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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#53: Dog Days of Summer

"The dog days of summer" conjure images of dogs laying around, panting from the sweltering heat of mid to late summer.

 

But the saying itself stems from the ancient Romans who associated these hot and humid days with Sirius, the brightest star in the Canis Major constellation (or 'Large Dog' constellation). Sirius is so bright, the ancient Romans believed it contributed additional heat to the Sun, causing July and August temperatures to soar.

 

As we are currently in the midst of them, it only felt fitting for this week's prompts are inspired by the dog days summer (or diēs caniculārēs in Latin)!

 

p.s. — On August 12th, bestselling novelists Caroline Leavitt and Gina Sorell are hosting a free webinar on creating believable characters. RSVP here!

This week's prompts

Write about a few people spending a long-overdue weekend away at a cottage.

Summer – 127 stories

Write a story that begins with someone's popsicle melting.

Summer – 265 stories

Write a story about a teenager spending their final days at home before going away to college.

High School – 121 stories

Write a story about summer love — the quarantine edition.

Romance – 134 stories

Write a story about another day in a heatwave.

Summer – 182 stories

Stories

“School's Out” by Charles Stucker

 "Dang it Pa, I don't want to go off to college and all." I got to stand firm on account of my Pa is Mike Carson. The man who chased down the Lane Gang by himself. Ranger, town marshal, legend. And ma expects me to live up to it by studying books, of all things. Don't get me wrong. I like Ivanhoe and never met a yarn by Mark Twain as couldn't hold my eyes a spell. But college ain't like that."Two weeks," Pa says. "Then you git on the train and take it to college station"I'm set to tell him no when ...

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“Two to Three” by Lynn Penny

NightCrawlers: Victims of a Parasite that turned into Nocturnal Cannibalistic Hunters whose only instincts are to kill and eat.Having found a literal paradise in this drug store, with protection and supplies galore, Onyx and Dr. Doggy waited for the other shoe to drop. It took a couple of days to get everything all set up for optimal survival, but oh boy, it was all worth it. Onyx felt like a real survival pro, having set up her own rainwater filter using vases and cheesecloth, a contained fire pit with a ...

22 comments 22
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“The Mind Diamond” by Sarah Freeman

Dr. Zonk stared at the giant red monstrosity. MEEEEEEEELT, he thought desperately. YOU KNOW YOU CAN DO IT!!!Dr. Zonk was a scientist that was mad in multiple ways. The first is that “mad” is a synonym for “insane”, a synonym known to be used to describe crazy scientists with a big frizzy ball of shockingly blue hair. The second is that he was very, very, extremely, ferociously, absolutely terror-inducingly angry at a popsicle. Yes, you read that right. A popsicle.This popsicle...

51 comments 51
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“Answers on a Teacup ” by Rhondalise Mitza

What happened on the second Tuesday of July was a simple thing, and it started like so.The boy wore a large velvet blazer and was swallowed by his ancient copy of Jane Eyre; the copy that smelled like his grandmother’s perfume and felt like butterfly wings between his calloused fingers. He sat alone on a park bench that day, much like the other days, and he waited for something to happen. Not in his book, he already knew how that ended after having read it seventeen times, but in the park there were several things that could happen...

19 comments 19
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“The Order of the Blood Moon” by Elle Clark

The last five members of The Order of the Blood Moon stood outside the building, dressed in loud Hawaiian shirts, wearing oversized sunglasses and holding a frozen treat each. It was an hour past sunset and the only light came from the flickering street lights - not that any of them needed it. Ashath’aman the Cruel watched as an obnoxiously bright drip of melted blue syrup slid down his hand and glooped onto the floor. He wrinkled his nose in disgust. Beside him stood Belisha, Flayer of Men. She sniffed the multicol...

62 comments 62
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“honey lavender matcha latte” by Natalie Strawbridge

We hadn’t seen each other in two years, hadn’t spoken or even texted since then, until she liked my post about moving to the city and asked, in a comment, if she could show me the best coffee in Chicago. And I, having no friends and a roommate I’d just met and didn’t care for, said yes.She called me twenty minutes before we were supposed to meet. Her name flashed across my phone and I was momentarily confused. I hadn’t heard from her since our conversation in the Facebook comments, and had convinced myself we weren’t sti...

18 comments 18
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“The Almost Last Supper” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

“One of you is sleeping with my husband,” Issa says matter-of-factly, just before the sticky toffee pudding is served. “Issa—” her husband protests, but everyone knows Jude is a womanizer and a fool. The truth of his wife’s declaration shoves his objections right back into his lying mouth. “What I cannot figure out,” Issa languidly pauses to look at her nails, “is which one of you it is. My dearest friends, all just sitting here, watching me suffer, knowing what I know,” she says slowly, scrutinizing each female fa...

52 comments 52
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“A Lifelong Journey” by Velma Darnell

You spend your childhood wanting to grow up, and you spend your adulthood wishing you were a child again. That’s what people say, and I find myself believing in that more and more with each passing year. Sometimes, I really want to go back to the times when my principal tasks were to make it to the beginning of my favorite cartoon, decide what games my friends and I want to play, and convince my mum to let me go to the sleepover. Those days were great and filled with mostly positive moments that seem so carefree and bring warm and fuzzy f...

79 comments 79
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“Werewolf Love” by Amiable Sorceress

She climbs, sweat dripping off her forehead. Ruthlessly, she slams her fist into the rock, a rope slung over her shoulder. Almost there, almost there and then she can pretend the crowds weren’t gathering around her; the people snapping pictures as she swings gracefully to the window ledge, gasping for air. Today she slips, stands up, regains her posture, and moves to the window, gliding across the polished stone as if s...

10 comments 10
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“It Was A Good Day” by ♥☪ᙏҽɬσɳყ Ƒɾҽ𝓶σɳԃ☪♥

Drip."Help me."Drip."I'm dying."Drip." Guys, I'm drifting away."Drip."When I die, feed my cat."Drip."I-"Maya are you done being dramatic? We know it's hot, but seriously, you're making it worse. What's with the water sounds? It won't make you any cooler." Aaron exclaims. "Oh, I'm sorry that my pain annoys you, Aaron, I can't help but express how I'm feeling. And the sounds aren't intimating water,...

57 comments 57
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“Our Big Day” by Sunny 🌼 🖤

“R.I.P Cherry Popsicle, you will be missed”, I watched as my best friend Olli’s popsicle slid off the stick and on to the ground.  “C’mon! Is one perfectly good popsicle too much to ask for!”, she wailed. I laughed, Olli had the worst luck, and I probably should’ve seen that coming when I offered her a popsicle from a nearby vendor. “Don’t laugh! You purposely gave me a faulty popsicle as a trick! You're...

10 comments 10
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“Five Days” by BRoOkE HAs A COwBoY HAt

Day 1 - PackingStanding at the edge of my bed, I folded my clothes and put them in my suitcase. That had always been the way I packed-in piles. I had moved a lot as a kid, so I knew that was the easiest and fastest way to pack.“Holly! Have you seen my light pink sweater?” Leaning back and peeking through the hallway-into my twin’s room-I saw Jill packing her suitcase.“Is it an off-the-shoulder?” I motioned to my shirt, which was also off-the-shoulder.“Yeah. Did Mom put it in your room?” I shrugged and wa...

17 comments 17
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“Very spicy” by Tariq Saeed

Sorry, sorry, sorry, your story is not worthy to publish,Mr David..you are a seasoned writer and you are presenting a story like this, you know all the pros and cons of this business,” said the editor to Me very angrily. “But Sir, this story depicts the lives of the poor farmers and our country is in a development stage and we have to protect the lives and interest of the poor Farmers”I answered in a very defensiv...

56 comments 56
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“Dearie Dearest” by Kathleen Doidge

Dearie Dearest,I can't feel you anymore. I’m not sure if it’s good or bad, but the headaches might suggest the latter. I'm getting freaking withdrawals from you. This is worse than when I canceled coffee. Everyone ran for their lives when that happened. Literally. Although, it did help with Disneyland. No lines!Anyway, you haven't talked to me in a while. Didn't want you to forget me. I’m still here and will be there when you fall.~Your loveThe man frowned at the letter, flip...

12 comments 12
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“Beverly Bettencourt's 5K Marathon” by Kristin Neubauer

I blame the 12-day heatwave of 2015 for the loss of Beverly Bettencourt. You see, Beverly didn’t have air conditioning. She’d grown up in Savannah and brushed off window units, never mind central air. When the summer days turned thick and heavy, Beverly would turn off her oven, leave another golden pie cooling on the windowsill and dab the sweat off her forehead as she moved onto her front porch....

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