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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

“A Quick Look Back” by P. Jean

Submitted to Contest #53

(Write a story about a teenager spending their final days at home before going away to college.) As I walk out this morning it is a totally different look to my familiar world, it is soggy and wet. This kind of day usually would find me playing mindless games on my tablet, using my eyes and hands but not so much my brain, but today I feel the need to remember it all. I could use this rainy day as an excuse to stay in and go over my multitude of lists, what to bring initially, what I might need later on if all goes accordi...

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“Raging Sun” by Jan H

Submitted to Contest #53

“Move.”“Move.”“Move.”“Soldier, get those civilians to the bunkers,” commanded the sergeant.“Sarge, the bunkers are full, we have to turn back.”“Not an option soldier, get those civilians to safety.”Screams echoed through the tunnels, and the acrid smell of scorched flesh filled the air. Terrified colonists packed into the narrow shafts leading to the bunkers.An intense heatwave blasted the region. Powerful solar flares bombarded the area and grew more extreme throughout the day. Never in the colony’s history had such a catastrophic event occ...

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“Journey” by Kylie Wallis

Submitted to Contest #53

During a fairly warm Sunday morning, Annabelle Rothstine was awake and dressed, scribbling nonsense in her diary. She'd had a rather odd dream last night, but could not quite recall the details of it. Still, there were other things she wrote about. For example; her sister Sabina was turning fifteen at the end of the week and Annabelle wasn't sure what to get her. There was also the prospect of her upcoming move into the dormitories at Herondale Hall University. She had applied for various art and literature classes. Done, at least for the ...

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“Hot as Hell” by S. Closson

Submitted to Contest #53

There is something ungodly about a heatwave. There’s just no getting comfortable when it’s too hot, you know? In my opinion, the cold is much more manageable. I mean, all you have to do to stay warm is keep moving or pile on the blankets and you’ll be alright for the most part. But with this heat, this unbearable, muggy heat, there is almost no relief, only the curse of seemingly eternal moistness. I know life in the city is supposed to be this love letter to Western society, where opportunities run abound and dreams come true, bu...

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“Life; a melting Popsicle” by Shiza Ali

Submitted to Contest #53

A lone drop of sweat makes its way down my temples, through the eyebrows into the unruly trimmed sideburns. Even the popsicle is sweating in a young man's hand. He wears an unbuttoned shirt over a white T-shirt and is busy licking popsicle sweat beads. Nothing seems to beat the heat down. I rub my dirt and oil-stained sleeve over my face holding the searing books in another. Everyone feels defeated, even trees and the once fertile soil. The trees hang low under the oppressive sun and soil swirling with heatwaves; arid, dry and powder...

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“Roses by Gaslight” by Jane Andrews

Submitted to Contest #53

Trigger warning: depictions of rape “Do you like it?” Tim asked as they pulled up outside the cottage. Rose stared at the surprise her husband had planned for her, noting the honeysuckle round the door and the way the late afternoon sunlight caught the windows, and smiled. “It’s beautiful,” she said. It really was a picture-perfect place to spend the weekend. “What time do the others arrive?” she wanted to know. Tim consulted his phone. “The last message I had from Mark said they’d be here by six. That gives us plenty of time to chris...

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“A Landscape of Consequences” by María Barrios

Submitted to Contest #53

Laboratories will remain closed for now. Please let all your material in the respective incubators/refrigerators and we'll be contacting you soon with more information. Be strong. Kind regards, Doctor Anya Sánchez-Jones. The sign was stuck to the door of their lab. Ale heard whispers around her. Some of the undergraduates were cursing under their breath. Summer was essential for them to process their samples and graduates were much the same. Alejandra was one of these graduates. She had come from the other side of the world to finish hi...

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“The Hottest Year at Summer Camp” by R. E. Dressler

Submitted to Contest #53

“And that’s why the summers at Camp Pinewood keep getting hotter and hotter every year,” I concluded, clicking off the flashlight which was held beneath my chin. Satisfied with the stunned and disturbed facial expressions I was receiving from the campers, I gave a smirk, “Alright, girls, off to bed now.” The orange light from the once crackling fire had now diminished to a faint red glow of embers. It produced just enough light to outline the tiny shifting bodies that had begun departing the campfire. As expected, the usual complaints and mo...

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“The Estate” by 🌮 Kao Crimsonstar 🌮

Submitted to Contest #53

“Bloody hell, Mum, are we actually about to live in this palace?!” “Dylan, how many times do I have to tell you it is a mansion, not a palace? And for God’s Sake, Dylan, will you stop cursing so much?! ” “Gosh, Mum, ‘bloody hell’ is not too harsh. I’m 14, Mum! This isn’t the 20th century! Oh, and sure, Mum, but when a matchbox works for a home for a bunch of teenage twins and a tween, and they’re exiled to a glorious 10-bedroom , yard, swimming pool, private forest, meadow AND creek-inclusive mansion, it sure seems like that Buckingham p...

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“Frontliner” by Saron Mengistu

Submitted to Contest #53

The fluorescent rays contorted as they fell off the glaring sun. The sweltering heat, the moist humidity, and the fact that half a dozen men were in the infirmary with heat stroke made Admiral Miles Hallaway tense.Where he had skin, he had sweat. His head felt like it was bulging, the veins slithering his arms were thick and swelled, and all over him, there was a dull burning, as if molten lead had replaced blood. The heatwave was inexplicably hot. So hot that sitting under a shaded tree did nothing.And it was even worse, during the COVID-19...

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“Following Sirius” by Aimee P

Submitted to Contest #53

“Whew, sure is hot.” Archie sighed, wiping his bangs out of his face. It was his last day of summer before he headed off to Wisconsin for college. Even now, he couldn’t really believe he was going to Wisconsin, the cheese state of all places, for school. Touring it had been okay, and he was looking forward to seeing what a cooler climate was like, but other than that, he was trying to make the most of his last day of summer. His popsicle dripped on his hand, reminding him to make haste before the frozen treat fell off the stick. Archi...

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“Heatwave” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #53

It was a sweltering July afternoon in Miami, Florida. A tear of pink cascaded down the side of Christy’s cherry popsicle and onto the index finger of her right hand. Christy didn’t seem to mind the sticky mess that it was making; instead, she savored every delicious drop as it cooled the inside of her mouth and throat. Christy seemed somewhat out of place on South Beach. While other girls her age were sunbathing...

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“Last Days of Everything ” by Sav G

Submitted to Contest #53

I have 3 more days at home before I leave to go to college. I am SO excited! I’ll be living on my own, making lifelong friends (from what I’ve heard), and be my own boss. No one can tell me when to go to bed, or when to come back home, or when to eat. I know it sounds stupid, but I’ve kind of been looking forward for this moment for my entire life. To get out of my house and really go live my life. I haven’t lived anywhere but here in Kentucky, and I can't wait to see what is beyond farms, horses and green grass. Don’t get me wrong, I...

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“Summer was warm” by Chimamaka Adeniyi🙅

Submitted to Contest #53

The fluorescent green popsicle on his table began to drip.The sun just refused to go back in, didn’t it?The days seemed to increase by one hour as they passed by. There would be no doubt that today would consist of not less than thirty hours at the least. No kidding.The light beams from the sun that directly passed through his window and roasted him on his bed made him wonder why exactly God wanted to make him darker.He turned over.It wasn’t so bad was it? At least he wouldn’t have to go get tans anymore and it would be nice to have some smo...

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“The Last Summer of Independent Girlhood” by 🌮 Kao Crimsonstar 🌮

Submitted to Contest #53

"Kim, your hand is bleeding a thick, translucent, jelly-like, blood. We should get to the hospital. Like, immediately. I think your life is in danger." Ellie said, staring point-blank at the red on my hand. She was breathing heavily and frozen in her place. Was it just me, or, or, was something wrong with her? That look in her eyes? That sullen, dull, spot, which once housed a beautiful glint, but now only an extinguished spark? No, it was just the angle of the light on her iris and the mood she was in. Worried. Storms that never rest fl...

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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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