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Write a story involving a conversation that’s packed with subtext; the characters aren’t quite saying what they mean.

Posted in Dialogue on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 77 stories

A Girl's Girl

Submitted to Contest #55

  It was my final semester of nursing school and I was just diagnosed with diabetes (Type 1), how much worse could it get? Well, I was about to find out.            “Oh my God Sarah, you can stay with me! It’ll be so fun,” Jennifer squealed at our nursing school study group. The doctor had suggested I live with someone while I got used to my new diagnosis. I had never lived with anyone besides my parents. Not only had I never had a roommate, I never had many girlfriends at...

109 likes 47 comments 47
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Carry On, My Wayward Minnow

Submitted to Contest #55

“Ah, but thou art but a wayward minnow!”  “That sounds like a weird indie band.”  “Silence, young fool! I have not time for your unnecessary quandaries.”  “Would you stop talking like that, please, Liam? You aren’t Shakespeare. You aren’t a member of the royal English court in the 15th century. You’re a college dropout working at a Waffle House in Kentucky. So shut up.” Liam swung the dishrag to the counter and glared across the room at his coworker, Feifer. She yawned. It was late. They both wanted to go home. They couldn...

91 likes 63 comments 63
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Pass the Potatoes on the Left-hand Side

Submitted to Contest #55

“There he is! Come in here, big guy!” My father throws me into a headlock hug, causing me to drop a duffle bag full of filthy laundry. It's too cold out to snow and we quickly retreat inside.“Hey Mom!” I call out. “Mom?” The smells emanating from the kitchen trigger every one of my salivary glands. “Mark—?” My mother walks out of the kitchen, drying her hands on a festive Thanksgiving dish towel. She gives me a hug that may have cracked a few ribs. “Oh Mark—you’ve lost weight. In just four months? What are they feeding you at that colle...

81 likes 47 comments 47
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Law & Order a Pizza

Submitted to Contest #55

9-1-1, what’s your emergency?Hi, I’d like to order a pizza.Excuse me, ma’am? Did you say a pizza?Yes.You do realize who you’re calling, right? Yes, I know exactly who I’m calling. I’d like to order one large pizza with—  If this is a prank call, ma’am, I am not amused. But if it’s not, I’m more than happy to transfer you to Papa John’s or Domino’s. No, no, don’t transfer the call.Is there an emergency, then? If not, I’m going to hang up. You are wasting precious time I could be using to save lives. A woman at your age sho...

61 likes 71 comments 71
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back in the pulse

Submitted to Contest #55

The world is burning, and of course it’s only my ex-fiance that can save me. His knuckles grip white around the steering wheel. His eyes are a snake’s, focused and unblinking on the road ahead. It’s the first unclogged stretch of highway we’ve encountered, and he’s flying through. It’s bound to get worse the closer we get to Boston.  “Can I put some music on?” I ask.  “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t.” He still hasn’t looked at me.  I turn around to grin at his son, a cherub strapped into a car seat too small for his pud...

57 likes 18 comments 18
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It's a Be Milked or Be Married World Out There, Babe

Submitted to Contest #55

“I just wish Benji would talk to me about it already,” Emily said as she slouched over the coffee shop’s table. “We’ve been dating for six years and he still hasn’t brought up the conversation of marriage once. I’ve tried to bring it up, but he’s too dense…”Mary-Lou set down her cappuccino and stared at Emily dead in the eyes. “Honey, here’s what you gotta do. Stop all this cutesy code-talk. Stop dancing around the topic. Flat out ask Benji: do you think you would ever want to get married? It doesn’t have to be a proposal—just a conversation...

50 likes 24 comments 24
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Sapphire Tears

Submitted to Contest #55

Aimi felt the familiar sensation of a tear rolling down her cheek. She sighed, desperately looking for something, anything, that she could hang on to. The sky was a dark shade of crimson, and Aimi was lost in it’s mysterious void. Where she was, she had no idea. All she remembered was the faint whisper of the wind as she floated farther and farther away from her homeland. All she could think of were the people she was leaving behind, betraying, for better words, and could do nothing to save.  For a short period of time, there was noth...

42 likes 30 comments 30
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911 Pizza, How may I Help You?

Submitted to Contest #55

 Ringing.Girl: Hello.Operator: 911, what is your emergency?Girl: Yes. I would like to order a pizza.A momentary pause on the operator's end.Operator: (in a confused tone) Excuse me? Can you repeat that?Girl: I would like to order a pizza.Operator: You must be confused. Could you hand the phone over to one of your parents or other guardians?Girl: (in a raised voice) NO! (back to normal voice) It is your job to (emphasis on the following) HELP ME.Operator: (beginning to understand) You're not calling to order a pizza. Are you in danger?Gi...

38 likes 6 comments 6
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The Voice

Submitted to Contest #55

“Tell me what’s been bothering you, Hubert.” Hubert took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. The clock ticked so loudly in the room, ticking down the time of his freedom as well as imprisonment with relentless persistence. “Okay, here goes.” He shifted position on top of the blankets. “I’m afraid I’m losing control over my life, doc.” “What makes you think that?” the psychiatrist asked, his voice calm and even. “Well, all the decisions that I make… they don’t seem like they are mine, you know? As if somebody else makes them for me, and I’m jus...

37 likes 22 comments 22
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Stalemate

Submitted to Contest #55

He calls for the last time on a Sunday night in late September. His voice is soft and slurred, and before he asks I tell him that I’m not coming this time. But we both know it’s a lie. So I pull myself together as I have done many, many times before, and I drive through a chilly rain to our old spot.  He’s already in our booth; ghostly, half asleep and tapping his lucky blue lighter against the Formica.  “This is the last time,” I say as I slide across from him.  “We’ll see.”  His smile is still my undoing.   ...

35 likes 5 comments 5
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The Hitman's Dinner Date

Shortlisted for Contest #55 ⭐️

The weather channel was wrong the night Spencer and Rodney were set to have dinner together. As a man in a rather large overcoat approached the Wok n’ Roll, overcast winds threatened to tear down the delicate neon sign of the fast-casual Chinese joint. Technically at this point, the restaurant was only sometimes Wok n’ Roll because of the flickering sign making it infamous among the local crowd as ok Roll. The man came up to the door of the restaurant with both hands tightly holding onto three salt shakers in his pockets to keep them from ra...

32 likes 6 comments 6
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Chartreuse

Submitted to Contest #55

  “You should definitely wear the red dress. Sexy.” “Sexy?” I mumble, confused. My best friend holds the dress up. “Red is notoriously romantic,” Cassidy explains. “Perfect for a date.” “Right,” I just nod and take the dress from her. Cassidy and I have been friends for twenty-something years, and no one probably knows me better. Which always makes what’s about to happen absolutely hilarious to me. It takes three seconds for her doe eyes to widen, two more seconds for her hand to fly to her mouth, and a fifth of a second for the horrifi...

31 likes 8 comments 8
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The Tamrind Tree Betrayal

Submitted to Contest #55

Once upon time there lived a king. A very handsome king indeed but unfortunately had donkey ears , long curled like a leaf . Always he covered his head and ears with a big turban. No one knew the secret except the royal barber. The barber was sufficiently  warned never to open his mouth or stand to lose his head.  The Poor barber was restless day and night. One day he told Mrs.barber that he had a secret but was not suppose to share with any one. Mrs.barber gave an indifferent glance and advised him to share w...

29 likes 5 comments 5
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The Adventures of Roxanne Fenway

Submitted to Contest #55

“Rook to D7,” the words flew briskly off of Roxanne’s ruby-colored lips as she plucked a book written in Chinese Mandarin from the shelf.She read the language on its spine effortlessly. Not the one, she thought before expertly putting it back in place.The other end of the room was a perfect antithesis. Those five cups of coffee failing Philby miserably, he fumbled about the wall of books like a lost fool. His rambunctious hair, what remained of it, had refused to be tamed by the comb this morning, pointing in enough directions to draw lines ...

29 likes 1 comment 1
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Similar

Submitted to Contest #55

It's incredibly hot. It's still more humid. Even indoors, I can't get cool. I, however, am not indoors. I'm outside in the thick of this summer's horrendous weather. Apparently, “rookie” reporters must weather the weather whatever the weather. I wouldn't mind on any other day, but this week has reeked disappointments enough already. “You,” my boss called from behind me as I walked into the conference room. Deep breath, I coached myself mentally. Three years. How can she still not remember my name after three years? When I turn around, ...

29 likes 6 comments 6
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