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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

“A little solution goes a long way” by Glenn Holt

Submitted to Contest #158

“You know, it’s not fair”, said Larry, as he took a drag on a Marlboro. Larry exercised regularly. He had a six pack stomach and powerful, triceps, biceps, pecs and calves. He could dead weight lift 400 pounds. He trained three times a week for at least an hour and a half in the gym. He could still run the mile in six minutes. He stood 6 and a half feet tall. Finally Larry took care of himself by having hair cuts at least twice a month. Every hair and piece of clothing in perfect position. In fact Larry could still not believe it when Dr...

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“Tuesday Nights” by Thomas Jackson

Submitted to Contest #158

The smell of incense reminds me of Sundays. When the kids still called me dad, and we used to go mass. I was in the choir, though I could never hit that C-sharp. That was before I Iost my job. Before the 3:00 PM in-house daily happy hours. Before the accident. Now, I sit in a dilapidated basement of a Lutheran church, and the smell of incense calls another feeling: shame. "John, would you like to talk next? How was work this week?" Jenny, the AA host this week, asked, knocking me out of my daydream. "Fine. Mr. Adams is still a raging…." ...

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“The Toll of Atonement ” by Hayley F

Submitted to Contest #158

TW: Explicit Language, Mentions of Violence Jasper takes a drag off his cigarette. When he licks his lips he feels like he can taste the bitterness of the tobacco on them so he purses them together, rubbing them clean. Then he takes another hit. His dark hair falls below his ears lazily, covering the pink scar at his right temple. Although he was freshly washed, his stubble gives him the appearance of raggedness, abetted by his stained shirt and shorts. Dark eyes rest on the skyline outside, looking past the city into a world made...

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“Moral Orel” by Dempsey Hyatt

Submitted to Contest #158

Orel awoke to the beeping sound of his homemade perimeter alarms. At first, he thought it was due to the wildlife in the area again; his laboratory in the middle of nowhere meant the alarms triggered more on deer and raccoons than they did with humans. The mail wasn’t delivered here, and Orel wasn’t even sure if the cabin had an address. Still the same, Orel’s cautiousness was warranted since beginning his drug synthesis endeavor. Orel swung his feet from the bed to the floor and grabbed binoculars. He r...

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“Johnny... Johnny the Norwegian” by Nicolae Dumitru

Submitted to Contest #158

Johnny... Johnny the Norwegian Motto: Any resemblance to some real characters is not accidental at all! Johnny was a „boy's boy”, in the current sense of the expression. In fact, he was a man in the prime of his life, struggling with all his might to make his way in life. Married young, he already had a child a few months old, which motivated him, once again, to fight for the well-being of his family. Being a...

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“Times are a changin'” by Becca Fox

Submitted to Contest #158

“It’s not fair!” I groan and push the backgammon set off the couch. Thin brown and white tiles clatter across the dusty floor. “That’s the sixth time you’ve beaten me today!” I leap off the couch and push past my boyfriend to the quiet of the balcony, breathing in the sweet evening air. I love dusk in Tel Aviv. The sky turns purple and the horizon glows. But I hate losing. I’m tired; I’m pissed. And I’m really, really bored. ~~~ It’s been nine months since shit went very, very wrong. One silent, wicked cyber-terrorist attack and the worldwid...

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“Dear soul number 001AABBH” by Keva Epale

Submitted to Contest #158

Here, I am sitting on my bed and venting at invisible forces that I believed were fighting against me and my evolution. Progress is the word. I had been working hard and pushing forward in all areas of my life. I would even state it is the quest and truth of my being on this planet. The forces of the day were a team of divine beings I had acclaimed as my Divine team. For months, years, a lifetime I had been praying to a powerful Father, creator of heaven and hell. I had been navigating from the religious education I had received to my fall...

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“becoming untethered” by Angel C

Submitted to Contest #158

(note: contains sensitive language)The light in the dim kitchen seemed dusty and grainy. It hung like a film between the two women. It seemed almost tangible, as if they could run their hands through it like swishing through a puddle. Like it was sticking to the sides of their windpipes, their lungs, with every inhalation. The kitchen was hot, too. A midsummer, late-afternoon heat. As if someone had switched on an oven, and left the oven door cracked.Someone was yelling in the road below the window. Someone peddling something, probably. Stic...

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“Losing Color” by Margo Harris

Submitted to Contest #158

“It’s not fair,” he wails. “Life isn’t fair, Lucas,” I tell him, irritated by the echoing cries bouncing off of my classroom walls. “I want to color too!” The sobs continue. “Lucas, look at me.” He stops staring at the floor and does as he’s told. “Crying is not going to solve this. I want you to try to compose yourself. Do you know what that means?” He shakes his head, no. “To compose yourself means to calm down and stop crying after being upset about something. Do you think you can do that for me?” He sucks in a big breath and ...

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“The Home Wrecker” by Bettina Karpathian

Submitted to Contest #158

The college was started back in the day when educational opportunities for women were limited. It had grown over almost a century into a venerable institution with a Gothic style campus dotted with majestic oaks. Several buildings on campus were named after Ellie’s wealthy family who were prominent donors. Ellie was a large, short-sighted girl who wore this inheritance awkwardly. She was self-conscious about her weight, not particularly academically gifted, her innate kindness hidden under shyness. Lily and I were scholarship girls. My famil...

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“Privilege” by J Stephens

Submitted to Contest #158

Angeline Lovelie Laguerre was born on Christmas day, 2019. She was a blessing who arrived magically, four weeks before her mother, Marie, was due. Four weeks before her father considered his daughter would make her first appearance. As such, while Marie Laguerre delivered a healthy, baby girl at a hospital near their new home on Long Island, Louis Laguerre was stuck waiting on a subway platform in downtown Manhattan. Having taken a position at one of the city’s preeminent medical centers only a month prior to provide medic...

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“It's Not Fair” by Cindy Joyner

Submitted to Contest #158

That's Not Fair It started out as a day that I would describe as entirely and contently fair. Fair weather, a perfect sixty-two degrees with no clouds in the sky and a gentle breeze blowing. I ...

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“A year in Heaven ” by V JHD

Submitted to Contest #158

All I want for Christmas little Brother, is one last day with you. I’ve wondered what we would do on this day, if we actually knew it would be our last together. I would not sleep a wink; I would tell you everything I left unsaid. We would talk of all that’s happened since that one and final day. I would show you the things I have done to keep you close. You could read all of the letters I have written you with no where to send them. I tell so many stories to the kids so they never forget who you were.You would hold ...

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“When it rains, it pours” by Dee Wes

Submitted to Contest #158

Sharp pain crackles across Evelyn Brooks' frontal lobe as she attempts to open her eyes. Today, twenty-four years ago, she gave birth only to experience a mother's worst nightmare. "Be better off dead," she utters to herself.Her breath is foul. Her stomach threatens to erupt.It feels horrible to feel horrible. "What a silly thought.""Will it ever cease?"Is it even possible for her to feel full rather than empty? Can she experience ease, instead of needing to fight to live life? How can she win, if she is always losing? "It's n...

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“The Road From Resentment To Contentment Is Not Paved” by J L Jones

Submitted to Contest #158

I did it. I crossed the line. The line I said I’d never cross. The line I’d vowed never to cross. I would like to say that he doesn’t deserve it - the lies, the betrayal, the disrespect - but I can’t. His constant belittling has earned it all. That’s what happens when resentment enters a relationship. It starts as a normal cell, minding its own business, and then a little bit of poison slips in and turns that poor cell into cancer. A little more poison, a little more cancer. Before you know it, the cancer has multiplied, raging and out o...

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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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