Before bed, you put your clock ahead one hour for daylight saving time. When you wake up, you realize you've gone forward a lot more than one hour.

Posted in Fantasy on Mar 6, 2021

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✍️ 81 stories

“World War Teens” by Hannah Graesser

Submitted to Contest #35

Boom. An explosion rattled the building and shook me out of my sleep. I groaned and rolled over in my bed. “Five more minutes,” I muttered.Another explosion sounded in the distance. I sat up groggily and checked my digital bedside clock. It was turned off. That’s weird, I thought. But as my eyes swept my small, dim bedroom, I quickly realized that all of my electronic devices were turned off. My clock, my alarm, even my phone, when I tried to turn it on, all had dark screens. A blood-chilling scream from outside shook me out of my slugg...

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“Alone Time” by Saranya Hawkins

Submitted to Contest #35

A light buzz went off by my hip as I was sipping my coffee. I pulled out the pager and saw a message asking for my assistance in the emergency ward. My coffee spilled over the edge as I darted out of my office, down the hallways to the ER wing of the hospital. A nurse greeted me at the entrance, handing me a patient chart, “I’m sorry to bother you, but a patient came in with shortness of breath and heart palpitations.” I thanked the nurse and entered the room. An endless number of gloves, wires, and packaging was littered on...

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“The Clock” by Adrienne Sharp

Submitted to Contest #35

My muscles ached and my breathing laboured as I rolled over to turn off the alarm clock. The sun was starting to flow through the window illuminating a surprising six inches of dust on my bedside table. I rolled over ignoring what didn’t make sense. I had cleaned the house yesterday. I must still be half asleep. I groaned and rolled back again. I struggled to raise my body with my elbow. My comforter seemed more faded. I looked up to see the pure white ceiling had faded and cobwebs hung from the corners. Something outside the windo...

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“The Veil Woven By Mercy” by Tom Moser

Submitted to Contest #35

The digital clock came as a Christmas gift to her mother, intended to be a less abrupt morning alarm than the old clock by her bedside. The old device was a flip display clock that made a clicking sound every minute when a new plastic number would flip over. “It is a lovely clock,” her mother said to her eldest daughter, Janice, who was the gift-giver on Christmas morning. “Look at all those buttons, I’ll never figure out how to work the thing,” she suggested as sh...

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“The Grey Day ” by Robin Melet

Submitted to Contest #35

The Grey Dayby Robin Lynne MeletThe night was peaceful, so I thought. I thought life would go on as it was without interruption. I prayed, “Dear God, our world needs you, Lord,” as I set my alarm ahead one hour. The “rat race” I was so annoyed with was about to change, unbeknownst to me. I was tired. Tired of people driving in a hurry to get to anywhere. I was tired of people driving closely behind me so they could bully me while in their cars. Even I was in a race with time. I just wanted more time without feeling hurried. I was so tired of...

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“Winky Face” by O Maule

Submitted to Contest #35

Heather the hellish hen. That’s what I liked to call her. Cacophonous clucking in the early morning hours at five minutes past daybreak classified us all as early birds. The only reason that miserable hen was still alive was because the owner, Miss Madeline was the only qualified baker, to my standards anyway. I loved my warm, flaky, raspberry pastries every Sunday afternoon. I fumbled around my covers, blindly searching for my ballpoint pen. I had officially finished my workout- my leaden eyes were at least fifty pounds each. As per my rout...

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“Time laps” by Gleb Doynikov

Submitted to Contest #35

A time laps... “This day again... As if life is not messy enough. Tonight we lose an hour of sleep. Again with annual spring madness... Why only an hour, huh? If our authorities had any power, they would jump us 100 years forward, just to pass a burden of paying our pensions onto the next generation of people.” John was not your regular grumpy old man; he was SUPER grumpy. Everyone who knew him would rather not, and he was the definition of a frown. It was almost as if he had a rule, 3NF – as in “no fun, no friends, no family”. “Actually, if...

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“Today” by Claire Sally Roos

Submitted to Contest #35

If you know me at all, you'll know I'm a stickler for punctuality. Which is only one of the myriad reasons I dutifully (and a little conceitedly, I admit) set my bedside clock ahead one hour on the night of March 30th, 2024. So many of my colleagues at Brentfield Pharmaceuticals had pitched up either an hour too early or an hour too late on DST change days, I had lost count. Many of them just didn't care, since it was a Sunday and not a mandatory work day. I, on the other hand, was proud to say that I had not ever missed a clock-in time...

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“A Wish That Went too Far” by Emma Friedman

Submitted to Contest #35

I hate daylight savings time. It is always right before the end of my school quarter, and we have a lot of tests. So, of course, I want all that time to study. But, nope, spring wants to start and that leaves me with less sleep and less time. And I know, you might think I’m overreacting, but you’re going to have to get used to it. I am Phoebe Tala Reyes. I am a junior in high school, and this year has been the hardest of my life. Sometimes I which I could just travel in the future, so I can skip all ...

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“The Accidental Time Jump” by Alexis Klosterman

Submitted to Contest #35

Samantha bought a new clock from an antique shop recently and she had never gotten around to using it. She found it in the back of the closet and decided today would be the perfect time to use it. Today was the day to set your clocks ahead an hour for spring forward. Before bed she set her clock, and then she did her normal bedtime routine. She brushed her teeth, combed her hair, changed into her pajamas, and then she laid down for bed When Samantha woke up the next morning something was off. She felt different. She got out of bed and walked...

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“The day I set my alarm for eight” by H.R Reichert

Submitted to Contest #35

I set my alarm for eight Not seven This task I could procrastinate But either way, I won't be lateI hop into my bright blue bed Catching another hour of sleep Because I set my alarm aheadMy fluffy blankets make me warm An hour more Because I’ll get up at A time one hour out of the norm!Beep Beep BeepLooks like it's the end of my extra sleepI rejoice my dreams but when I glare out my window I see laser beamsAnd flying cars And Future detectives smoking future cigarsI was so surprised...

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“The Future only an Hour Forward Away” by Blane Britt

Submitted to Contest #35

The Future only an Hour Forward AwayI have over six clocks, 4 watches, a clock on the microwave, stove, toilet and refrigerator in my bachelor pad. On the early evening of March 7, 2020. I thought I would get a head start on changing each clock and the watches one hour forward after my friends and some covetous competitors left the poker party. I hosted at my condo. I can say that there was a lot of drinking and smoking and not all of the smoking weren’t from cigars, if you get my drift. People were coming in and out from Friday up until Sat...

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“Like Broken Glass” by Kristi Kisielewski

Submitted to Contest #35

The alarm goes off, it stings, it pierces my mind, it hurts. It’s too early.The siren stops, the clock ablaze, but no, that’s only in my mind. Only in my mind. The clock has done its job today, that’s all, it’s just doing its job.So why do I feel so dreary then, why do I feel so pained? It’s because the clock’s gone back, that’s all, the times have turned. I’m weighed down by sleepiness, pulled into my pillow by desire. No, I can’t, I have to get up or else, I have to get up.But what is this? It can’t be. A dream, that’s all, it’s just a dre...

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“Time Travel” by Elise Callaghan

Submitted to Contest #35

Time Travel“You too, huh?” Jade looked up in embarrassment. Had she really been counting on her fingers? She laughed.“Twenty-nine years old and I still can’t figure out Daylight savings time. I don’t get it; how can they just change what time it is?”“Don’t worry, you’re not the only one” Liam reassured her. “I bet offices all over Australia are full of peeps like you trying to work it out the old-fashioned way.”“I just realllly don’t want to be late for work on Monday.”“Or early!”“Yeah, whichever one it is. Speaking of old fashioned, check t...

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“Fast forward ” by Cindy Bennett

Submitted to Contest #35

I am never one to complain, but ...I am really not a big fan of daylight savings! I always end up feeling as though I either get too much sleep or not enough! And not to mention the hunger pains between meal times because my body has to adjust to waiting an extra hour! Priscilla my Burmese "soul animal" is not happy with her meal times being changed either! I mean she is royalty after all! She has a particular routine she likes to follow and if by chance it gets interrupted, hell hath no claws like a Burmese cat not pampered to her liking!Wh...

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Before bed, you put your clock ahead one hour for daylight saving time. When you wake up, you realize you've gone forward a lot more than one hour.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 81 stories

“World War Teens” by Hannah Graesser

“Alone Time” by Saranya Hawkins

“The Clock” by Adrienne Sharp

“The Veil Woven By Mercy” by Tom Moser

“The Grey Day ” by Robin Melet

“Winky Face” by O Maule

“Time laps” by Gleb Doynikov

“Today” by Claire Sally Roos

“A Wish That Went too Far” by Emma Friedman

“The Accidental Time Jump” by Alexis Klosterman

“The day I set my alarm for eight” by H.R Reichert

“The Future only an Hour Forward Away” by Blane Britt

“Like Broken Glass” by Kristi Kisielewski

“Time Travel” by Elise Callaghan

“Fast forward ” by Cindy Bennett

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story that takes place at a spring dance.

You made a promise to yourself you'd finally do it on the first day of spring. Today was the day.

Write a story about someone who finds something interesting peeking out from a melting snowbank.

Write a story about someone walking through a park on a spring evening, told only through internal monologue.

Contest #35

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

544

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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