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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#159: Money, Money, Money

Like it or not, money makes the world go round. And while it (supposedly) can’t buy happiness, it can certainly change your life — for better or worse. This week’s prompts have money on the mind; whether your characters are winning big, or down to their last dollar, it’s time to start counting your cash.

🥇 Winner

“Blood and Cookies ” by Daniel Allen

TW: Contains some descriptions of blood and violencePhilip smiled at me as I shuffled towards his counter. ‘Morning Frank, how can I help you?’Good. If Philip was in a cheerful mood, that would make this much easier. I smiled back at him. ‘One course of antibiotics, please.’He eyed me with concern. ‘You’re sick?’‘No,’ I replied. ‘Katy is. She’s got crimson fever.’Philip’s eyes widened. ‘I’ll get your meds right away.’ He put on his spectacles and turned to rifle through the bottles an...

155 comments 155 WINNER 🏆
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⭐️ Shortlisted

“If I Let You” by Aeris Walker

If I let you touch her, will you please be gentle? Just squeeze her little foot, rub her hand, feel her soft head. Look, she’s smiling; she likes you.If I let you hold her, will you please stop pouting? Here, come sit on the couch. Be gentle, not too tight—hold her head up. She’s new and little, and you must be careful. This is your sister; she lives here now, and I know she’s going to love you.If I bring you your own blanket, would you please stop crying? Here, I’ll wrap it around your shoulders, all soft and warm. And here...

73 comments 73 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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“Gluten Is What Makes This Nation Stick Together” by Scott Christenson

In Hoboken New Jersey, Felix lied to his wife Luna that he was going out only to pick up the sandwiches. Luna was very patriotic about wanting to eat sandwiches for lunch. He knew her preferences well. In the three or four years since they had been married, he couldn’t remember a time when they had ever argued about anything. Next year they even planned to make a baby.Outside, instead of going directly to the sandwich shop, Felix walked around the corner and away from Luna’s spying eyes, went into a bank branch. He took ...

53 comments 53 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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“How Much Does A Memory Cost?” by Camille Mockingjay

“How much does this cost?” I asked the seller, holding out my selection of bread and fruit.  “Just a small memory,” he answered. “A happy one, if you don’t mind, Estelle.” I nodded and pointed to my head. He did the same, and I thought of a small happy memory. Fifth grade, answering a question right. Small but happy.  The seller smiled, satisfied. He would watch the scene once, but the memory was...

7 comments 7 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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“Rational Choices” by J P Fierkens

I like to imagine Earth, that ancient blue gem where humanity was born. If I could I would lay myself down in a shallow pool of clean water so that it covered every part of my body except my nose and eyes, and stay there forever. Much better than laying on top of rough magnite with moldy, gray synth-cloth covering me. There is so much water on Earth that even the sky was blue. Reedie says that’s roach spit but I’ve read...

8 comments 8 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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“Happenstance” by Gina Burke

The water raced along, ignorant of the brilliant sunshine gleaming off its surface. As I watch its seemingly endless progression, I feel it mocking my own life, forging ahead with no end goal in sight. Unlike me, the water doesn’t seem to have a problem with its race to nowhere. Also, unlike me, nature’s ‘race to nowhere’ usually has a purpose. That’s the flow of life. The creek, filled with rainfall, nourishes all life ...

7 comments 7 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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This week's prompts

Start your story with a character accepting a bribe.

Adults – 51 stories

Set your story in a world where the currency isn’t money — or at least not money as we understand it.

Fantasy – 65 stories

Write about somebody down on their luck who unexpectedly comes into a large amount of money.

Teens – 51 stories

Your character checks their balance at an ATM and is surprised by the number they see.

Adults – 33 stories

Write about a character who’s never encountered a problem they couldn’t buy their way out of — until they do.

Angst – 27 stories

Stories

“Blood and Cookies ” by Daniel Allen

TW: Contains some descriptions of blood and violencePhilip smiled at me as I shuffled towards his counter. ‘Morning Frank, how can I help you?’Good. If Philip was in a cheerful mood, that would make this much easier. I smiled back at him. ‘One course of antibiotics, please.’He eyed me with concern. ‘You’re sick?’‘No,’ I replied. ‘Katy is. She’s got crimson fever.’Philip’s eyes widened. ‘I’ll get your meds right away.’ He put on his spectacles and turned to rifle through the bottles an...

155 comments 155 WINNER 🏆
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“Byron Wins The Lottery” by Joe Malgeri

After class had ended, I strolled out into the student parking lot. However, a foreboding sight had caused me to halt dead in my tracks. There, leaning up against the rear of a black stretch limousine, stood Byron.    Byron Jacobson, as I remembered him, was an impoverished, good natured, easygoing and down to earth, nerdy, yet simply minded kind of guy, who came from a very poor family. Although presently, for some unknown reason, everything about him seemed different, in fact, he appeared to have change...

68 comments 68
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“Did You Know Them?” by Brynn Helena

“What do you want? Candy?” Derek asked, smacking a piece of spearmint gum between his teeth, some pop punk band blaring over his car stereo. Felix, sitting completely still in the middle of the road on his bicycle, stared at him with a bored expression. They’d been engaged in said stare-off for about five minutes at that point, Derek intermittenedly laying on his horn to try and usher the boy out of the road. This also...

33 comments 33
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“The Great Equality Act” by Kathleen Fine

Astrid buckled her seatbelt and turned on her seat warmers. “Ahhh,” she sighed as she waited for her toosh to unthaw from the frigid air outside. She clicked on the AM radio station, her morning ritual, and backed out of the driveway towards her, now regular, route to work. “We want our lives back,” a lady on the radio announced, “Ever since The Great Equality Act was put into effect last year, those o...

16 comments 16
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“Something To Write About” by Daniel R. Hayes

(Content Warning: Language, Suicide, Abuse.) The world is too small for every dream to come true. A pretty odd thing to say when you think about it, but that’s what Kevin’s dad, Earl, told his son growing up. It’s not hard to ruin a child’s youth, all it takes is a little nudge in the wrong direction, and Earl knew all the right places to push. A light...

66 comments 66
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“If I Let You” by Aeris Walker

If I let you touch her, will you please be gentle? Just squeeze her little foot, rub her hand, feel her soft head. Look, she’s smiling; she likes you.If I let you hold her, will you please stop pouting? Here, come sit on the couch. Be gentle, not too tight—hold her head up. She’s new and little, and you must be careful. This is your sister; she lives here now, and I know she’s going to love you.If I bring you your own blanket, would you please stop crying? Here, I’ll wrap it around your shoulders, all soft and warm. And here...

73 comments 73 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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“Epilogue” by Stevie B

This was it! And Buckley felt just like turning around and going home without playing the song he wanted her to hear. The one he’d written for her on the subject of a potential “them.” His mouth couldn’t have gotten any drier than if it were stuffed full of super-absorbent, super-jumbo Berkley Jensen organic cotton balls. Right now he felt like an out-of-place idiot standing in the middle of a bu...

20 comments 20
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“Gluten Is What Makes This Nation Stick Together” by Scott Christenson

In Hoboken New Jersey, Felix lied to his wife Luna that he was going out only to pick up the sandwiches. Luna was very patriotic about wanting to eat sandwiches for lunch. He knew her preferences well. In the three or four years since they had been married, he couldn’t remember a time when they had ever argued about anything. Next year they even planned to make a baby.Outside, instead of going directly to the sandwich shop, Felix walked around the corner and away from Luna’s spying eyes, went into a bank branch. He took ...

53 comments 53 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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“Kramblitt” by Michał Przywara

Malt Anderson stopped vacuuming when a Brussels sprout rolled out of the hallway and bumped into his foot. He scratched his head and picked it up to make sure, and yes, it was indeed a Brussels sprout, out for a stroll in the living room.He looked down the hall and saw another sprout roll out of the kitchen. It bumped off the wall and also wobbled towards the living room. Mom always said the apartment was tilted to one side, so he supposed it was true.Then he heard a noise from the kitchen, and frowned. It was a grunt, a thu...

61 comments 61
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“Playground Protection” by Kevin B

You better make this fast. We only have a few minutes left of recess and if we’re late getting back in line, Mrs. Pockey won’t let me take the class turtle home this weekend. Where’s the envelope? I told you to put it in an envelope. You can’t just be handing me cash and cookies right here on the jungle gym. Use a little discretion. You’re not a kindergartener anymore. This is first grade....

15 comments 15
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“Amber Code Hell” by Scott Christenson

Last week after getting off a flight in Hong Kong and being sent into a 3-day hotel quarantine, I was naked, alone and afraid. Admittedly, only naked when I needed a shower, but alone and afraid much of the other time. After disembarking the plane, I notice the authorities have worked out all the detours I might make before showing up at the hotel. Shops. Bars. Walks in the park. I'm channelled out of the airport and straight into a taxi with locked doors. In the early days of quarantine, more...

19 comments 19
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“The cost of dreams” by C.B. Buffington

Nova’s first reaction to getting shot in the heart was to freeze. It could have been the shock but in her mind, she thought if she just held still, maybe it would be okay. Maybe she could assess the damage and maybe things would return to normal if she just held very, very still.  But alas, the bullet had torn her heart in half, torn her future to ribbons. The next thing she knew, the world rotated around...

14 comments 14
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“Catch You Later” by Graham Kinross

TW: Swearing, sucking blood and speeding. The undead poser typed in the numbers on the ATM slow enough for her to see.             “Withdraw as much as you can,” Esmerelda ordered, gun aimed at his balls.             “And you’ll let me go, now that you have the card?” He was a pitiful excuse for a vampire. Nothing like the kung fu masters that seemed to spring up in Sunnydale. It was almost ...

27 comments 27
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“Give Generously” by Kendall Defoe

“I see,” said the manager, as he put the phone down and looked at the patron very carefully. Mr. Vanier was a patient man, working his way up the bank for over ten years until they finally decided he would suit them more favorably “running the whole show” – the owners’ phrase – instead of handling individual bank loans or opening and closing accounts. There was much to be said for the new job. The hours were brief and he did not have to deal with as many problems back in his private office. There had once been a bank robbery at a branch n...

2 comments 2
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“How Much Does A Memory Cost?” by Camille Mockingjay

“How much does this cost?” I asked the seller, holding out my selection of bread and fruit.  “Just a small memory,” he answered. “A happy one, if you don’t mind, Estelle.” I nodded and pointed to my head. He did the same, and I thought of a small happy memory. Fifth grade, answering a question right. Small but happy.  The seller smiled, satisfied. He would watch the scene once, but the memory was...

7 comments 7 SHORTLIST ⭐️
Read story

$250

Prize money

227

Contest entries

88

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Aug 19, 2022 EST

Won by Daniel Allen 🏆

Title: Blood and Cookies

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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