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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#200: Heard it Through the Grapevine

It’s perhaps not our most virtuous impulse, but it’s a very human one. The desire to gossip, tell tales, and share stories we’ve heard about others doesn’t always win us friends, but it’s born from a real evolutionary need. Psychologists speculate that the original purpose of gossip was to keep us safe, helping our ancestors identify potential threats, build bonds, and learn what behavior was deemed acceptable or unacceptable by their peers. And, for better or worse, that habit has stuck.

Of course, gossip can (and often does) go too far. It’s up to you how it plays out in this week’s stories; will your characters face consequences for their loose lips, or will gossiping actually save the day?

This week's prompts

Write a story that includes the line “my lips are sealed.”

Adults – 96 stories

Write a story about a piece of gossip that becomes more and more distorted as it passes from person to person.

Adults – 33 stories

Your character is known as the town gossip. One day, it comes back to bite them.

Adults – 22 stories

Write a story about someone trying to track down the source of a rumor.

Adults – 35 stories

Your main character has a secret superpower; the gossip they spread always comes true.

Adults – 24 stories

Stories

“Coffee and Sun Tzu” by Cassandra Fan

Submitted to Contest #200

Samantha lounged over the café sofa as she dramatically sipped her latte. She grinned, examining her prey, watching him grow more impatient with each second. The art of creating tension was one Samantha’d practiced for years. There was no better way to control someone’s every action. But like any art, it required precision. Anything, from a misplaced word to the tiniest stammer could ruin everything. Sun Tzu once said one must be subtle to the point of formlessness, but fortunately Samantha was the goddess of subtlety. Before her sat a man w...

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“Have you heard about Scott and Abi?” by Jane Andrews

Submitted to Contest #200

“Have you heard about Scott and Abi?” The school bathroom’s deserted as Jodie sidles up to Fliss, her best friend. Jodie’s not usually one to gossip, but she can’t resist passing this on. “They hooked up at Danny’s party last weekend. I saw them getting hot and steamy with each other on the landing.” “Scott and Abi?” Fliss says in surprise. “I thought he was dating Lauren.” “Maybe they broke up.” Jodie pauses to consider the possibilities. “Or maybe he’s cheating on Lauren with Abi. I wonder if she knows…” “Poor Lauren,” Fliss says. It’s ...

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“The Eels in my Hovercraft” by Tanya Humphreys

Submitted to Contest #200

I’ve stopped telling telemarketers about the eels in my hovercraft. Not because the lowly lifeforms of the pits of viable employment would not believe me, but rather, that they would. After all, eels are quite delicious, and extraordinarily hard to catch. These individuals with earpieces welded to their greasy yellow seashell ears sustain their earthly flesh vessels with rice and rice alone, and needless to say, are quite malnourished. In the gloomy rooms of the abandoned office buildings, where faint watery grey light insists on st...

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“AND YOU THOUGHT ONLY HUMANS GOSSIPED!” by Charles Corkery

Submitted to Contest #200

AND YOU THOUGHT ONLY HUMANS GOSSIPED “Look, there’s no point in beating around the bush, Gloria. You didn’t get it. I’m so awfully sorry but the board voted unanimously for Rex and he will be the new Off-Planet CEO”. “But, I thought…with your backing…” “I know, I know. It’s as much a shock to me as it is to you. I had pinned all my hopes on you being selected. You’d have been my eyes and ears up there but, there it is. We just have to bide our time and try again in three years”. “But it makes no sense.&n...

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“What seems reality is not reality ” by Stephen Lake

Submitted to Contest #200

Raymon Diggins was found lying dead in the middle of a busy road in his hometown of the state of Washington. Nobody knew what happened, except for Raymond was exiting his apartment with his poodle to walk on their daily routine. Only a civilian saw Raymond stop in the middle of the road and stare at something in front of him when there was nothing in sight. The civilian noticed that Raymond reached out his right arm to what appeared he was grabbing a shoulder. It was reported that the civilian tried to get the attention o...

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“The Gossip Girl” by Sabrina Smith

Submitted to Contest #200

Lily was born with a trusting face. The type of face that pulls all of the secrets out of you. If one of her friends has a new crush, or her Math teacher is fighting with her English teacher, or her neighbors have been conducting some shady business in their backyard, Lily is the first to hear about it. Although gossip should not be taken as fact, as soon as Lily mentions any rumors to someone else, that rumor does, believe it or not, become fact. Too often has Lily mentioned a perceived scandal around school has the gossip immediatel...

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“Her word, my reality” by Arter Grim

Submitted to Contest #200

Information is the very thing we human beings torture ourselves for just so we can gain more of it. It is the fire that has unveiled the intricacies hidden by the darkness. As such, it is of our nature to desire it, as it would be such a shame if we were to not understand everything. However, I have learned that there are certain things that are best left unknown. Ironic, considering my line of work and, most of all, the way in which I have chosen to live my life. You see, there are many different layers that we find ourselves in when we per...

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“Telephone” by Jason Hopewell

Submitted to Contest #200

Telephone J. A. Hopewell jasonhopewell@icloud.com George hits accept on the center display while waiting at the light on Main St and Lutterloh Rd. “Hey Teresa.” “Hey George. Did you hear what happened?” “Pertaining to the incident at work?” “No, no. The incident at the high school.” “No. What happened.?” “There was a fight between two girls in the lunchroom. One of the vice principals stepped in and pulled the girls apart. Apparently, one girl started assaulting him. Then the other girl joined in, and they beat the principal up.” “Wow, ...

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“Blindness and Sight” by Zoë Page

Submitted to Contest #200

I am bornof negativity. I am weak.I wake to darkness, blinded by hunger, to search sightlessly for food. I am somewhere else,in Nothing,and they can’t see me. I scrabble mentally, sensing very little,the lies and the hatredvery weak flickers in the abyss. I reach out feebly with my tongue, my only moving appendage formed, and lick gingerly.I taste them,though the flavor is not strong; hungrily, I slurp it all up, though it is but a mere morsel.Her husband was seen with her sister.There is a bitterness to it –truth –which makes me recoil. Ten...

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“The Grapevine is Broken” by Karen Kinley

Submitted to Contest #200

April 23, 2023, 1:07 PM On the sidelines at a soccer game ALEXIS: Don’t tell anybody I told you this, but I overheard Nicole talking on her cell just a few minutes ago, and she said something about being “unhappy” and “looking at options.” I don’t know about you, but it kinda sounded like she was talking about getting a divorce. Or at least separated. I hate to gossip, but do you know anything about her and Tim being unhappy? BROOKE: No! News to me. But now that you mention it, they were both invited to the barbecue Melissa had for her s...

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“The Weight of Words” by Leah Haberman

Submitted to Contest #200

Eyes carry weight. It is a matter of degrees, of course. A glance feels light on your skin, only a prickle to indicate someone is looking at you. A glare, on the other hand, carries weight. A glare lands on your skin and sinks into your bones. You feel a glare throughout your body. I’m sure some people handle the weight better. I’m sure those who are used to people’s pointed, unapologetic glares can still walk with their heads held high and their nervous systems intact. I am not one of those people, and with all these eyes on me, I am out of...

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“Gossipsin” by Vesta Bartholomew

Submitted to Contest #200

Katya hunkered down behind the Great Eastern Hemlock tree, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. She whispered a loud ,"Sssshh!!," at her younger fifteen year- old sister, Elisabeth, who lay next to her. In this admonition, she most likely made more noise than if she hadn't issued the warning. Elisabeth was the recipient of a spray of spittle that rained down on her blonde hair. Elisabeth toyed with the idea of giving her sister a swift kick, but had learned from experience that the ...

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“She owned a bottomless lake of lies” by Yashvi Trivedi

Submitted to Contest #200

I told her not to worry until I came back. I left the city hastily and was on my way to the town called Aliwood, which seemed to be the source of that insensitive rumor. Tiffany was trembling when the rumor threw her marriage off the course, Tiffany is a very sensitive girl and she did not take it well. She had already spiralled down to the worst cases that could have happened with her marriage when she came to me for help. I had always been her saviour ever since she got into trouble for sneaking in her boyfriend's vape refills to school in...

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“Catching a Mythic” by Braelyn Robinson

Submitted to Contest #200

Warning: Alcohol Usage Mentioned The slick, cold rain fell heavy on the New Dublin streets as Rayna accelerated through the allies and streets. The I.M.P finally had a lead for one of the worst nuisances from the Gateway Even. Satyr. These clever goats disguise themselves as humans, act like humans, and even try to live human lives. But they are not human. They are Mythics. And Mythics shouldn't exist. Rayna had never believed in magic. Growing up, she'd seen everyone in her small Irish hometown blindly follow superstitions and traditions,...

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“Rumor Has It” by Scott Taylor

Submitted to Contest #200

Rumor Has It “It surprised me that you left your phone number. Are you ok?” Gloria was a lady I met at a bar. We had been mugged on the beach after we met. I stopped the criminal with choreographed precision, not thinking about how my actions would affect my date. While I was at the police station going over the night’s events a dozen times, she left for work. “I thought about it for days. You did what you had to do. I had never seen violence before, not to mention ever being robbed at gunpoint,” she said. The nickel-plated gun he pu...

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$250

Prize money

210

Contest entries

116

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jun 02, 2023 EST

Won by Katharine Widdows 🏆

Title: Three Questions

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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