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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#262: Turn Up the Heat

What’s not to love about summer? There's something so wonderful about spending lazy afternoons taking a stroll in the sunshine or cooling off with an ice-cold drink by a pool. I can still remember how excited I would feel on the last day of school, just hours away from barbecues, beach days, and family picnics.

With summer in full swing for many of us, let’s write some stories that center around long, sweltering days. Will your tale take place at a fancy resort or a crowded park? How about a county fair or an island getaway? No matter what you choose, make sure to bring on the heat!

🥇 Winner

“Hair-Dryer Day” by Tess Ross-Callahan

🏆 Winner of Contest #262

I didn’t know there could be a day too hot for planes to fly but I guess I should’ve, because lord knows it’s entirely too hot for anything else to happen. I figured I should still take the dog out but honestly as soon as I opened the door, he looked at me with these doleful eyes like, Are you kidding me? Makes sense. I was ready to crawl out of my underwear and just walk around with a creatively placed fig leaf or something, so you gotta figure it’s even worse for a furry guy. When we went back in, I dug an old t-shirt out of the ...

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⭐️ Shortlisted

“Under the Mediterranean sun” by M.D. Adler

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #262

Please regard this as my full confession. I do not wish to die with a heavy heart. I wish you were able to see him just now. He is preparing to land the final blow, and I know I will be dead within seconds; yet, even when he harbors murder in his eyes, I have never seen a more attractive, more enticing - more, more, more - beautiful human than him. Please do not take offense to this, I am sure you are quite tantalizing yourself; I probably would have stalked and hurt you too, as many times as I did him, if we had had the pleasure to meet bef...

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“Hot Like Grease” by Christine Foy Jackson

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #262

I'm standing there, concentrating hard on not tipping the cast iron pan because it's filled almost to the top with grease, even though I shouldn't worry too much. It's on the far burner. When I lay the chicken legs in, the grease rises a little higher. I slowly lay another drumstick in the bubbling pool while my two-year-old clutches my leg. My life is a series of tasks, small ones that follow each other relentlessly. Most of them I associate with a sensation, an awareness of sound or touch, maybe. Not many are pleasant in themselves. ...

Read story

“Necessity” by Hannah Rose

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #262

Where I live, people always talk about how the summer heat feels. It feels sweltering, blazing, blistering, searing, oppressive, miserable. Some describe it in degrees: hot one today—heat index of 120 degrees—can you believe it? Some people explain it with physiology: it’s so hot out there, your sweat could water the desert. Or: it’s so hot, just looking out the window will give you a sunburn. But when I think of the heat, my native language is frequencies. Days like today sound like cicadas hissing so loudly, your eardrums still ring with i...

Read story

“Big Apple Dreams” by Arlin Dixon

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #262

Mom got the car. Even though it’s just a trial separation Alice, and no one is talking about divorce, I can’t help but notice things are getting divided. Me included. Mom gets me this month. I was supposed to be going to camp this summer with my friends. We’re finally old enough for sleep-away camp and we were going to roast marshmallows, swim in the lake, and stay up all night giggling while our counsellors met up by the fire pit with cans of things they’re not old enough to drink. But things happen in a trial separation. Things get forgott...

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This week's prompts

Write about a summer vacation gone wrong.

Summer – 66 stories

Start or end your story with a heatwave announcement.

Summer – 34 stories

Write about a character who is allergic to heat.

Summer – 26 stories

Center your story around an unexpected summer fling.

Summer – 53 stories

Set your story during the hottest day of the year.

Summer – 88 stories

Stories

“Hair-Dryer Day” by Tess Ross-Callahan

🏆 Winner of Contest #262

I didn’t know there could be a day too hot for planes to fly but I guess I should’ve, because lord knows it’s entirely too hot for anything else to happen. I figured I should still take the dog out but honestly as soon as I opened the door, he looked at me with these doleful eyes like, Are you kidding me? Makes sense. I was ready to crawl out of my underwear and just walk around with a creatively placed fig leaf or something, so you gotta figure it’s even worse for a furry guy. When we went back in, I dug an old t-shirt out of the ...

Read story

“Coffee and Edible Underwear” by Daniel Rogers

Submitted to Contest #262

They told me I'd love it. They lied. What I do love is to wake up at 6:30, not 7, not 6, but precisely 6:30. I love the smell of freshly brewed coffee, exactly six cups, enough for my wife and me – no wasted coffee. My coffee must contain 100 grams of vanilla caramel creamer, 20 grams of half and half, and 21 grams of honey (for my allergies). Sometimes, I go over by two or three grams, and that's okay, but I'll dump the corrupted drink if it's any higher. That's what I love. I don't love line dancing. Stan and Sally, our cabin neighbors, sw...

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“Scorch” by Derrick M Domican

Submitted to Contest #262

"Attention inmates. This is an advisory notice. Today’s HEAT, previously scheduled for 16:33:07, is now expected to initiate at 16:06:34. Anticipated duration: Fourteen minutes. Revised intensity level: 20. All prisoners will cease operations imminently. All Scorpiens will return their charges to their Habitats. Protective protocols must be complete by 16:04. Notice ends."The garbled message, issued from the speakers in her helmet, ended with a crackle and Eva lowered her welding gun from a grid of metal girders, turning to look at her guard...

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“THE UNIVERSE HAS ITS WAY” by Shirley Medhurst

Submitted to Contest #262

Sometimes, the universe can be obdurate. It will insist upon having its own way.Marathons tend to complicate getting around the city, so my little sister and I agree that escaping a soon-to-be gridlocked Southampton to drive up and visit Gran two hundred miles away is the ideal way to start her five-day summer vacation with me. We were both born and grew up in France, and as she still lives there with our parents, she hasn’t seen Gran for four years now. I left home to come and study at university and have stayed here in the U.K. ever since....

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“Under the Mediterranean sun” by M.D. Adler

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #262

Please regard this as my full confession. I do not wish to die with a heavy heart. I wish you were able to see him just now. He is preparing to land the final blow, and I know I will be dead within seconds; yet, even when he harbors murder in his eyes, I have never seen a more attractive, more enticing - more, more, more - beautiful human than him. Please do not take offense to this, I am sure you are quite tantalizing yourself; I probably would have stalked and hurt you too, as many times as I did him, if we had had the pleasure to meet bef...

Read story

“Summer Vacation Paradise” by Mary Bendickson

Submitted to Contest #262

Summer Vacation Paradise“Have you heard from the kids yet? Are they packed and ready to go? Mapped out their plan of action to get there about the same time as we will?” Jed fussed as he double and triple checked his list.“You're the planner and coordinator of this whole trip. Haven't you been exchanging e-mails with them to know those answers?” His harried wife, Trudy, retorted. “Look. We saved for it. We meticulously planned for it. We've anticipated it. We've waited for this moment. We are on our way right on schedule. So relax. The kids ...

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“Summertime” by Trudy Jas

Submitted to Contest #262

“Lawd almighty.” Aunt Velma lifts the hem of her cotton housedress and lets the fan blow air under the fabric. I look away, could have done without that picture. Fishing a washcloth from the bucket with the last of the ice water, I wring it out and hand it to her, get another one to rub over my face, neck and wrists.“What’s keeping Junior?” She grumbles. “He’s taking his good ole time. Bet he’s hanging around Arnold’s, soaking up the cool air.”“I guess.” It’s too hot to talk. It’s too hot to think. I press the cold washcloth behind my k...

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“Hot Like Grease” by Christine Foy Jackson

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #262

I'm standing there, concentrating hard on not tipping the cast iron pan because it's filled almost to the top with grease, even though I shouldn't worry too much. It's on the far burner. When I lay the chicken legs in, the grease rises a little higher. I slowly lay another drumstick in the bubbling pool while my two-year-old clutches my leg. My life is a series of tasks, small ones that follow each other relentlessly. Most of them I associate with a sensation, an awareness of sound or touch, maybe. Not many are pleasant in themselves. ...

Read story

“An Affair” by Trudy Jas

Submitted to Contest #262

“I’ll have half a pound prosciutto, extra thin, please.” “I’ll have half a pound prosciutto, thin, please.” That echo comes from my right. I glance at the man next to me, he pronounced it proshute, as if he knows what he’s talking about. His skin is sun-kissed, I think that’s the term. With well-styled, dark brown curly hair, sinfully long lashes framing brown eyes, a roman nose and full lips, he reminds me of a long-ago movie star. Can’t remember who. It’s not important. Are you Italian? I ask. He shrugs eloquently. No, he answers,...

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“One for the Books” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #262

Nathan spent all of his savings to give me the wedding of my dreams. He rented out the back of the Birmingham Resort and Spa with its lustrous green lawn dotted with robust shade trees, rock garden landscaping, and natural stream with waterfall flowing behind the trellis my father built for us to be married under. Nathan proposed with a two-carat solitaire diamond set in white gold. My dress is an elegant sleeveless white ball gown, and my bridesmaids wear lavender dresses so that we match the arrangements of calla lilies and lilacs that ado...

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“Red Hot” by Hannah Lynn

Submitted to Contest #262

“Come on, buddy, let’s get you to a shelter.” They peered into my box, shining a beam of light into my eyes. “Fuck off,” I wanted to say, but I knew better. Best not to antagonize the public, especially the cops. They would haul you out and shove you into their car quicker than you can shake your ass at them. I held my tongue and said nothing, waiting for them to move along.The sweat was collecting on my forehead, dripping sideways down my face, stinging my eyes. I felt sick, nauseous, and disgusted. ...

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“Necessity” by Hannah Rose

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #262

Where I live, people always talk about how the summer heat feels. It feels sweltering, blazing, blistering, searing, oppressive, miserable. Some describe it in degrees: hot one today—heat index of 120 degrees—can you believe it? Some people explain it with physiology: it’s so hot out there, your sweat could water the desert. Or: it’s so hot, just looking out the window will give you a sunburn. But when I think of the heat, my native language is frequencies. Days like today sound like cicadas hissing so loudly, your eardrums still ring with i...

Read story

“My Summer Holiday - Frozen, Fried, and Frazzled” by Kaitlyn Wadsworth

Submitted to Contest #262

At Christmastime in December 1975, our town became unusually cold. No, I didn't misunderstand the prompt. It's summer. The lead-up to Christmas Eve had been warm. This is common for the Southern Hemisphere, where summer falls towards the end of the year, and a traditional Christmas dinner is often an outdoor barbeque. But a cold snap can happen with our oceanic climate, especially near the coast. Unfortunately, we planned to go camping and anticipated the usual steamy December.Our mother spent several days packing. Our entourage consisted of...

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“Degrees of Parenting” by Elizabeth Hoban

Submitted to Contest #262

That last day of July was so hot, even How hot was it? jokes had long since worn out their welcome. When Jack’s wife, Jess, begged for a much-needed weekend respite from their 5-year-old twin boys, with plenty of notice, Jack wholeheartedly agreed. A summer weekend of quality time alone with his sons would be a memorable bonding experience.“C’mon, Jess, how hard can it be?” Jack had said.“This, coming from a man who believes shoving quarters up his nose constitutes entertainment. Good luck.” Jess had laughed and before he knew it, ...

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“Big Apple Dreams” by Arlin Dixon

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #262

Mom got the car. Even though it’s just a trial separation Alice, and no one is talking about divorce, I can’t help but notice things are getting divided. Me included. Mom gets me this month. I was supposed to be going to camp this summer with my friends. We’re finally old enough for sleep-away camp and we were going to roast marshmallows, swim in the lake, and stay up all night giggling while our counsellors met up by the fire pit with cans of things they’re not old enough to drink. But things happen in a trial separation. Things get forgott...

Read story

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$250

Prize money

267

Contest entries

91

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Aug 09, 2024 EST

Won by Tess Ross-Callahan 🏆

Title: Hair-Dryer Day

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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