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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 – 124 stories

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

Summer – 259 stories

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

High School – 118 stories

Write a story about summer love — the quarantine edition.

Romance – 131 stories

Write a story about another day in a heatwave.

Summer – 178 stories

Stories

“Written in the Stars” by Amy St. Pierre

Submitted to Contest #53

The man I’d once believed was my soulmate was moving into the apartment below mine. If the circumstances had been wildly different, this would’ve been exciting – I’d drop my popsicle on the deck, throw a t-shirt on over my bathing suit, rush down the stairs of my deck to greet him, and throw my arms around him, like a long lost lover, or a reunion, the great love of my life I thought I’d lost forever. But the circumstances weren’t different, they were what they were, and presently he was moving boxes into the apartment with his wife and youn...

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“What makes you think I can't see?” by Verda H

Submitted to Contest #53

The heat always reminded me of her. It matched her personality: harsh, forceful, and itchy under the skin, like the dresses I wore when she treated me like a girl. Even in my childhood memories, her hair was always curled; stylized in a doll-like perfection. I wondered what it would take to make her snap.The ice-pop in my hand melted, despite the AC being on full blast. I was answering my own questions with that unnaturally blue liquid dripping on my hand. Adora would hate that. She would hate anything out of order, including me. Or, ra...

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“Midnight sun” by E. Jude

Submitted to Contest #53

2120 "...That would be about it on the celeb scoop for today. As per usual, we will be back tomorrow to let you know how it all pans out. For now, though, we will turn our attention to our own John Levins, who will give us the front on today's weather forecast." The TV screen buzzes and cackles, threads of glitch flashing in various inky colors, seems to fry every last one of Bruno Floyd's nerves, as the screen splits and John's face appears on the right. "Hello there, John." There's a quick silence as she shuffles her papers. "G...

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“The End of Summer” by M Daly

Submitted to Contest #53

I’m driving home from Daniel’s house, a goodbye party before I head off to University, if three people sat in a bedroom can be classed as a party. I felt too drunk to drive so I did couple of lines of coke before I got in the car. Daniel and Trisha were indifferent to my leaving for college, they didn’t even say bye when I left. I park the car outside my father’s house and smoke a joint before I get out. My throat is still numb from the cocaine but it improves the sensation I feel when drawing the smoke back into my lungs. I hold it there ...

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“Shell” by Rayhan Hidayat

Submitted to Contest #53

“A person is happy not when they are fortunate, or healthy, or privileged, but when they are these things moreso than others. That is why the Warrins are, without a modicum of uncertainty, the happiest people in the realm.” —Lue, Royal Advisor, Year 14XXShe sits on a moonlit windowsill, pinned there by the weight of an invisible crown.Generations upon generations of discipline and tradition and cold-eyed duty to the realm have been poured into the tiny thing, and her shoulders howl under the pressure.God, it’s heavy.So heavy that it mak...

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“Peaked in High School” by Itay Frenkel

Submitted to Contest #53

Nick had already created several computer games, and while they were all unknown to the world they had gained an audience around his school and made him a big social commodity. He didn’t like the attention, he was naturally aloof, not like all the other boys who pretended not to care about anything, and for some reason that only made him more popular. It also didn’t hurt that he had several striking features, including serious green eyes and light brown hair that brushed itself up and to the side. While the rest of the students worri...

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“Heatwave ” by Palak Shah

Submitted to Contest #53

Burning my skin like lava, the blistering heat was scorching my body. Even the best sunscreen couldn’t protect me from this unexpected disaster. My amours grew heavier by the second. Trickling down my face, my saline sweat etched scars onto my skin. Screaming in pain my skin bared the misfortune. “I hate this heat” I bellowedIt was only 09:30 and the temperature was 60 degrees. Soaked right through, my clothes were pretty much wet. One thought came into my head: I loathe the heat and it is my enemy. I remember a time when me and m...

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“Velvet Hugs!” by P. Jean

Submitted to Contest #53

(Write a story about summer love — the quarantine edition.) The small green light next to his name tells me he is on line. I wonder what we would have done before messenger and similar platforms. Letters, scented and lovely, a dried flower pressed into the pages! Perhaps a primary school heart drawn with our initials and arrows depicting sand and stones and the ocean. Ah yes, we have a connection... ~~~~~ June: Hello my dearest, I write to you this afternoon to let you k...

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“A Hundred Days” by Ryan Lieb

Submitted to Contest #53

It was day seven in a row of over a hundred degree weather here in sunny Nebraska. Why did the midwest have to get the ass-end of every single season? Last Winter we got enough snow to make Omaha look like the Yukon Territory. They say Spring is nice, but I wouldn’t know because the second I step outside my sinuses swell up to the size of baseballs. And don’t even get me started on Fall. We get approximately ten days of the most beautiful overcast weather you’ve ever seen, then the temperature drops like a cartoon anvil. And as for summer......

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“Me, Grace, and The Window Space” by ♥☪ᙏҽɬσɳყ Ƒɾҽ𝓶σɳԃ☪♥

Submitted to Contest #53

You'd think being trapped in the house all day and not being about to go outside as much would be a dream come true for an antisocial like myself, but newsflash! It's not.It was so much more a dream when I was obligated to do so because I wanted to, not because I must. Being trapped in the house because you have to takes the fun out of it. Now I'm faced with the reality that I have no friends and no life. (Not that I didn’t know that before.) Guess who isn't and hasn't gotten texts from anyone in over a year? Your girl Samara here!Quara...

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“Popsicle Break” by Natalie Strawbridge

Submitted to Contest #53

Everything was terrible today, but what set him over the edge wasn’t the heat, or the constant repetition, or the know-it-all juniors and seniors. No, he held it together, right up until the popsicle slid off its stick and plopped onto the bleacher below him, melting immediately into a red puddle, oozing like fresh blood. He stared at it for a moment, and then, without a word, he stood up and stormed off, his stomps echoing loudly on the metal bleachers. He didn’t see it, but all the girls giggled, and all the boys made faces. All except one...

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“Hope Is the Thing With Feathers” by Aqsa Malik

Submitted to Contest #53

Welcome to Echo Falls! Population: 12000 2 3The two girls stare at the sign, albeit transfixed on different parts. Cross legged and in the middle of the road, they sit, far enough apart to tackle a rogue animal holistically, but close enough not to let each other drift away. Naila squints against the blistering sun, regarding Syre without actually regarding her, in the nonchalant attitude they had so perfectly cultivated over the past year.“I still can’t believe you butchered that ‘E’ so badly. I mean first of all, it’s lopsided, and second ...

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“Memories” by Holly Pierce

Submitted to Contest #53

"Do I have to go?" I asked. "Yes!" Henry rolled his eyes at me. "We've been planning this since we got out of high school! We can't miss it!" I nodded reluctantly. "I really miss seeing Ashe and Anna... but they're friends with Marco..." Henry and I grimaced. Marco hadn't gotten along with either of us since I broke up with him. The twins, Ashe and Anna, had been best friends with Marco since kindergarten. Henry said, "I want to see Haylee, she was always fun." I nodded my assent. The problem is, Haylee and Anna always argue, and it would en...

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“Girl in the Red Dress” by Anti Matter

Submitted to Contest #53

I couldn’t quite explain the shudder that ran its course through my veins from the moment you told me your name. It was fairly common, biblical, one I’d heard many people go by. Perhaps it was the way you expressed it with in that gentle tone that radiated the warmth of a cuddle. It imprinted on my mind like a bolt of lightning that grazes the skin with its beautiful grasping pattern. The same electricity that fizzed through my nerves as we danced the night away to the merry melodies of the ceilidh. It was no surprise you caught m...

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“Now or Never” by Rambling Beth

Submitted to Contest #53

“This place is beautiful, Jake,” Samantha said, staring out of the windscreen in awe. There were plentiful shrubs and blooming flowers surrounding them as they drove. “Why have you never taken me here before?”“I’ve been trying!” Jake spluttered; hands white from gripping the wheel so hard. “I’ve asked you every month, but you’ve always had an excuse. Oh, sorry Jake, they need me for another shift, oh, sorry Jake, my parents are having a barbecue, oh, sorry Jake.”“All valid excuses,” Samantha said.“Yes, they are,” Jake agreed, turning into a ...

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Ended on 23:59 - Aug 07, 2020 EST

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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.

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