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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

“Summer Nights” by Meghan Lewis

Submitted to Contest #262

The humidity assaulted Janie as she opened up the car door. Her hair immediately frizzing up. Janie was fairly tall and slender. Her features had always been too big for her face but lately they were settling nicely. She was pretty but didn’t see herself that way. Her naturally brunette hair, highlighted blond, usually bounced with waves and curls; however, tonight she decided to straighten it which she immediately regretted. Her friend, Billy, had parked in the big lot behind their favorite bar, Toppers. Billy and Janie had been friends for...

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“Light Amidst the Dark” by Lindsey Jerome

Submitted to Contest #262

The sun’s rays threw spears of fire down on her, or so it felt. Sophia sat on the stone bench, grateful for the shade of the trees overhead, giving her a welcome break from the smoldering heat. She tipped her head up, resting against her hands as she stretched her legs out luxuriously in front of her. She relished the stretch of her muscles and the smell of the grass after being stuck behind her desk for most of the day. The wind played with her hair as it blew between the trees, teasing the ends as it lifted the short strands to blow agains...

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“The Family Picnic” by John Graham

Submitted to Contest #262

Please note that this story contains mature language. If I had more energy, I'd re-enact the Wicked Witch of the West's infamous "I'm melting" monologue because it is hot as balls out here. I don't have any energy left, nor do I think the present company would appreciate the rendition. Not that anyone is nearby. I am alone, which seems to be my lot in life these days. I had begged my mother not to make me go to the family reunion. Fresh off of my first year of college, I only wanted to spend my first weekend back home sleeping in my bed. I ...

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“Old Friends” by Jenny Benavidez

Submitted to Contest #262

The dance floor of the club was sweltering. Sweat dripped from Megan’s hair like rain as her hips swayed to the rhythm of the live band. She was enjoying herself for the first time in a long while. Megan closed her eyes and let the beat take her. Her hips moved and the stress was beginning to melt away. She no longer cared that her pants were so snug she had to lay on the bed to zip them up or that she ate a candy bar for lunch instead of a salad. The music made her feel free.A hand slid along her hip and around her plump waist. She was pull...

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“Hummingbird” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #262

Wes Price sat in the back of the room for day one of college orientation, wishing he was still at Leonard Park with Gina. Sighing, he pulled out his wallet, taking out her picture. The long-haired blonde beside him, smelling of patchouli, glanced at the photo. “Girlfriend?” “She was.” “She’s pretty, but I bet you’ll meet someone here who’ll make you forget all about her.” “I doubt it,” Wes replied solemnly. “My name’s Arianna Pennington. I’m studying Journalism.” “Me too. I’m Weston Price, but my friends call me Wes. I’m also here on a baseb...

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“The Forest That Overlooked The Farm ” by Skylar Elkins

Submitted to Contest #262

The day she saw the doe on the hill was the very same day she buried her husband in the backyard. It was a hot, muggy, August day. Thunderstorms that shook the very frame of their old farm had passed through for three days, and Cecil had died on the first of them. Thelma had been waiting for it, not out of excitement, but simply because she knew it was coming. Cecil’s body had been aching since he came back from the mines, all quivering lip and sharp back pains, and she could sense the sickness like a dog. It was inevitable when one day...

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“The Dive ” by Kirin Red

Submitted to Contest #262

It was much heavier than Chelsea remembered. The steel diving cylinders pulled down on her body so that her legs wobbled and threatened to collapse. This was just another reminder of what she was running away from — her own tired and heavy existence that dragged on and on, shrinking her sense of self just like the mass of gear that now clung to her frame. Chelsea tried to ignored the uncomfortable weight and picture herself already swimming in the deep blue sea. The olive-skinned instructor took off his old, floppy fisherman...

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“Café Con Miel” by Elton James

Submitted to Contest #262

It’s strange to think that I’m going to see you again after all this time. I wish I could say I haven’t thought of you in a long time. I think of you often. As soon as the weather warms and spring gives way to summer, my mind always turns to Paris. To a particular moment. Paris in July was crowded and hot, with the midday sun keeping the summer crowds from being too dense. I thought I was going to step off the street, out of the summer heat, into that cafe and you would be there. I recall the sound of those little bells that warn the waiter ...

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“Molly” by Penelope Stansfield

Submitted to Contest #262

Work finally over, Molly scrambled her belongings together, aimed a fleeting goodbye in the direction of her colleagues, and left the office. She’d forgotten her girlfriend Grace’s birthday and though Grace hadn’t said anything that morning, Molly wanted to make it up to her with a special evening. Molly spiralled down the stairs, out of the building and practically tumbled into the street, pulling her tote bag over her right shoulder as she managed to get her left arm into her coat sleeve. She checked her watch, determined...

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“Rosary Interrupted” by Manning Bridges

Submitted to Contest #262

You'd think the heatwave would've been my biggest concern that day, with all of Ireland roasting like a potato in the oven. But I was stewing in a secret that, once it came out, would make that scorching summer feel like an easy breezy Caribbean day. I was driving home for my parents' anniversary—on the hottest day of the year with that powder keg of a secret sitting in my closet—about to discover how quickly one family could combust. My rental car groaned as it crawled up the sun-baked lane toward the farm. Our homestead appeared, shim...

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“Love in a time of heat stroke” by Noah Graham

Submitted to Contest #262

**Story contains sexual references, domestic abuse and the metric system**The temperatures had been above 30 degrees Celcius all week. Jen didn't like air conditioning for ideological reasons. Air conditioners can’t actually get rid of the heat, they just move it out of your house and apartment, cooling you by warming everyone else. When the temperature was under 30, She would tell herself she was better than that, That she wouldn’t hurt others for her own comfort. When it’s over 30 she seeks shelter in public buildings with AC.Tonight she s...

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“Madness Under A Mad Sun” by Jesse Michael Berryman

Submitted to Contest #262

Ashbreath and her commander peered over a large blue pond, a searing wind blowing the precious water to life in gentle waves. She looked forward to this burning day every age, and at last here it had come again. The temperature wasn’t just slightly higher than the day before, it was unbearably hotter. Most people within the territory of Malstray would be shut inside their homes, cool rags on their faces, their windows and doors drawn shut to avoid the oppressive Sun. However, the people of Dieser were not like most others. Living amongst the...

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“Arizona Summer” by Cieanna Arnett

Submitted to Contest #262

The once cold bath has turned lukewarm. Marlo Blake sits in the tub, her skin turning prune-like. She clutches a copy of Wuthering Heights. Marlo sets the book down, leans over the side of the tub, and reaches for her phone on the floor. Checking the time, she sees it's been over an hour since she first entered the bathtub. She sighs and lays her head back for a moment. It’s been sitting at over one hundred and twenty degrees in Lake Havasu City for the past six days, and the power grid is failing. Most of the city has lost energ...

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“Pushing Daisies” by Horace Auldwyn

Submitted to Contest #262

As the temperature in the city rose to a historic high, Carl and his half-charred companion raced against the clock. It was just before noon on the August long-weekend and the insatiable picnic, beachgoer, and birthday party crowds were ringing up for pizza at an alarming rate. Carl had been unexpectedly dispatched by “Pepper’s Only Pizza” on 4th street and Main. Mr. Pepper was a proud man who had painstakingly built his pizzeria from the ground up. Throughout the decades his once jet-black hair greyed and his defiant stance settled into a c...

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“Hot Box” by Mike Spotten

Submitted to Contest #262

David was bored. Worse than that he was bored and it was so hot he didn’t want to move. His best friend, Brad, lived 3 streets over and it seemed too far, so instead he laid on the wooden wrap-around porch with his head hanging off the edge looking at the world upside down. The air was thick and clinging to his skin. He tried to stay as still as possible, but it wasn’t helping. He watched as sweat dripped down his forehead and dropped to the dirt below, then would count until another drop fell in the same spot. One, two, three, four, five, d...

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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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