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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!

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

“Echoes of a Lost Summer” by Amanda Evans

Submitted to Contest #262

The anticipation of summer vacation is a feeling like no other. The countdown to freedom, to days without responsibility or structure, filled me with a sense of exhilaration. I imagined the adrenaline rush as we climbed the heights of the roller coasters, the wind whipping through our hair, the simultaneous terror and thrill as we plummeted downwards. Each ride would be a shared victory, a memory to recount and laugh about later.The teasing glances from girls in line were part of the fun, a playful dance of flirtation that added to the adven...

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“These Summer Moments” by Sophie Goldstein

Submitted to Contest #262

Raymond held his daughter’s hand as she pulled him toward the water.“Come on, daddy! Come on!” she yelled, running as fast as her short, squishy legs would carry her.“I’m coming, Sylvie, I’m coming,” he sing-songed behind her.He tried to stay calm when Sylvie let go of his hand. When she ran ahead of him. When she dipped her toes in the water and didn’t seem fazed in the slightest that her dad wasn’t standing next to her.“She’s ok.”Raymond turned to see his dad, Larry, staring at Sylvie with a big smile.“She reminds me of you, you know,” Lar...

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“Hunting in Times Square” by Christina J

Submitted to Contest #262

The headlights pierced through thick New England fog as Henry Creek and his son Edgar drove the winding road to Calais. The prestigious Wormwood Academy lay a mere two miles outside of the town and was the closest American boarding school to Canada. The father and son were picking up the third member of their family, Wynona. The pair of them grew more and more silent as the gates to the school approached. Picking up Wynona was always difficult. Henry would never admit this, not even to himself, but he thought of her as the problem child. The...

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“Hollywood Heat Wave” by Leah Dewey

Submitted to Contest #262

She turned up the dial radio and listened closely as the weather girl reported the weekly update. There was slight static but with a brief adjustment, the woman's voice came in clearer. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like things are going to cool down here in Los Angeles. We’ve got a heat wave coming in from Long Beach to Pasadena. Those of you in the heart of Tinsletown better watch out. It looks like temperatures are going to reach up to the 120s. This is going to be the hottest week Los Angeles has experienced in over a decade,” th...

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“The Heat of Iceland” by Cliff Hannan

Submitted to Contest #262

Magnús Ólafsson had hated summer for as long as he could remember, and for Iceland’s oldest vampire, that was a very long time. Every year for the past millennium he had dreaded the summer solstice, where the sun dipped below the horizon well after midnight and reappeared less than a handful of hours later. But it wasn’t the light that he hated, though he certainly hated that. It was the heat that he couldn’t bear. The infernal hotness and stifling heat. Every movement causing salty beads of sweat to accumulate at his hairline and run throug...

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“Finding Kyra” by Angela Chambers

Submitted to Contest #262

Staring out the window admiring the flowers in bloom that enveloped the dogwood trees, Kyra dreamed of what life could be like if only she wasn’t ill. Safe inside the sanctuary her parents had created for her, she allowed her mind to wander. What adventures would she go on? The feeling of the ocean crashing around her as she paddled her way through its watery maze. The creatures she would encounter as she deep sea dived off the coast of Australia. Would she see a bottlenose dolphin jump playfully towards the sky or would she encounter a gian...

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“Too Cool For Allergies, Never Too Hot For Love” by Marsha Marrow

Submitted to Contest #262

“No onions please,” I requested, before adding, “I’m allergic.”“Oh, ok no problem,” smiled the girl taking my order, seeming to understand the importance of hitting the minus key once I made that claim.I was not allergic to onions. I simply didn’t like them. Or rather, I didn’t like the crunching sensation when I bit into one. If they were grated up into a mash of onion paste, sure! Season away! After years of incorrect orders, and a serious aversion to sending food back even when it was wrong, I had resorted to deceptive ordering practices....

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“Summer heat ” by Noor El Zein

Submitted to Contest #262

Summer. The worst season ever. And thanks to global warming, summer is getting longer and longer while winters get shorter and shorter. I wish I could move to Antarctica where it’s nice and cold all year long. Of course, in a few decades, we probably won’t have Antarctica, not at the rate it’s melting right now.I was sitting by the window, with my ice cold drink, peering through the shutters at children, teenagers and adults alike strolling in the summer heat in their shorts and tank tops completely immune to the sun’s insufferable heat.&nbs...

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“Split” by Miranda Gonzalez

Submitted to Contest #262

In the wee hours of the night, a man was awoken suddenly by the ringing of the telephone near his bed. He sat up, ready to rip whoever was on the other end a new one. “This better be good,” he barked into the receiver. “General. Apologies for interrupting your sleep,” said the voice on the phone. “But you’re going to want to get up for this.” A few hours later, The General was walking through the doors of a local hospital in Nome, Alaska. He had been on his anniversary trip in a nice, beachfront villa in Spain, but when you’re The General,...

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“The Line” by Julianne Post

Submitted to Contest #262

There is a Line that divides the Island. My People live on one side, and our enemies live on the other. I don't know why. I suppose it's the way things have always been. Our side of the Island is beautiful and alive, fresh and pure. From the pointed towertops of the Prince's palace to the rutted path that I take into town every morning, nothing is untouched by the glorious white snow. It keeps us. It protects us. "Protects us from what?" I remember asking my father when I was young. We were sitting by the hearth, leaning into the dancing whi...

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“SICKLY-SWEET COPPER NIGHT” by HL Leung

Submitted to Contest #262

*note: this short story talks of a near-death traumatic experience CHAPTER ONEThe Night He Was In Hell The night smelled of a cloying sickly-sweet copper, overpowering the senses. drip. His eyes opened to a mesmerizing exhibit of seductive red flames, frolicking gracefully across the stage. drip. A peculiar quivering drew his reluctant eyes to the phone in his creased pants. Why was he kneeling? ba-bump. He reached out to answer the phone - except his hands were rebellious. They insisted on staying nestled behind his back. Then as he ...

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“Hear Wave in Miramar” by Lisa Kober

Submitted to Contest #262

The HeatwaveChapter 1: The MeetingAs the mercury soared to an unprecedented high, the radio crackled with a dire announcement: "A severe heatwave advisory is in effect for the next 72 hours. Stay indoors, stay hydrated, and avoid prolonged exposure to the sun."It was the hottest day of the year, and the small coastal town of Miramar shimmered under the oppressive sun, the air rippling like a fevered dream. Emma, who had always reveled in the warmth of summer, was now suffocating under its relentless blaze. She had escaped to her grandmother'...

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“Tahitian Sands Turn Back Time” by Arpad Nagy

Submitted to Contest #262

John Wallinger stood on the beach of the tiny, isolated atoll, staring at the horizon of an azure sea. But beyond where the water turned dark and deep, he sensed change on the way. Here on the western edge of the Society Islands of French Polynesia, the transplanted Canadian wondered what the day would bring. Unlike the mere palmful of sky available to the eye above his Rocky Mountain hometown, in this place, the sky was without end in all directions. And though he could see as far as forever standing on his beach, knowing what would c...

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“The Boy at the Lake” by Madison Tirrell

Submitted to Contest #262

I've given up on love. Ever since my ex and I broke up a few years ago, I’ve lost all hope in finding ‘the one.’ I drown myself in work and hobbies, which include reading and spending time by the lake in the summer. I go to the lake a few times a week. I focus on the sounds of families having picnics and the rattle of bike tires over the wooden bridge. There’s this one rock that sits a few feet up the shore, a patch of grass in front of it before it dips off into the murky water. It’s just tall enough for me to lean against it. I lay a blank...

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“Tiger Lily” by Tempest Phoenix Smith

Submitted to Contest #262

Candis was the last of the gathered poets to stash her notebook and assorted pens in her capacious bag after everyone else dispersed. The highlight of her week always ended too soon.She abandoned the picnic bench outside Scripps Cottage to head back to the main campus of San Diego State University. Glancing down, she paused to adjust her bag so the mermaid portrait trimmed with sequins would be displayed to any passerby. The opposite side only showed a curling wave, frilled with a filigree of foam, not half as interesting.She glanced at the ...

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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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