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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

“WHY” by Nick Parker

Submitted to Contest #49

HOW The first time it happened was our first date. He was on his way to the restaurant, I had been there for twenty minutes already. I was frantically texting my friends, wondering if I'd been ghosted. Just as I was about to leave, he showed up, completely out of breath. "My car broke down," I remember him explaining to me through rushed breaths, "I was gonna get here early!" He looks...no, sorry, he looked so embarrassed, so humiliated. "Did you...did you walk here?" I asked him incredulously, staring at his flushed face, handsome even ...

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“Honestly” by K Jane

Submitted to Contest #49

The sky is cerulean. Crisp, clear, and cloudless. It’s nearly 10am, and I’m waiting. Again. It’s always been like this: I’m ready to go—walk, run, jump in the car, tackle errands—but I wait. And wait. And wait some more. Until he’s finally ready. Roger is slow; really slow. One could think he hails from a long line of tortoises. He has a schedule for anything and everything, but is just not fast enough. For my liking anyway. One time we were packing for a day trip, and I was ready to go the moment he suggested it. To no surpri...

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“Waiting” by Elizabeth Corbitt

Submitted to Contest #49

The sun is brightly shining, beating down on my back as I sit on the outdoor patio of our favorite cafe just a few blocks from our house. Waiting. It seems to be the one thing that keeps the relationship together. Once more I glance at my watch and a sigh escapes my mouth. I’ve already dealt with the server once, requesting her to wait just a bit more before putting in my drink order. “He should be here any minute.” I know the words are hollow, even as I say them, and there is a bit of doubt not only in my tone, but my eyes also. Alre...

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“prince walter” by Philip Ebuluofor

Submitted to Contest #49

In the beginning Mr and mrs fred Iloegbu was born in Enugu state in eastern part of Nigeria known as Biafran region. when they got married in the middle seventies ,heaven blessed them with six beautiful babies ,three boys and two girls.mr Iloegbu just as all the Biafrans from that state were namely farmers. Who live off their lands. Eventhough their stomach were usually full of starch and carbonhydrate, their pocket were usually empty. Because Mr Fred Ilogbu was ignorant of the importance of education in the life of his children,...

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“Sorry, I'm late” by J.S Cross

Submitted to Contest #49

Scanning the small cafe, I smiled as I spotted a familiar face. "I'm late," he sighed. "It's okay, David." After the first few tutor sessions, I questioned him about his tardiness. "I am so sorry! I am late again," He complained. He had started taking care of his grandmother almost every day, as she had started declining in health. First, losing range of motion, then her strength to walk independently. In the beginning, it was only going to her home to tidy up and keep her company for a few hours. As she began to lose her s...

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“Why Wait?” by Kati Beebe

Submitted to Contest #49

She looked at her watch, then up again at the train in front of her. She sighed. How long was this going to take? She’d waited for two hours already, and still, nothing. She wasn’t even sure why she was waiting. She should just walk out the door. She glanced around the train station, taking it all in. It was her first time in one, and she was fascinated by the busyness of it all. Having grown up in the Philippines as a missionary’s daughter, she wasn’t used to all the modern conveniences and was still taken aback by every single one that she...

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“Weekday Retreat” by Rinn Packard

Submitted to Contest #49

“Imagine that being your reality. You’d never live it down. Which I guess would only be a problem if you lived, period. Hey, you okay?” Maraleis pulled her attention back to the present moment. Whose voice was that? Oh, Zoe. She liked Zoe. Zoe was the only one in the group who didn’t have a tendency to try and one-up everyone around her. This group treated sharing like the Olympics, dealing in trauma like it paid their bills. Sometimes she wondered if they got off on pity. Mar...

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“The biggest Wait” by Deva Dharshini

Submitted to Contest #49

It's a breezy evening and it started drizzling. I love this kind of weather but am afraid of what will happen tomorrow if the climate continued this way. argh!! sorry for not introducing me properly I am Jane Williams. I am waiting for tomorrow, my wedding. yes, I am gonna get married tomorrow. The time is running so slow and I am bored too.what if he doesn't like me? what if I miss being with my parents? I don't even know him fully who knows what danger awaits?. I checked my Instagram for the nth time today. suddenly a notification popped u...

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“The Audition” by Pamela Berglund

Submitted to Contest #49

It was 6:00 when the alarm rang shrilly in my left ear. I groaned and looking groggily around the room. Then as I started to wake I suddenly remembered why I had set my alarm so early. I was about to audition for a part on Broadway. I had waited for this day since my first year of high school when it was evident that I had the potential to be a big star on broadway. I was given every part that I had auditioned for and always stole the show. I was currently a student at a major acting school in Manhattan when I was app...

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“So Robustly, . . . Basically Klemoo Klematis ” by Klementine Discoluve

Submitted to Contest #49

The artificiality of these morning flowers blossoms back from my smile in my mind. I see them as birds all flocking entangled inside. “Sweetie what time did you get in? He exclaimed. I’m already here. ... please let me talk. Running the water warmer - - love was in the (sky‘s) just like a little air balloon,” Sung Krysoke as he panicked with ice melting his throat.His skin is cracked and he has easygoing scars all over his body. He walked into the door mistaken for a bodyguard. He wore a shirtless tiebreaker with small black crosses made fro...

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“Waiting For (GOD)ot” by Kelli Green

Submitted to Contest #49

Nora traded her pale yellow chiffon dress and white kitten heels for a pair of loose-fitting blue pants, and a pink t-shirt with little daisies around the collar. She slid her feet into a pair of slides and headed to the kitchen to grab her lunch and take it out on the porch. Once she got outside she took a minute to pull up the music library on her phone and press shuffle before settling in and unwrapping her sub. Nora ate and embraced the soft breeze as Nancy Wilson serenaded her with songs about love. As she finished her last few bites s...

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“Sleepless In the City ” by Shawn Warner

Submitted to Contest #49

The night was full and damp after the fresh brine that whisked itself across the city skyline. Damian stood hands burrowed deep within the folds of his father’s old black coat. He traced the small circular hole where the bullet had penetrated the ashy fabric. It was sometime before the fire, but after his Aunt Daisy went missing. Such a small hole tore the scab off such a large wound. Damian’s stomach began to turn as he watched the grey clouds pass from the safety of the covered bus stop. No bus was coming, and he knew that, but that w...

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“This Won't Last Long.” by Yan Wong

Submitted to Contest #49

Rain. Walter finds its sound soothing. In the late night sitting by himself in the bus stop, he closes his eyes, savouring the serene moment the rain has given him. The road lights flicker in the heavy curtain, not a car has passed. This won't last long, he thinks. A man in a raincoat burst in, pulling Walter back from his thoughts. The man looks younger than him, about 20 to 23. Panting, the man removes his dripping coat, accidentally flicking some rainwater on Walter's jacket. "Sorry," he says and sits down beside him, pulling out his ph...

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“THE SLOW TRAIN TO LONDON” by Margaret Kopke

Submitted to Contest #49

“The train approaching platform 2 terminates here! The train approaching from Charing cross terminates here. All change, please. All change!” The sleek body of the train from South Eastern Rail slides into the Sevenoaks station. The bright young female voice continues to announce trains as they approach or leave.I made sure that I arrived at the station well ahead of time and am already sitting comfortably on my train, just waiting to leave. The train seems to be warming up. What if I’m on the wrong train? There’s only one other p...

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“Coffee stain” by Quill Porter

Submitted to Contest #49

Hera bobbed her head slightly, as 'fuck the neighbors' by IRON REAGAN blasted in her large neon headphones. Her green-dyed hair french-braided at her back with a yellow ribbon. Her grey overly large sweater draping on her knees, accompanied by her brown scarf. Her black legging tucked in some brown uggs. Her clothes are greatly amplified with her whooping height of six foot three. Her pink lips turned into a smile as the train slowly came into view from her hazel eyes. She pulled out her phone and pressed next. Smoothly walking towards th...

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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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