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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

“The Perfect Gift” by Deborah Barnes

Submitted to Contest #19

Carol of the Bells is my earworm of the day. I am good with that, especially when it gets to the E major scale of Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas with the heavy octaves on the left-hand keys. Ah, yes…great to be out shopping with my worm and warm thoughts of my beloved. Of course, what would shopping be without the ritual stop at Starbucks for the caffeine lift that’s going to keep me going while I mall-meander with the masses? “Hi, what can I get for you today,” the barista asks the person in front of me. I can see the deer in the head...

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“Straightaway to Homo sapiens selfmade obsolescence” by Matthew Harris

Submitted to Contest #19

After approximately two dozen plus years of marriage (yup to the same woman - lemme tell Ripley yea hard to believe), both myself and the missus accepted fair equitable contract before agreement to parting ways. We sought assistance drafting post nuptial document pro bono courtesy namely one Richard Marlin Perkins (March 28, 1905 – June 14, 1986), an American zoologist best known as a host of the television program Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom from 1963 to 1985. Me thought what a wonderful world cue Louis Daniel Armstrong circa August ...

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“The Gold Bag of Stones” by Genevieve Kirton

Submitted to Contest #19

Rylee had been dating her boyfriend Evan, for four years. They loved celebrating holidays together and enjoyed each other’s company. It was that time of year again, where lights were glowing, carols were being sung, and mistletoe hung from the ceiling. After four years Rylee thought to herself, “Although Evan has grown as a person so much, I feel like I have given him everything he wants!” Evan mentioned that he wanted a new CD, he considered it “very important,” and that it contained beautiful melodies that he could learn to play on the gui...

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“Finding the Perfect Gift” by Estelle Bryce

Submitted to Contest #19

It was the Christmas season and Joe had to find just the right gift for his wife, Trista. “It shouldn’t be too hard, Trista is into everything, so she’ll like anything I get her!” he thought as he jumped into the car to go to the store. Joe strolled down the street to a store full of jewelry. The second he walked in, he was greeted by the friendly employees, as they showed him the sales that were going on and the store’s best-selling necklaces and rings. He spotted a gorgeous set of earrings that he thought Trista would love, so he asked an ...

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“Patience and Devotion” by Tiffany Thompson

Submitted to Contest #19

This shop is the last stop. I cannot possibly continue you aimlessly wandering stores in search of the gift that shouts to him that he is the greatest thing to ever happen to me. A gift that sums up my feelings with one glimpse. I'm possibly overthinking this, but there has to be something out there. There has to be a meaningful gift that he'll actually want. Not some gaudy piece of jewelry he'll be embarrassed to wear or something that will sit on a shelf collecting dust. This shop has to have something.It's a small shop. I can remember see...

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“cheap birthday gift ” by Adesola Ogundimu

Submitted to Contest #19

Wednesday 14, SeptemberI have been waiting for school to be over ever since I walked through the school doors this morning, I actually wanted to stay at home and play sick but mom was going to find out since we ran out of oat meal for the pretend barf that I was going to put in the toilet to make my illness look so real, but lucky for me, school was a breeze, time flew so fast, but something that I actually enjoyed was during biology class we learnt how snakes give birth, the baby snakes were kind of cute but they were still the tiny, little...

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“Holly's Christmas” by Holly Riddle

Submitted to Contest #19

“What should I get him? He said he doesn’t want anything, but I know he is going to get me something.” Holly looks at her dog and laughs. She is trying to decide what to get Ashton, her boyfriend. This will be their second Christmas together. They had just moved in together three months ago. “You probably don’t know either. I guess I’m going to have to go out and look for something.” She grabs her keys and walks out of the house. She decides to just walk. She gets to the mall after ten minutes. ...

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“The Small Big Gift” by Cassandra Delfino

Submitted to Contest #19

The holidays are coming up and buying gifts can be one of the most stressful things that anyone could do. Making sure it’s a gift something that he would like, but also making sure it’s not too extravagant, but also wanting the gift to be extravagant because it is what he deserves, is what Gabriella has been struggling to do. “Maybe I should get him an Apple Watch,” she thought as she pulled up to the parking lot of the mall, “but what if he doesn’t want an Apple Watch, maybe he wants a regular watch, or should I get him some cologne...

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“Clarice Carol's Ferias Gift.” by Celeste Solano

Submitted to Contest #19

Clarice Carol held out a box wrapped in shiny black and gold striped paper to Angela Heaven, her girlfriend. Angela smiled uneasily and took the box. They were seated on a large bed with pink and black sheets in their Earth home, the only place they really felt safe together.“I thought we weren’t doing gifts, babe?” Angela asked, raising her eyebrow. She and Clarice had decided earlier that year that they didn’t want to do anything for Ferias Nativitatis, the largest celebration on all of Terra every year. “Well, yeah, but I really want...

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“Timeless” by Lisa O’Donnell

Submitted to Contest #19

All we have to do is decide what to do with the time that is given us.-JRR Tolkien I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel and groaned softly in frustration. Christmas songs crooned on my car radio. Through my windshield, the sun set in brilliant oranges and pinks. I had wasted a day of driving from town to town looking for the perfect Christmas present, and now as the sun descended, I had reluctantly turned my car towards home, exhausted from the day. Signs of a road closure suddenly came into view, and further frustration welled up as I...

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“Seeming Impossible ” by Lilyanna Salazar

Submitted to Contest #19

There laid a list with a line through every single item listed. Elizabeth scratched the inside of her brain trying to think of the dream gift for her fiance, Edward. Everything had to be right for their first Christmas as an engaged couple. She felt this Christmas would show her how the rest of their lives would be since it was in her opinion the most caring and warming holiday. To make things worse it was five days till Christmas. The clock rang and it was now 11:00 at night, Elizabeth yawned and hoped to herself that the idea of the d...

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“All I want for Christmas is you” by Myles Kamara

Submitted to Contest #19

“I’m sorry sir, I’ve looked everywhere and the only size I could find was an 11.” the Macy's sales associate says. The sympathetic look on her face eased my nerves but I knew I had been more than a difficult customer. Asking her for help looking for a pair of women’s shoes was one thing, but when that devolved into me insisting she searched every back room and check every mannequin in the women’s department was an entirely different story. I was visibly getting desperate.“Okay...Thank you so much for looking, I apologize if I was being ...

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“The Perfect Gift ” by Kodi Gora

Submitted to Contest #19

The Perfect Gift It was that time of year, snow falling, chestnuts roasting, hot chocolate steaming, kettle corn popping, and the smell of pine trees in the air. I could not wait, this is my favorite time of year, especially because my husband is back from his two year long contract with the Jamaican National Basketball team. This is the first holiday that we will spend together as newlyweds and I was determined to make it the best one to start off our marriage right. My husband and I both love Christmas, so we did everythi...

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“Black Friday” by Blaine Fisher

Submitted to Contest #19

5:45 AMThe menacing gaze of the soccer mom is making me oddly uncomfortable. For the life of me, I cannot fathom how she can be upset with me. I mean, she cut me off and stole my parking spot. It isn't my fault that I laughed at her as she made a full sprint to the store entrance. Judging by her scowl, she didn't find it as funny as I did. Either way, she wins. She is first in line after all.6:00 AM"She must be special." The sweet old lady behind me stated."I'm sorry…" I responded"Child, there are a lot of things I don't know, but what I do ...

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“My Pied Piper” by Justine Burns

Submitted to Contest #19

My eyes were just starting to close when the familiar shop bell clanged. Reluctantly, I sat upright, rubbed the sleep from eyes, pushed my glasses up my nose, and tactfully shoved the paper I’d been drooling on underneath the growing pile on my desk. Behind the tall rows of books I could hear the customer step and pause, step and pause. I smiled to myself, knowing the person was definitely an adamant reader. Another couple steps and a pause. From the creak in the floor I could tell they were just at the end of the shelf. One more step and 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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