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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

“Next Paycheck” by Isa C

Submitted to Contest #159

{content warning: sexual themes, language, mild gore}The lounge is warm, air thick with liquor and sweat. Dim light illuminates the lingering customers, laughing and conversing pleasantly. It is around 5am and we are about to close in a couple of hours. With no other clients booked for the rest of the night, I begin gathering my things. Dried blood stains my white button down shirt and perfectly matches my maroon tie. It happened much earlier in the night, but management suggests we don’t change unless our next guests ask us to. I untuck my ...

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“Blessing” by Raena Scythe

Submitted to Contest #159

"It's all a ploy to take people's money! Why can't you see that, Lola?" My boyfriend Eric said. "It's true that there are some church organizations who are in it for the money, but there are still churches who are genuinely investing in people," "You're blinded by the fancy words of the preacher and this book is brainwashing you!" He picks up my bible with disgust. "Careful! And the pastor I have speaks plainly, and he's transparent." I said, quickly grabbing my bible from his grasp. "Lola, you're wasting your time. The mon...

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“A Financial Misadventure” by Kathryn Minicozzi

Submitted to Contest #159

First, I want to establish that nothing that happened was my fault. I don’t know whose fault it was, but it wasn’t mine. I was a victim of a bizarre occurrence that I am sure has only happened once in the history of the human race. I still can’t believe it happened to me. It all started on a pleasant afternoon last May. I needed cash, so I jogged to the First Commerce Bank of New York on West 200th Street. I waited in line at the ATM behind a man who took forever to figure out how much money he wanted and from whic...

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“Life's Rich Pageant” by Jeff David

Submitted to Contest #159

It was very sunny today and the doctor had told Marie to start wearing sunscreen. They had to take off a new skin tag recently, but at her older age she didn’t care. What was a few wrinkles to making her face all shiny and ruining her makeup. The lipstick had some spf or whatever they called it. On her way to the supermart she recalled that she had no cash. All she wanted was their milk and they had a ten dollar minimum to use credit card. It was a small store-too small to really qualify as a supermarket-a holdover from the old day...

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“Zeroes” by Brendan Prince

Submitted to Contest #159

Zeroest//w: swearing, death.I woke up in my dim, bleak apartment again and the sense of dread returned. How am I going to manage to live after I pay my rent? It’s amazing how expensive it is just to exist. Credit card debt is suffocating, Student loans are demoralizing, and on top of all that there's rent and groceries just to stay alive. I have a hard time finding reasons to keep going, but my family helps me out a lot. My mom is my best friend, and I visit my parents as much as I can. My dad thinks its a codependency between my mom an...

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“Not Mathing” by Katrina Wilson

Submitted to Contest #159

“You have got to be kidding me,” Tonya said with her arm out the driver's side window as she looked at her bank account. She blinked her eyes and prayed when she looked at her balance it was wrong. She opened her eyes again and sadly- the negative balance was there. “Negative $77,” she mumbled to herself. “What the hell did I spend it on?” She moved her arm back into the car and started thinking to herself about her transactions while at the ATM. “All right. Friday I had $1,800 in the account. I know $1,500 came out...

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“Of Course, Mr. Sinclair” by Megan May

Submitted to Contest #159

Terry Sinclair boarded his private jet alongside his security team. He sat down and poured himself a glass of Domaine Leroy Les Beaux Monts. “Ahh,” he sighed, savoring a large sip of the wine. “Where to now?” His bodyguard Lance confirmed the itinerary. “Heading to Paris, then London. We’ll be there in less than two hours, sir.” “Great, I can get some sleep,” Terry yawned and rubbed his hands over his neatly combed, auburn hair. His young face was handsomely impassive as he stared blankly out the window at Berlin’s twinkling lights. A ...

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“Back to School” by T. S. Memory

Submitted to Contest #159

Roger sat on his bed and admired his most prized possession, the Galaxy. It was the most intricate and dazzling glass marble he ever laid eyes on, a black sphere housing a white spiral swirl with tiny luminous dots. It was the envy of everyone in school. Roger could stare and get lost in its beauty for hours. Alas, he had mere minutes before he had to prepare for the first day back to school after the holidays. The dreaded day when his debts would come due in the form of holiday assignments. Roger’s teachers made it abundantly clear his e...

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“The Judas Bird” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #159

The Judas bird is a fish. But you wouldn’t know that. Few people do. The only reason I know of the Judas bird is that I have more money than everyone else does. I have so much money that my money makes more money than almost anyone else has on the planet, so I get to know things that other people don’t and I get to do things that other people don’t. The natural question people have at this juncture is somewhere along the lines of why? All of the questions centre around why I have this money and underneath it all is greed, ...

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“Ain't No ATM in Coward” by Chris Rohe

Submitted to Contest #159

“The loneliest road in America, so what do you think, honey? What should we check out?” “Don’t you remember Stan? We came this way years ago on our way to Reno for our honeymoon. Let’s see here.” Stacey looked at her smartphone and began searching google maps. “Hmm, hey, listen to this. Coward, Nevada, is just a bit off the main road, maybe 20 miles away. Let me see what Wikipedia says. Coward, Nevada population of 150 by the 2000 census. Ha! I must not even bother with it anymore. That’s been 20 years. First founded in 1900 due to a cop...

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“The Infinite Library” by Lucky Ooog

Submitted to Contest #159

It was a twenty-minute walk from the subway to an unassuming boulder underneath a busy motorway. You wouldn’t even know that you were in a special place if you passed it by on the street. I could hear the sounds of engines far above me, but the street was deserted down here. I could have taken my car instead of taking the longer journey by subway, but I didn’t know how long I would be gone and I didn’t want to leave my ride in some random part of town, where it might get towed or broken into while I was away. I gently rapped my knuckles on t...

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“The Complicated Morality of Application Fees” by Gregg Punger

Submitted to Contest #159

Julianna always thought of herself as a kind, generous person, and she never intended to own and run an apartment complex. But, when she inherited the place from her father, who she knew was a horrible miserly man, she just didn’t have the heart to sell the place. She just couldn’t think of what would happen to those poor tenants. Also, she thoroughly enjoyed the income. It allowed her to quit her awful receptionist job and focus full time on her art. Since acquiring the place, she actually hadn’t spent much time on her art, but that is co...

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“Six Little Words” by J.L. (Jesse) DuRona

Submitted to Contest #159

Six Little Words J.L. DuRona “Just take it and walk away.” That’s what he says. Take it. Walk away. In that order. Six little words. And I do. I take it and walked away. Finn Walters smiles as he slaps “it,” the “object,” into my upturned palm. The clamminess of his sweaty hand lingers on it like dog slobber. “Good choice, spod,” Finn says. He learned that word last week on some TV show, and now everyone, from classmates to teachers, was a spod. At least it wasn’t just me; sometimes it’s good to not ...

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“Don't You Remember?” by Kennedy Yonce

Submitted to Contest #159

It wasn’t that I wanted to make the deal. It wasn’t like I wanted to give that old hag more of what I could never get back. But I didn’t have a choice. Maybe I had had a choice a few months ago. I don’t know; I can’t quite recall. But I certainly didn’t have any other alternative this morning. Harper needed shoes on her feet to walk to school and Henry had been sick with that cough for far too long. He needed the medicine. It was worth it, I told myself. Whatever I gave up…this was worth it.***Henry’s chest had cleared complet...

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“Douglas - A heart shaped locket ” by V JHD

Submitted to Contest #159

Where we see walls, she would imagine trees, she would tell me where each one was and the shade of green shining through the sunlight. All these words that we only ever heard of in history books, she talked as if they were right in front of her. Grandmama saw light in the corners, wind in the quiet and stars beyond the walls of our world.All my life my Grandmama had a way of seeing, that left us all in awe. Today of all my days, I long for the sight she had to make this dawn less stoic.I look to my left where he would be standing, but he isn...

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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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