Write a story that includes the line “I should’ve known better.”

Posted in Dramatic on Jan 3, 2025

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✍️ 90 stories

“The Legend” by Artha Julie Nava

Submitted to Contest #284

"I should have known better," Shem said. His voice trembling with terror. "A lion can smell humans from miles away. It waited for us - hidden, patient. Then it leaped out of the darkness."He stood before the gathered villagers. His tunic shredded, his body scarred with deep gashes. Blood had dried in ugly streaks on his skin, and his eyes darted nervously, as if the beast might reappear at any moment. The villagers huddled closer, their faces pale with fear, and their murmurs filling the air like the rustling of dead leaves. Shem's voice cra...

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“Merry Christmas” by Zi Poromon

Submitted to Contest #284

"Ho, ho, ho. Merry Christmas!" Jessica squints her eyes and bites down on her pinkish lower lip. "Ho, ho, ho. Merry Christmas!" Jessica smiles, wrinkles forming around the corners of her mouth. She shakes her head down and chuckles. "Darling, what's the matter? What is going on in that big head of yours?" She gets up from her leather office chair and walks to her husband to squeeze his large, cold hands. Jessica's husband has never been so melancholy on December 24th. "I'm…worried," he shares. "About what?" "Tonight.” Jessica was alarmed by...

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“I should have known better ” by Jane Dilenger

Submitted to Contest #284

Trigger warning: Contains themes and depictions of familial abuse, including physical violence and emotional traumaI was born into a world of unrest—a world of pain, hatred, unmet dreams, and unhealthy expectations. Anger and secrecy became my only companions. I watched my parents grow from teenagers, scarred by the pain their own parents had inflicted on them, to adults who willingly, and at times purposefully, passed on even worse pain to the things they were meant to cherish. I saw the cycle repeat and worsen. Pain turned to anger, and th...

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“Words Cut More than Actions” by Edward Regory

Submitted to Contest #284

It was a chilly September day, and my hands felt numb as if frostbite had set in from the icy mist of water spraying back after a long day of pressure washing. I had backed up my two-ton truck onto the driveway and needed a moment--wiping granules of embedded dirt from my eyes and hair. I felt beaten by yet another day of swinging side-to-side and the jerking motion of a pressure washing wand over a two-story home and twenty-one hundred square feet of moss-covered pavement. The pinch in my mid-back and burn in my knees was proof that at my a...

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“Maya” by Autumn James

Submitted to Contest #284

*Contains loss*I should’ve known better. But her green eyes, her light hair, her soft skin- it drew me in like an ant to honey. But it became my undoing. Let me rewind a little. Christmas Eve, five years ago. A work party. It was the kind of event I normally wouldn’t have bothered attending- I would rather spend my Christmas Eves by the fire with a book, not being much of a party person- but it was required for my job. I was just getting through it, talking to people because I had to. I excused myself from a con...

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“You don't get something for nothing ” by Hoosang My Story

Submitted to Contest #284

It was a couple of weeks before my father's anniversary of his death and Christmas was just over a month away.This could not come at a better time .I had just moved into my new place with my 3 children, this was a fresh start .I received a call from my friend with an amazing deal, "How would you like to go to Grenada for a week, no expenses, you just have to pay for the name change?" "what's the catch?" I said , "no catch, just a name change, it's a guy I know , I'll pass you his number so you can chat to him" he replied.This sound...

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“The Spirit of Baking” by Caitlyn McKenna

Submitted to Contest #284

I was born here.I remember how the sun felt, shining through the window in the nursery as my mother rocked with me in her mother’s old rocking chair. She had been gifted the chair before I was born, and my fondest memories of my infancy are of sitting in that chair with her as we rocked and she sang to me. I don’t remember the song, but if I ever heard the tune again I would fly back there in an instant. I grew up here.My parents owned a small bakery that was situated on the first floor of our two-story home, and I grew up amidst the smells ...

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“Last Call” by JV Favarulo

Submitted to Contest #284

The pungent smoke was unusually thick this humid July night at Mulcahey’s Pub, considering the late hour. Mind you, the portly gent positioned mid-bar circumvented any hope of filtration from the undersized smoke-eater overhead, thanks to the Cuban clenched between yellow-stained teeth that belched acrid smoke every time he exhaled. The unusually large midnight population of patrons—more than two-thirds being cigarette smokers—added to the pollution, with assistance from the two revolving fans spaced equidistant from each other above the wor...

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“The Grown-Ups' Table” by Anthony Andrés

Submitted to Contest #284

This Christmas, Hugo Rose’s dream of joining the grown-ups’ table would become a reality. Even though he was related to everyone at the kids’ table, he didn’t know how to relate to anyone at the kids’ table. It didn’t help that besides being the oldest among the kids, he was also an old soul. He preferred Gilbert and Sullivan over memes. He would rather read the works of Henry David Thoreau than perform a ridiculous TikTok dance. Hugo’s personality, unfortunately, made him a target for his cousins, specifically self-described Sigma male...

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“The Art Contest” by Burton Sage

Submitted to Contest #284

The results were in. There was a clear winner. More people had entered the contest than had been expected. The contest had attracted attention outside the Springfield area, and the art world was abuzz with the discovery of a new talent. Excitement reigned. But inside the inner office of the owner of the Springfield Clarion, the local morning newspaper and sponsor of the contest, the mood was far from festive. It was downright somber. “This was the last thing that we expected,” said Ja...

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“A Price To Pay” by Kris Glas

Submitted to Contest #284

I should've known better. As cliche as it sounds nothing in life is ever free. It all started with my dream trip. We were bouncing down the streets in the French Quarter to the tune of live horns blaring and drums pounding, forcing this mystical string of rhythm that shivered up from my toes to my hips. I had over elaborated in mixed spirits with colors of red, orange, and green doused in crushed ice. I had saved up an entire year for three whole days. of fun. The ultimate girl trip! Now here I ...

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“Affordable Therapy” by Elena Ivachtchenko

Submitted to Contest #284

“You don’t call me often enough. It’s just twice a year.” My friend was frustrated.“What makes you so upset? I am calling you now. By the way, others are getting what I can offer. Hearing my voice even once a year makes them happy.” I said.“I am not like others.”In my mind, I saw her touching her hair with her palm.This never-ending argument about who is better and worse had to end.We became friends in the third grade. I don’t know why she picked me. She had her friend circle. She knew everyone, she was popular. Her whole family was popular....

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“unthinkable” by Jim Norton

Submitted to Contest #284

UnthinkableIt’s two in the morning. I am sitting in my 2020 Chevrolet Sprint in a Walmart parking lot with a Glock 9— bullet in chamber, safety off, cocked— clutched in my right hand. I should have known better, I should have known better? Are you kidding me? That cliché works for ending up with a bad used car or eating a lot of food you know you’re allergic to. But it is unthinkable for—*******Jim Davis is a 60-year-old white male who has taught public high school English for more than 30 years. He is an easygoing teacher whose classr...

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“intergalactic repo” by Chris'She'a Edna E.

Submitted to Contest #284

The Fires Began in 3037First Pyros, then Lumina, then Drovak—poof! Up in flames like someone had lit the global Monopoly board on fire after a particularly bad game. The official story? “Climate crisis!” they screamed. Global warming, yada yada. But as someone who spent her life buried in books and connecting the dots, I knew the truth.“I told you! It’s not the weather; it’s the debtors!” I’d yell to anyone who’d listen, which, to my fluster, was mostly my journal.Not that I’m some kind of genius. Solstice Reach—the city I call hom...

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“i hope it's not too cold, wherever you are” by Natalie Grey

Submitted to Contest #284

It always seems to be that Nadine and I remember Mom's funeral very differently.I don't blame her--not really. Elena had been born that autumn,and although she was my sister’s second, she seemed to cause her just as muchanxiety as her first. So I don't blame Nadine because having a baby only acouple of months old when your mother passes is nothing to be envious of."Gabriela, I need a quick second. Take her?""Oh-"But against my breastbone was a child, and far away, I could hear the back door open. If I tried hard enough, I imagined I could he...

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Write a story that includes the line “I should’ve known better.”

Submissions are closed

✍️ 90 stories

“The Legend” by Artha Julie Nava

“Merry Christmas” by Zi Poromon

“I should have known better ” by Jane Dilenger

“Words Cut More than Actions” by Edward Regory

“Maya” by Autumn James

“You don't get something for nothing ” by Hoosang My Story

“The Spirit of Baking” by Caitlyn McKenna

“Last Call” by JV Favarulo

“The Grown-Ups' Table” by Anthony Andrés

“The Art Contest” by Burton Sage

“A Price To Pay” by Kris Glas

“Affordable Therapy” by Elena Ivachtchenko

“unthinkable” by Jim Norton

“intergalactic repo” by Chris'She'a Edna E.

“i hope it's not too cold, wherever you are” by Natalie Grey

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about someone who receives a gift or message that changes their life forever.

Center your story around a character spending their first holiday alone.

Center your story around an unexpected guest who changes a traditional get-together.

Set your story in a place where everything should be familiar to your character(s), but isn’t.

Contest #284

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

347

Contest entries

145

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: