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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#202: A Friend Indeed

We often assume the great loves of our lives will be romantic ones. But how true is that really? Some of our most valuable, enduring, and complex relationships are right in front of us — and they're entirely platonic, in the form of the friends who've stuck with us through thick and thin.


June 8th happened to be Best Friends Day, and so this week’s prompts take a moment to reflect on the importance of friendship, in its many forms — whether your characters are besties, frenemies, or somewhere in between.

This week's prompts

Write a story about lifelong best friends.

Character – 60 stories

Write about two friends who were once inseparable, but now find themselves growing apart — or even friends turned enemies.

Dramatic – 79 stories

Set your story at a wedding reception, where a group of high school friends are meeting for the first time in years.

High School – 16 stories

Write a story about two friends who find themselves competing for something: a job, a prize, a love interest, etc.

Funny – 16 stories

Write about two people striking up an unlikely friendship.

Character – 95 stories

Stories

“Precipice” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #202

I blew it. Like a clockwork demolition, in a matter of seconds, I destroyed my life. Sitting in the darkness, on the curb outside my parent’s home, I contemplated my bleak future. Did I have one? Homelessness? Prison? My carefully plotted, bright dreams had gone. Poof! Could I ever return to the house I grew up in? The only home I’d ever known? I miscalculated and took a high dive into a shallow pool. Dread clung to my bones. I hoped it was worth it. Were those distant sirens coming for me? Did he call them? Wouldn’t anyone? Never rash or re...

12 comments 12
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“I'll Always Pick Up the Phone for You” by Myranda Marie

Submitted to Contest #202

“I’m sorry to call so late, I really need to talk.”  “Never apologize. You know I’ll always answer the phone for you. What’s up?” “It’s my daughter. She has the absolute worst judgment when it comes to choosing friends. You know her “bestie”, you’ve met her. She’s nothing but trouble and I have had enough.” “I have met her and…” “My daughter is nothing more than her servant, always running to be at her side like some obsessed fangirl.” “Ok, but why is this, …..” “It’s been annoying me for years, but somehow, the situations a...

4 comments 4
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“Friend vs. Friend” by Leila Bubbles

Submitted to Contest #202

Hi, my name is Kali. A year ago, today I almost lost my best friend. Over a guy. Insane right!! Lemme tell you the story. His name is Caleb. He was a normal white boy, blonde curly hair, blue eyes, gorgeous, but what I liked most about him was his personality. He was shy and quiet but funny. He never disrespected anyone and always stood up for himself and others. Now me, I'm nice but not always. I am not mean unless it's necessary. My bestie, her name is Penelope. She's not your average girl. She's the opposite of me in a way. She's into the...

1 comment 1
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“A Winter’s Walk” by David Ader

Submitted to Contest #202

           It was just the two of them, trudging along for what felt like an eternity. They walked that first night and hid the next day. At some point they’d given up on trying to hide; there was no one to hide from. The weather had been kind enough at the beginning; cold, not too cold, and kind of dry. Until today. A thick fog had come in, heavy and wet, and there was a rumble off in the distance. And flashes. Lightening maybe. Or guns. Probably guns. It was getting really cold, that d...

3 comments 3
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“Agatha's Oddity Oasis” by Jane Summers

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #202

Oliver Hartfield retrieved the handkerchief from his trouser pocket. He flipped it out, blew his nose, wiped the moisture from his nostrils and shoved the handkerchief back into its place. An old man in a young man’s body. His brown scruffy hair grew in a thicket of tangles, his young eyes gleamed with bright intelligence. The strength in his limbs contradicted the curved shoulders earnt from years of hunching over workbenches.Oliver Hartfield lived in the clouds. His mind ticked away with cogs and coils, oil and metal. An inventor to his co...

4 comments 4
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“Hello Dave” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #202

Oh! How they laughed when first they heard the other’s name. This was a story some would dine out on, but not Dave and Dave. Dave, always Dave. Never David. Someone once asked whether it might be a little easier if one of the Dave’s used the full version of their name. Dave narrowed his eyes and told the wrong-headed miscreant, “Dave is the full version of my name.”  The other Dave said nothing. He didn’t see the point in repeating the same conversation all over again. Later, Dave would ask him if he was coming down wi...

6 comments 6
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“Tearing Down” by Daniel Rogers

Submitted to Contest #202

Sampson slept on Delilah’s softest sofa amid a tremendous amount of hair clippings. His hair clippings. He was a very sound sleeper, and this made Delilah’s job that much easier. After cutting Sampson’s long hair off, she tied his arms with seven new ropes. While she did this, his snoring wasn’t halted, not even for a second. “I hate to do this, my lover, but I can’t live off love alone.” She went outside to inform the Philistine soldiers that it was safe to go in and arrest him.The soldiers stealthily entered her house, and surrounded Samps...

2 comments 2
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“Free like the Way the Wind Blows” by Daniel Fore

Submitted to Contest #202

“Grab Marlon honey but leave him in his box until we get closer to the pond. Hurry please, your mom is waiting on us.” Taylor and her father carried the tattered five ream 11” x 17” paper box down to the water bank, seven small holes strategically poked so the small duck could breathe. “Is Marlon going to be safe, dad?” the little girl asked while holding on to her father’s hand. “Yes, Taylor.” her dad responded. “This is his home. He belongs here.” “Are you sure his wing is healed? He never tries to fly.” “Yes, hone...

5 comments 5
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“Lord Of Lights.” by Ken Cartisano

Submitted to Contest #202

I knew it was a mistake as soon as I walked into the room. Nobody recognized me, and no wonder, I hadn’t been to a high school reunion in fifty years. Three things brought me here: Free food; free liquor; and an invitation from the bride, ‘Patty McWhatsherface. I looked at the invitation, Correction: ‘Patty Collier.’ I should probably memorize that, I thought, as I tossed it into a trash bin. The room was dark and smoky, with a dance floor, a dangling disco-ball and a makeshift flower-laden altar. The whole thing was hideous: rendered in our...

7 comments 7
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“Street of Sisterhood” by Keelan LaForge

Submitted to Contest #202

“I’m not competitive.” “Neither am I.” Kaley and Sam thought they knew themselves, but how well did they know each other? They’d been friends for what felt like an age. They’d done everything alongside one another for decades. It wasn’t planned, but their lives just seemed to converge time and again, like planes in a coordinated display -  but they’d never been the fighter kind, just the friendly kind. Friendship is a tenuous thing. It can all change in a minute over something seemingly innocuous, like something slight that the wind car...

2 comments 2
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“When Insects were as Big as Birds” by Robert McDermott

Submitted to Contest #202

SENSITIVE CONTENT: Death, alcohol abuse, mental health. I was in work when my brother called to tell me Willo Hicks had died. It was a cold Tuesday in early March. I thought of the joke. What did Willo Hicks die of? He died of a Tuesday. 'Ray, are you there?' said my brother. 'Yeah,' I said, 'sorry, I zoned out for a moment.' 'I did the same when I heard,' he said. A pause followed like the space between scenes of a movie. Finally, my brother spoke. 'No details yet about a funeral or anything. I'll keep you posted.' I thanked him and hung...

0 comments 0
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“None of it Was Accidental” by Molly Kwest

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #202

Dad doesn’t like me being out late, but I’m not afraid. So, here I am in the middle of the woods, surrounded by towering trees that block out the shining white light of the moon, making it hard to see my own nose, never mind the path to our destination.  “God!” I groan, wishing I could take a minute to crack my spine and relieve the pain a bit. “How much does this thing weigh?”  “We’re almost there,” Finn replies with a moan of equal discomfort to mine. I waddle like a constipated duck, carrying one end of what feels like a bag ...

14 comments 14
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“The Back of the Mirror” by Zatoichi Mifune

Submitted to Contest #202

WARNING: This story contains death and references to insanity.1936I'm going to kill 'Aunt Maddie'. Prancing about like she owns everything, talking in that 'high-and-mighty', condescending voice. It makes me sick. I'll show her that she doesn't own me.I suppose it isn't good to sit here and brood. I don't know how long I've been like this. When I sat down it was black outside and the oil lamp had just started to burn. Now the flame is gone and the sun is showering light upon the walls. I sigh. My hours of worry cost me another lamp and I sti...

16 comments 16
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“The Bonds that Bind” by Kay Smith

Submitted to Contest #202

**** TRIGGER WARNING ****(Substance Abuse, Mental Health, Suicidal Ideation)*******I sit across the patio table from her. I watch her down beer and chain-smoke. She is bright pink toenails and make-up, smiling serenely out at something only she can see from behind immense sunglasses. She is as laid back and buzzed as a teenager on the cusp of their first real spring break. I sip some sugar-free, peach-infused iced tea concoction my mother made, just for me! I have just made it to the six month mark in abstaining from alcohol and pills. I sig...

5 comments 5
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“Fire and Frostbite” by Isaac Keen

Submitted to Contest #202

It was a still evening, like most in Minnesota. Winter had long since descended upon the land, and a withering January cold cut through the air. In the freezing forests and bluffs south of Canada stood a great mansion that had seen almost a century of bitter cold and blazing warmth. Once bustling with family and business, climate change had rendered the region nearly uninhabitable during the winter. Despite the deadly temperatures, however, the house would be far from empty today. Lucas sat in his father’s old office, a cozy room in the ce...

1 comment 1
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$250

Prize money

266

Contest entries

129

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jun 16, 2023 EST

Won by Victoria Macleod 🏆

Title: Emma

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!

Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

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