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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#49: Worth the Wait

Mrs. Dalloway follows a woman running errands in preparation for a party she's hosting that evening. A Single Man depicts a day-in-the-life of a professor. Molly Fox’s Birthday features one friend housesitting for another.

Of course, these novels are actually about much more than their mundane premises may imply. That's the wonderful thing about fiction: something as ordinary as running errands can turn into wildly different stories at the hands of different authors.

This week, we're working with a similarly mundane premise (on the surface, anyway): waiting. It's up to you to dig beneath the surface of banality to reveal the interesting story happening underneath!

This week's prompts

Write a story that takes place in a waiting room.

Thriller and Suspense – 256 stories

Write a story about a person waiting for an answer to a question.

Thriller and Suspense – 171 stories

Write a story about waiting — but don't reveal what's being waited for until the very end.

Nonfiction – 323 stories

Write a story about a relationship where one person is always running late and the other is constantly kept waiting.

Romance – 108 stories

Write a story about two strangers chatting while waiting for something.

Dialogue – 196 stories

Stories

“Nightborn 6” by Harken Void

Submitted to Contest #49

Briggs sat on the beige plastic chair in the waiting room. His right arm was wrapped in bandages and hung in a support brace around his neck. His left leg throbbed with pain from the collision with the front seat of the car, but the paramedics said it wasn’t broken. Briggs sighed as a jackhammer worked somewhere deep inside his head, drilling. The hospital lights were far too bright, their illumination adding to the headache. He hit his head hard in the crash, might even have had a concussion, they told him. What in the bloody hell happened?...

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“One Year” by Hans B

Submitted to Contest #49

The year is 2421. It has been one hundred years since the great war. It has taken this long for civilization to rebuild itself. The Event started small and scattered, but was growing in popularity. War being a distant memory and illegal now, the Event gave a new focus for the world. This would mark the twenty fifth year of the official opening. There was always something strange and electric in the air about this time of year. The anticipation is overwhelming and emotions run high.The tension is tangible. So thick you could cut it with a kni...

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“Kayla, Her Nose, and the Notification” by Asher Littlefield

Submitted to Contest #49

Kayla got the notification while she was picking her nose, but when she thought back to this moment, she decided she would leave out that detail. Instead, she’d tell everyone that she was just getting out of the shower, which was technically true. This would add to the drama of it, despite the reality being that she was only getting out of the shower because she had just finished hanging up a new curtain liner and had been technically standing up inside the tub, fully clothed, and not feeling at all exposed. But she had gotten the notificati...

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“In the blink of an eye” by Catherine Stevens

Submitted to Contest #49

You study the living canvas over head, the puffs of white are positioned strategically through the shades of blue, a swath of purple, blue, green, yellow, orange and red though barely discernible yet, they add a beautiful contrast to the picture. Sitting in this lovely forest park, you marvel at God’s handiwork. It isn’t just the sights, it’s the smells, the textures and the sounds that enhance the whole picture. Even the shrieks and laughter of your grandchildren add to the over all ambience.“Grandma, tell Mason tha...

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“Number Two's number twos” by Vanessa Marczan

Submitted to Contest #49

Oh hello, are you awake, little one? Are you hungry? Ah, yes, yes you are. Alright then, just let mummy get herself organised. Well it is... Let's see... Ah, we made it to 1am. Nice one baby Georgie! We'll start with some freshening up. Change your nappy, okay? No one likes to have something to eat with a wet or stinky bottom right? Well maybe your sister... Maybe daddy, hahaha! Just gonna get you unswaddled- bit cold I know. I know. Now just gonna unzip you and take your little legs out. Pop! Pop! Oh! Bit brisk. Now, what have we g...

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“The Dimple” by San T.

Submitted to Contest #49

I had never been very patient in my life. Sitting still was never my thing. I loved running around or walking about or at least dangling my legs knocking the furniture. I always had to get what I wanted and to do what I desired at that very instant. My mother was always exasperated with this. She even took me to a child psychologist to get me checked. In the end, of course, she accepted that I am who I am.So, when I waited for nine months for this day, I surprised myself. To be exact, it was more than nine months. It had been years, now that...

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“A never ending wait” by Sofie Barnet E.K

Submitted to Contest #49

Marco left the thought of being betrayed. As they had often quarreled and patched up, every time this voice would speak out loud, you know what this time it is not a quarrel but a major breach in your family and love and life. She was wronged and she won’t be here today so leave the idea of meeting him. At the same time another voice spoke inside his mind.She loved you and if she really did then she will be here today even if for a second. Go go…..she’ll come and see you and introduce you to him. With this thought in his mind he di...

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“The Gatekeeper's Offer” by Anupama Iyer

Submitted to Contest #49

The click of heels could be heard through the long and quiet platform. Arya couldn’t remember what happened the previous night. There were mild blurs of a beeping monitor, and some tensed faces who had masks over their mouths. At present, it was fifteen minutes past three, and naturally the station had only a select few people scattered away. Arya dragged her mid sized suitcase along with her to the dingy waiting room, which had two tube-lights covering the entire room, giving just enough light to know if somebody entered or left. She loo...

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“One Morning, in the Waiting Room….” by Daya Mukherjee

Submitted to Contest #49

The female attendant in my ophthalmologist’s office escorted me to the waiting area and helped me ease myself into the typical chromium-plated metal chairs that one sees across hospital waiting rooms. Cold, unfriendly and uncomfortable. No, don’t get me wrong. My eyesight is fine, and has been fine these 65-odd summers. Of course, I do need to wear reading glasses, but that’s quite normal for someone my age, isn’t it? No, the reason I was at the receiving end of such solicitude was that I had had eye drops put into both my eyes to dilate the...

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“Our promise” by Swastika Nyopane

Submitted to Contest #49

The sky was temporarily blue, which indicates that monsoon is on its peak. Birds are silent, underneath some shelters, probably waiting for the rain to end so that they can go home early. Soon the rain started to slow down and eventually it stopped. Again the world started to make noises of thier laughs, talks, horns, chirping of birds by which everyone resumes in their work again. Far in the fleur town two kids of same age came running to each other. Must be some kind of business they had. Lara and Michael, t...

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“Crashed” by Eve Naden

Submitted to Contest #49

I’m in a stupor the moment I cut the engine. The car park is awash with disused concrete, peeling in the sun. I grit my teeth. It shouldn’t be so sunny, not when I know what I know. The sun should not be shinning, not today. I wipe my eyes and open the door. Slam it behind me. At my side, an ambulance roars through the gates, the driver stone-faced with a five o’ clock shadow as he pulls into A & E. For a second, I fracture. I wonder if that’s her, blood pooling around her broken bones. I blink. Regain my composure. As a Farmer, I ca...

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“The Cursor” by Solomon Sessums

Submitted to Contest #49

The menu was open. The tab was highlighted. But he didn't dare press the button. He had to wait. This day had to be perfect. So he merely let the cursor hover over the tab, and resigned himself to sit until the time came. Though as the minutes dragged on, and crept into the realm of an hour, waiting became a chore in and of itself. He had to stop himself from moving around so much, because the spot on thick cushions grew less comfortable. He could deal with silence, but the ticking of that infernal clock became unbearable...

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“Just A Slice” by Katharine Tierney

Submitted to Contest #49

Louise pulled into an empty parking spot on the far side of the lot and killed the engine. Taking a last drag from the first cigarette she had smoked in a month she pitched the butt into the gutter with a whispered curse. She was disgusted with herself for picking up the habit again, but the last week had been the most stressful yet, and all signs pointed to things getting worse. Her marriage was over except for the papers she was having trouble getting up the nerve to sign, her job was in jeopardy, and the thick fog rolling through River Ci...

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“What is life, then, but a waiting game?” by Matt Strempel

Submitted to Contest #49

No sooner had Miss Hartigan turned to write the lesson on the chalkboard, than the boy dashed through the open door. He hid in the ragged hawthorn bush—prickles and all—panting, waiting, listening. The teacher continued the lesson and he knew he was free.He‘d never been in town during school hours but he’d imagined it as a veritable showground of adult activity: men and women leaning on railings, drinking and laughing, enjoying the freedom that having their kids in school afforded them. So, when he rounded the bend of the track that led from...

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“The Verdict” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #49

“You’re a star.” “I’m not a star.” “Of course you are. Those red snakeskin boots say it all.” The kid ignored the older man sitting across from him. He shuffled through the magazines on the waiting room table. Us. Cosmopolitan. Family Circle. “You here for test results?” The man watched the kid roll his eyes. He rummaged through the worn monthlies on the table. “They never have anything good. What I wouldn’t give for a Popular Mechanics or a Penthouse.” He laughed. The kid slouched into the bench and pulled his iPhone out. Swipe. Swipe. “Let...

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$50

Prize money

1054

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jul 10, 2020 EST

Won by Courtney Stuart 🏆

Title: When The Northern Lights Finally Reach You

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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