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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#166: Game, set, match

Lately, my sporting news feed has been taken over by the retirement of two legendary tennis players — Serena Williams and Roger Federer. Whenever sports stars end their careers, it leaves me wondering what it must feel like to start something new after dedicating so much time and effort into performing at top level.

Of course, retiring, quitting, or changing careers are life-changing events whether you’re a professional athlete or not, and the prompts this week are inspired by the bevy of emotions this can bring to the surface — from trepidation to excitement, to regret or even nostalgia.

This week's prompts

Start your story with someone saying “I quit!”

Adults – 55 stories

Write a story about someone who knows it’s time to retire or change jobs, but is hesitating.

Adults – 43 stories

Write about a rivalry between two coworkers that has unforeseen consequences.

Adults – 26 stories

Set your story at a retirement or leaving party.

Adults – 19 stories

Write about someone who has long since quit but decides to go another round for old time’s sake.

Adults – 37 stories

Stories

“If I'm Lucky” by R. Hann

Submitted to Contest #166

TW: Implied/Discussed Sexual Assault (Mild), Car Accident, Amputation/Major Injury, Bullying/Blackmail, Abusive Power Dynamic (Work Environment)---January 10th.Jonathan told me we hired someone new today. We haven’t hired any new people in months, not since the last guy got caught stealing from the company. I asked what their name was and he told me: Azalea. I haven’t met anyone with that name before, and just by name association, they sound beautiful. I know the flowers are, and I like to believe that names are often a reflection of a ...

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“The False Dawn. ” by Julie Grenness

Submitted to Contest #166

No one could ever predict this, not even the designers of Sentience Inc. The latest robots had been produced. They rolled off the production line, seemingly perfect. This batch was designed and created to be sex assist robotic companions, each with an interactive responsive human/android interface. These robots were perfect in every way. Except, one sentient robotic brain was a deviant. He quietly went on his first assignment. He was to be a sex assist robotic companion to a mature Christian couple, somewhere down there in the Deep South. Th...

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“Manga Bellator's Farewell” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #166

His opponent, half his age, in an upward thrust, put his blade into Magna's throat. The maximum crowd went silent as the mighty warrior fell to his knees as his life's blood gushed from the mortal wound soaking the sand before him. Unable to draw his next breath, Magna's last gasping sound was his effort to bid farewell to those attending the gladiator event in this magnificent Colosseum. He would enter Elysian Fields to take his place among the fallen. Even his opponent was struck dumb seeing Magna lay at his feet. The crowd be...

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“Flop” by Emilio Maldonado

Submitted to Contest #166

"I'm retired", I say tiredly to the person on the other side of the phone. I don't recognize the voice, so I assume it's someone new, someone who was hired way past my last day working there. It's 3 in the morning, and the person on the phone can barely speak from the panic. "I'm sorry, sir, I'm really really sorry, I didn't know what else to do!" She takes a quick moment to gather her thoughts. "Listen, we have a very dire situation here, and I was told to go through the files and start contacting specialists. You were part of the devel...

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“The runner and the drifter” by Tonatiuh Duran Meza

Submitted to Contest #166

Contains mentions of alcohol and heavy language. “I quit!” She spat out, droplets of beer and spit flying in the air as she finally snapped at the boy. She could have honestly just kicked the kid out on his ass after even proposing the most stupid thing she had ever heard, but that would be too much and very uncalled for. If anything, it was just the itch to fight someone or something talking. She would have hoped by now that the voice inside her head would be dead. "Sorry kid, but I'm no longer in the business." She said off-handedly, th...

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“Bad Timing.” by Mel Dingwall

Submitted to Contest #166

‘¡Lo dejo! I quit!’‘Please Rosa, you’re all I have!’ Claire begged the tornado of Latina fury as she whirled around the house gathering her things. ‘I’ll pay you double!’‘¡No!’ Rosa snatched up her bag and strode to the front door.‘I know my father can be difficult...’Rosa pointed a finger to her temple.‘¡Tu padre está loco!’With that she slammed the door behind her. Claire put her head in her hands. That was the second carer in as many months. At this rate the agency would stop sending anyone. She marched into her father’s bedroom...

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“"I Quit!"” by John Constantinou

Submitted to Contest #166

“I quit!” Thus came the outburst.“I QUIT!” he repeated, louder and more insistent. The day was promising to move from the mundane to the decidedly unusual.It had started blandly and boringly enough. After morning coffee, cereal, and just passing time, I escape from my apartment taking a walk across the street to the local store. I spot a frog hopping hesitantly away in front of me, lemming-wise to the end of the sidewalk. I clear a frog in my throat in solidarity.I’m looking forward to meeting my friend downtown in a few hours' time. I decid...

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“Bubblegum Pie” by Jim Firth

Submitted to Contest #166

‘I quit,’ says April Stanton, leaning on the countertop. She stares vacantly through the window of the truck stop at the heat rippling on the old highway. Her lips smack as she chews a wad of pink bubblegum. ‘This truck stop is as dead as a doornail.’Andrew Stanton, April’s father, looks at the dilapidated diner directly next to the truck stop. The desert has its own plans if Andrew doesn’t fix up the building soon. ‘The truck stop is not dead, April. It’s just in torpor.’And what about the diner? April thinks, folding a fresh stick of straw...

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“Inspiration” by Lisa Massimilla

Submitted to Contest #166

“I quit!”Looking up from the book I was reading my eyebrows shot up in surprise as a spiral notebook went flying across the living room. I traced its flight path back to the den where Jason stood glaring in the open doorway.“What happened, babe? Writer’s block again?”“More like brain constipation because nothing is coming out, not even word shit,” he stormed into the living room and did a belly flop on the couch. “I’ve been sitting at that desk for 3 hours Chris, trying to squeeze something out but my brain refuses to form words. I can’t do ...

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“The Last Hit” by Simone Cannon

Submitted to Contest #166

She slid over the slick, worn cobblestones of Kotor’s Old Town, trying to keep her balance, and headed toward the outdoor cafe behind the ancient clock tower. She stopped at a shady empty table in the back on the sidewalk outside the employees’ entrance and dropped her rucksack on it, rummaging in the side pocket for something…her keys or sunglasses. Seated a couple of tables away were four dark-haired bearded young men. None looked up from their table; they were all transfixed, smoking their Serbian hand-rolled cigarettes and staring into t...

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“Changing Feathers ” by Tiffany Perkinz

Submitted to Contest #166

On my last day of work at the Pet Center, I set the parakeets free. I don’t think anyone was expecting it, and I can imagine there was some element of shock when the first person noticed the tiny, winged creatures emerging from a generic store cage in a blur of green, yellow, and blue. I didn’t stick around to see the reactions of my co-workers nor the unsuspecting customers; as soon as I unlocked the cage and the first Keet spotted her chance at freedom, I was already running out the automatic sliding glass doors. I have no reg...

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“Yours or Mine: Dreams on the Sandwich Line” by Samyah Fadel

Submitted to Contest #166

"There's already people lining up outside," said Rebecca by the front window from which she peeked out. Her voice was barely above a whisper, but punctuated by loud groan that resonated all too well with me as it carried across the sandwich shop to where I stood preparing table settings for the Home for the Hollindaise gourmet sandwich and sauce tasting event. We had been advertising it for months leading up to the first weekend of December and it had clearly paid off. The familiar feeling of dread that preceded every event we hosted at PB&a...

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“Gods, Whores, and Cannibals” by Delbert Griffith

Submitted to Contest #166

The gods of Hollywood are often cunning and occasionally clever, but they are rarely wise. And the gods will love as long as you make them money. Geneva Sancere and Cable Stetson had been in the gods’ favor for almost a decade. Cable could play a hardened cowboy, a suave spy, or a powerful businessman with equal ease. Geneva Sancere was equally adept, and God had favored her with some sort of geometric magic that gave her the shape of the most alluring woman in the world without being overtly sexy. Both screen stars commanded $50 million pa...

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“Working Ethics” by Karen Davis-Hudson

Submitted to Contest #166

Mildred Smithson was never late for work. In fact, she was always early. It was her calling to organize, support and even rarely stand-in for her boss, Mr. Bradly. He was the manager of a small brokerage and Mildred knew without her help, he would not be as successful as he was.Making coffee, booting up the office computers and organizing Mr. Bradly’s desk were a few tasks Mildred completed before anyone else arrived. Although there was a janitor that came at night, Mildred was often not satisfied with his attention to detail. She kept a can...

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“The Chair” by R.K. Scott

Submitted to Contest #166

Friday“Again!” Anne’s order resonated throughout the room. “Your jeté should be fluid, you are a ribbon catching the wind.”Anne ran her fingers along her cheek and glanced around her classroom. The girls began their routine, they reached the moment for the triple pirouette. As she spun, Anne gazed into the mirror, her long platinum hair pulled into a bun, her leotard stretched nicely along her frame, giving an air of modesty, but never restricted her movements.The lunch bell chimed, Anne threw on her blue dress over her leotard and left her ...

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$250

Prize money

180

Contest entries

73

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Oct 07, 2022 EST

Won by Rebecca Miles 🏆

Title: Letting go

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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