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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

“Sunset ” by Roula Soliman

Submitted to Contest #49

It’s 6:30 and the sun has just started to set down, cotton candy-colored clouds are fighting in a battle of bursting colors completely oblivious to the deep shade of blue sky slowly creeping. I always admired the sky at that time, a new shade appears each day, and the clouds’ patterns were never repeated. A small chilly breeze wrapped its arms around me in a light embrace reminding me of how long I’ve been sitting here waiting only did the sound of crunching leaves under someone’s footsteps alert me of this guy approaching me. “Mind if I s...

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“The Dictionary” by Caitlyn Ash

Submitted to Contest #49

You what?!” An angry mother hollered. Her husband stood next to her, laughing. She gave him an angry glare. “Don’t encourage her!” she said coldly. Their daughter in front of them sighed and rolled her baby blue eyes. “It was really nothing, mom,” she said dully. “Of course it was something! You laughed when a kid threw a dictionary at your math teacher!” Her mother’s normally calm demeanor had withered away and was replaced by the angry-mom vibe that everyone hated. The vibe carried on through the entire house. Sara, her...

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“The Only One I Trust” by Veronica H.

Submitted to Contest #49

He debated running when he saw her. His stomach urged him to flee, but the mental image of him slipping in his brand new dress shoes and cracking his skull on the tile floor stopped him. That was all he needed, to go into the ICU on the day of the hearing. Kathryn waved him down from the end of the busy courthouse hallway. She hadn’t changed much in the last decade. He wondered often if she had come out of the womb in a sensible pair of orthopedic loafers and a gray knee length skirt, the social worker uniform. She was still wearing ...

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“An Appointment” by Conan Helsley

Submitted to Contest #49

An AppointmentBy: Conan Helsley2250 words“I have an appointment with Dr. Richland,” he told the woman behind the glass. The nurse put his name into the system and told him they would call him in a few minutes. That meant ten to fifteen at the least, but that was okay, he had the day off anyway. He went to a chair near the door and pulled out his phone. There were only a couple of people in the waiting room, and none seemed to notice each other or anything else. That was the world now, one where everyone had a tablet ...

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“The Ten Thousand Doors” by James Alcivar

Submitted to Contest #49

He awoke, as if from a dream. His mind was foggy and lethargic. But like a jolt of electricity, everything came flowing back, and he remembered who he was. “My name is Henry”, he spoke. “And I was born on Earth in 1993” Here, he felt weightless. It was the vast vacuum of space and so, he floated, completely still. Suspended in the dark ether, was the simple wooden door. The door frame glowed a white luminescence. He found himself gravitating, pulled, towards it, reaching out for the handle. Every fiber of his body drawn to the door. He twist...

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“The Message ” by Carolyn Bayne

Submitted to Contest #49

The rain pour outside, droplets falling heavily on to the window ledge, it was just a typical April morning, the day before was bright sunshine, but the following day, the rain drizzled lightly in the morning then it began to get heavier. Each person arriving into the warm reception area, were satisfied that it was warm and dry enough, the receptionist greeting them before escorting them into the waiting area. There was a long corridor with pictures on the wall of famous composers, and chaise lounges heavily embroidered at each corner. The...

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“Mission Success” by Ben K

Submitted to Contest #49

Italian loafers clack against the empty walkway of Parizska street. Street lamps light the way as Frankie peaks over his shoulder. Pale and sweating bullets. Frankie steps inside a phone booth in old town. Closing the doors shut behind him. Frankie puts his back against the phone while pulling at the black tie of his suit. Taking deep breaths to calm himself, he looks around the street through the glass of the booth. “You're okay. It's okay Frankie boy. You can get through this just like everything else.” Flipping around, Frankie rips at t...

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“Vise/Verses” by Blane Britt

Submitted to Contest #49

I have been marry going on 19 years now. As a matter of fact our 19th wedding anniversary was less than three days away and I already got Madeline, her anniversary gift. I stopped counting after the hardest year of our marriage that being the 2nd year. Or maybe it was after we shared the birth of our first child of 11. That second year of marriage was in many ways very challenging because we were still learning one another’s likes and dislikes. People always asked the two of us how did we last so long. The Average Length of Marriage I...

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“Retirement” by Knycki Taylor

Submitted to Contest #49

David put his eye to the telescope eyepiece, Mars was eluding him. With a sigh, he stepped back and hugged his jacket around him. The temperature had begun to drop after 8, and his light coat was not helping anymore. Walking back into the house he thought about what the problem might be. Mars should be large and visible tonight, and yet he could not get it into focus. Even in less than ideal conditions, it is close enough to get at least a red dot on the scope. He had been viewing it for 5 nights in a row since the beginning of O...

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“The Search for Eternal Nothings” by Arianna Noelle

Submitted to Contest #49

I sit and stare into my coffee cup, watching intently as the milk and cream swirl around as if they're playing a game that I'm not invited to understand. I watch intently until the swirls get caught up in the vastness of the dark liquid and vanish before I even have a chance to figure out their intimate game. I taste the coffee for the first time since making it and gasp a bit, not quite ready to come to terms with the bitterness that’s embracing my taste buds and flooding my senses. The sweetness of the milk and cream has been completely ov...

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“In the Waiting Room” by Sarah A

Submitted to Contest #49

When you see the guy who beat the shit out of you for the first time after it happened, what do you do? Do you dial 911? Do you march up to him and smash him across the face? Payback for what he’s done to you? Do you turn back into the traumatized mess you were the day it happened? Or do you stare at your magazine in an oncologist’s waiting room, and pretend you’re not acutely aware of his presence? Do you cover your face with the magazine so he won’t see you, and hope against all hope that he won’t still recogn...

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“Cleo's 1 Day Job” by MaureenJ Poutoa

Submitted to Contest #49

Cleo’s 1 Day Job Cleo went to town to see what might be happening where she lived. She decided to take a look at what was going on in the community. One of her favourite places was to check out the community association where there were a few non-profit organisations in the building and there were other government organisations as well. She saw a sign beside the doorway, it read Volunteers needed. It was right outside the main building. She opened the door and went in, Cleo decided to take the lift and push the button going to the ...

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“Letting Life Catch Up” by Nanci Arvizu

Submitted to Contest #49

The view from the peak is something to stop and look at. This was her place. The spot where she always stopped to rest before descending the trail into the valley below, back to her car, her apartment, and the rest of her life. Today she’d arrived early before the sun had peaked over the horizon in the distance, just enough light to get started. Her day ahead did not need to be rushed, she planned to sit here and enjoy a view she would normally glimpse as she made the U-turn at the top and then running back to the parking lot, alwa...

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“From Whom to Where?” by Chris Buono

Submitted to Contest #49

Peter DeLuccio sat waiting for what could have been three hours to three hundred years in the train station. There was no way of telling what the day or time was since he’d discovered that the area lacked any clocks or calendars. The sun sat low in the west, giving a dull glow on the tracks that seemed to lead right into the orange-gold ball of light, but even that was no use in helping with determining the time since the sky had looked the same since Peter had arrived here. Peter looked down and checked his ticket for the umpteenth t...

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“ASSUMPTIONS” by Denise Antwi

Submitted to Contest #49

“You better apologize to Jasmine for writing that article about her,” Carina advised. I rolled my eyes at her, not caring about anything at the moment. Everyone was against my article, but they had to know that it was the truth. Jasmine is nothing but a thief and a liar.“Look, I still stand by my article,” I said to her, crossing my arms. Carina raised one of her plucked eyebrows and looked at me with disbelief. She was wondering why I was acting like this all a sudden.“Layla, what do you have against that poor girl?” Carina asked. “The fact...

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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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