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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#180: A Roll of the Dice

Despite all our skill and effort, sometimes life simply comes down to luck. Whether you’re trying to win a game, land a job, or find a significant other, there’s no sure way to know how it’ll work out — or how good your luck will be. A twist of fate could send you catapulting into happiness, or your luck could sour in the blink of an eye. But if you can push through bad luck, you might just find you can change it.

So this week, you’ll want to get your rabbits’ feet and four leaf clovers ready. Are you feeling lucky?

This week's prompts

Write a story that hinges on the outcome of a coin flip.

Adventure – 68 stories

Start your story with someone having a run of bad luck.

Angst – 42 stories

Write about someone losing their lucky charm.

Mystery – 26 stories

Set your story in a casino.

Adults – 34 stories

Write about someone whose luck is running out.

Character – 44 stories

Stories

“HEADS WIN, YOU LOSE” by Debbie Curtin

Submitted to Contest #180

I can't believe I'm standing here. Right here. In the middle of Times Square. This was not how I pictured myself at this time last year. And now it's come down to this? It feels like I'm on a game show waiting for the final toss to win the grand prize or at the start of a football game where the winner begins the count to the first touchdown. I made a deal with the devil, and it looks like this will be the final call. Will the devil win? I hope luck is my favorite tune right now more than ever. Never in my life did I have to make a cho...

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“Just One Flip” by Ellisha Lee

Submitted to Contest #180

Just One Flip “Was this your brilliant idea?” I glance up at my sister, whose eyes are glued to the silver coin. Dani’s optimistic demeanor doesn’t dim with my words, “Yes, it was actually. This is our last resort, our last chance.” “We hit our last resort, resorts ago. Dani, a coin isn’t going to help me get this job.” I rest my chin in my hand and watch the steam float from my latte. I couldn’t stay in the house any longer with my thoughts, so I dragged Dani to the coffee shop. ...

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“The Maltheistic Man” by Alessia J.

Submitted to Contest #180

The man knew when Savva had arrived at the festival. He was currently ambling from stand to stand with his friend. “Hey!” Someone bumped into her, sending Tanya into Savva’s shoulder. “I’m sorry,” the stranger addressed her in a honeyed tone. “Dear…,” he added, then raised a finger to graze her ear lobe. Tanya staggered back, but challenging the man’s gaze turned deep. Savva was sure she was about to say something about the improper gesture, but then the man turned his focus on him. His eyes were so unusually dar...

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“Decisions and Consequences” by Madeline Honig

Submitted to Contest #180

“Heads I tell her. Tails I don’t. It’s as simple as that,” Michelle holds up a quarter with a grin on her face. “This is someone’s life. You can’t just determine that you are going to tell her based on a coin flip. I didn’t tell you that secret so that you can wreck someone’s life.” Lila pleaded. “Sure I can. If you can do something so reckless, then so can I. Ready?” At that Michelle throws the quarter in the air and it lands on the wooden bar top. “Heads it is.” Michelle pushes away from the ba...

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“Heads or Tales” by Jacob Christopher

Submitted to Contest #180

Author's note: Contains references to suicide/death. 1. James The coin floats in the air, suspended in its spiral. Time seems to move slowly as the winking head of a serpent trades for the beating wings of a dove in an infinite loop. I know that I’ve made a mistake. 2. Lucifer I find it fascinating how this little man watches my coin in the air. Such fear. Such longing. I’ve spent many nights reliving this same, pointless ritual. Day in and day out, humans paint stars in circle...

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“Doing Hydrotherapy. ” by Julie Grenness

Submitted to Contest #180

It was all more bad luck really. Hilary got the bad news from her doctor. Her painful left knee was cactus. Her GP prescribed her some anti-inflammatory tablets, and recommended that Hilary, aka Hilaria, take up hydrotherapy. She felt her sagging heart sink to her boots. Reluctantly, Hilary went home and shared her news with Ben, her husband. She booked a session at the aquatic center in a neighboring suburb. All her couch potato husband said was, "You can't drive the car tomorrow. I'm taking it the panel beater's at Hometown Smash Repairs. ...

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“When Marco Lost his Mojo.” by Abdurrahman Asri

Submitted to Contest #180

It was still dark outside, but Marco was wide awake. He was alone in his dorm room at six in the morning and had made it his goal to investigate every corner thereof. He would stand still for a few moments, charge toward a certain corner, thoroughly examine it, then curse his fate. He checked his jackets, under the bed, under the blankets, in the drawers, and even under the pillows. He went as far as to remove the mattress and lift the bed frame. He also hopelessly checked his gym bag. He had been looking for clues for at least thirty minute...

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“It started with an umbrella...” by Elizabeth Garza

Submitted to Contest #180

Kelly sat on the bench trying to catch her breath. Her chest heaving and sweat pouring down the back of her second nicest shirt. As she stared down the road at the taillights of the bus with frustrated gray eyes. She had missed the bus by only a few feet because she was running late and it seemed the world was out to get her. She pushed her dark hair, the color of a raven’s wing out of her eyes. She pinched the bridge of her nose and tried to calm herself. The problems had started about a week ago when she had been given an umbrella as a gif...

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“Fight or Flight” by Zainab BH

Submitted to Contest #180

It was with that dream that Esther Douglas’s bout of bad luck began. She hoped it was a bout at least because she did not know who she was if not lucky. Her whole life, perhaps even before she was born, good luck had followed her. When Pinky Douglas was eight months pregnant with Esther, she visited Mrs Jency, a woman too young to be on her deathbed. At just sixty four, Mrs. Jency had suffered quite the stroke that had left her weak and practically immobile. Hope was chipped away with each visit of a doctor, even the ones from the mo...

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“Manic Monday” by Shirley Bradley

Submitted to Contest #180

"Mummmyyyy, Alfie hit me!""Mummmyyy she kicked me first," came loud cries from the living room as Jess prepared the children's breakfast in the kitchen. The song "Manic Monday" by The Bangles blared from the radio. Jess smiled at how apt this song was for the present moment. It was indeed a very manic Monday morning in the Robinson household. It had been a long weekend. Jess's husband, Tom, was ill with the flu and had been in bed for all of it. She was exhausted and had slept through the first alarm (thank goodness for the snooze funct...

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“From Afar” by Keith Maynard Jr

Submitted to Contest #180

Rummaging around in the garbage a homeless boy stumbling over something. He falls over face first due to this. As he gathers himself he looks around and doesn’t see what he could have tripped over; instinctively he begins clearing the bags of garbage to find the source. A pair of legs come into view, at this sight he hesitates. Carefully he steps around the legs and removes more garbage bags slowly. His breath speeds up a little as his heart beats even faster. Slowly the arms and torso are revealed. Spotting blood on the torso worries hi...

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“Tragic Trevor's Special Day” by Steffen Lettau

Submitted to Contest #180

New Year. New day. Same city. Same me. Same...everything. I believe the cliché line is, “It wasn't always like this.” Which is true, boring as it sounds when you compare what I go through since my ascendance into adulthood. Now, I don't mean to knock anyone out there who actually grew up in a bad lifestyle, nor anyone who actually lost everything. I just want to address- Ouch! Damned ladder! Anyways, as I walk under the maintenance crew yet again, no doubt finally fixing that air conditioner I had been notifying my landlady about fo...

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“Deany and Freddy Deliver” by Tanya Humphreys

Submitted to Contest #180

The crunch-clunk was so loud it not only reverberated through the floorboards and up into Sandra-Dean’s sturdy USPS approved shoes, but up her thick calves as well, disturbing the lilting chorus of the David Bowie tune she’d been singing along with.“Fuck!” The word bounced tinnily off the steel walls of the mail truck ‘I’ve heard that noise before.’ She inhaled damp mountain air deep into her lungs while searching for a safe indent to pull over on the narrow one lane road.Early that morning, a butterfly had landed on Freddy’s windshield, rig...

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“That's why it's called 'Gambling' ” by Falynn Almeda

Submitted to Contest #180

Life can teach lessons even in a pseudo-casino, like Not Vegas. ‘Not Vegas’ was once a private veterans club in the outskirts of Cleveland, OH. But over time fewer and fewer military men and women joined the club and it had become a social club that basically opened its doors to anyone over 21. The new owner changed the name to ‘Not Vegas’- supposed to be the closest thing to Las Vegas one could get in Ohio. It had one major reno in the building's lifetime and in its prime was a bright red brick building with white pillars ...

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“One More Spin” by Juanita Truelove

Submitted to Contest #180

You know one really should not go to the casino to make money. With that in mind, I must say, that I don’t always follow my own advice. Gambling to me is a mixture of winning and losing with the same pleasurable outcome. One trip to the casino in March of 2012, it brought me great joy. All of it came about at a time when my bills were getting out of control because of how I had spent extra money on my new house.&n...

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$250

Prize money

214

Contest entries

99

Stories

Ended on 22:59 - Jan 13, 2023 EST

Won by Marilyn Filewood 🏆

Title: Come In Spinner

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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