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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

“Size Matters” by Endi Dan

Submitted to Contest #158

Byron Strueth had lost almost sixty kilograms in a twelve-month stretch. It was a marvellous achievement. In less than a year, Byron had completely transformed himself. Through a strict regime of exercise, meditation and healthy choice eating, he had shed the weight, dropping from a hefty 130kgs down to a lithe 72kgs. A brave new world lay before Byron, but someone had forgotten to tell the previous incarnation of Byron; the fat one. His new body, with its narrower dimensions, perplexed and confounded Byron. He was ill at ease in it and ca...

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“Blowing Smoke” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #158

Eva had a plan. On her break, she exited the Garden, and walked toward the Sycamore tree at the far end of the parking lot. The tree was the designated smoker’s area for guests of the Garden. At a staff meeting, she heard Garden founder, Dr. Elmwood, discuss the virtues and benefits of socializing over a smoke. Eva never smoked, but she carried a pack of cigarettes. Recently hired, she hoped to get acquainted with the clients. Despite lacking experience, she knew befriending clients was no option. But, by way of gaining trust, a smoke brea...

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“The Road Home” by Penny Whiting

Submitted to Contest #158

The sun momentarily blinded Eric as the door slammed shut behind him. He squinted around him and tried to locate Jon’s car, but none of the ones he could see matched the description Jon had given on the phone earlier that week. Eric sighed, sat on the low wall at the edge of the car park, and pulled his phone out of his pocket. It was so natural, even after not doing it for over a year. He pressed the power button, but nothing happened. He pressed it again, for longer this time, but the phone was dead. Of course it was; it had spent over a y...

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“Busted” by Althea Gowen

Submitted to Contest #158

"Well don't bogart the whole thing," Emma said, reaching for the cigarette.“I think you only say 'bogarting' for joints,” Connie replied. “And besides, I’m not bogarting anything. You’re just so damn slow that I want to make sure I get a few drags in case we get caught.”Connie took one more puff for good measure before handing the cigarette to Emma.It was a pleasant evening, the heat of the day just beginning to subside. The perfect time to sneak out of the house. Again. They’d done it so many times that they were expedient in their movement...

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“One More Cigarette” by Cynthia Black

Submitted to Contest #158

Hot moisture hung in the air. The hotel parking lot wet from the afternoon rain. Standing by her car they shared a cigarette and said nothing. It was time to quit. Time to go. Time to move on. It was time. They both knew it. Yeah, before something they couldn’t undo happened. At first, they started meeting on Thursday afternoons then Tuesdays too, and Mondays if they could. Sometimes Saturdays if she was free. It was time to leave. The traffic would be bad. She would be late. They both would be late. She needed time ...

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“Secondhand Smoke” by Nic Silvestris

Submitted to Contest #158

Secondhand Smoke The way she took a drag from her cigarette was not unlike Lady Godiva dismounting from her mount. No matter how hard someone tried, they could not match her grace. It was as if the tobacco burned in anticipation of touching her lips. Her exhale clouded my view of her face but highlighted the moon beams, which were the only source of light. Taking another long drag, she extended the butt to me, which I reluctantly took. To buy myself another five minutes with...

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“Crash” by Derek White

Submitted to Contest #158

It was about twenty past nine o’clock at night. There was a light condensation on the windshield of Edwards Corolla. It had been raining all through the day but had mostly stopped by this point. He did not even see the car coming at first.Edward had been driving home from work at the assisted living facility he worked at, treating patients with mental handicaps resulting from brain injuries, strokes, or just sheer bad luck like plowing into a semi-truck while riding a motorcycle or getting their head bashed in with a pipe wrench by their wif...

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“A New Day” by Pam Othoudt

Submitted to Contest #158

A New Day Hank climbed on the bus and sat down. After being locked up for almost two years, he was heading home to his sister. It felt great to be free and as the bus moved along, he began to think back to when everything started going wrong................ His earliest memories were of his parent’s being drunk all the time and his dad beating on him and his sister, Kim. When he was twelve, his parents were in a car accident and were both killed. His sister was sent to live with his grandparents, but they couldn’t manage both, so he wa...

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“All In The Name Of Aquaintance” by Philip Ebuluofor

Submitted to Contest #158

“This is for you, and this for me. These two sticks for you, this one stick for me” “ Why do you give me two sticks more and took one?” “ What would I ever do to be fair?” “ What you would ever do to be fair?—you should know” “ I should know? I gave you two extra sticks and kept one and yet you are complaining” “ So, in your heart, it was to be fair you gave me two extra sticks and kept one for yourself. Humm, good of you. I asked; if it were to be another thing beside cigarette, would you have given me more than you take?” “Beside cigarette...

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“Brief and Random Conversations During the Apocalypse” by Richard Thompson

Submitted to Contest #158

This story contains references to drugs and violence.“When I was 16 I killed a man.”“What?”“I said, when I was 16 I killed a man.”“I heard what you said, Beth. I’m just not understanding the premise. Is this one of those new games the kids are playing now? You know I’m not on social media.”“No, I’m literally telling you that when I was 16 years old, I ran over a man in my daddy’s 1965 Chevy pickup truck and flattened him out like a pancake.”“Why?”“Why am I telling you, or why did I kill a man?”“Both, I guess.”“So, the killing was a total acc...

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“Spaces between Mirrors” by Cajek Veilwinter

Submitted to Contest #158

Jack - known to his admirers and his mother as ‘Szal’ - sat on the applecrate in his cluttered little apartment above a lonely bookshop and leaned in to his large, ornate mirror. The young vulpine mage tried to look beyond the edges - to the left, and then to the right - his blue eyes scanning for any sign of his benefactor. “The Museum of Transgressions is real, master!” He said to the mirror, a little too excitedly, “And, on top of that, I obtained the compass that will lead us there.” If Jack successfully stole the robes of Sava...

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“My Daughters' Addiction” by Yvonne Shaw

Submitted to Contest #158

My daughter, a beautiful thirty-five-year-old woman with a huge heart for everything alive on this earth. She has long, down to her lower back, beautiful golden blonde hair, big brown eyes, and a great teasing like smile, has had an addiction for 13 years. The first time she admitted to me she was addicted to Methadone, she had already given birth to two beautiful, like her, children, a boy, and a girl. She wasn't living with me at that time and had extremely bad experiences within her relationships. She never told me that the men she was ...

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“The Graduation of Eddie Calibresi” by Frank W Clark

Submitted to Contest #158

Passing from sixth grade to seventh grade, from elementary school to junior high school, was a monumental event of the highest order for Eddie Calibresi and me. Gone were our wanton days of team-frogging fourth grade boys like Brady O'Neil, and stealing kisses in the darkened recesses of a coat closet from the exotic looking Debbie Simmons and her best friend, Bonnie Rankin. It meant fewer high-speed chases on our bikes or skateboards, flying over the bridge at Bogg's Creek or making kamikaze passes at old lady Young as she swept her sidewal...

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“LET GO” by Kate Baker

Submitted to Contest #158

LET GO It was nearly midnight when the train pulled into Kings Cross. Ellen checked her hair in the window’s reflection. She was sure the length and colour was exactly right, but only time would tell. Outside the terminal the pavement was wet although the rain had stopped. However, the seven minute walk to Oli’s bar was enough time for her plan to fail if moisture got to her hair. She retrieved her brolly and protected the hard-earned effect as if her life depended on it. Her life did depend on it. She was nobody without Oli’s atten...

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“The Evil That Lies Within” by Howard Seeley

Submitted to Contest #158

It was a beautiful afternoon for playing games. The sun was out, and not a cloud in the sky. It was a perfect day for play and several children from town were taking advantage of it. Through the laughter of the children, one voice rang out. “You’re it, Thomas!” Tag was far from one of Thomas’ favorite games, and he frownedat his plight, for he was smaller than the other children, and rarely was ableto run anyone down to tag them. Still, he had no choice but to try. Again, andagain, he would chase after them, trying to tag them, but as much a...

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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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