Write about a group of strangers — or people who know each other, but may as well be strangers — eating together.

Posted in Fluff on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 152 stories

“Not My People” by Ingrid (Skarstad) Williams

Submitted to Contest #100

I followed the footsteps ahead with my eyes fastened to the ground. Dog poop. It was common on the winding dirt paths. A book title floated through my mind, Street Dogs of San Marcos, and I called out to José, “Hey, I just had an idea!” I shared my imagination of a beautiful coffee table book that could raise funds to care for the hundreds of homeless animals. “It’s more of a ‘feed the children’ kind of feel—photography and stories that are poignant and maybe a little tragic.” “Oh my gosh,” he replied. “That’s a fabulous idea!” In his usua...

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“Sunday Dinners” by Livia MacQueen

Submitted to Contest #100

Spoons clanking porcelain bowls make up the only sound at the dinner table, as they are passed counterclockwise and from the left. It is Sunday, the day we grown children gather to break bread with our mother. It is also June 26. The same day my Daddy went to jail, 12 years ago. We all know it, our sighs saying more than we want to admit. But we are not permitted to utter it aloud; Mama forbids it, as though by not speaking of it, it simply fails to be true. Oh, Mama. Poor, Mama. Don’t much know if she’s holding out hope for when Daddy retur...

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“Inmate Islet” by L.T. Thumm

Submitted to Contest #100

So, this is prison. The cold air hung like a noose chilling everyone’s bones in its presence. It was like the air was laced with ice, and there was nothing to be done but pretend it wasn’t there, threatening death. Bron laced her thin fingers in front of her and stretched her arms up to keep warm while two guards escorted her to the cafeteria. It was lunchtime, and she had just made the cut-off for meals. Lucky her. It was mostly men that sat on the small circles the prison deemed worthy of being called “chairs,” but there were women ...

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“Salt” by Zelda Crist

Submitted to Contest #100

When you come to sit in this room, you will be rigid as though you are trying to avoid the eyes of some predatory goblin. The people who sat here now felt as though they were being watched, but by what they didn't know. It didn’t feel human; it didn’t feel malevolent. It was a feeling as though if you did something wrong you would be caught eventually, like you were being recorded by hidden cameras. They all had a headache pulsing behind their eyes, brains feeling swollen. Their throats felt the same, vocal cords paralyzed, so they sat in a ...

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“Twins” by Bob Menaces

Submitted to Contest #100

Have you ever heard of twins sharing everything? What about them sharing each other’s thoughts? This story doesn’t have anything to do with that but it’s nice to wonder about the different possibilities that could happen if it did. Could you imagine if twin females did share a boyfriend and didn’t know about it? That would be hard as twins are known to tell their counterpart everything unless they are male twins as guys are known for talking amongst each other about sharing females. But let’s get all the negativity out our heads as we observ...

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“That's A Wrap” by Heather Ann Martinez

Submitted to Contest #100

That’s A Wrap! By Heather Ann Martinez Every Sunday evening at seven o’clock, we sat down to eat at Joan’s Bed and Breakfast. Joan would cook all day after church. She called us her kids. She would tell everyone she met her kids were coming home for Sunday dinner. We weren’t her kids at all. We hadn’t even heard of Joan or each other for that matter prior to the new train stop being added between Milwaukee and Chicago. We could commute on the train into downtown Chicago and stay at the bed and breakfast during the week. Then, we could co...

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“Wedding Bread” by Hayley Johnson

Submitted to Contest #100

Orchestrated like the sweet, treat-producing hive of the honeybee, the organized chaos was flawless. Each person had a role and they each carried out the necessary tasks to fulfill it. Whether they were verbally instructed, given hand-written directions, or had an ingrained knowledge about this type of affair, I wasn’t about to ask. Though I knew the bride and groom, I felt like an outsider. Before the wedding had started, I stood awkwardly in the dining room, wondering if I should claim a seat while my fiancé took pictures with the rest of...

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“A Birthday Party” by Carol Keefer

Submitted to Contest #100

“A Birthday Party”The lightning flashes, and the thunder echoes across the river, the afternoon waxes away, a typical day except it is my ninetieth birthday. I guess I should be grateful that God above blessed me with a long life. But there are moments when I want to leave these old bones behind and cross over the “Jordon” onto the other side. At this moment, reality reminds me that there is still life to live and enjoy what I have yet to discover.Deep down, however, there’s a part of me where memories of children dance i...

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“Cards on the Table” by Justin Rogers

Submitted to Contest #100

The Airfield at Frankfort am Main is new. I can practically smell the fresh paint. White. Is the color of the paint. It’s a spacious, many windowed, high ceiling-ed, building, which makes me think of freedom. My flight hasn’t been called yet. I’m reading a newspaper, sitting in a lounge on the second floor, in front of an enormous window looking out on the field. I can see great heaps of baggage, trunks, suitcases, bags. The heaps are very neatly arranged. God forbid someone should complain about the mistreatment of their luggage, or find ...

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“Red-eye Voyage” by Hugh Thakkar

Submitted to Contest #100

Nola was the first to break the silence. “These pea meatballs aren’t bad, hey?” “So that’s what they are,” Roman replied. “What I never understood is why—when no one can get meat anywhere these days—they are still called pea meatballs? And not just… pea-balls,” Bruno chimed in. Jie snorted. Marlowe, as usual, had an answer to this question before it was asked. “Pea meatballs hold the form of the once popular dish, ‘meatballs’, which contained ground meat of various origin rolled into small spheres the size of those we are consuming n...

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“Escaping a Nightmare” by Maddie Pleimann

Submitted to Contest #100

Anna woke to a loud thunk. She didn’t open her eyes right away – she had been in this camp for months now and was quickly growing accustomed to the multitude of sounds reverberating through it. “Alright, time to get moving Delta!” a voice screeched from the walls. Delta. That was her barrack. No one bothered to explain how the camp was organized when she first arrived, but it didn’t take long to catch on that she lived in Delta. The camp consisted of a half dozen scattered buildings, each building with three rooms ...

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“Title: Strangers in an unknown train Yakshaya K” by Yashpaul Kalra

Submitted to Contest #100

We all by some queer and cynical network of circumstances had been even totally unknown strangers happened to be jostled into each other in a bungalow of Kamlesh Patel at Pittsburgh. It happened just one year back when I had gone there to see my son Ashish along with his family there. My son as of course my son accepted his invitation without an iota of any objection. He also had a keen yearning to show us to his friends. It was a spectacular row of bungalows all so systematically synthesized at Higher Cleves in an elegant area so remarkable...

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“Good Vibes” by Wayne Njoroge

Submitted to Contest #100

The evening atmosphere was with a buzz of activity. Cars dashed while changing lanes, exiting, and entering through the various on and off-ramps connected to the busy Nairobi Expressway. Work was officially over, but the sun still shone like it was a hot sunny afternoon. Today was a memorable day for Charles. Two things made this particular day of Thursday 20th March 2025 momentous. Firstly, his long-time best friend, Eric, will arrive at JKIA on a Lufthansa aircraft from Germany. Secondly, today was a peculiar day of the year. Equinox coi...

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“Newness” by Caroline Min

Submitted to Contest #100

“How many?” The waiter that stands before them is tall and gauntly handsome, wearing thin-rimmed glasses and a pen tucked fashionably behind his ear. Rina holds up two fingers, and nods when the waiter tells them that their table will be ready in a moment. She feels slightly uncomfortable in her new tweed skirt, a bit too tight at the waist. She fiddles with her skirt, making a futile effort to stretch out the material, and begins to regret her decision to wear a skirt instead of jeans. The crowded restaurant is filled with people chatting...

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“Until Forever” by Fractoluminescence Spark

Submitted to Contest #100

You sit down and skim the menu while you wait, your nails drumming against the table. The waiter comes, and you ask for some coffee to calm your nerves, but you’re waiting for someone. You try leaning back, but you’re too tense and end up sitting upright, your back stiff.She's the first one to walk in - a confident stride, stepping to the rhythm of the music in her ears. She glances your way - she knows it's you, and turns sharply in your direction. She puts one arm over the back of her chair and asks for some coffee, but changes her mind se...

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Write about a group of strangers — or people who know each other, but may as well be strangers — eating together.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 152 stories

“Not My People” by Ingrid (Skarstad) Williams

“Sunday Dinners” by Livia MacQueen

“Inmate Islet” by L.T. Thumm

“Salt” by Zelda Crist

“Twins” by Bob Menaces

“That's A Wrap” by Heather Ann Martinez

“Wedding Bread” by Hayley Johnson

“A Birthday Party” by Carol Keefer

“Cards on the Table” by Justin Rogers

“Red-eye Voyage” by Hugh Thakkar

“Escaping a Nightmare” by Maddie Pleimann

“Title: Strangers in an unknown train Yakshaya K” by Yashpaul Kalra

“Good Vibes” by Wayne Njoroge

“Newness” by Caroline Min

“Until Forever” by Fractoluminescence Spark

🌟 Similar prompts

Start or end your story with two characters sitting down for a meal.

Write a story where a meal or dinner goes horribly wrong.

Write about a character preparing a meal for somebody else.

Write a story that involves a secret or magic ingredient.

Contest #100

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

891

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: