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#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

“True Beauty” by Helen A Smith

Submitted to Contest #188

Figures differ depending on where you live, but here I’m one of the 1,300 born with a cleft lip. A genetic fault caused part of my upper lip to split on the right side reaching to my nose in the early stage of my mother’s pregnancy. ***It could have been the perfect lesson. If it weren’t for one thing! Or one person, to be precise.If I’m going to talk about this, I should at least be honest. It was more than one person, but she was the kingpin; the skittles would not have fallen had she played it straight.There’s a high-pitched hum in my hea...

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“On The Seventh Day” by Michelle Oliver

Submitted to Contest #188

*** Religious Irreverence ***He sat back and put His feet up; it had been a long week. It had started at the beginning. If He had known then what He knew now, He may have had second or even third thoughts about attempting this crazy process. But it was too late. What was done, was done and even though He was exhausted, He was proud of what He’d wrought. It was on the first day that He began. The day was easy, He created light. It was good to see, but He could see nothing. Lots of nothing.“What is the point of all this light, Your M...

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“Arthas and the Admiral Go Out Shooting” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #188

Warning: guns and their inevitable consequences.Detective Arthas Jacques prodded the artificial skin that covered his new leg. It was lighter than the old one, stronger and had a built-in pistol holster.“So, what’s the catch?” asked the Martian Off World Crime detective, looking at his droid.“Besides the king’s ransom it costs?” asked the black Spectrum droid, the lights behind its eyes were emerald in colour as it spoke with its Dublin accent. “Rumour has it the manufacturer’s install kill switches in all of their tech so that it can never ...

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“The Wrong Marina Jensen” by Jane Andrews

Submitted to Contest #188

How could she have known they’d booked the wrong Marina Jensen? It seemed relatively straightforward when it started: the email from someone she’d never heard of before, waxing lyrical about her ‘seminal study’ and inviting her to be the keynote speaker at a conference in Romania. Marina couldn’t believe her eyes when she read it. Yes, she’d recently published a book on Amazon, but she’d considered it light-hearted fluff: a thinly disguised account of her own dating disasters, written in Bridget-Jones-esque tones. Still, if the Universit...

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“A Forever Home” by Rebecca Brothers

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #188

(TW: death, allusion to death of a child) “So, what’s the catch?” Margaret Foster wasn’t about to be had. She knew that a house in the Grove Hills neighborhood shouldn’t be on the market for any less than half a million dollars. Not in this economy. Each street was lined with giant hemlocks and oaks, slow-growth trees that spoke of real history, not nouveau riche water maples or Bradford pears. This neighborhood had a real Frank Lloyd Wright desig...

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“The Catch” by Jeannette Miller

Submitted to Contest #188

“So, what’s the catch.” I asked without the usual inflection at the end which would have given the impression I was asking the question when, frankly, I already knew the answer and didn’t have the energy to fake the uptick in tone in my voice. Full disclaimer: I was also asking myself this question as a means to ponder my current situation and not a real person. If it had, indeed, been a real person on the other end of the said pondering, I may have feigned ignorance of the situation with a touch of innocent to give the other person the sens...

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“Chaos at the Cryptocurrency Conference” by Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #188

[TW: all 5 prompts + multiple douche bags + Toxic Positivity]“So, what’s the catch of the day?” I ask the waiter, already knowing I’m going to reject it as I like to screw with people–be oppositional, as they say. I’m also desperately trying to impress Monique.“Glad you asked. The catch of the day is line caught Hogfish Snapper,” the waiter says all in one breath, because he trying to take his share of orders from the 200+ attendees of Blockchain Overdrive's VIP dinner in Palm Beach.“I think you can do better than Hogfish. Ask the kitchen to...

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“CATCH OF THE DAY” by Susan Catucci

Submitted to Contest #188

“So, what’s the catch today? Would you be the Skip in Skipper?”“Ahoy! You must be the new owner of the Rustic Scup.”“That’s me. I’m Chet. I hear you’re the man to see for seafood. You the Skip?”“Last I looked. How do, Chet. So, I hear you’re also the chef, that right?”“Guilty.”“Well, then, that’s what I’ll be calling you. Welcome to Skipper’s Slip, Maine’s finest, at least here in our little hamlet called Limerick. So, Chef, what’s your pleasure?”“I’ll just go back to the beginning. Wha...

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“SIX LETTERS TO ILLUMINATION” by Kajsa Ohman

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #188

SIX LETTERS OF ILLUMINATION I didn’t really think much about happiness until I had the opportunity, in a Scrabble game, of adding ‘piness’ to the existent ‘hap’. Indeed, the act of putting ‘piness’ on the board would have brought happiness to almost anyone, and it certainly made my opponent’s day, my opponent being my fifteen-year-old nephew. “Piness! Ha ha ha!” The very fact of my playing Scrabble at all is an indicator of the indescribable ennui in which I normally wallow; though most people play—at least claim to play—Scrabble fo...

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“The Tree of Knowledge” by Rama Shaar

Submitted to Contest #188

Trigger warning: The story contains sensitive material that some readers might find disturbing and/or triggering. “Now who is this?” Zoe said squinting at the laptop screen. It jolted me out of my engrossment in yet another horrific local news story. Something about someone who destroyed the lives they were supposed to protect. Just what is wrong with human beings sometimes? “Who’s what?” I asked, happy to be brought into the world of Zoe and her little tizzies. “This person I don’t know sent me an email wanting me to go to his offic...

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“Holes In My Story” by Mary Bendickson

Submitted to Contest #188

Holes in My Story “So what's the catch?” “The catch is I can't get the clasp to catch. This is bad!” “Nah, that's good.” “Why is that good?” “I really didn't want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane anyway. Makes no sense.” “Okay, that's good then.” “Nope, that's bad.” “Why is that bad.” “I'll never get my bucket list completed.” “Oh, that is bad.” “Nah, that's good.” “How is it good?” “There is a hole in my bucket any way. All my dreams and aspirations are slipping away.” “Well, can't you fix it.” “No, I left the flex-seal in my car.” ...

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“A Raw Deal with the Devil” by Augustine Maddox

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #188

(Story contains allusions to torture, but no actual depictions of it) “So, what’s the catch?” The demon hesitated. The sulfurous smoke billowing from his form dissipated slightly as his concentration wavered. His wings drooped. The arm he had been holding out lowered; the contract in hand, written in red ink on shining golden paper, dimmed. “The…catch?” He rumbled, bemused. “I thought I had explained it well enough. At the hour of your departure from the earthly realm, you willingly forfeit your soul. Thenceforth it will be entrusted to...

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“The Shaman’s Apprentice” by Viga Boland

Submitted to Contest #188

It was another glorious day at the Revitalizus Resort in sunny Barbados. The shaman’s young apprentice took his time trimming the bougainvillea bushes in the lush gardens surrounding the resort’s sparkling “adults only” pool. There was no need to rush. Islanders conserved their energy especially when it was well past noon. It was too hot to work fast.The apprentice worked slowly. He liked to listen to the tourists to learn their language. Perhaps one day he might go to North America. It would be wise to be able to speak English.Snip, snip, s...

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“The Fine Print” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #188

“So, what’s the catch?” To be honest, he was getting ready to go out that night and did not expect that he would have to deal with such nonsense after making the offer, but nothing ever worked out the way he expected it to with these people. There was always some small little problem that was never anticipated. All these years and all those surprises… “I beg your honest pardon?” “Honest, right… What I mean is…what is it that I’m missing? I mean, here you are with a great offer and it looks pretty straightforward on paper, but when you get a ...

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“Valentina” by Bernie Rhodes

Submitted to Contest #188

Valentina Jack Bernard Rhodes The bedroom door creaked open, and I was once again overwhelmed by terror. I was about five years old when my sister, Valentina, wo...

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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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