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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#19: Talking Shop

While Black Friday and Cyber Monday might be behind us, there are still weeks of shopping ahead as many of us gear up for Christmas.

While Hallmark holiday movies might have us believe that holiday shopping is a relaxed and cheerful activity that involves dipping into quaint shops with a hot chocolate in one hand and a bag of goodies in the other — we know the truth. Often, holiday shopping is a chaotic, several hour-long excursion through a packed mall, where you down cups of coffee just to keep yourself going. Or maybe you prefer to shop online, from the serene comfort of your couch. Finally, perhaps you avoid the whole thing altogether, because, like the Grinch, you know that "Christmas doesn't come from a store."

Whatever the case, it's clear that shopping can conjure up a range of emotions in different people. And your challenge this week is to capture those very emotions in a short story about... shopping!

This week's prompts

Write a short story about someone in the middle of a very long and busy retail shift.

Funny – 41 stories

Write a short story about someone searching for the perfect gift for their partner.

Romance – 60 stories

Write a short story about someone watching a convincing infomercial.

Funny – 20 stories

Write a short story about a shop that takes place over a span of years.

Narrative – 41 stories

Write a short story about someone based on their shopping list.

Character – 49 stories

Stories

“Black Friday” by Karen Haggard

Submitted to Contest #19

"How much is that chair?" barked a plump lady with flaming red hair. Tie some ropes on her and she'd float by in a Thanksgiving Day parade. And to boot, her attire resembled that of Ronald McDonald himself. I'm convinced she's Ronald's overbearing wife. She's the real creator of the famous burger combos, not him. She's working on one called the McBarf as we speak. I name her Rhonda. I'm only an hour into my Black Friday compulsory stint in my father's furniture store, and I want to leave. I'd rather have my toes nailed to the floor than deal...

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“Compline” by Maureen Blaseckie

Submitted to Contest #19

The customer was droning on, waffling between lipsticks. She’d already picked the perfect shade of eye shadow but the lipstick decision threatened to undo the “Sunset Touch” accord. Alice casually looked around, with an occasional ‘oh, yes’ to keep the woman on track to an attractive purchase total. Because the counter was near the entrance a constant stream of people came through the doors and swirled around her. The customer was, of course, oblivious to the ebb and flow of so many lives directly behind her. “But...

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“"The Last Shift"” by Cassandra Delfino

Submitted to Contest #19

Working retail during the holidays can be the worst thing a person can ever experience. Especially for Alex, who isn’t as patient as most people were. Considering it’s Black Friday, not a single person in the store is calm, maybe except for a handful of people, but the chaotic mess was not helping Alex in any shape or form. “Next in line!,” he called in his loudest voice As Alex is busy thinking about what to do once he gets home, the customer pulls up to his register with almost quadruple of everything. “Man why didn’t I quit before the h...

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“Snowglobe ” by M.L. Grace

Submitted to Contest #19

“Erm,” she searched for the right words, tugging her apron up a little further. “I could check the other locations for you.” Page was in the middle of a shift at the home decor store where she worked and was, as usual, dealing with a very upset customer. Why did people think it was okay to verbally assault retail workers? The things customers complain about are ninety nine percent of the time, outside of the control of retail workers. “I demand to see a manager!” the woman in front of her shrieked in a voice that sent...

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“Endless Time” by Lilyanna Salazar

Submitted to Contest #19

“We ran out of the small hoodie in white, but you can order it online if you would like,” Michelle aggressively tells the customer for the fifth time today. Dealing with customers during the holiday can be ten times more stressing than a normal day. Everyone is hyped up on the energy of Christmas running from store to store, swiping credit card after credit card, buying tons of presents for everyone you like. Michelle is ready to go home but she is only halfway into her ten-hour shift. Her hand is cramping from all the scanning of obje...

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“A Brazen Mind” by Banin Amini

Submitted to Contest #19

“Good morning, Retalers!” A voice boomed through the Mart as Brass worried about melting; either from the heat or from the eyes on him. His armor didn’t help, and he wished he could take out his helmet. “We would like to introduce a new member to the Mart. As we all know, Hugh has been having a rough couple of days. Last night, he had a conversation with a friend, the result of which is standing next to me.” The Black pointed at Brass with his loud-speaker as he tried hard to maintain his upright posture. “This is Brass, and he wil...

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“The Perfect Gift” by Gwen Davis

Submitted to Contest #19

The mall was a warzone for Luna. She hated how terrifying human beings became during the holidays. Her mind often got stuck on the news story from four years ago about the woman that was stabbed over a coupon for ten dollars off of a popular gaming station. Luna also worked retail for many years. The horrors she experienced would haunt her forever. As much as Luna hated the mall before Christmas, she loved Erik more. Erik was the kindest, gentilest man she had ever met. They had been dating since January and they had just moved in toge...

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“The Christmas Gift” by Viviana Cruz

Submitted to Contest #19

Really it should be easier than this, it should, christmas shopping should not be making Artemis’ heart pound. And it should most definitely not make her palms sweaty, or her breathing to become uneven, except that this time it did. And for good reason, this was not just any Christmas gift, no, this was the christmas gift. Something that she had been planning for over a year and a half, well, really since Ria thought their first date was the best she’d ever had (even after Artemis spilled water all over her, and even after they both end...

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“A Reason to Like the Holidays” by Kail Muse

Submitted to Contest #19

This, Horen thinks as he glares at his email, this is why I hate the holidays.He doesn’t even really celebrate them. At most he does a festive lunch with friends which may or may not include a kris kringle depending on how well everyone’s doing money-wise. Last year, he mixed it up by having a small ‘early Christmas’ with Jeremy before Jer left for his annual family get-together and that was the most festive Horen’s been in… well, ever actually.This year Jer decided they should spend Christmas together, and together they’d decide...

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“The Fire Opal” by Emilie Conroy

Submitted to Contest #19

Rush City Science Center, 2110 The ring that would gain such significance in Storm’s life had been a birthday present from his foster father. Tomkin Goodayle passed a simple black box to him. “I can’t know your actual natal day, but today I celebrate the day you were born as my son.” Surprised, Storm glanced down at the box, then smiled at Goodayle. “I celebrate it too,” he said, his voice full of warmth. He opened the box and removed a stone of many colors, something so remarkable that Storm cried aloud t...

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“The Wishing Flower” by London McCombs

Submitted to Contest #19

The Wishing FlowerBy London McCombs Blossom had always been good at magic; in fact she had been called the best witch there ever was. As the years went by Father Time had not been so kind her leaving, her abilities weaker and weaker after the night when she received her last daisy necklace for a reason she had long forgotten. The old witch watched outside her window every Sunday morning to watch the young witches and warlocks as they would practice their magic, beautiful displays of light flew across the sky transforming into bright doves an...

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“SOMETHING ONE LESS” by SHYAMALA BHUVANACHANDRAN

Submitted to Contest #19

Sharavanan asked his wife, Krithika, what she would like to have for their first wedding anniversary, falling due shortly. She, thrilled by the offer, expressed her desire to go to Hongkong, now in China and a part of China. He surfed the net for flight tickets, hotel and other arrangements. So sad! He was advised not to go there, as the beautiful city was now under turmoil and was facing terrible violence due to local issues. It would take quite sometime for the city to come to normal terms. He asked Krithika, ‘Then what next?’ She too was ...

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“Gum Wrappers” by Anastasia S.

Submitted to Contest #19

What a wreck, Christmas shopping. It seemed in the moment that I begin my trek for picking the perfect gift from the shelves of a local retailer I forget everything I know about every person I’ve ever met. But here I was, scanning the aisles for what I know will match their wishes. So was everybody else, unfortunately. You can never describe the look of a Christmas shopper until you look one in the eye in the invasively cramped space in the aisle of a local Target. There is a mania to it, a wild-eyed panic that spreads across the countr...

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“The Guilt-free End” by Grace Allen

Submitted to Contest #19

Ever felt like your boyfriend or girlfriend is ignoring you? Or perhaps that friend of yours whom you thought was your sole confidant and best pal has simply disappeared off the face of the Earth. Your Earth, that is. You feel like you've been left behind.Yes, you say? And what's that? You've grown really tired of being the one initiating all contact? Yes, you've been the one who started 98 of the sweet, caring messages that you share, and you're the one who wrote the last letter ever exchanged between the two of you. And yes, of course, you...

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“V.R.” by Terri Ash

Submitted to Contest #19

Warning: Some gruesome imagery.I plopped down in front of the tv. The simulation was working smoothly so far, but the tv was often buggy. The simulation in question was a reconstruction of an American house in 2023, right before Mr. Trump, in his second term, had lost his sanity and fired nukes at Russia, who retaliated brutally. I sighed, grabbing the remote on the arm of the soft chair I was sitting in. “H-he-h-h-hello-hello and Good Morning America!” The cheery host proclaimed after an initial glitch. “I’m Rob Daniels and this i...

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$50

Prize money

211

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Dec 13, 2019 EST

Won by Kelsey Marlett 🏆

Title: Man-Eater

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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