Write about someone taking advantage of some unexpected free time.

Posted in Fluff on Jan 19, 2024

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✍️ 31 stories

“Cancellation” by K.A. Murray

Submitted to Contest #234

My 11:30 a.m. meeting was cancelled today, giving me a free hour in a crowded day. I’m an events planner at a communications and marketing agency, and my schedule is always tight. I was promoted two years ago, and now there are several young women working beneath me. They need my supervision and guidance, particularly one of them - she’s not the newest, but she sometimes seems overwhelmed by small tasks that should be automatic by now, after six months of work. I still run events myself, of course; my first meeting of the day was with a ...

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“Anton Perfume” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #234

For a few moments in the lobby of the Viking Hotel, Anton Perfume forgot that it was winter. While he was not a busy man in the colder months, he made it a point to vibrate a few times a week. It consisted of drinking a nice scotch at the bar of a hotel like the Viking. Something with character that remains mostly empty until the summer tourists return. As he sips his scotch, he sends a pulse throughout his body. Nobody would be able to see what he was doing, but he could feel it. Across the globe, an old woman grabs her heart. She feels as ...

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“Snowbound” by Valentina Nigrinis

Submitted to Contest #234

"My flight got canceled," I say, gripping the phone tightly, trying to sound bummed. I could hardly believe my luck. Will handed me a glass of wine. I silently mouthed thank you and took a sip of a magnificent 2018 Rkatsiteli. I heard my mom gasp, "Oh no, sweetie. Is it because of bad weather?""Yeah, it started snowing again last night and will keep snowing all day." I lean back in my seat and tuck my feet under me, watching the snowflakes pass by in a flurry. The glass wall in front of me feels cold to the touch, in stark contrast to t...

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“Before the Titanic” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #234

“All this rush, rush, rushing around, it is more than my head can bear”, said John Appleton, depositing their overnight bags, a newspaper, and himself, exhausted, on a bench in Boston’s South Station, and there he wiped perspiration from his brow with a crumpled kerchief. His sister, Margaret perched beside him and offered up a private prayer for small mercies, which being the cleanliness of the rag, and his temporary capitulation to exhaustion. Judged by the acerbic commentary that accompanied much of their sight-seeing, Boston ha...

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“What’s your favourite flavour of s**t sandwich?” by Claire Trbovic

Submitted to Contest #234

The calacatta marble floor looked duller today than normal, the thin borders of gold outlining each hand cut tile felt drab somehow, like they needed a pep talk. It was early but the house was already crawling. Cleaners and gardeners moved ghost-like trying to keep out the way, every so often creeping into vision and disappearing again. I padded along the corridor to the kitchen, dropping a towel on the way in the knowledge that before I turned around it would have already been picked up. It had been 972 days since we won the EuroMillions, £...

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“Airport Poetry” by Philip Coxon

Submitted to Contest #234

Absolutely classic. It just had to be today. Peter was watching the departure board as the hopeful, encouraging ‘Gate Information Expected Soon’ in cheery white script flicked over letter by letter to that most ominous of words in a bold red: ‘DELAYED’. Groaning audibly, and shrugging his backpack crammed with all the things too heavy to go in the hold off his shoulder, Peter cast his eyes around the bustling airport despairingly, hoping for some contrite saviour with an explanation. No-one immediately rushing forward explaining away the del...

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“Adult Lullaby” by Christine Johnson

Submitted to Contest #234

Cate had tried this combination at least a dozen times before. Warm bath, bottle three-quarters filled with formula, and the donkey and the cow book read twice, the first time with animal sounds and the second time only reading the words all with the hope to lull Jana, her eight-month-old daughter, into a sleepy trance. When Jana’s eyes would close and remain closed for more than a minute to ensure the slumber spell had taken full effect, Cate would lay Jana down in her crib and creep out on tip toes only to hear Jana’s screams befor...

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“A Crime of Compassion” by Conrad De Jesus

Submitted to Contest #234

Being an animal rights activist isn’t always what it’s cut out to be. Sure, the work is exciting. After all, how often does one get to say that sneaking onto factory farms and slaughterhouses in the dead of night is in their skill set? Makes for a great CV if you ask me. It’s the getting caught part that has its downside. Take my case, for instance. I had spent the last thirteen months placing hidden cameras in these types of facilities in order to document animal cruelty. And by that, I mean the absolute worst of the worst. I won’t go into ...

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“Seasons in Change” by Edd Baker

Submitted to Contest #234

The seasons had started to change a few weeks ago, slowly at first. Leaves shifting from green to orange, red and yellow, the gentle autumn breeze making for a prismatic snowfall as they fell from now naked trees to the Tacoma streets below. An oddly pleasing crunch accompanied the last of the moving trucks which pulled up in front of Susan's house, large men in boots and winter caps coming out. Harold, Susan's father, had been barred by Susan's mother, Rachel, from moving any more furniture out by himself, a few days ago tearing a ligament ...

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“A Tuesday Afternoon in 585 B.C.E.” by Christopher Biery

Submitted to Contest #234

The year was 585 BC. By all accounts, the month was May, and the day the twenty-eighth. Whether or not it was a Tuesday, like it will be this year, is inconsequential. But what is consequential is the time and location; twelve hours and fourteen minutes in the PM, and, unfortunately not accurately approximated, “somewhere” along the Kizilirmak River. This is going to be tricky. ____________________ I’m currently sitting at home in my bathrobe, staring at my dark and empty television set. A storm of immense fortitude had swept through my sm...

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“Chasing Sunlight” by Morgan Aloia

Submitted to Contest #234

Claude sat in rapture on a public bench that he felt in a very deep and personal way belonged to him, because it was where he spent a brief period every day smoking his pipe just prior to his afternoon shift at the manufactury where he dumped most of his waking hours. He had been joined there that day by the bleach-clean skeleton of a cat, moving of it’s own accord. It had sat with him for some half of an hour now, and in that time he thought of the other pitiable scavengers he had seen about the streets of Roullac. He found no resem...

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“1898 at the Lighthouse - A Whale of a Secret ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #234

The majestic whale who had seen many decades was floating with the swells near the lighthouse. She knew her time was nearing, when her essence would go on to another life. She began to instinctively look for a soft, sandy beach for her 40-foot-long body to rest. For many years the wise whale taught the younger whales and helped lead when they swam in the migrations up and down the Oregon coast. They liked to spend summers in the Arctic and go south to the warm, tropical waters off Mexico for winters. There they bore their cal...

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“Samantha's freedom ” by Kevin Keegan

Submitted to Contest #234

In the bustling city of Cork, lived a young woman named Samantha. Samantha was a dedicated marketing executive, always on the go, juggling tight deadlines and attending back-to-back meetings. Her life was a whirlwind of emails, conference calls, and endless to-do lists. Personally her boss hated her but professionally he couldn't exist without her, she was just that good. Every workflow flowed through Samantha and without her things just didn't happen. Her home life though was empty apart from her cat Mildred, she adored Mildred. Samantha wa...

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“The Hunter Museum ” by Kacie Foos

Submitted to Contest #234

I had just finished dropping my daughter off for her first day of a summer camp. It tugged at my heart strings watching her wave goodbye with her nervous 'first day' smile. I had given her a warm hug and the words of encouragement she needed. But now, it was time for a 'me day'. Words that were rare and far in-between the realities of my busy life. I was on my way to do something that would bring me joy beyond words, a visit to The Hunter Museum.When I found my parking spot and my car engine had officially been turned off, a wave of child-li...

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“The Retirement List” by Amy Walliker

Submitted to Contest #234

To say that Max Cameron had been excited to retire would be an understatement. He had longed for days where time would crawl by like a wounded insect. He couldn’t wait for the clock to become just another item of furniture, rather than his time-keeper glaring furiously from the corner of the room. Now that day had finally come. As he walked through his front door, after his last ever day, he knew that his new life was about to begin. Time, now, finally, stretched out before him like an open sky. On his first day off he hadn’t set his...

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Write about someone taking advantage of some unexpected free time.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 31 stories

“Cancellation” by K.A. Murray

“Anton Perfume” by Story Time

“Snowbound” by Valentina Nigrinis

“Before the Titanic” by Luca King Greek

“What’s your favourite flavour of s**t sandwich?” by Claire Trbovic

“Airport Poetry” by Philip Coxon

“Adult Lullaby” by Christine Johnson

“A Crime of Compassion” by Conrad De Jesus

“Seasons in Change” by Edd Baker

“A Tuesday Afternoon in 585 B.C.E.” by Christopher Biery

“Chasing Sunlight” by Morgan Aloia

“1898 at the Lighthouse - A Whale of a Secret ” by Kristi Gott

“Samantha's freedom ” by Kevin Keegan

“The Hunter Museum ” by Kacie Foos

“The Retirement List” by Amy Walliker

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about someone whose time is running out.

Write a story about someone who wishes they could turn back time.

Start or end your story with someone saying, “We have all the time in the world.”

Set your story in a place that’s frozen in time — literally or metaphorically.

Contest #234

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

340

Contest entries

132

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: