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Write a story with the line “I wasn’t expecting that.”

Posted in Dramatic on Dec 27, 2024

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✍️ 64 stories

Inspiration in the Park

Submitted to Contest #283

The wooded area in the local park was my favourite place to go to when I was but a lad, living a short walk away. I spent many hours on my own there, but I did not for a second feel that I was alone. I felt welcomed there every time. The trees were my best friends, particularly the cluster of cedars. In fact it was a place that gave me confidence in myself. When I was ten years old, I felt the attraction of becoming a writer. No one knew that I had that feeling, certainly not any family members or friends. And ...

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Shaping the Future.

Submitted to Contest #283

Yes, love makes the world go round. This was a thought Cosmic Mystic Elke told herself more than once, as she was enjoying this romantic stage of her new world. She and Big Al Grayson went on proudly defying their Christian parental influences, by continuing to have sleepovers with each other. To be sure, after Big Al had invited New Age Cosmic Elke to turn back to God in his more liberal minded church, she had accepted that in all her days, Jesus had always close at hand. That thought had stood her in good stead when Big Al's tall but rigid...

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Technomancer 5: Love in Nuevo Laredo

Submitted to Contest #283

From one of the nearby shelves, a can dropped, hitting the floor sending a clanking sound resounding through the empty grocery store. Masa cringed and held her breathe, trying to calm her racing heart. Not now, not now. Fearing an attack, she clenched her jaw and looked over the edge of the shelves. She locked eyes with Arion and relaxed. He stood strong, watching over them all and completely unphased by the sound. Masa was glad he had joined their group here. Arion had fought for her right to fight, unlike Leron, who had argued for her not ...

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NO JOY, NO LOVE

Submitted to Contest #283

I could not believe what I was hearing. At this stage, the story relayed to me by my co-workers was second hand. They were, after all, writers, blessed with an imagination. The story, in all probability, could have been at this point sensationalized or even fictionalized before it reached my ears. So, I was more than certain nothing of what I was hearing could have really happened. The story relayed to me by my co-workers was that Hydra Dells, my best friend and confidant was alive and well and back with her husband. But my best friend and c...

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Sailing without a Map

Submitted to Contest #283

I wasn't expecting that. I never saw this coming. No, I never imagined I’d find myself here—adrift in a vast sea with no shore in sight. It’s almost laughable, how we draw up our plans, as if by design—a timetable to guide us, to keep us on course. Yet, at the close of each cycle, we look back and realize how empty those plans have become, how meaningless they feel. It feels like only yesterday when my sister sent me that message, asking me to show up for an interview dressed in "smart attire." But foolish me, I took the word "smart" at fac...

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Elaine Version 2

Submitted to Contest #283

Elaine the Fair, Elaine the Lovely, the Lily Maid of Astolat had taken the opportunity to make her escape from the tragic tale of her unrequited love of Sir Lancelot du Lac.She was now choosing her own adventure as The Lady Charlotte Elaine of Shalott, entrepreneur owner of Charlotte’s Web Weaving. Elaine found that life in the studio apartment of Shalott Tower was not as she had imagined it would be.She realised that, in order to finance the upkeep of the place, she would need to weave steadily day and night, leaving her no time for so...

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A Home To You and Me

Submitted to Contest #283

There was a certain delight to be found within the walls of a disreputable bar. The peanut-ridden floor, the dirty cigarette smell, the homeless regulars sleeping in the corners, all of Gregory’s bar’s charms held an unmistakable allure that pulled in the group of friends who visited the establishment regularly. Blonde Anna Louise, red-eyed Jeremy, brunette Lee, and the freckled Oliver, though just barely above the legal drinking age, had found themselves in the same cushioned booth on the same Saturday night for the past few years–yes, ille...

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Standing at the Intersection of Life's Plans

Submitted to Contest #283

*Contains talk of health issues*  "I wasn't expecting that." "I know, I am sorry to give you this news, especially under....” he releases a heavy sigh, “these circumstances." I nod. My eyes sting, my throat constricts, this is it. I am going to cry. I have not cried in seven years, and I am finally going to cry sitting in a doctor's office with the Doctor I found after hours of googling "coupons for doctors near me" only to realize there are no coupons for doctors. "I... I'm sorry I don't understand. I just came in here a few weeks ago ...

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Haunting Guilt

Submitted to Contest #283

Helen trembled as she placed her cell phone after hanging up abruptly. She tried to collect the thoughts swirling in her brain faster than a category-five hurricane off the coast of Florida. With a heavy heart, she paced the room, her mind racing with questions and doubts that consumed her. Suddenly, the missed calls, the late texts, and the unexplained absences made sense. Bubbles, her cat, sensing the switch in her mood, came to the rescue, but she couldn't see or hear him meowing. Shock, fear, pain, and sadness took over all her senses. A...

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Lulu and the Complaints of the White Oak Tree

Submitted to Contest #283

It was Christmas time, but the snow was taking an awful long time to fall in Lulu’s region. The ground was dry as if it had been turned to stone—like a punishment for the devil's tempting ways in the desert. The sky was a cold blue, allowing the sun to shine on the earth while freezing its rays. The birds had all flown south, leaving no life visible in the sky. The bold eagles were probably nesting nearby, but one day, when Lulu looked up, the size of the empty sky overwhelmed her, dwarfing even the majestic eagles.  The trees stood nak...

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My Dream Come True

Submitted to Contest #283

*This story contains sensitive content regarding the events of September 11th, 2001. "I wasn't expecting that!" ---the first line of dialogue I read in what must have been the quadrillionth book I picked up that morning. "Are you sure I can't help you find something?" "Oh...no thank you! I'm fine!" I assured the eager bookstore clerk. It was my new Saturday practice to go out for a coffee ---light and sweet with stevia and oat milk. After getting the bougie coffee, I went hunting for a copy of The Hitchhikers Guide to th...

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A Savior is Born

Submitted to Contest #283

Surrounding them were decorations of all kinds. The silver-suited nutcrackers reminded Roger of his grandfather's quartet. He wished Delilah had had a chance to meet him, and hear them sing the Montana Hop. The Silver Foxes almost made it to the Barbershop Quartet Championship one year. Roger also wished he had a close knit group like his grandfather, close enough to form a quartet even. Not that he would, or that he was a very good singer.Looking across the dimly lit table Roger's eyes’ pupils dilated as they fell upon Delilah, the love of ...

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The Fairytale that Never Happened

Submitted to Contest #283

Chapter 1: The Illusion of PerfectionAmelia James was your average millennial—sold dreams and delusions of equality and happiness. She figured that if she followed her dreams, everything in her life would be great. Amelia believed in college and a great career afterward, only to be marred with debt and low-paying jobs after graduation. Academics always came easy to her, but she didn’t really know what it is that she wanted to do with her life. The only thing for sure that she knew that she was ever good at was helping others, but she qu...

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Red Velvet Cake

Submitted to Contest #283

A bouquet of rotting wildflowers sits stiffly on the windowsill. Rigor Mortis has set in. To merely touch the dried leaves would be like taking a hammer to glass or tapping a fingernail against a pyramid of playing cards. Helen, feeling cool from the open window, wraps an afghan snugly across her body. Granny made this. The cacophony of patrons exiting a restaurant from the street below interrupts Helen’s thoughts. She stares blankly outside, barely cognizant of the maple leaves flying effortlessly in the air and splotching the clear blue sk...

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Queen Snake

Submitted to Contest #283

Have you ever looked a rattlesnake in the eyes? Have you ever stood and realized the rattlesnake was upright looking you in the eye? Have you ever been so close to a rattler that you can hear it breathe? Do those images make you want to pee and flee? I live in desert country, have all my life. On hikes or walks through the land, I’ve met just about every kind of desert creature. Only one scares me every time: rattlesnakes.  Rattlesnakes come in a variety of colors: green, blue, brown, black with silver diamonds,...

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