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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

“Truth” by Sandra Claros

Submitted to Contest #49

- You are two hours late, dear. I was just starting to think about leaving as I have drank one cup of coffee, ate one  doughnut, a roast beef sandwich  and smoked four extra-minted cigarettes – said a beautiful lady dressed in red high heels and some little patience ‘ by the way she used to shake her legs, looking at the watch every five seconds. - Sorry, dear, but I thought you were going to get mad at me, I know I am late – said that brilliant doctor , who just arrived at the meeting he had with...

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“My Annoying Brother” by Maya Reynolds

Submitted to Contest #49

Brothers. I shake my head and sigh. I should have known he wouldn’t show up again. Every time I make him promise to be there on time and every time he is late. You’d think by now I would have learned not to expect him in a timely manner…or at all. But I can’t help myself. Despite his habitual tardiness, I still hold out the hope that maybe, just maybe, he’ll change. Maybe today he will actually arrive on time.I think back to last night when we scheduled this meeting. I was about to crawl into bed when my phone rang. Glancing over, I saw his ...

4 comments 4
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“I'm Waiting” by Sarah A

Submitted to Contest #49

"Come on.” I say, strolling into the living room fifteen minutes after we had agreed to leave, “Let’s go. Or we’ll never get there.” The room is thick with heat, and even though I sat there all day working on my laptop, I can’t wait to get the heck out of here.   Lately I’ve been feeling stifled. Work from home is the dream and in many ways, I love everything about it. But, let’s just say that I underestimated the benefits of office air conditioning.   “Okay. Give me a minute to change.” She s...

3 comments 3
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“Crashing Down” by Gabriela Fitzgerald

Submitted to Contest #49

I walk into the coffee shop, out of the cold fall rain that has been beating down since this afternoon. That warm familiar smell I love hits me as soon as I open the door. Immediately, comfort falls over my entire body, the small feeling of dread that has been sitting in the pit of my stomach relaxes a little and allows me to breathe. I don’t think I’ve taken a deep breath the whole walk here. I start to feel a little calmer even if it’s only for a second. I push my soaked dishwater blond hair away from my pale face and walk over to the coun...

4 comments 4
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“Who's this?” by Sav G

Submitted to Contest #49

1-1 It’s New Year’s! Mason walks around the party with his bubbling apple cider in hand. The music is blaring through the speakers. Couples are dancing. Mason gets roped into a group of his friends. They try to impress some girls on the day of a fresh new year, but Mason’s brain blurs. Soon, the room is spinning, all the guests are upside down and Mason is walking on the ceiling. After a few seconds, his brain settles. Something seems incomplete, though. Mason and his friends resume their conversation about the girls. There is one name that ...

1 comment 1
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“Love Today” by AVERY MAAG

Submitted to Contest #49

Jasmine As I walk into the coffee shop, I see a handsome man. "How may I help you?" Asks a cashier, which makes me jerk my head to look at her. "Can I please have a iced coffee with sugar free creamer?" I ask, still staring at the handsome guy sitting in the booth. "Of course!" Ava, as I read on her name tag, said as she turned to grab a cup. "I'll call you up when its ready". I choose this moment to walk over to the handsome guy. He looks up from his phone screen and smiles at me. His pearl white teeth were so shiny they could have blinde...

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“In Seventh Heaven ” by Ella Bartal

Submitted to Contest #49

"Hi, is this seat taken"?She said while touching my shoulder gently."Uh, yes… By you"!Why did I say that? I felt so dumb and embarrassed. Cute girls make me lose my composer. Those big glowing eyes, plump red lips and a good looking bust… My primal instincts kick in just from the thought of a girl like that.She smiled at me and sat down."So, what does a pretty girl like you does in a place like this?" I asked, avoiding eye contact."Well, death gets us all, you know. I was driving from my friend's wedding, a little tipsy, I'll admit. Next thi...

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“Another Soul.” by Misswriter 978

Submitted to Contest #49

I let out another sigh, it was the third one yet. I guess being a sniper is not easy after all. You heard me, a sniper, that too, a well known one from the black market. It was not by choice though. I am an orphan, never knew who my parents were and my childhood in an orphanage. One day, probably when I was seven years old, I was adopted by an underground organization. Since that day my life has been everything but normal, I held a gun when I was just ten, could shoot perfectly by the age of 16, and even killed my first target when I wa...

2 comments 2
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“Waiting with a Familiar Stranger” by Talia Vander

Submitted to Contest #49

      My shoes make a small scoffing noise as I stop in the foyer of my apartment building. The beige of the walls is weak and unimposing, but the sound feels like it bounces around the space. As much as I could try to blame my self-consciousness on the awkwardness of waiting, the messy bun in my hair, or the ratty sweatpants I’m wearing, I think the prickling feeling has more to do with the fact I’m not alone.            A familiar-looking stranger is sta...

2 comments 2
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“Faith” by Avaa Winter

Submitted to Contest #49

“Thank you,” the receptionist said, as she handed back my health insurance card. She smiled at me. My hand floated across the counter automatically to take it, the cheap, plasticky feel of it in my grasp not really registering.  Why is this happening? It’s not as if she needs it. It’s not as if she hasn’t seen me before. It’s not as if she doesn’t know why I’m here. But she might not, I reminded myself. To her, I might just be one of the many faces she saw every day. She wasn’t the doctor, after all. The doctor was meant to keep thing...

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“Just Another Day” by Eyona Choi

Submitted to Contest #49

A clock is ticking, somewhere. It’s one of those sounds that drills itself into your ears and makes you want to rip your fingernails off, one by one, just to have something to distract yourself from the agonizing pain of it. I hate this place. It’s the hideous tan-and-orange speckled walls, the depressingly cheerful framed quotes scattered around, the beige carpet with what appear to be blood stains hastily cleaned with bleach, the understuffed ‘sofa’ that’s harder than cement, and the far-off sound of a snotty little brat crying. The colou...

1 comment 1
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“Wife's Appointment” by Craig Skinner

Submitted to Contest #49

I sat alone in the waiting room, staring blankly at the clock. 9:07. I had arrived at 8:59 sharp, in anticipation of my 9:00 appointment time. Early is on time, right? I guess the doctor didn’t get that memo. I say “doctor” as if I know that is who I am seeing; in fact, I had no clue why I was even here. My calendar had an appointment, created by my wife, to be at this office for an appointment at 8:00, so what did I do? I showed up. Why else would I be here? Like many offices these days, the building was a plain beige rectangle with no dist...

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“A Star is Born” by Arianne Grant

Submitted to Contest #49

The music was pumping, drinks were flowing. The smell of sweat and jello shots echoed throughout the house. I was dancing the night away and our dream to lose our virginities on this very night was about to come true. Oliver sidled up behind me and swayed to the trashy EDM with me. I glanced to my right and spotted my Mallory, chatting with her crush Lance. All they were doing was chatting and smiling, but we were supposed to be doing, other things. As I was watching over Mallory, I saw Dalton fighting with his on-again off-again girlfriend....

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“Killing Silence ” by Alyssa Childers

Submitted to Contest #49

       The walls are so white its almost blinding me, like snow on a quiet plain. The floors are too clean and there is a faint smell of bleach in the air that’s making my nose hairs stand on end. I don’t know how long I’ve been sitting here but the pain in my lower back is telling me it’s been too long. The people around me look just like me, sick, uncomfortable, and impatient. How long have they been sitting here, I think to myself, too afraid to speak in this eerily quiet room. I look up to the front des...

2 comments 2
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“LOVE IS OLDER THAN MANKIND” by RADIUS HAVWAALA

Submitted to Contest #49

LOVE IS OLDER THAN MANKINDWalking lazily, bottled mineral water sparkling in his hand, MacKay hoisted his rumpled jacket as he entered the waiting room and headed straight for the counter to buy a train ticket to Monze. There he dropped his bag on the floor to take a long swig from the bottle before edging closer to address a brown diva wearing some green chiffon and a Man U red scarf around her neck.“May I buy a ticket, please?” he was now speaking softly because his eyes started feasting on the diva’s beauty which was far more refreshing t...

3 comments 3
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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!

Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

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