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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#226: Temptation Time

Temptation comes in many forms this time of year, and our ability to resist seems to wear a little thin during these cold winter months. Some of these temptations are innocuous, from a little over-shopping to a well-deserved third helping at Thanksgiving dinner, while others prove a little more problematic, like the temptation to snap at loved ones after a long weekend in close quarters.

This week’s prompts are all about impulses, indulgence, and the way in which wants and needs tend to blur around the edges after a glass or two of mulled wine.

🥇 Winner

“Forthright Thursday” by Chris Campbell

🏆 Winner of Contest #226

8:45PM Thanksgiving Day – GLOVES OFF: My mother, Mary, and her sister Alice were engaged in a wrestling match on the dining room table. Aloysius – my father - and Alice’s plus one; Jack, attempted to pry them apart, but both women had locked themselves into each other’s hair with vice-like grips, despite both their hands being splattered with custard trifle remnants. All I could do as an observing teenager was sit with mouth agape while holding my new Super 8mm silent movie camera, recording the whole scene. It was typical behaviour at famil...

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⭐️ Shortlisted

“Mac and Cheese and Muffin Mix” by Hannah Lynn

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #226

The line was already forming as Margaret pulled into the parking lot of the small, unmarked building tucked into the residential neighborhood. The usual characters were front and center waiting at the locked door. “Good morning,” she called out, juggling several brown paper bags, careful to keep her keys on hand to unlock the pantry. “Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!” She was met with smiles and cheerful holiday greetings. Those closest to the door shuffled to the side allowing the older woman to pass. “Please stay...

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“Mrs. Jackson's Pumpkin Pie” by Hannah Lynn

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #226

“Come on, we’re going to be late,” she pulled his arm, dragging him along. Yanking his arm away from his sister’s grip, he scowled. “Don’t touch me.” “Whatever.” She rolled her eyes, her typical reaction. Luke hated it when people touched him, especially his arms or wrists, always commenting on how skinny he was. “You’re all skin and bones,” they said, making him feel less of a person, even smaller than he actually was if that were even possible. The school nurse had said not to worry, he would grow out of it, would...

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“Influence” by Nikki Blake

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #226

Thanksgiving dinner has ended in bloodshed the past two years running, so when my sister Claire requested that we wear red for the big family photo, I applauded her ingenuity. If someone bleeds, it’ll blend in and we can just power through as if nothing happened. How genius! Although her career choice is not one I would choose for myself, I admire her determination. She is not going to let anything derail her holiday content this year, and heaven help anyone who gets in her way. I hope that since the last two Thanksgivings have...

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This week's prompts

Your family’s holiday dinners always end with everyone at each other’s throats. This year you’re determined to keep a low profile, but your patience is being put to the test.

Thanksgiving – 38 stories

At some point in your story, a character says “You’re better than this…”.

Thanksgiving – 56 stories

Your character finally gives into a temptation they've been avoiding, and becomes better because of it.

Thanksgiving – 31 stories

Write a story about somebody trying to rationalize giving into temptation, even though they know they shouldn’t.

Thanksgiving – 42 stories

Black Friday is the one day of the year where the Devil makes selling your soul a good thing, although there are some bizarre T’s & C’s.

Thanksgiving – 22 stories

Stories

“Forthright Thursday” by Chris Campbell

🏆 Winner of Contest #226

8:45PM Thanksgiving Day – GLOVES OFF: My mother, Mary, and her sister Alice were engaged in a wrestling match on the dining room table. Aloysius – my father - and Alice’s plus one; Jack, attempted to pry them apart, but both women had locked themselves into each other’s hair with vice-like grips, despite both their hands being splattered with custard trifle remnants. All I could do as an observing teenager was sit with mouth agape while holding my new Super 8mm silent movie camera, recording the whole scene. It was typical behaviour at famil...

Read story

“Don't Say It.” by Hazel Ide

Submitted to Contest #226

"It kinda looks like—""Don't say it." Kenny nods solemnly, recrossing his long legs in the rusted lawn chair. The skinny blue and white plastic spindles weaving the chair seat have long since loosened and torn. His ass hangs out of half of it, but it doesn't bother him any. I watch him try to change the subject in his brain, can physically see the wheels turning, his lips twisting from one side to the other. It doesn't work, though, so he readjusts in his chair and tries again, "I'm just saying—""Don't say it.""It looks like a frig...

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“Mac and Cheese and Muffin Mix” by Hannah Lynn

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #226

The line was already forming as Margaret pulled into the parking lot of the small, unmarked building tucked into the residential neighborhood. The usual characters were front and center waiting at the locked door. “Good morning,” she called out, juggling several brown paper bags, careful to keep her keys on hand to unlock the pantry. “Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!” She was met with smiles and cheerful holiday greetings. Those closest to the door shuffled to the side allowing the older woman to pass. “Please stay...

Read story

“The Issue with the Humans” by Amanda Lieser

Submitted to Contest #226

The Director sat behind the snow white table with the manila folder on it. It was opened to the first page with a single title, “CASE 2137,” in all red font with caps lock on. The next few pages documented the issues and incidents with dated charts from several Keepers who had been kind enough to initial each note. This meant they had all received the call and were sitting studiously in chairs outside of the meeting room. All of them watched as a group of stern council members passed them-all of them refused to make eye contact. The Keepers ...

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“Forgot the Turkey” by Michał Przywara

Submitted to Contest #226

I wake up early and make coffee because it’s a big day for me and Lydia – it’s the day her old man finally has a date with a government bullet. Truth be told, I didn’t get much sleep. My gut’s been dizzy all month, thinking the nightmare was actually going to be over soon. And damn it! Guess I’m not great at making coffee either, as I forgot the carafe again and the machine’s dribbling all over the counter. “Heya handsome,” I hear from the doorway, just as I begin wiping up the soggy mess. It’s Lydia, in her nightgown, and she’s as gorgeous ...

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“Mrs. Jackson's Pumpkin Pie” by Hannah Lynn

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #226

“Come on, we’re going to be late,” she pulled his arm, dragging him along. Yanking his arm away from his sister’s grip, he scowled. “Don’t touch me.” “Whatever.” She rolled her eyes, her typical reaction. Luke hated it when people touched him, especially his arms or wrists, always commenting on how skinny he was. “You’re all skin and bones,” they said, making him feel less of a person, even smaller than he actually was if that were even possible. The school nurse had said not to worry, he would grow out of it, would...

Read story

“Potatoes Are for Peasants” by Kailani B.

Submitted to Contest #226

Cashmere is a sign of success. Or so I tell myself as I stand at my aunt’s door, a potato casserole gripped in my hands. “Knock ‘em dead,” my roommate jokingly told me as I’d exited our apartment. I suddenly wish I’d brought her for moral support instead of the spuds. I press the doorbell again. Augustus, my cousin, opens the door and glares down at me. “Are you coming in?” he says it like he’s been holding the door open for an ungodly amount of time. “Hello to you too,” I say and enter the marble foyer. I thrust the casserole in...

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“The Pumpkin Man” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #226

This never would have happened had there been pizza in the fridge.I could have sworn there was one slice remaining from two nights ago when I placed an order (along with pesto bread), but when I got home, the box was still in the fridge, but there was nothing in it. At some point in the last forty-eight hours, I must have eaten the last piece and not even remembered it. Maybe it was wishful thinking that kept me believing I had something to look forward to when I got home since pizza would be the only thing that qualifies.I pulled the empty ...

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“Scratch Cupcakes” by Keith Menendez

Submitted to Contest #226

Middle school sucks! My mom told me not to use that crude word unless it was for emphasis. It sucks hard. I don’t know if I know what that means exactly, but things went from bad to apocalyptic since Black Friday at my school. But you are asking, “Kids aren’t in school on Black Friday, Josh” and you would be correct. That is one reason why my story is beyond bizarre. Hi! I’m Joshua Carpenter. I attend Daniel Webster Middle School, in Brunswick, Connecticut, seventh grade. Go Paladins! I am a dece...

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“Holy Man” by Mallory Jones

Submitted to Contest #226

“I don’t know what to do, Nicolas. I’m so overwhelmed.” The Reverend was practically hissing as he confided in his friend in the otherwise empty church,“I mean, how did you even know?” he continued with frantic desperation, “And if you found out, what if others do too? I’ll be ruined!” With practiced concealment of any emotion— whether of concern, support, or condemnation— the friend of the Reverend said evenly,“You know what you have to do. You must confess this sin or face God’s wrath in Hell. I know a good priest; you should go see h...

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“Scape Goat” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #226

“Marcus, What if we host Thanksgiving at our house this year?” Marina asked, her voice soft. I squinted my eyes, looking for the catch, but my wife’s wide smile seemed to have good intentions, for once. Marina, my beautiful over-achieving wife, knew I couldn’t stand her family. After the disaster last year I never wanted to see them again. Hosting her family could only be a disaster. But, this dinner could give us a reason to work together, instead of drifting apart. Lately we barely speak, Marina blamed me for the cold drafts...

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“The Occasional Assassin” by Delbert Griffith

Submitted to Contest #226

Author’s note: all quotes are from Voltaire. 1945 Lizzie’s blunt pencil scratched across the surface of the foolscap paper. She wrote slowly, carefully, pensively. The light...

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“Influence” by Nikki Blake

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #226

Thanksgiving dinner has ended in bloodshed the past two years running, so when my sister Claire requested that we wear red for the big family photo, I applauded her ingenuity. If someone bleeds, it’ll blend in and we can just power through as if nothing happened. How genius! Although her career choice is not one I would choose for myself, I admire her determination. She is not going to let anything derail her holiday content this year, and heaven help anyone who gets in her way. I hope that since the last two Thanksgivings have...

Read story

“Led Into Temptation” by Mary Bendickson

Submitted to Contest #226

Led Into Temptation Aaron waited. Waited and waited. Still no sign of his younger brother. How much longer should he wait? Aaron worried. Worried and worried. How much longer would he have to worry? It was driving him to distraction. Maybe that's what he needed... a distraction. That crazy kid brother. Well, not so much a kid anymore. But even when he was younger he always had his head in the clouds. Like he was following some divine intuition. Boy, the things that kid had talked him into helping him out with, especially recently. It all c...

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“VISE News Real Talk: The Art of Soul Swapping” by Robert Egan

Submitted to Contest #226

New research proposes a radical solution for the estimated 13 million people who unwittingly lost their souls in last year's Black Friday mishap. While Hell isn't offering refunds anytime soon, a soul swap isn't out of the question, says Sam Ackerman, sole author on the study and CEO of ExoSouls.His paper, titled "Devilish details: A sparse Bayesian learning framework for enhancing the ExoSouls algorithm," is published this week in Chaos: A Nonlinear Journal of Translational Science.In it, Ackerman claims to have unraveled the 2-for-1 soul s...

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$250

Prize money

189

Contest entries

87

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Dec 01, 2023 EST

Won by Chris Campbell 🏆

Title: Forthright Thursday

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.

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