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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

“Patient musings” by Vincent Guillemin

Submitted to Contest #49

I keep scratching at a nearby chair whose paint is flaking off. It has a soothing sensation. My nail works its way through the brittle envelope and the raw wood is gradually revealed. The noise is drowned into the hubbub of telephone rings, quiet conversations and that boisterous kid running around the low table on which stacks of dog-eared and creased magazines lay. The water fountain in the corner burps the time away with ascending bubbles. The electric light glaring above and the greenish walls compounds my sickly hue.An elderly couple is...

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“A Mild Case” by Dan Pulzello

Submitted to Contest #49

This trip to the STD clinic will extend this relationship another week. Because she needs to prove that she’s not shallow, and that when she said she liked him that she meant it and it wasn’t just about the sex and to end it now would make her look like a liar. And he needs to stay with her at least until the test results come back because if he leaves in the meantime then their conversations about treatment or prescriptions will be more uncomfortable than they need to be. And he does like her. Not as much as his ex, but more than he likes m...

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“Hello” by Stacey Longenberger

Submitted to Contest #49

The big hand hadn’t moved since the last time she looked at her watch. She rolls her eyes and blows air out over her top lip ruffling her bangs like a skirt over a subway grate. It had felt as if at least five minutes had passed. Ruthie sits in a red plastic chair, the one piece molded kind, with her handbag held tightly in her lap. Her legs are crossed at the ankles and tucked under her chair where one sneakered foot taps quietly against the grey commercial carpet. She feels warm in her fleece jacket but doesn’t remove o...

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“Tic Tac Toe” by Arianna Rensberger

Submitted to Contest #49

Doctor's visits always sucked. James didn't enjoy a pretty much complete stranger poking and prodding at him, asking personal questions, and generally invading his personal space. It was a necessary evil and he knew it, but he didn't have to enjoy it. Besides, this was the third doctor this year. Moving around a lot meant no permanent doctor, which sucked. The doorbell softly chimed, announcing a visitor to the waiting room. He turned his attention to the door, which seemed infinitely better than the dull parenting magazine he'd awkwardly t...

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“Love's Prescription ” by Gabi Cranga

Submitted to Contest #49

She noticed his hands before anything else. They twitched and fidgeted as if they were late for something and the rest of his body would just have to catch up. Next were his eyes. They darted from one corner of the room to the other, watching the ceiling as if the answer to all his problems would be written there. Whenever his eyes would set on something, then she could really look at them. They were a beautiful pair of black irises. Never before had she seen eyes so dark. It was intriguing while at the same time frightening. Lastly, his nam...

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“The Better Way” by Mae C

Submitted to Contest #49

Her hands were shaking as she picked up the pen. The nurse smiled sympathetically as she watched Lucy sign her name as neatly as she could. The squiggle was entirely illegible, but she supposed they were used to that here. Most people were probably nervous. “That’s lovely,” the nurse told her. Her tone was as falsely bright as the sterile lighting overhead. “Now, if you’d just like to take a seat in the waiting area just over there. The doctors are a little bit behind with appointments today, but someone will be with you as soon as possibl...

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“The Waiting Room” by Stan Konwiser

Submitted to Contest #49

Steve had to admit a certain nervousness as he approached the nondescript office building on South Central Ave. He usually walked with a self confident swagger, but the charges brought against him for the most recent road rage incident had given him pause. Actually, this court-ordered counseling seemed much better than the alternatives offered by the District Attorney; but Steve didn’t have to be happy about it. Once inside, he reluctantly trudged up the the stairs to the shrink’s office. Taking the elevator would have been easier but using ...

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“Collective Bargaining” by Ivan Wyrsta

Submitted to Contest #49

“How did I get here?” “Give it a moment and you’ll remember.” “Oh, right. I remember now.” “Good. I’ll have you start paperwork and we’ll see what you qualify for.” Jerry nodded. He watched the clerk behind the desk g...

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“Waiting room blossom” by Arie Mercer

Submitted to Contest #49

Tick tock- tick tock- 'Does that clock ever stop ticking?' ' I've been waiting here for along time...' I thought as I coughed up another petal. 'Why did I ever fall in love with her' My thoughts were getting scarier 'what if i died from this?' I coughed several petals this time. I took out my phone and opened the camera... the flowers were getting worse. "hanahaki disease; a disease, where the victim of an unrequited or one-sided love begins to vomit, or cough the petals or flowers of the flowering plant growing inside their lungs; if left u...

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“A goodbye” by Rebecca Andrews

Submitted to Contest #49

Dear Sarah, I hope you'll excuse me if this letter is not a polished piece of prose. I don't have much time, and I want to get through everything before I leave on my journey. I know this isn't the way we thought we would say goodbye, but there is nothing I can do to change it now. I have no choice. This is not a journey I can get out of. I see from the clock on the wall that it is just coming up to 7am now, and I'm told that I will have to go at 8am sharp. I don't suppose I c...

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“Waiting For Goldo” by Dilan Abdah

Submitted to Contest #49

That clock. You would think for a shrink’s office she wouldn’t put such a loud ticker. My anxiety kicks in and I try recalling the breathing exercises she gave me, but all I could muster was holding my breath, blowing out before I pass, then holding it again. Another patient just came and sat opposite. Must be for the other office. Husband-and-wife team. I wonder if they get therapy. I sit cross-legged to hide my leg shake, but the flurry of my heel is relieving to me. I change legs, right over left and grab a magazine from the table between...

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“A Monster” by Rema Teller

Submitted to Contest #49

Mark arrived at the emergency reception but he didn’t have a burn, scratch or break anywhere to be seen. A few people in the waiting room watched him as he spoke quietly to the receptionist. With a soft smile, she pointed him over the waiting room seats. He was walking fine, not as if injured, but he moved over to the seats with a strange sway—like a ventriloquist’s dummy—as if his weak body was being held up by an invisible force.He looked dishevelled, his mousy hair a greasy mop, his eyes red as if he hadn’t slept in weeks. He hadn’t. Not ...

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“Why are you here? ” by Winnie Baez

Submitted to Contest #49

There I was, waiting sweating. Heartbeat slowly rising. What was going on? Why was I feeling this way? God help me, I feel so lonely. I’m shaking… why am I shaking God? Please help me. I don’t understand. Thinking back to why was I in the place I was in made me feel crazy and insecure. People pointing at me, killing my emotions. You’re hurting me, stop! I need to stay here and wait for her. She will be ok. God please answer me, why aren’t you speaking!! You are so unfair! Help me wait with you. A hand on my shoulder I feel. I loo...

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“Meeting Someone in the Emergency Room” by Lou Caines

Submitted to Contest #49

“I have been waiting for 3 hours! My son is burning up and still hasn’t received attention!” The irrational man screams at the front desk. The woman peeks up from her computer screen and replies “Sir, please take your seat and wait patiently like everybody else.” “You don’t understand he needs attention now!” He responds, trying to calm his voice as he notices the security guard creep towards him. The security guard’s eyebrows raise as he slips behind the man in an attempt to scare him into submission. “Actually sir, you...

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“THE PRESCRIPTION” by Claire Tennant

Submitted to Contest #49

Patience was never one of Susan’s strong points. She recalled with a smirk that one of her friends in response to her asking where she herself, was when patience was handed round, had replied: “Standing behind a locked door.” his voice was smooth “in fact a locked wooden door.” he laughed, she was miffed. Many years had passed since she heard the comment but it had not lost its sting because, after all, Drew knew her too well which was probably one of the reasons the romance like most embers died out, to be replaced later on by a much...

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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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