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

Posted in Dramatic on Dec 27, 2024

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✍️ 65 stories

“Hannah and the Scotty Dogs” by Alexandra Lightfoot

Submitted to Contest #283

Hannah and her husband agreed a few weeks before Christmas to spend their holiday in Edinburgh, Scotland. Hannah was an avid reader and took a fancy to a few Scottish authors who she knew would have a memorial or two in the capital city. She had just finished a big work project and was eager for a break. Her husband would occasionally travel for research in England, and he thought that it would be an easy visit to go straight to Scotland after his latest trip. With few obstacles to their travel, they were soon in Scotland for the holidays. I...

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“Pizza Tattoo ” by Lina West

Submitted to Contest #283

The summer had been hot. “The hottest one yet,” they said. Seattle was smoky. I’d wake up and check the air quality to see if I could go for my usual run along the Puget Sound. I was tired of feeling smothered.It was my first summer after coming out, and I had fallen into this classic lesbian group. The one where this one had dated that one, and were still friends. I was getting used to the whole thing. So were my parents. They’d ask careful questions, trying to catch up to my new language. I loved them for it. I had committed to being ...

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“The Day We Met” by Garrett Dunn

Submitted to Contest #283

“ I wasn’t expecting that “ scrolling on Instagram and to my surprise a coworker posted a picture of him and her another coworker promoting a brand, I wasn’t following her instagram account but he was and he tagged not just one page but two pages I guess girl called them spam accounts. So me being me, I clicked on both pages. I was gonna follow the main page, after I figured out which one that was in my surprise. It was a picture of her with the a dude holding her as a profile picture my heart sunken into my ass. My eyes could not believe wh...

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“A Maury Christmas” by Daniel Peralta

Submitted to Contest #283

“Laura, you’re on rice and beans,” Shelly barked out. “If one grain’s even a little mush, I send it back. Nathalie, you’re doing the strip this year.”“Gross,” Jose let out with a scrunched face.“Babe, I swear to God. Strip steak! If it’s one degree past medium, I send it back.” She gave Nathalie a wave and sent her off. “Jonathan and Myra, potatoes. Georgie and Georgia, dessert. Anthony-”“I think you’re out of milk,” Georgie and Georgia said in unison, followed by a gooey ‘aw’ that made the others cringe.“I love you.”“I love you and some mor...

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“Ships Passing” by Jeanne Lawson

Submitted to Contest #283

Ships PassingBy Jeanne Berjoui Lawson“Ships that pass in the night, and speak [to]each other in passing, Only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness; So on the ocean of life, we pass and speak one another, Only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence.” Tales of a Wayside Inn by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Even though it was Christmas week, this was not a pleasure trip for me – it was work. The publisher of a business trade magazine offered me a freelance assignment requiring a trip across the At...

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 65 stories

“Hannah and the Scotty Dogs” by Alexandra Lightfoot

“Pizza Tattoo ” by Lina West

“The Day We Met” by Garrett Dunn

“A Maury Christmas” by Daniel Peralta

“Ships Passing” by Jeanne Lawson

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story that ends with a huge twist.

Write a story about two characters who surprisingly end up spending a holiday or event together.

Write a story about someone’s first Christmas after a major life change.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year — except your character can’t shake the feeling that something’s off.

Contest #283

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

293

Contest entries

123

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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