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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#188: But There's a Catch

In life, there’s almost always a catch. The beautiful new shoes cause blisters. The exciting promotion at work leaves you feeling out of your depth. The free upgrade to first class comes with a screaming kid for a neighbor. If something seems too good to be true, maybe it is!

We might call these drawbacks ‘the fly in the ointment’; the little things that spoil what would otherwise be wonderful. With this week’s prompts, we’re encouraging you to lean into those frustrations, big and small. Will your characters be able to find a workaround, or is this as good as it gets?

This week's prompts

Write a story that starts with the line “So, what’s the catch?”

Dialogue – 96 stories

Write about a character who would have complete happiness, if it weren’t for that one thing.

Character – 63 stories

Write a story about someone who is determined to not have their day spoiled — but the universe is trying their patience.

Funny – 48 stories

Write about someone who thinks they just got a great deal on something, only for them to realize…

Mystery – 32 stories

Write about a character who’s attending a dinner thrown in their honor, but deeply embarrasses themself during their speech.

Funny – 19 stories

Stories

“Mark Two” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #188

I saw her this morning on the way to work. The traffic had backed up and I was in danger of being late, so I peeled off the main route and tried a back route, safe in the knowledge that whatever I did, I was going to add to my journey time. I was always going to be late to work that morning. Some things seem preordained, especially the crap that comes at you in life. Late and pissed off, I saw her all the same. Despite the stressed fog in my mind, and the building anxiety of my tardiness, she stood out at the side of the road a...

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“The Frying Pan” by Will Hales

Submitted to Contest #188

Jon hated walking around Goodwill. It smelled weird, the lights were always flickering, and nothing was ever quite as it seemed. The book his girlfriend, Carly, held in her hands was a perfect example. The spine was in perfect condition, so when you saw it you got excited and quickly pulled it from the shelf, just to find that the corners were torn and someone had written all over the title page. Carly didn’t seem to mind, though. She wasn’t much shorter than Jon, which allowed him to peer comfortably over her shoulder at the sad excuse for ...

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“Top Poop Producer” by David B Fraser

Submitted to Contest #188

“I thank the boss for this dinner and this award for Top Producer… Top Poop Producer… Top Poop Poop Producer. Poop Poop Pee Doo. “And may I say I got no help at all this year? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, very much. And thank you Mr. Timmins. Our bossy boss who made me do sales pitches to every homeless person who wandered onto our car lot. “And thanks to our Deceptionist, Emily, for every client she directed my way who was either a bankrupt or an ex-convict. And Jonathan, my keep-your-e...

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“The Business Pitch” by Sophia Warren

Submitted to Contest #188

"Let us make a toast to dear Marshall." "To Marshall!" The clinking of champagne glasses rattled in my ears as I was toasted. It was weird, no one had ever made a toast to me before. As a matter of fact, I had never experienced a toast; I had only seen them in movies. My heart rate picked up when my name was mentioned, and a nervous sweat slid down my forehead. I cracked my knuckles, a great way to relieve stress. Tonight would be dedicated to me, I needed to relax. I picked my glass up from the table and took a swig. Suddenly, someone's h...

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“Idiot of the Year” by Sumedha Adavade

Submitted to Contest #188

I had messed up! Big time! I would surely go into GuinnessBook of World record for the most embarrassing situation one has gotten into, hands down! I mean how can aperson be so naive? No I wasn’t! Foolish? Yeah..maybe a little! I don’t even know what adjective will match the mortifying act that I did half an hour back.I need to write this down now. No, not for the world to read my foolishness. But I want to talk it out to somebody right? In this exquisite Function Suite, where there was a function an hour back and everyone has enjo...

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“Immortality ” by Mahtan Runya

Submitted to Contest #188

"So, what's the catch?""The catch?""You're offering me immortality. There's got to be a catch.""Oh, you sweet summer child. Of course there's a catch. I'm offering you immortality. "A beat passes. "Well?""Well, what?""What's the catch?""Immortality.""...Wut."The cloaked figure leaned forward. "Dear one...you still don't understand, do you? I'm not offering you a gift.""But…you're not asking for payment. I was expecting like, my firstborn, or my eyes, or whatever soul I have. You're not asking me to kill anyone or manipulate something, or lik...

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“The Catch” by Andrew Webster

Submitted to Contest #188

“So, what’s the catch?” Steve asked. “There’s something you’re not saying.” We were on the back deck. It was a little chilly but sunny, a typical Bay Area autumn day. We used to work together, back in the twenty-teens, consulting and coaching in Silicon Valley. He was still consulting, but the beginning of the pandemic had killed my work, and I’d decided that was a cue to give it up and do something else. Be a house-husband, tend to the yard, write a little. Hell, just play video games. He thought that sounded idyllic. I leaned over to top...

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“There's Always A Catch” by Kelly Fernandez Guada

Submitted to Contest #188

"So, what's the catch?" "What do you mean?" He said with a slight scoff. "The catch Dr. Hillock, what is it?" "I don't know what you're referring to, Jake. There is no catch." "Oh please, there's no point in arguing. We both know it. There's always a catch..." ... Dr. Hillock was a scientist, not legally. Right out of college, he had been rejected by dozens of organizations, their excuses were always the same. "Your ideas will burn the world." He'd always thought they were too stuck up to see his genius...

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“Choke Chain” by Sarah Dean

Submitted to Contest #188

"So what's the catch?" Those had been the words I'd asked Merrick when he'd dangled the key to immortality in front of my face. Not just immortality but power. I hadn't known such a simple thing could have such damning consequences. Though I supposed back then, I was naive and hungry. Willing to listen to anything if the price fits me. Was the price worth it? It was so dull. It was like the whole world was wrung of life the second the cold metal that now hung heavily around my neck, was first locked in place. Ever since that day, I’d bec...

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“Organ Debter” by Eliza Troy

Submitted to Contest #188

“So, what’s the catch?” “Ain’t no catch. You pay cash now, or...” The Collector glanced at my chest, half hid beneath the table. “… you pay with your, uh, you know.” I pulled fresh bristles of a growing beard under my palm. “What kind of organs are we talking?” ...

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“The Nature of Sunflowers” by Eric D.

Submitted to Contest #188

It was an early Summer morning when Maialen decided to visit her favorite spot by the beach to spy on the local boys playing soccer. She hoisted herself to a well positioned rock and brushed the algae accumulating around her gills. She noticed the laughter and chatters of the boys playing turned to cursing and shouting. Their game was interrupted by a single long board that had slid across their field, with a shaggy-haired boy chasing close behind. One boy playing soccer tossed the ball at the skateboarder's head before they all laughed wild...

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“A Thing For Happiness” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #188

I could be happy. I could be so happy. I really could. I know this with every fibre of my bloody being. There is a hole where the happiness should be. And that happiness is so very close, it awaits me in the next room. Happiness is so tantalisingly close. So bloody achievable, and yet it is locked away and kept from me, in a travesty of fate. I have found happiness, and yet I am no closer to attaining it than were it to be a world away from me. Having strived and laboured, I have found where happiness resides. I have discovered i...

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“A Mermaid's Tale” by Nancy De Beer

Submitted to Contest #188

I’m sitting on the rocks, braiding pearls into my black hair. The waves are getting rougher, with storm clouds darkening the sky. Closing my eyes, I focus on the birds chirping, making their way back to their nests to take cover on the small island hidden by the treacherous rocks. I listen to the waves and marine life under the water. There’s a ship headed straight for the storm, which will push it onto our rocks. I’m not the only who has picked up on this. My sisters appear on the rocks, staring at the ship in the far distance. Some of them...

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“Justice” by Robert Dyer

Submitted to Contest #188

Any attempt by Chester to conceal his feelings were betrayed by the turbulence of his laughter. “Listen, mister, I ain’t kidding about this. I need five hundred bucks and you’re gonna give it to me.” Chester took a monogrammed handkerchief from his inside coat pocket and wiped the tears from his eyes. The moment the stranger had been shown into the library, he knew what was coming. It was a scenario he’d grown to enjoy in his own perverse way. “I have no doubt about the sincerity of your attempt to get money out of me. You’re not the fir...

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“If I weren't eighteen” by Vita K.

Submitted to Contest #188

cw: use of alcohol, mention of death Last night I was arrested. For the first time. And I am unusually relaxed. Happy? I don’t know. Perhaps surprised. I spent the night here. I didn’t sleep. The smell of metal bars would make me frown almost every time I would take a breath. I turned eighteen a year ago on today’s day. Prison smell is the perfect way to end, and describe the past year. I heard people are looking forward to their eighteenth birthday. Legally they can drink, go to clubs, marry. On my eighteenth birthday, my grandma asked ...

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$250

Prize money

258

Contest entries

133

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Mar 10, 2023 EST

Won by Tom Bombadil 🏆

Title: The First Idol

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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