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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#195: Sidekicks and Second Strings

Growing up, I was never a huge fan of superheroes. Maybe because I didn’t really identify with the grand, brave acts and main-character energy of the likes of Spider-Man, Batman, or even Sherlock Holmes. Instead, I was partial to the less flashy, secondary characters: the Watsons working quietly behind the scenes, the bassist in the band, or the defenders who quietly keep the team from conceding points, while the quarterback gets most of the credit.

This week, I want your stories to be an ode to the unsung heroes, the underdogs of storytelling, and the small acts that, collectively, can be just as heroic as catching the bad guy or defeating evil in one grand swoop.

This week's prompts

Set your story in a staff room of an essential profession that is often undervalued — nurses, cafeteria staff, sanitation workers, etc.

Character – 51 stories

Write a story from the point of view of a sidekick, or someone who is happy to stay away from the limelight.

Character – 87 stories

Write a story about someone who receives — or makes — a life-changing, anonymous donation.

Dramatic – 23 stories

Write a story that includes the phrase “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

Dialogue – 27 stories

Write about someone who is learning to recognize and take credit for their own achievements.

Character – 18 stories

Stories

“The Third” by S.A. Nur

Submitted to Contest #195

Ambushed by a horde of tears, Arsalan was struggling to pull the fuschia silk tent through her outstretched arms. This dress was, in his opinion, a monstrous creation: an offensively shiny frock with underside threads irritating his daughter’s tender, eczema-prone skin. Plus, the fact that they only had jeans as bottoms and not the traditional Pakistani chooridar pajama, wasn’t helping. It made her look like…like…well, like she had been dressed by a single dad with too much on his expanding plate. To add to her humiliation, all he ...

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“An Incident at the Love and Peace General Hospital” by Vincent Paiement Désilets

Submitted to Contest #195

Gina's a nurse at the Love and Peace General Hospital. She's thirty-two, looks fifty. She's been working both the evening and night shifts for the past ten years. When she gets yelled at by a patient, she zones out and thinks about that time she went to Cape Cod six years ago. A crackhead once broke her nose. It still shows. The insurance didn't cover it. She has a cat that doesn't speak to her. She sips her black, cold coffee from a cup with a bird that says Early riser gets...

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“Made of Stone” by Elijah Rose

Submitted to Contest #195

[Warning: Contains foul language] Break time, and they all had the dust coat on their clothes to prove it. Mahmoud shut off the backhoe and left the keys in the ignition. He undid his kafiya to let the front part fall off his face, took off his safety glasses and one of his earplugs, and used the inside of the kafiya to get the dust off of them before putting them back on and dismounting. Dust mixed with sweat to form caking layers of mud on their heads as their machines cut through bedrock and construction loader trucks hauled it away. ...

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“Lord Aiden” by TJ Lee

Submitted to Contest #195

My sole focus for the last hour had been updating charts, reviewing charts, making sure supplies were stocked, making sure there were enough nurses to cover the afternoon, and on, and on, and on. I checked my watch, for the hundredth time in the last hour, and rotated my eyes to the monitor on my desk. The one that monitored all of the patients on my floor, including my own. I would need to do another round soon, before I left for the night. As tired as I was, there was no such thing as stepping away to a staff lounge for a cup of co...

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“Free Meal” by Jaime Lyn Ferreira

Submitted to Contest #195

Tuesday Chicken cordon bleu Loaded baked potato Watermelon Feta salad with mint Lemon Mousse “The coroner should be here any time now for Ms. Jane,” says Maria, as she spears a cubed piece of watermelon with her fork. “Oh, why can’t they wait until after lunch to come get her. She’s already been dead a while now,” Jen volunteers around the chicken cordon bleu in her mouth. Maria rolls her eyes at Jen’s lack of table manners. They were the housekeepers at Vista Knoll Manor Estates, “an upscale community for the active senior”. The last st...

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“The Break” by Louise A

Submitted to Contest #195

Content Warning: Suicide, abuse, violenceMorning was quiet in the Emergency Department break room. A respite from the chaos of the department. The TV was on, a nurse absentmindedly changed channels between local sports and a made for TV movie. She had come in for an extra mid shift and had arrived unexpectedly early, traffic was light today. Eyes on the timeclock, she busied herself gathering her supplies. It was almost time to start getting paid, and there was a long list of things she wanted to buy for her next trip. This overtime shift wa...

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“Recycling Young Lives” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #195

As trash collection truck driver Tommy Robinson sat down for his second cup of coffee in the break room of Atlas Disposal Services he tried to again rid himself of the stench of packing other people’s discards into his truck. “Thought I had gotten used to this rotten job,” he said, “but this week tops them all. Today, while tooling my way through the overprivileged Watchung Mountain subur...

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“The sunset” by F.O. Morier

Submitted to Contest #195

No one understood why I wanted to work there. Young people are afraid of old people. Ultimately, that just means fear of death. And to be afraid of death is only to be afraid of life! And yes, it is true, the smell of dying hung in every corner. How did I get there? Honestly, it was the only place that called me back when I applied for a job. Admittedly, there are many valid reasons to see nursing homes as neglected places, where death is constantly looming in the air. But what I would like to pass on here is something I learned there: there...

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“Jericho” by Aorja HARRIS

Submitted to Contest #195

The light has a particular stale quality, not natural; the product of an incandescent bulb. Yet it is on day in and day out. It hums a dirge: Dirige, Domine, Deus meus, in conspectu tuo viam meam ("Direct my way in your sight, O Lord my God"). I have never seen it changed. Twice a day there is a handover. They all troop in and relieve the weary who brief them and issue some secretive commands. They circle us hosts: exterminating angels cooing as I write these words. I have been making an effort to remember them by name. You cannot tr...

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“Leave it to the Caretaker” by John Heard

Submitted to Contest #195

The staff room at the Academy School had been moved twice in the past ten years. At one time it was adjacent to the Head Teacher’s office which made it convenient for the secretaries, Bursar and Registrar but less so for the teachers whose rooms were at the other end of the building. When the Board of Governors introduced a residential program, and the enrollment increased by 30 students, and more administrators were required, the staff room was requisitioned for an office. The staff room was then moved to an empty space which h...

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“WE ARE THE FOUNDATION” by Kajsa Ohman

Submitted to Contest #195

(Warning: asterisks, pronouns, and possibly-offensive cheap shots.) I dedicate this to the 'Little People' who work backstage behind every great show. WE ARE THE FOUNDATION “Houston, we have a problem,” said Jerry, the gofer. Jerry’s face was pasty, with a slick overlay of sweat, and his eyes protruded like blue marbles. The gofer wasn’t usually one to sweat things, nor did his eyes normally protrude in this preternatural way, which is why we hired him in the first place. In showbiz you need at least one person whose head remains at...

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“Endless Loophole” by Joshua Lee

Submitted to Contest #195

5:00 A.M. A loud bang startled me out of my sleep. I checked my watch, “5 O ‘ Clock already?” I stared up to the ceiling for a while before my crew banged on my door once again. “Come on Todd, we need to before the students get to school.” I pulled my body out of bed slowly sinking the soles of my feet into the cold tile floor. With my sore right hand, I pulled the handle of the flimsy closet door open, almost ripping the joints out of the wall. Then while struggling to get my uniform on, I hobbled out the door onto the gravel pathway. Thi...

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“The Teachers' Lounge ” by Kate Kenneth

Submitted to Contest #195

“I picked up a shift at Red Dog tonight,” Hannah announced. She was standing beside the microwave while it loudly turned her leftovers around inside. The handle was missing. To open it you had to pull at the top of the door, careful not to grab the rusty nail that stuck out in place of the long gone handle. “Rent’s due next week." “Melodie needs braces, so I’m tutoring at the library after school,” Miriam added. “If you know anyone who need...

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“My Student's Keeper” by Dylan Patrick

Submitted to Contest #195

2:17 P.M. The clock was ticking off the wall waiting for one of my students’ parents to come rumbling through the door. It’s a shame how awfully easy it is to tick people off nowadays, isn’t it? I jokingly say that Hell hath no fury like a parent that’s never heard the word ‘accountability,’ but the sad part of that joke is that it’s not as much of a joke as it is a way of dealing with the way things are nowadays. 20 years I’ve been in this profession, and never have parents been as disrespectful as they’ve been the past few years. Warning: ...

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“Simon Worthington” by Bruce Callahan

Submitted to Contest #195

Why did I take this job? Never respected, never listened to, always taken for granted. I know the perks are great but, is it really worth it? Boss is always on my butt, a real control freak, micromanaging every move I make, every decision, every choice. Hours suck, on call, 24/7, physically taxing to the point of abuse, not to mention the training time and hours put in on a daily basis, sometimes six to seven hours. Weight training, aerobics, martial arts, cardio, yoga. Weapons training from katana to staff to n...

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$250

Prize money

206

Contest entries

92

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Apr 28, 2023 EST

Won by Geir Westrul 🏆

Title: Untold

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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