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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.

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

“Fix it Fred” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #158

Fred Farkas enters Captain Nigel Swift’s quarters, muttering to himself, “This isn’t fair. Why do I get all the gross and dangerous jobs?” Wall-eyed, skinny, with stringy, greasy hair, and adult acne, Fred is unimpressive and unassuming. No one even notices that he wears a hammer on his hip instead of a laser pistol. Captain Swift is speaking to his first officer, Boseman Thames. Eternally youthful looking, dark-haired, and model handsome, forty-two-year-old Captain Swift has the confident, undaunted aura of a natural-born leader. He has ...

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“The drama dance” by Alaina Quesenberry

Submitted to Contest #158

Alice I was walking down the street staring into the store’s display window at a beautiful dress. It was light pink and was flowy with a belt of rhinestones around the waist. I looked at it wishing I had it for the dance happening on friday. I walked inside and asked the employee to let me look at the dress and try it on. She said I could but to be careful not to ruin the dress in any way by having it touch the floor or a rhinestone falling off. I agreed and she led me to my fitting room. When I was putting on the dress I noticed that...

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“An Unfair Move” by Marie White

Submitted to Contest #158

She lingered by the ice cream, not planning to buy anything other than the Klondike Bars for Mike that she’d already placed in her cart, but desperate not to go home. The whining glass and stainless steel freezers offered Chipwiches; cones drizzled in fudge and sprinkled with peanuts; sundae cups, strawberry stripes like wheel spokes on vanilla bean; Neapolitan sandwiches. Appetizing, in the best of times, or when a boyfriend dumped you, or when you’d fought with a friend, but, apparently, not when the weight of a life-changing decision squa...

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“Goodbye, Melanie” by Castle Marie

Submitted to Contest #158

CW: Minor use of adult language & suggestions of violence & abuse. Flames flowered wildly from her follicles. Everything behind her would appear to catch fire as she danced across the bar. She was warm with her words and involved with her eyes. She never made you feel inconvenient or needy. It was always, “Hey, honey! How was your day?” with such genuine inflection. As if she honestly wanted to know every single detail. And before the words could even whirl completely from her lips, she had already cracked o...

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“There Will be No Leftovers” by Austin Wilcox

Submitted to Contest #158

Content Warning: Depiction of DeathThe ring of the bell was heard throughout the entirety of Beatrice’s two story home. This bell had become quite a routine for the Beckett’s. There were eight of them in all and I cannot say that these were an exciting bunch of people. They were your typical American family sitting down and enjoying each others company. But there was an order. An order that never wavered. And so each sat down one by one around the hickory wooden table as if doing a role call.Bryan. He helps his mother quite a bit with the di...

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“Just Playing” by Tanya Humphreys

Submitted to Contest #158

Just Playing Simon peddled his bike through the woods, bumping crazily over the deeply rutted dirt path. He sped up as the path elevated to a gently sloping grade. His legs pumped in a blur like insane locomotive wheels. He laughed maniacally. His ape-hangered blue steed galloped over the earth fleet-footedly. The stallion was named Whiteboots of Lightening, Boots for short, named for his white-walled tires. In his mind’s eye Boots was of course not blue, how silly would that be? Childish to believe in a bl...

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“Diary Of The Beast” by Kain Amaranth

Submitted to Contest #158

*Trigger warning: Death* Amber leaves fell like dirty snow, littering the meticulously manicured lawn of Chapel Hill cemetery. Overhead, a soft gray blanket of clouds obscured the midmorning autumn sun. In a far corner of the old cemetery, a small gathering of mourners stood motionless around a fresh grave carved from dark soil as a priest droned on in monotone remembrance. ---- "Mommy…" Daniel whispered slowly, holding back a sniffle. "When is daddy coming back?" He refused to look up at her, choosing instead to watch the polished...

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“The Good Man” by Aleksandra Ouwerkerk

Submitted to Contest #158

It’s been one of those evenings, you know? My hands were shaking and I couldn’t get my head around what just occurred, over past few days. With my partner - Jake, we’ve been standing on the parking lot under one of these blinking lanterns and with shaking hands covered in mud, clothes ripped and shoes partially falling off our feet. He was passing me one of his sweat soaked, half-broken cigarettes and was trying to start off his favorite lighter. After sixth attempt that rusty, metal trinket finally took off and a flame lighted up my smoke. ...

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“Cigarettes, The Universe, and Other Bullshit” by Bon Jourdy

Submitted to Contest #158

"I'm just saying there's nothing to worry about." The woman passes the cigarette to her boyfriend. "The doc said my chart came back negative. We are 100% STD-free." The man places the offered cigarette between his lips and inhales deeply. He's silent, letting the smoke burn the back of his throat before blowing it out through his nose. The woman shifts into a more comfortable position sitting on the car hood. She speaks again. "The doc will call you in, give you the good news, and then we celebrate over burgers at Molly's. There's ...

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“A perfect partner” by Sonia Michelsberg

Submitted to Contest #158

S: Wow, where did you find these? Is it even legal these days? N: Maybe it isn’t, I don’t care. When I saw them at my friend’s place I just knew I wanted to have a pack and bring it here. He collects all the old crap from our school time and kept this golden Marlboro. Every cigarette in here is now worth a million. I’m just glad we’re friends with him so I didn’t have to sell my kidney. They chuckled. They were about to have a smoke in a parking lot, which they haven’t done in 20 years. It was 20 years since they last saw each other. 20 ...

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“Into the Night” by Bobbie Ross

Submitted to Contest #158

Emmie ended the call and set her phone next to where she sat on the hood of the car, then lit the cigarette she had been holding almost too tightly in her left hand. She took a long drag and exhaled slowly, watching the smoke float up toward one of the few illuminated/working lights in the parking lot. She squinted through the darkness toward the mall entrance and felt the silence of the deserted parking lot buzzing in her ears. The humidity emphasized the scent of shampoo and hair products that always clung to her hands and clothes and mixe...

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“Life Debt” by T. S. Memory

Submitted to Contest #158

“I owe you my life, John.” Francis said.John managed a slight nod to acknowledge. He proceeded to guide him to the office of Mr. Living. A wide smile emerged from Mr. Living’s face, who sat on a grand full back chair tucked in an equally grand desk in the middle of the room. Mr. Living rose from the chair and gave Francis a hearty handshake; he was always delighted to meet a new customer. Mr. Living fetched a small black box and retrieved a piece of paper from it, there was no need to ask, he knew exactly what Francis wanted.“Wow, this paper...

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“Fur coat, no knickers” by Ignis Drake

Submitted to Contest #158

It was about half-way through January, the coldest time of the year. Thankfully, it wasn’t raining, and there wasn’t really any wind to speak of. She had told her husband she was meeting her friend Jane in the city, and it was Friday, so he would not suspect anything out of the ordinary. Jane and she had been going into the city on their weekly shopping trips for so many years now, who was to say this one would be different. She was free then, to have her five minutes and set her plans without anyone being the wiser. She parked the Range R...

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“The Music of Angels” by Mary Jo Fortes

Submitted to Contest #158

Trigger Warning: Contains violent content and domestic abuse. Child abuse is alluded to, as well. He felt the sting in his hand as he watched his knuckles gush red. What hurt the most was the realization that he had screwed up—again. It had been four months since he had punched anything. Darren Holmes, in all his sixteen years, had never tried as hard to accomplish anything as he has to control his temper. He was doing well for a while there. Then, after 5th-period Algebra class, he caught Courtney, his girlfriend of three-and-a-half month...

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“Stepping Into Struggle” by Anthony Finkelstein

Submitted to Contest #158

Clayton lay motionless in the dirt. Stuck on his side where he’d fallen after being thrown, ash falling around him as he stares blankly at the charred remains of Baylif, his home where he had lived his entire life. Images of a simple and joyful childhood flashed through his mind. It was easy, and carefree. Each memory came with a painful joy but was soon after dashed to pieces as horroific new memories of seeing his friends and family slaughtered before him by the horde of demons filled his mind. His dream of living a life with no real diffi...

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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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