince me to let you live.’ ‘In that case, mind if I have a cigarette too? That’s executioner etiquette, isn’t it, or is that just Hollywood?’ ‘Just Hollywood,’ she said, but offered me her pack of cigarettes with her free hand just the same. Her other hand, the one hid...

Read story

“Reincarnation, Rebirth, and a little bit of Regret” by Jing L.

Submitted to Contest #158

It was but a lost child. I probably shouldn’t have stared at it so horrifically. “Can you help me? I’m lost.”“Oh god,” I uttered before I could stop myself. I tear my heavy glare away from the short, chubby little thing. I ran in here to lose myself, not to be found. Another quick little glance is stolen before I smear my hand across my dry eyes, feeling the cool relief from my fingers seep through weary eyelids. “Fine,” I sigh, dropping my hand from my face. “Make sure you’re following me. I don’t care whether you’re behind me or ...

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“Walking Them In” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #158

TW: This story contains allusions to domestic violence, child abuse, and abortion. He went back to smoking before I did. I showed up outside the clinic one morning with my customary black coffee and bran muffin. He was standing next to the motorcycle I told him he could buy when he turned fifty. There was a half-done Parliament in his hand. I expected him to toss it when he saw me pulling up, but he kept right on puffing. That was how I knew he’d had a bad day. “Are they back again,” I asked, receiving a slight nod in response. Jeff i...

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“Smoke and Sodium Lights” by Dave Bolin

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #158

It was a quarter after 9pm when Sandra walked out the front door of Legacy Nursing Home. Her eyes adjusted as she walked across the parking lot to the park bench in the lawn ahead. She collapsed on the bench with a sigh, and began rummaging in her purse. Finding her reward, she pulled her hand from the bag and shook the lighter out of the cigarette pack. One more shake, and the last of the cigarettes fell into her trembling fingers. Lighting it and taking the first drag, she slumped a little more on the bench and relaxed for the first time i...

Read story

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$250

Prize money

245

Contest entries

103

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Aug 12, 2022 EST

Won by Scott Christenson 🏆

Title: Your Cat™️ Customer Service

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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