Start your story with someone walking into a gas station.

Posted in Dialogue on Jul 28, 2023

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✍️ 53 stories

“Should I stay or Should I go? ” by Cynthia Townsdin

Submitted to Contest #209

The woman walks into the gas station, her eyes immediately scanning the shelves. She is looking for something specific, but she can't quite put her finger on it. A Butterfinger candy bar? She hasn’t eaten one in a while. They used to be her favorite candy bar growing up. “No, that's not it”, she thinks and keeps walking down the first aisle. She didn’t want childhood memories overloading her brain at the moment it was already starting to go into overdrive from fatigue. Chips. No. Mixed nuts. No. Any other time she walks into ...

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“If Opinions Were Dollars, Rockefeller Would Envy You” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #209

Francisco Bonilla laughs to himself when he sees Grady Quaid’s landscaping truck pull into the gas station’s parking lot. It’s Sunday, which means Francisco will have the company of a quartet of four opinionated sixty-year-old men to entertain him during his shift. Wiry, with a caterpillar mustache, gentle brown eyes, and ruddy but pleasant features, forty-two-year-old Francisco has worked at the Cumberland Farms in Shelby, Connecticut for a decade. He has been persistent in his effort to master English and speaks it more ably than many o...

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“Tulips in December” by Hosea Guy

Submitted to Contest #209

I can hear the engine turn over in the parking lot as the bell on the glass door rings, and this is all so familiar. I let the door swing shut behind me and I am remembering how we used to do this all the time, a hundred years ago—you waiting in the truck with the air conditioning on to relieve you from the mid-July heat, me paying for our gas and slushies. “Hey there!” I try not to feel too annoyed as the kid at the counter comes around to ask me how I’m doing, but we are in a hurry and it’s like he’s never even heard the words “per...

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“Lodetrippers” by DR Forge

Submitted to Contest #209

There was not enough money or human capacity for patience contained in this earthly world to make this job worth it. Especially not with the measly daily stipend Briel was about to completely blow through at a gas station on a state line so unremarkable, he couldn’t remember which side he was on. If he hadn’t owed his aunt a favor- the kind of looming favor that would strip away every ounce of joy if you ignored it and tried to sunbathe on the beach, which Briel knew, because he had tried-he would have been back on the sand as fast a...

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“Once I'm Found” by Nora Ophelia Malhearst

Submitted to Contest #209

The bell of the gas station tinkled as Peg entered, her Sadie Oxfords making no sounds against the linoleum flooring. From a corner of the counter, a fan valiantly exhausted air into the room, although the temperature still read 89.6°F. Outside, the concrete shimmered with heat. Right behind her were the twins. Hannah was still holding the door she’d pushed open, allowing Olivia to enter after Peg, and now, the three girls spilled into the store full of hunger. Hannah, in a modern version of the Y2K lumberjack fashion, was eager to pay ...

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“The man at the gas statione” by Jelly 1010

Submitted to Contest #209

The chefs were being run ragged from fulfilling the orders that the servers kept bringing in. The hectic environment was a clear sign that no one in the kitchen staff was ready for the lunch rush: the loud banging, the immense heat from the fires coming from the stovetops. The questioning looks directed at the dishwashers that they needed to speed up as the cooks were running out of plates and the servers constantly demanded utensils. The dishwasher station was overwhelmed by the wave of used containers, and the piles on the racks were in da...

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“Running Dry (Or Maybe Just Running)” by Lukah Roser

Submitted to Contest #209

(Implied violence) The pump is dry—or broken. It has probably been that way for a long time. It is also quite possible, the man considers with some degree of annoyance, that it has never worked at all. That it has always existed in this state. One not unlike the town of its residence, or the land surrounding; empty, restful, wanting. He swears under his breath. He doesn’t typically enjoy doing so where the sun can see him, but his current situation certainly warrants it. He knows his car is on its last legs. The fuel light on hi...

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“Fuel, Fate, and the Fabric of Time ” by J.C. Zed

Submitted to Contest #209

Under a blanket of an indigo sky pricked with stars, Joe trudged toward the dimly lit gas station, his '72 Mustang thirsty for fuel. As the rusty door creaked open, a gust of warm air smelling of stale coffee and old tires greeted him. Inside, vintage posters of pin-up models and fading motor oil ads adorned the walls, an old jukebox hummed a forgotten tune, and the whole place seemed eerily out of time. Behind the counter stood a striking figure, an old woman with iron-grey hair pulled back into a tight bun, her eyes bright and sharp as a...

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Start your story with someone walking into a gas station.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 53 stories

“Should I stay or Should I go? ” by Cynthia Townsdin

“If Opinions Were Dollars, Rockefeller Would Envy You” by Michael Jefferson

“Tulips in December” by Hosea Guy

“Lodetrippers” by DR Forge

“Once I'm Found” by Nora Ophelia Malhearst

“The man at the gas statione” by Jelly 1010

“Running Dry (Or Maybe Just Running)” by Lukah Roser

“Fuel, Fate, and the Fabric of Time ” by J.C. Zed

🌟 Similar prompts

Set your entire story in a car.

Write about two strangers who are both heading to the same destination and agree to do a long distance drive together.

Write a story about someone going on a life-changing journey.

Write a story about someone getting lost, but discovering something they didn’t expect along the way.

Contest #209

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

271

Contest entries

154

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: