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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a story about two strangers chatting while waiting for something.

Posted in Dialogue on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 196 stories

“The Long Wait” by Jordan Dunigan

Submitted to Contest #49

To both men in the waiting room, it felt like they had been waiting for an eternity. Both sat in chairs that were made of wicker that hugged their bodies in all the wrong ways. Each time either moved to ease their discomfort, deafening creaks could be heard and rendered both men to tolerate the pain to avoid social discomfort. The room was dreary. With pale walls and bland furniture, it made the waiting seem like torture to the men. One of the men wore a crisp, black suit. He had a gel slicked comb over and an angry disposition. His cold eye...

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“O'Kelly's, October '38” by J Acheson

Submitted to Contest #49

There was the shop sign just as I remembered it as a child. I must have come here with my father, though I have no specific memory of being here with him, or of walking this particular stone alleyway north of the river. The board was fashioned in the shape of an old cavalier boot, the kind you might see in the cinema version of the Three Musketeers. Above and along the eyelets was the name O’Kelly and near the instep a date, too faded to read.           The little bell released its tinkl...

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“The Umbrella Guy ” by Rema Teller

Submitted to Contest #49

The umbrella guy. I remember the first day I saw him. Upsetting and strange, sure. But, back then, I couldn't know how much his figure would come to haunt my thoughts.  'Who's that guy?' I'd asked, pointing outside the window.  Sarah gave me a knowing look. A sad look. 'We call him the umbrella guy.'  I was supposed to be clearing plates but Sarah started bustling around me, clattering, as she started to clear them instead.  'He's been waiting for hours…but he hasn't got on a bus.' I said. 'Why?'  I...

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“WORTH THE WAIT (AT SOME PUB IN SOUTH LONDON)” by Meg Ivy Brunning

Submitted to Contest #49

ISLA WAS TIRED, THE SKY IN SOUTH LONDON, reflecting exactly as she felt, as she trudged down the pavement, trying to dodge the business men shouting down their phones or the other workers of London, trying to get home from their long days slaving away in high street shops, offices and everything else in between.It had been a long day, having to run through the halls of her University, jumping from building to building to attend her lectures, before she quietly returned to her studio space, spending the rest of her day painting away. She love...

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“The Good Samaritan” by Elisient Vernon

Submitted to Contest #49

The Good Samaritan It happened at the Melbourne International Airport in Florida. I had just landed with my three children, ages 14, 12 and 4, from Jamaica in the Caribbean. I was frightened but did not want my kids to know. We sat where the airport guy had taken us. He had been extremely helpful, taking our luggage and showing us the best place to wait for our pick-up. We had been there for about two hours and my friend had not yet shown up to meet us. I had called his number several times and left messages but got no response. The airpo...

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“Stay” by Mariyam Rahim

Submitted to Contest #49

Luna has had enough. She was tired of her father, always coming home and arguing with her mother. It had been happening ever since she was a child. All she ever did was cry on the floor, with the door against her back. She always heard shouting and yelling and glasses breaking, every. Single. Day. This time, she wanted to leave. She wanted to be free from all of the chaos at her home. She knew, leaving through the front door would be terrible idea because that's where the madness happens. So, she decided to leave through her bedroom window....

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“The Barista, The Karen, and The Caramel Cappuccino” by Elizabeth Conrad

Submitted to Contest #49

Do you know what a barista’s worst nightmare is? A mediocre cup of coffee or a slippery spill onto the coffee-stained linoleum floor.Wrong a barista’s worst nightmare is a Karen. You know the whole stereotypical middle-aged women who wears her hair in a bob and threatens to call everyone’s manager. They continuously bombard me with threats because apparently, I didn't make their coffee right. Most of the time I just laugh it off, but sometimes I keep myself up at night trying to understand their complaints. Unfortunately, the reality is that...

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“Room No. 3” by Faye Binx

Submitted to Contest #49

Who is in this room? It is small but full. Must have been a busy night. I feel hard stares pricking the back of my neck as I shuffle in to join. In a bizarre way, it’s like the first day of school. Where shall I sit?  I want to be near the wall. I want the feel of something solid. From the corner of my eye, I see the sliver of gray I’m looking for. I slowly head that way, taking my time. Don’t appear too eager or someone else will want it. It’s the instinct of man to follow the eyes of his friend, but shoot first and take what he ca...

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“Time” by Keith B.

Submitted to Contest #49

Luke stands at the bus stop alone, waiting for the bus. It’s a full moon. Spring time. Warm outside. There aren’t a lot of people out. Luke is coming from his job. He has to take two buses to get home. He’s waiting on the second one. He doesn’t think much of his job, he sells furniture. He’s been working there for nearly five years now. His main goal in life is to be a movie star. When he’s asked, he makes sure he’s there for each audition. It can be a little difficult, especially when he’s called in at the last minute and he needs coverage...

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“Flight 909” by Michael McDonald

Submitted to Contest #49

Indianapolis International Airport is huge. Covering 7700 acres, it handles close to 10 million passengers a year from 40 gates and is the second largest FedEx air hub in the world. The main terminal, named in honor of Col. Harvey Weir Cook, a WW1 fighter ace and civilian aviation pioneer in the state of Indiana, appears to be a futuristic oval hangar big enough to house Captain Kirk's U.S.S. Enterprise. The inside of the terminal houses scores of businesses from popular coffee shops to top of the line department stores, albeit on a much sma...

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“The Hidden River of My Life” by Jessica Schwartz

Submitted to Contest #49

The world consists of dark red wine, dizzy servers, and a constant humming of “Would you like some more?” “I really shouldn’t!” And then the clattering of cutlery and glassware as they do in fact take some more of whatever is being offered. A rather round gentleman lets out a bellowing laugh, and a petite brunette titters next to him. Her hat is made of fur and I had a vague feeling that it was not faux. At least, I should say, this is what my world has consisted of for the past five minutes. Someone should write a book called “The...

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“What Happens at the DMV ” by Robyn Jipp

Submitted to Contest #49

You don't need to keep checking your watch, I reprimand myself as I look at my watch for the hundredth time. It's not going to make the line move any faster. I hate the DMV. But then again, I don't know anyone who can claim to love it. The guy directly in front of me has a little boy with him, maybe five or six years old, who keeps ducking in and out of the line underneath the crowd control barrier. He ducks back under and bumps into my leg. "Oopsie," I comment. His dad turns around, exasperated. "Be careful, Dustin," he chides his son. "Apo...

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“Shine ” by Universal Canvas

Submitted to Contest #49

‘Wait. What do you mean?’ I prompted as he stood up to leave, ‘You cannot leave without-you cannot leave just like that-’ I stuttered trying to find my words, ‘I- want to know.’ ‘Innocence. Entitlement. Eagerness. I don’t know what it is with you, young people.’ He replied as he walked towards the coffee maker at the corner of the room. I let out a subtle breath of relief, secretly happy he was not leaving the room yet without answering my question. But anger rushed in simultaneously as I processed his words. I trailed behind him as I trie...

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“Von & Vance ” by Seraphina Bridgett

Submitted to Contest #49

My eyelids fluttered and finally let the light in as I first squinted and then unblinkingly looked around at my surroundings. I was in bed still wearing the clothes from the incident. It was clean, all without the traces of blood... yet how did I end up here? And most importantly, where am I? At once, I mustered up the consciousness to stand up and feel my legs only to hear heavy noises from the other side of the room covered with curtains. People were shouting this and that and, as a child, I didn’t know exactly what they were talking a...

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“It's All the Same” by Jean Young

Submitted to Contest #49

It’s the same thing every day. I find myself in this same line waiting for the same boring lunch with the same boring friend while we chat about the same boring things. All of the sameness could really make a person go insane. That’s why I have to get out of here. I still have approximately 1,095 days left before I’m free to live my own life on my terms. Everything that I do within these next 1,000 or so days will make or break whether I truly make it out for good.Maybe I can figure out a way to graduate early and I can cut a few hundred day...

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