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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

“Falling in love alone” by Audrey Winter

Submitted to Contest #49

I dreamt of you the other night. You took me into your arms and held me close. I hid my face in the darkness of your chest. I haven't seen you in years. From the very first moment my eyes met yours, you made me feel nervous. In that conference room, where I would see you once a week for half a year, you seemed so serious. I was shy back then and I barely ever spoke. I would glance over at you, or look at you when you were speaking to the group and I would take it all in, your face, your intelligent eyes and warm voice.The...

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“Joel” by Zea Bowman

Submitted to Contest #49

As the allotted time draws near, the steady summer heat becomes far less bearable; I want the air conditioning of the mall, not the filthy downtown sidewalk. I can't sit on the burning tarmac, so the best I can do is prop myself up against the lamppost, letting my eyes move over the scars in the paintwork. I run my hand over the rough paint and feel my insides squirm in a way they haven't done since the last job interview I went to.I wonder what this Joel will be like. I don't know his age, what he drives, or whether he likes the kind of mus...

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“Do Stars Have Eyes?” by Natalie Frank

Submitted to Contest #49

Do Stars Have Eyes? “Did you volunteer, or were you forced to be here?” The stranger asks me, and I shrug. I don’t know what to say or perhaps I don’t want to spell it out for the flag-wearing stranger next to me. “I’m not sure.” “I volunteered,” the stranger claims almost proudly. “I am doing it for my country.” Ah, the patriotic one, I thought. My third cousin, a worker at one of these testing facilities across the country said that the volunteers fell into three different categories: the patriotic ones, the poetic ones, and then the pa...

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“Waiting Rooms Aren't So Simple” by BRoOkE HAs A COwBoY HAt

Submitted to Contest #49

Nolan sat at the back of the waiting room on one of the uncomfortable chairs. He wouldn’t have been there if Nelson hadn’t climbed that tree. Nelson had climbed all the way to the top and fell. Nolan was inside, but had heard a loud crrrraaaccckkkk and Nelson’s scream and immediately called nine-one-one. Nolan had also told Nelson not to climb the tree earlier that day. Dumb twelve-year-olds. Now Nolan was worried and angry. His little brother was now in the hospital (worried). It wouldn’t have happened if Nelson listened (angry). Nolan’s h...

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“Walking Ash” by Kathleen Doidge

Submitted to Contest #49

My lungs burned, scorching a hole inside my chest. For all I knew, my breathing sacks were eating my heart. It would explain the pounding that gave the speed of light a run for its money. Prison guards screamed behind me, and I forced my lungs to go harder. They were what allowed me to run. To try and escape. The battle between my heart and lungs would have to wait. Branches and thorns attacked my ankles. My thighs. My cheeks. I didn't care. I needed to get as far away from those guards as possible. Another shout thundered against my eardr...

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“Craving for a partnership” by Praveen Jagwani

Submitted to Contest #49

The gaunt 26 year old was busking on the main concourse of the Grand Central Station; the cheerful notes of his trombone caressing the spirits of the urban warriors. Harry, on his way home, paused midstride, arrested by this pale waiflike beauty. The busker’s tight blond ponytail emphasized his narrow face; cheeks bellowing rhythmically. His eyes were clenched shut as if he could not bear to look upon the heartless world - the world his thick lips were blowing away. Harry tapped his fingers on an imaginary table, as was his wont when schemin...

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“Sicknesses” by Raquel Rodriguez

Submitted to Contest #49

You stare at your feet, kicking at the white tile floor. Although your blue mask is on, people still scowl at you with narrowed eyes when you begin to have a coughing fit. You can feel something liquidy slowly crawling up your throat, but you ignore it, assuming that it's your saliva. 'Hey, uhm... can ya stop coughing?' Says a boy next to you, his nose wrinkled. He's avoiding your eyes, and you feel like he's being rude, so you don't acknowledge him. This is a hospital waiting room after all. 'There are worried people in this room, incl...

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“Friday” by Surabhi Maheshwari

Submitted to Contest #49

It was a gory moonless night, tranquilized with inky black, but all our eyes could attend was red. We were enshrouded in mist. The red flowing in the soil was reflecting the somber starless sky owing to frequent shots of wandering ignitions. We were invisible, some of us behind the unending ocean of black and brown trees, some of us under unsettled broken tanks and the remaining hapless ones veiling the corpse of unknown. Gratitude to the ceaselessly increasing fog, none of us was visible to none of us. We were spread like the watermelon see...

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“Voices on the Ocean” by Lindsey W

Submitted to Contest #49

It was hard not to appreciate the beauty of the water: the way it lapped against the shining rocks, and how the sun danced off the gentle waves. The breeze was rippling across the surface and biting at Lauren's face. Her eyes watered from the cold air that surrounded her on the cliff. She pulled her sweatshirt tighter around her, but the wind ripped straight through the fabric, chilling her to the bone.But she was still content. Happy to just be here, away from the city and the world. Tucked into her own corner of the universe. Her old famil...

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“The World's Strangest Waiting Room” by Iman Fatima

Submitted to Contest #49

Elise knew the drill.It all started with the sirens. They shrieked loud and clear from her window. It was almost usually night time when it happened.Her mother rushed to her bedroom and carried her downstairs.They’ll go to the neighbors. But not straight to their drawing-room. No, the drawing-room was for day visits. They’ll go straight downstairs.Deep down in their bunker. Where others were also there. All of the people on the street. And the ground shook and there was a terribly loud deafening sound.In the most peculiar waiting room, Elise...

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“This wretched world” by Ifan Fin

Submitted to Contest #49

As far as I remember we met for the first time, and he already, somehow, knew what he wanted. He introduced himself and then he jumped right to the core. You didn’t realise how slim were the chances of such a thing, did you? Your plan was foreseen, “brainwashing” others comes with a price. I am writing to you to remind you about our deal. Infiniteness. Sold for soul, remember? I took YOUR WORD.“So, when did it happen?”“When happened what?”“Your conversion. I need to know.”“I think it must have happened somewhere between Christmas and New Yea...

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“Keep Me Waiting” by Raquel Rodriguez

Submitted to Contest #49

Nishan sighed, massaging his temples with his thumbs. He wondered why it took so long for some people to get ready on important days. Especially his boyfriend, Zion, who took at least three hours to get ready. Nishan didn't really mind that Zion took years to get ready, but his family did. They were enthusiastic about meeting Zion since Nishan had been talking about him for weeks. Nishan took his phone from the back pocket of his coal-black dress pants with his right hand and dialed Zion's number. "Hello?" Zion's voice came from the other e...

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“Stop-Starters” by Jonathan Blaauw

Submitted to Contest #49

The waiting room was crowded. John shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He did not want to be there. But he had no choice. After his latest drunk driving arrest, the court had ordered him to see a counselor. And to stop drinking, of course. The former he could do, albeit with ill grace. The latter, however, was beyond him. He could no more quit drinking than he could stop breathing. He’d tried everything – rehab, therapy, AA - nothing had worked. The problem, he supposed, was he simply had no desir...

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“My Anpanman” by Deepti Kumari

Submitted to Contest #49

This is a story of me and my 'Anpanman', I think it is easy for me not to reveal myself.'The wind was blowing from West to East and I was standing on my rooftop, facing towards the direction of wind.' I was alone at home and not in the mood of doing anything that's why wondering about my past experiences with my parents. I was trying to recollect memories of my childhood. It was really difficult to find even a single of it. There must be reason behind this , either I have a bad memory or I don't want to keep my past experiences with me. But,...

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“Besieged by Regret” by Charles Stucker

Submitted to Contest #49

Besieged by RegretDust hangs heavy in the dry, hot summer air. Motes of it dance in sunlight which streams through cracks in the armory roof. Before me, a dwarf in a heavy leather apron, marred by little burn marks characteristic of smith's apparel, tries to explain about the crossbows. "Any apprentice can make three decent cords in a day. Problem is, we sent most of them off with the others as can't fight.""So we won't be able to span many of these bows?" I'm only asking to take my mind from the sense of dread. The king assigned me 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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