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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#31: The Ordinary

The very last line of the NBC sitcom The Office is spoken by former receptionist Pam Beasley. She says: "There’s a lot of beauty in ordinary things. Isn’t that kind of the point?"

This week's writing prompts embrace that sentiment, and challenge you to write stories that take ordinary, everyday tasks and turn them into meaningful pieces of short fiction.

This week's prompts

Write a short story about someone doing laundry.

Adults – 95 stories

Write a short story about someone tending to their garden.

Spring – 77 stories

Write a short story about someone cooking dinner.

Nonfiction – 56 stories

Write a short story about someone going to the corner store to buy an everyday item.

Nonfiction – 64 stories

Write a short story about someone heading home from work.

Nonfiction – 81 stories

Stories

“Home is Where the Heart is” by Mel Kheios

Submitted to Contest #31

4:50 PMWhat time is it? Damn; ten more minutes. Can't wait to get the hell out of here... I'll bet Hanzo is glad it's almost time to go home. Too bad Jesse's still on that business trip; Hanzo's suffocating without him. How long has it been? Two minutes; Jesus Christ. Hurry up, Time; I want to go home before my ass of a boss decides it's worth overtime pay to keep me busy. Thank God it's the weekend..."Hey, Genji!"Oh, it's Mei. Geez; don't scare me like that, woman..."Hi, Mei. Need something?""I'm here for that report?"Report? Wait, what rep...

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“The absurd weight of late night laundry” by Ophelia S

Submitted to Contest #31

I woke up with the sound of the upstairs neighbors marching as if to invade Poland. One must give to Caesar what is Caesar's and say that the walls of my building were made with the sole intent of keeping the structure up; when it came to drown out the noise, I don't believe the builders gave a rat's ass. That thought made my irritation towards the upstairs neighbors less inflamed.Waken up by such heavy footsteps, for a moment I didn't quite know where I was, but slowly the consciousness came back and I realized I had dozed off while watchin...

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“Dirty Laundry” by Brandon Barkey

Submitted to Contest #31

DIRTY LAUNDRY I hate doing laundry.One time is okay, takes like ten minutes. But then in two days, it starts all over. It’ll be that way unto death. I wonder how many laundry baskets I’ll vanquish before then…I can’t go on like this. I have better things to do. A concerto to write, children to raise. Oh that’s right, my children are all gone…I hate silence. It’s always so silent when folding laundry. I’d rather die than fold another sock.I need help. Honestly, my whole life has become as predictable and dull as folding laundry. Maybe if I ca...

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“A kitchen Memory to Treasure” by Aisha Hashmi

Submitted to Contest #31

“Mom, I'm hungry!’ Josh had been complaining all day, and June was trying to decide what to make for dinner. “Josh, what should we do for dinner. Tonight, it’s just you and me, kiddo.” Her husband and two others kids were out of town, so it was just her and her son, Josh, home alone for the night. At the moment, their relationship was rocky. Besides the regular teen attitude, it was mainly her fault they weren't on the best of terms with each other. It was a hot summer night, and June was ho...

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“Al's Bodega Has Everything You Need” by KT George

Submitted to Contest #31

I stop by Al's Bodega on average twice a week. It's on my walk home from work but also just a few doors down from my apartment building. That makes midnight munchie runs possible. It doesn't matter when I go, Al's is guaranteed to have what I need. Milk and butter; a deli sandwich and a six-pack; laundry detergent or a pint of ice cream. Ben and Jerry's Phish Food, named after one of the greatest touring bands since the Grateful Dead.Al's is your run of the mill convenience store on the corner of Halifax and Dearborn. Its yellowed sign ...

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“Laundry Day” by AL Paradiso

Submitted to Contest #31

Rushing home from my college work/study job tonight is a bitter/sweet task. Spending the day in barely tolerable clothes overdue for a wash was embarrassing. So passing the day in my office and avoiding people was the bitter; stripping down to my briefs in the parking lot to shed the smelly apparel was the sweet part. I haven’t driven naked since my original college days. If a cop stops me — well, I have my dirty clothes to show him or her. Oh please Lord, let it be a “her.” A guy’s got to have some fun. So what’s the plan, ‘self’? Mom’s ...

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“TO FUND A SECOND LAUNDRY LOAD” by Andrew Grell

Submitted to Contest #31

It’s come down to this. A marriage depends on a man’s ability to get a second load of laundry done. And before I could do that, the first load had to be wrapped up. Gone are the days when you’d put your change in a bucket and then fish out some dimes and quarters, toss your gatkis in a bag and take the elevator to the basement. Cleanliness and titillating entertainment. As Andrew Dice Clay used to say, “If they had any underwear to put on, they wouldn’t be doing laundry.” I wasn’t even supposed to be home that d...

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“The Bodega” by Victor Lana

Submitted to Contest #31

It’s not a well-kept secret that the bodega on my corner has the best damned coffee around. You can keep your Starbucks and Dunkin’! This cup of joe is great whether you take it black or with milk and sugar, and it’s always piping hot. Depending on how my morning is going determines how I take it. This particular day is not going so well. I work from home editing and proofreading mostly garbage, but since it pays the bills, usually I don’t complain too much. I’ve been working on this long manuscript by some professor who thinks it’s his magn...

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“Toilet Paper And A Love Story” by Mary Myerholtz

Submitted to Contest #31

As I was making breakfast Mom yelled, “Leon can you grab me some toilet paper from the cabinet?” “Sure Mom,” I yelled back heading straight to the cabinet. “Mom we have a problem,” I yelled waiting for a response. “What’s the problem, Leon,” she yelled back annoyed. “We ran out of toilet paper,” I yelled, concerned about what her reaction might be. “Well you will just have to drive to the store to get some more,” Mom yelled. “Okay I’ll be right back,” I told her walking out the door. It took me longer than usual to get to the store bec...

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“A Summer Sunday at the Laundromat” by Davis Dunham

Submitted to Contest #31

The laundromat was full that day. Full of light, of the tumbling railroad noise of dryers, of dust-bunnies and lint balls traipsing across the linoleum tiles, of single socks dangling in the back workings of the machines, of the clinking casino noise of the change machine, and full of people.In the row of seats against the front wall, Natalie sat with a book in her hand. The light coming through the window behind her made the pages almost unreadable, but she didn’t mind – she wasn’t really reading, anyway. Her eyes hovered ove...

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“It All Comes Out In The Wash” by Vidya Tamminidi

Submitted to Contest #31

Here’s what’s interesting about laundry: everyone has to do it , Or have it done. It is a thing that everyone has to coordinate the doing-of, somehow. So, it perfectly reveals how certain class things work. If you’re rich, you never think about it, probably. Your clothes float off your body and somehow return to your closet cleaned and pressed. The less money you have, the more work it is to do laundry, and, like so many things, the cheaper option often costs more over the long term.I’ve never been good at laundry. At some point in midd...

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“What Happened at the Laundromat” by Julie Squires

Submitted to Contest #31

Trigger warning: threat of sexual assault On a muggy June afternoon, a mass of black rolling clouds overtake the sky above our little town, charging in like a herd of running bulls stirring up dust. And Everett and I barely make it inside the laundromat before the downpour starts. As the washing machine does its thing, we sit silently across from one another in plastic yellow chairs. Each time the lightning casts its ghostly glare through the windows, I brace myself for the moment the splintering sound of the thunder’s booming voic...

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“Garden Rings” by Tom Beach

Submitted to Contest #31

Garden Rings After 45 years in construction, specifically carpet installation, I never thought I'd find myself taking up gardening. In my job I was on my knees more than I was on my feet. But there I was, once again on my knees. The thing was, putting on my old knee pads from work was like slipping on a well broken in pair of jeans. I felt at home, in my comfort zone. Working in the dirt and getting it under my fingernails just added to the familiarity and comfortability. I wasn’t new to gardening. It was just that now I had time...

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“This Beautiful Earth” by William Hargrove

Submitted to Contest #31

Clare’s eyes swung back and forth across the plot of mulch which held her precious plants so tightly. She admired the beautiful things that they were, the gorgeous life-givers her mother had taught her to behold. Clare patted the soil absentmindedly, swirling it in abstract patterns under her palm and letting its soft homely feel seep through her fingers. She thought back to years prior, a simpler time, when she and her mother would garden from light until dark, getting their knees as dirty as the dim night sky, stars restricted from view th...

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“Arachne's Obsession” by Cara H

Submitted to Contest #31

Arachne’s Obsession“Mummy, what do you suppose Gerry Clifford would give me for Christmas if he could be here with me?” eighteen-year-old Arachne Desrochers inquired as she sat at the dining room table watching her mother prepare dinner.“Why, whatever you wanted, of course, Dear,” Elaine Desrochers replied as she readied the roast for the pan. Elaine told herself that there was no harm in indulging her daughter’s fantasies about her crush, although her hairdresser, Mister Siegfried Metaxas, said that he found it strange that a girl of Arachn...

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$50

Prize money

373

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Mar 06, 2020 EST

Won by Ariel Kalati 🏆

Title: The Memory Garden

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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