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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.

This week's prompts

Start your story with a character accepting a bribe.

Adults – 48 stories

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

Fantasy – 62 stories

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

Teens – 49 stories

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

Adults – 32 stories

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

Angst – 25 stories

Stories

“Human Currency” by Tanya Humphreys

Submitted to Contest #159

Sam the Sham Smith awoke between two dumpsters, the chill of the night invigorated him into a sitting position. His belly churned with toxic waste, his head swam with razor-finned sharks, his mouth tasted like shit as usual. He didn’t know what shit actually tasted like but had a pretty good idea. Many things he had tasted from the dumpsters of Fat Man Alley he imagined tasted like the brown goo from a dog’s butt. The alley was affectionately named for the row of restaurants on the street it catered to. High-uppity-cla...

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“Memory and a McDouble” by Zach Shapiro

Submitted to Contest #159

What did I do for dinner last Wednesday? It’s remarkable how hard it can be to think back after only five days. I remember Thursday’s dinner, a lackluster meatloaf smothered in ketchup, something totally forgettable aside from its brash mediocrity, but that isn’t past the look-back threshold. The memory has to be five days old to buy this combo McDouble meal, and why not trade the memory of one forgettable dinner for another? Now just to remember. I had already ordered the meal at the kiosk, and now I’m standing here with the neurolin...

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“Firstborn” by Jason Fozzie Nelson

Submitted to Contest #159

My first encounter with him was September 11th, 2003. A friend at the time lost her mother in the attack on the World Trade Center two years prior and our friend group took her out on the anniversary to cheer her up by imbibing alcohol, often for free thanks to a well-placed flirtatious glance with gentlemen at the bar. Shortly after arriving I felt the urge for a cigarette so I excused myself from the table. The smoking ban had just been enacted in New York City relegating smokers such as myself to partake in our addictions outside. ...

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“Field Day” by Kara Williams

Submitted to Contest #159

Sheryl got out of the driver’s seat and stood in the parking lot, a bright yellow sports penny both clinging and hanging on her body like a static electric diaper. Her grey slacks and white collar framing the obnoxious jersey in business attire. Piper, her daughter, stood at her side, matching yellow penny grazing her bare kneecaps, cheek sucked between her teeth nervously. They had arrived at Field Day late, but they were there, pennies a-blazin. Sheryl scoped the field: ten thousand sneaker-wearing moms and fanny ...

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“And Then There Was Her” by Kaitlyn M.

Submitted to Contest #159

"I'll start this off simple: I'm not spoiled. "Sure, that sentence in itself sounds entirely selfish, but there's more to me than meets the eye. I'm kind, I'm sweet, and I am considered a nerd by most cute girls. Just because I was born into a very fortunate family doesn't mean I'm some spoon-fed child. "And I'm not bratty. I ask for what I want, if I don't get it then that's fine. Usually, I don't have to deal with that. I can pay someone, anyone, to do it for me. Either way, I'm in my early twenties, for Christ's sake. I'm not incapabl...

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“Loveless” by Akhlys Ivy

Submitted to Contest #159

I'm almost out of love. I can feel it, feel the pinpoints of searing heartache that prod my beating heart every waking moment. My whole life I'd been wealthy with admiration. My mother, my father, and my sister who had loved me so. Our affection fed each other so that we could live happy lives. My father used my mother's undying fondness to keep a roof over our heads, keep our stomachs filled, and give my sister, Tilly, and I whatever our childish minds desired. He used his children's love to fuel their college funds, which is how Tilly an...

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“Osteal Lucre” by L.M. Lydon

Submitted to Contest #159

Compulsively, Alaric kept turning to verify that he wasn’t being followed. Bringing a plow-horse and cart to his hoard was dangerous, but he didn’t have a choice. He was low on time and energy. Yet, owning the lands where such an extraordinary treasure was located wouldn’t protect him. Last winter, he’d lost a frantic race with poachers to cull and claim deer and other transient prey animals; the poachers had stripped his land bare, casually abandoning deboned carcasses in utter disregard of the meat that could have fed his family. A mere fa...

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“Cinderella Needs A Date” by K Cao Xai

Submitted to Contest #159

If Cinderella was born in the 21st century and moved to the small town of Dollings, Oregon, she’d look like Emily Evenson. Blonde hair, blue eyes, with a white headband. She even came with a step-mom and two younger step-sisters and no, her father is still alive and rich enough to own half the oil companies in town. The day Emily transferred to Woodlink High to finish her senior year, everyone in the student body council decided she would be the school’s most popular girl, which currently sits at a ninety-seven percent approval rating....

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“Empty Headed” by Rachael Parks

Submitted to Contest #159

I have approximately one real memory left of my mother. And today was the day I was going to lose it and forget her, presumably, forever. According to the sticky notes and clipboards and torn off pieces of newspaper written over with permanent marker, my mother was a really good person. One bright orange sticky note claimed that she was a field nurse; providing aid to those on the front lines of The Recollection Wars. In my own tiny scrawled handwriting, it proclaimed that she did this for over twenty years, far beyond the terms of...

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“Yahoo Yahoo” by Susan Williams

Submitted to Contest #159

It's been fifteen years since I joined the Yahoo Yahoo school. In exchange for a laptop and a place to sleep, we learned how to be online scammers, the most lucrative trade in Western Africa. The Oga, our boss, kept 75% of anything we earned. Crowded into the small rooms were endless rows of young men, some Igbo, some Yoruba, some Hausa, but all of us were Nigerians looking for a way to eat and send money to our families.As a young boy in Ekulu, my mother and I stepped aside on thedirt streets to allow the shiny Mercedes and Range Rovers roo...

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“When no one is watching” by W.E. White

Submitted to Contest #159

**This story contains violence and profanity. This story is entirely fictional any similarities to actual people or events are purely coincidental.**The envelope was thick with cash when Kip Williams sliced it open.There was a note written in pen and all capital letters, probably military Kip thought.KIP, YOUR ARTICLE IS PEPPERED WITH LIES, OR “IGNORANCE” WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT. I KNOW YOU WANT WHAT’S BEST FOR THE CITY. MEET ME AT STEVE’S ON THE CORNER OF YORK AND CUMBERLAND IN 1 HOUR. THE CASH IS “INCENTIVE.”What article? he thought, ...

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“The Bribe of All Bribes” by Howard Seeley

Submitted to Contest #159

As much as Judas tried to understand what happened the night before, he couldn’t fathom why Yeshua wouldn’t declare himself the king of the Jews. “The timing’s perfect!” he thought. “The crowds have never been bigger. A few members of the Sanhedrin are supporting him, even if they are doing it secretly. So, why doesn’t he take the next step?” The answer to this riddle eluded him.Flustered, Judas decided to wander through the market square to take his mind off his troubles. The squabbling between the vendors and customers distracted him and e...

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“The Emperor’s Bad News ” by Cindy Strube

Submitted to Contest #159

The Emperor’s Bad NewsNot so many years ago, there lived an Emperor who loved new plants. He spent all of his spare time walking his vast gardens, hands clasped behind his back, contemplating how to make improvements.“Basil!” he would exclaim, and up would pop Basil, the Imperial Gardener.“Sire?”“There’s a bald patch!” “Not to worry, Sire. I have… Tergum copia!” And Basil would whip out a plant from the Imperial Garden Cart.The Emperor never noticed that each Tergum copia was different from the next. He didn’t know Latin, and so didn’t ...

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“Dirt Cheap” by AnneMarie Miles

Submitted to Contest #159

Trigger Warning: Discussions of death in a way that might be considered offensive.A large gavel vibrated the tall desk in front of me, and a voice boomed, “Payment accepted.”A glimmering blue transparent being whose shape resembled that of a tall cloaked nun titled its head downward in a bow before turning to the left and disappearing into the boundless darkness around me. If I were not entirely terrified, I might actually have attempted to make logical sense of the physics of wherever I was. Technically, I was standing upright, but beneath ...

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“The Namesake” by Ela Mikh

Submitted to Contest #159

The 1990s He smirked. That was a piece of cake. He dodged another one. All these things his mother taught him, came in handy and turned out to be … so NOT true. She told him he had to be a decent guy, help others, and spread good vibes and joy. Not everyone was so lucky to be blessed with his brain and power. If it was up to him, he would change the old ways so the guys stop comparing who “has it bigger” and measure the size of their brains instead. That’s where the real strength was! His family was so poor when he was growing up but as he m...

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$250

Prize money

216

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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