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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#198: Teacher’s Pet

Whether it was the one who taught you a valuable skill, encouraged you to strive for better, or simply put a band-aid on your grazed knee, there must be at least one teacher you’ll always remember. They’re a constant presence in our childhoods, and, when you’re only small, teachers can seem like larger-than-life characters; the source of all knowledge. It’s little wonder that they feature so often in our stories and our imaginations.

Teaching is a difficult and complicated calling. As in any profession, alongside the above-and-beyonders are also those who should never have become teachers, or who have become jaded. Perhaps your own experiences with a teacher of this kind, one who failed to believe in their students when they needed them the most, clipped your wings, or drove you to work even harder in life. Either way, let's use this week to draw from these formative experiences and write about the people who taught us things, or ought to have.

🥇 Winner

“Multiple Choice” by Zack Powell

🏆 Winner of Contest #198

Okay class! Pop quiz. If you've been doing the readings, this should be a piece of cake. Remember to fill out both sides of this paper. You have the whole class period to finish. Good luck.1. Christopher Columbus first traveled to the Americas using which means of transportation?A) A cargo shipB) A steam locomotiveC) A Boeing 747 airliner D) A vintage red 1985 Camaro with a crack in the middle of the windshield and no heated seats2. What is the term for the pilgrims leaving England to journey to America?A) ImmigrationB) EmigrationC) Mig...

186 comments 186

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⭐️ Shortlisted

“Butter & Cream” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #198

I have fed the cat butter and cream before he dies. Dairy is terrible for a cat’s gastrointestinal tract, but then again, so is abnormal dilation of the colon. I’ll take the blame for the dairy. God can take the blame for the rest.For the hundredth time in a week, the cat valiantly tries to poop in his box and cannot. This puzzles him as he hasn’t been sick one day in his whole 15 years of life. What happens when things that have always worked suddenly don’t?The cat tries to defecate again, carefully scratching through the Fre...

119 comments 119

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“The Disciple” by Katy B

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #198

She’d suspected the past several hours it would happen at the river. Little pieces of it had been settling on top of her head all day till they formed something long and sharp and heavy so that she thought everyone must be able to see it. First thing Wednesday morning she found herself standing outside the CITGO with a pack of Marlboros in one hand and three-dollars-fifty-six-change clenched in the other, the paper wilting and the coins slipping in her sweat. She was staring at a man in a dark sweatshirt and dirty beard getting on a bike – a...

Read story

“Owl Academy” by Tamarin Butcher

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #198

Delilah watched, smiling, as this year's batch of fresh students filed into her classroom, guided by an older student who had not, if he knew how to follow the rules, answered a single one of the many questions the teenagers no doubt had. Once all six children were in the room, the door closed, suddenly and with a small snap. Catherine and Isabella, names Delilah knew from the files she had studied carefully in the weeks before the start of the semester, looked around suspiciously, but quickly decided that the noise posed no threat. Aft...

Read story

“A Brush With History” by David Ader

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #198

It was a bitter winter that year, 1954. The coldest that century, they said, and fifteen-year-old Ernie Remsen was freezing; the layers of sweaters underneath his blue cotton mechanic’s jacket, a “Texaco” patch on the breast, couldn’t keep out the chill. Sal was the name embroidered over the left pocket. Ernie didn’t know Sal but was grateful he’d donated it to the church rummage sale. It was almost better than nothing. Still, Ernie had stol...

Read story

“The Boy in the Bumble Bee Shirt” by David B Fraser

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #198

Jamie Landry had been called to the principal’s office. Which meant that his mother, Charlene Landry, had to leave her job in the middle of the day to attend as well. Which meant Charlene was pissing off all her co-workers at the Java Quick drive thru again. When she got to the school, Jamie was pacing outside the principal’s office. He was stroking his hair behind an ear, quietly talking to himself, and patting his belly. He was wearing his favorite yellow and black striped shirt that Charlene had dressed...

Read story

“DMV in Retrograde” by John K Adams

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #198

“You nervous?”“A little. You know… I’ll be okay.”“I’m sure you will. I’ll be at the café. Text me when you’re ready.”Corey, fifteen-and-a-half-years-old, repeated ‘You got this,’ to himself. If only he believed it.He’d driven hundreds of miles practicing over the last few months. But until he passed this test, to the world, he knew squat.First tests… firsts of anything are mysterious to the uninitiated. Rites of passage used to mean something. Crossing that line meant leaving childhood forever. He’d take on the mantel of adulthood and everyt...

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This week's prompts

Write a story about an unconventional teacher.

High School – 57 stories

Start your story with somebody getting called to the principal’s office.

Middle School – 39 stories

Write about a school trip that takes a turn for the unexpected.

Kids – 15 stories

Write a short story about a teacher or mentor figure who recognizes hidden (or magical!) potential in someone and helps them cultivate it.

Narrative – 46 stories

Write a story that contains the phrase “Okay class! Pop quiz.”

Teens – 24 stories

Stories

“Multiple Choice” by Zack Powell

🏆 Winner of Contest #198

Okay class! Pop quiz. If you've been doing the readings, this should be a piece of cake. Remember to fill out both sides of this paper. You have the whole class period to finish. Good luck.1. Christopher Columbus first traveled to the Americas using which means of transportation?A) A cargo shipB) A steam locomotiveC) A Boeing 747 airliner D) A vintage red 1985 Camaro with a crack in the middle of the windshield and no heated seats2. What is the term for the pilgrims leaving England to journey to America?A) ImmigrationB) EmigrationC) Mig...

186 comments 186

Read story

“Butter & Cream” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #198

I have fed the cat butter and cream before he dies. Dairy is terrible for a cat’s gastrointestinal tract, but then again, so is abnormal dilation of the colon. I’ll take the blame for the dairy. God can take the blame for the rest.For the hundredth time in a week, the cat valiantly tries to poop in his box and cannot. This puzzles him as he hasn’t been sick one day in his whole 15 years of life. What happens when things that have always worked suddenly don’t?The cat tries to defecate again, carefully scratching through the Fre...

119 comments 119

Read story

“Child Left Behind” by Shana Fox

Submitted to Contest #198

[CW: Child abuse, Self-Harm] “Okay, class! Pop quiz.” The aged educator, Mr. Crowe, swept into the room drawing an agonized groan from the collective students. No one was more discontented than I was at that moment. It was just another quiz I was going to fail. The stack of papers hit my desk as a soft breeze blew from the slanted windows on the far side of the room. “Take one and pass it back.” Mr. Crowe was a lanky man with thinning wisps of gray hair that sat flat against his head as if they had been painted on. I cou...

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“Do Not Lick the Glass” by Aeris Walker

Submitted to Contest #198

“Who are we missing?” Mrs. Clogs looked over her bifocals and scanned the school bus full of third graders, wordlessly moving her thin, wrinkled lips. “We should have five chaperones and I’m only seeing four.”Then thirty children jumped, startled by a loud bang outside. Mrs. Clogs squinted through the fingerprint-smeared window; someone was running along the side of the bus, beating its metal belly—behaving in that uninhibited way one does when tardiness has subdued all sense of propriety.“Wait up! I’m coming!”“Oh, Jesus Christ.” Mrs. Clogs ...

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“Simon Said; Show Me Red” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #198

“I’m Simon, you have to do what I say,” said the blonde boy who could barely make eye contact over the principal's desk.“Simon Simple, I don’t know what’s gotten into you lately but you have to stop this. What happened to Erik. What he did. He said you told him to.”“He had to do what I say.” Simon smiled. Little teeth that didn't fill his mouth were white squares with gaps between. Two blue eyes were anything but remorseful as his face creased around the grin.“Simon-” the principal in his faded suit jacket and trousers started but was cut of...

Read story

“The Disciple” by Katy B

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #198

She’d suspected the past several hours it would happen at the river. Little pieces of it had been settling on top of her head all day till they formed something long and sharp and heavy so that she thought everyone must be able to see it. First thing Wednesday morning she found herself standing outside the CITGO with a pack of Marlboros in one hand and three-dollars-fifty-six-change clenched in the other, the paper wilting and the coins slipping in her sweat. She was staring at a man in a dark sweatshirt and dirty beard getting on a bike – a...

Read story

“Owl Academy” by Tamarin Butcher

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #198

Delilah watched, smiling, as this year's batch of fresh students filed into her classroom, guided by an older student who had not, if he knew how to follow the rules, answered a single one of the many questions the teenagers no doubt had. Once all six children were in the room, the door closed, suddenly and with a small snap. Catherine and Isabella, names Delilah knew from the files she had studied carefully in the weeks before the start of the semester, looked around suspiciously, but quickly decided that the noise posed no threat. Aft...

Read story

“Tell Me Why I Don’t Like Memoirs” by Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #198

Damon, a ghostwriter, finished the editing of yet another memoir he had written for a successful business person. Someone who climbed the corporate ladder and managed to become CEO of a large company, for a few years. And then, reading between the lines (Damon was good at that), the CEO was let go for underperformance. In interviews, the CEO was pleasant, if dully conventional. The type of man women want to marry, and then not talk to their friends about much afterwards.Damon’s draft title for these sorts of memoirs was invariably, Tale...

Read story

“A Brush With History” by David Ader

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #198

It was a bitter winter that year, 1954. The coldest that century, they said, and fifteen-year-old Ernie Remsen was freezing; the layers of sweaters underneath his blue cotton mechanic’s jacket, a “Texaco” patch on the breast, couldn’t keep out the chill. Sal was the name embroidered over the left pocket. Ernie didn’t know Sal but was grateful he’d donated it to the church rummage sale. It was almost better than nothing. Still, Ernie had stol...

Read story

“Making Music” by Michelle Oliver

Submitted to Contest #198

The lights dim in the auditorium and I wait as the next school’s Concert Band settles onstage and follows the First Chair’s directions. The young man calls upon each section to play, tuning them confidently, performing his duty as Concertmaster with precision and grace, before sitting back in his chair. This well-trained ensemble rises as the band’s director enters the stage and bows to the audience, receiving a polite round of applause.The ABODA Festival is the highlight of my year, a time when all the high school bands present th...

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“The Alternate” by Mary Bendickson

Submitted to Contest #198

The AlternateI didn't make it... No, surely I made it... Didn't I??Other girls in front of me were either squealing in delight or turning away with crest-fallen hopes. Four of my other sophomore squad mates were holding on to each others arms bouncing up and down full of giddiness. Of course they had made it.Then one of the Patties met my eyes and had to look away. What had she seen on the single sheet posted outside the gymnasium that I hadn't been able to see yet for the cluster of swarming candidates surrounding the little typewritten squ...

Read story

“DMV in Retrograde” by John K Adams

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #198

“You nervous?”“A little. You know… I’ll be okay.”“I’m sure you will. I’ll be at the café. Text me when you’re ready.”Corey, fifteen-and-a-half-years-old, repeated ‘You got this,’ to himself. If only he believed it.He’d driven hundreds of miles practicing over the last few months. But until he passed this test, to the world, he knew squat.First tests… firsts of anything are mysterious to the uninitiated. Rites of passage used to mean something. Crossing that line meant leaving childhood forever. He’d take on the mantel of adulthood and everyt...

Read story

“The Boy in the Bumble Bee Shirt” by David B Fraser

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #198

Jamie Landry had been called to the principal’s office. Which meant that his mother, Charlene Landry, had to leave her job in the middle of the day to attend as well. Which meant Charlene was pissing off all her co-workers at the Java Quick drive thru again. When she got to the school, Jamie was pacing outside the principal’s office. He was stroking his hair behind an ear, quietly talking to himself, and patting his belly. He was wearing his favorite yellow and black striped shirt that Charlene had dressed...

Read story

“Alchemy” by Michał Przywara

Submitted to Contest #198

Tim slowed his walk down the sunset-drenched suburban alley when he noticed a black cat sitting on a tall green fence, watching him. He stopped altogether when the cat said, “Psst!”Tim startled, shook his head, and took another step.“Hey kid!” said the cat. “I said, ‘psst!’”Tim planted his hands on his hips and frowned up at the cat. He let out a long breath, as though he had just worked a double shift at Hotdog Cabana. “I heard you.” His last double shift, they had a birthday party of nearly thirty. The kicker was, the screaming kids were a...

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“Mr. Headmaster, Sir” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #198

Knock, then enter, close the door, and wait to be addressed. That was Mr. Harold Llewellyn-Smith’s protocol rule whenever a boy was called to the headmaster’s office. Whether he was already punishing me for my truancy by ignoring me or just relishing his position as the head of the school, it was lost on my fourteen-year-old brain. I knew what the upcoming punishment had in store for me, so I quietly and fidgetily tried desperately to come up with a reason for him not to go through with it. The minutes dragged on as Llewellyn-Smith continued...

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$250

Prize money

181

Contest entries

105

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - May 19, 2023 EST

Won by Zack Powell 🏆

Title: Multiple Choice

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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