Begin your story with somebody getting (or taking) the blame for something they didn’t do.

Posted in High School on Oct 31, 2022

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✍️ 41 stories

“A Father's Love Has Two Blades” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #165

TW: Mentions of abuse and some swearing.“Detective Nunez had recently been promoted from the rank of officer. He has admitted to a string of assaults against registered paedophiles near his home. Several of the men were left unable to function psychologically. One committed suicide shortly after being attacked.” I read from my phone. “Why did he do it?” Billie asks, bouncing baby Tina on her lap. “Even if he isn’t convicted, his career is over.” &nb...

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“Memento Mori” by Sherri Moorer

Submitted to Contest #165

Aylsia stared out of the window at the rings of Saturn glowing into the space station, mindlessly fumbling with the small, square device in her hands.What’s that? Braxton smiled impishly. “It’s a device driver that overrides station systems. I can control everything with it.” Her eyes glittered. “How?”“I can get these computers to do whatever I want. Hack into secure files, monitor communications, jam communications, override system commands, change the kitchen menus, add to supply orders, open and close secure doors and ports, whatever I wa...

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“Troubled kids and silent neighbours ” by Maria Alexandra

Submitted to Contest #165

“It’s mine” The yelling and the thumping stop and he turns around and fixates me with a stupefied look, only just realizing that I was in that room too. “It’s mine, I mean it,” I say again, not sure if it was him who needed more persuasion, or me. “I didn’t mean to cause any trouble”.His jaw clenches, as if he’s disappointed that it was me who brought the pot, and not his son. His left temple is twitching and the look in his eye sends shivers down my back. It evinces violence and for the first time, I feel lucky to be a girl. From every...

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“Last Week” by Eva Bernal

Submitted to Contest #165

I did it. I broke it. It was me. Jacob stepped forward, toes touching the lamp shards. He straightened his back, reaching quickly behind him to gently squeeze his sister’s arm. Janie was a waif of a thing, wide eyed and fearful she stood silently, obediently. David Marsh towered above his 10 year old son. Tonight he was blessedly sober but his eyes still carried an old menace. “Clean it up”, he said and strolled out the screen door. Jacob let out the breath he was holding and turned to his sister. “Quick, grab the broom and dustpan.” H...

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“Rude, Crude and Lewd” by Trebor Mack

Submitted to Contest #165

Rude, Crude and Lewd“MacLeod!”The old sergeant’s voice echoed along the passages of the cop shop as he jabbed his finger at me and continued. “How many times need I tell you? There is to be no farting in the office.”“Don’t shake your bloody head at me because I know it was you. Grab a radio and bugger off out on foot patrol. Don’t come back until you get the word from me. Have you got that?”“Yes, Sergeant.”I knew arguing with the grumpy ex-professional wrestler stood as much chance of success as me trying to piss into a gale. Sergeant Claire...

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“Arachnophobia Comes To Cleveland” by Murray Burns

Submitted to Contest #165

Arachnophobia Comes to ClevelandThey promised Billy a pet when they dragged him away from his friends in Omaha.“You are going to love it in Cleveland. They’ve got the Browns, the Indians and a Great Lake. And we’ll have our own house. You’ll have your own room, and you can have that pet you’ve always wanted.”“What’s so great about the lake?”Moving is tough on an eight year old kid. The pet idea was just one of the many carrots Fred came up with to induce Billy to give Cleveland a try. The younger children, Carri and Matt, were less attached ...

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“In The Event” by MB Campbell

Submitted to Contest #165

In the EventFirst, it was the phone in the study. They both ignored it. To answer it was to surrender or worse to agree. Then it was the siren and flashing lights coming from the alarm panel in the hallway. That continued for minutes until something had to be said. “What did you do?” Leona yelled from the kitchen.“I didn’t do anything,” Leonora replied, as she came down the stairs. “What did YOU do?”“You were here with that creep with the weird face.”“You were here, too. How else would you know?”Had they been able to cooperate they migh...

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“Your Mouth is Cashin’ Checks Your Gun Hand Can’t Deliver” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #165

White Oaks, New Mexico 1887 Clancy Cooper spits a long stream of tobacco juice into a nearby spittoon, cocking his eye at a dark-skinned man at the end of the bar. The man in the black suit and wide-brimmed hat glares back at the scruffy farmer with greasy, shoulder-length hair. Clancy runs his finger across his bushy mustache, nodding knowingly at the man. “I tell you, Trey, that’s him.” Hoping to avoid drawing attention to himself, Trey Akin, a baby-faced, thirty-two-year-old farmer, quickly glances at the man. “Maybe it ain’t…” “Wh...

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“Do You Believe In Monsters?” by Douglas Goff

Submitted to Contest #165

Do you believe in monsters? I do. I was having one of those truly deep and comfortable childhood sleeps, that as an adult you were never quite able to return to. “I told you to be quiet!” he screamed as he spanked my behind quite hard. I had been torn from my deep slumber into a confusing and painful reality. “Now go to sleep,” he growled. He had blown through like a tornado, the whole thing ending as quickly as it had started. One of my siblings must have been talking and he had mistakenly thought that it was I. That was one of my ...

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“Blame” by T.M. Kehoe

Submitted to Contest #165

As soon as I clocked in, I knew I had to call the nurse. Over the weekend, I had noticed hard nodules, some quite large, under my patient’s skin on their derriere, to be French about it. They were not subcutaneous pressure ulcers; we all watch him like a hawk for those. No… these were the insidious kind, that build up under the skin without breaking the skin down to telegraph their malignancy: decubitus ulcers. I hated having to call the agency overseeing the patient. The case manager would be pissy, looking for ways to cast the blame, her n...

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“The Innocent One” by Vince Vance

Submitted to Contest #165

The Innocent One You ever get accused of doing something you didn’t do? Well, I have. And it ain’t too grand, Stan! The only thing worse is getting grounded for something you didn’t do. It hurts. Really! I know. You get this real bad feelin’ right in your gut like you ate too much candy before breakfast the mornin’ after Halloween. That feelin’ stays there ‘cause no one will believe you. &...

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“Amber on the Run ” by M B

Submitted to Contest #165

The meerkat girl - dressed in shorts, a vest, and a short-sleeved shirt - wiped her forehead as she stalked through the jungle. Amber loved the vest: It had enough pockets for all her various objects - notepads, writing utensils, recorders, and cameras - for an article she was writing about the small tropical island nation of Safilr: a heavily sanctioned country quite hostile to journalists. The island was undergoing a historic event. For the first time in decades, an actual election was taking place. For years, the thylacine...

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“Living in a Snow Globe” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #165

“Of course the gay kid was guilty.” The man said. “I mean it was his car right?”“He did not belong here.” A woman spoke, near him. Johnny could not tell where he was, a pale-yellow fog surrounding him. “I know his type. My Sara goes to high school with him. Did you know he was on the cheerleading team? And he wore dresses to school! Marco was just trouble. He got what he deserved.” “We can’t have that kind of thing around here, corrupting our town.” The man’s voice lowered. “I heard he was drunk as a skunk.”The wor...

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“Farting at a Funeral and Other Life Lessons” by Richard Thompson

Submitted to Contest #165

Ever since I can remember, my mother has blamed me for the death of my father. I honestly could not tell you why. I was just four months old when he fell down a manhole. I guess maybe she thought I crawled all the way from my crib in Queens to downtown Brooklyn in rush hour traffic and gave Pops the ol’ heave-ho while he was on the job. I suppose that is possible (I was an exceptionally good crawler for my age), although I can’t imagine that I had enough upper body strength to physically thrust my father to his tragic demise. My therapist sa...

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“Blame” by Jessica Summerell

Submitted to Contest #165

The lights and sirens got the attention of everyone within a 5 block radius, with the amount of cop cars there were, it was clear something bad had happened. There were dozens of people swarming, trying to see what was going on, but the cops were using their cars and their own bodies to block the crime scene. “Everyone please move back, we need some more space. Please move back.” Officer Shawn Miller shouted over the murmuring of the crowd as he swung his arms to encourage people to back up. “I heard there's a dead body” “I hea...

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Begin your story with somebody getting (or taking) the blame for something they didn’t do.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 41 stories

“A Father's Love Has Two Blades” by Graham Kinross

“Memento Mori” by Sherri Moorer

“Troubled kids and silent neighbours ” by Maria Alexandra

“Last Week” by Eva Bernal

“Rude, Crude and Lewd” by Trebor Mack

“Arachnophobia Comes To Cleveland” by Murray Burns

“In The Event” by MB Campbell

“Your Mouth is Cashin’ Checks Your Gun Hand Can’t Deliver” by Michael Jefferson

“Do You Believe In Monsters?” by Douglas Goff

“Blame” by T.M. Kehoe

“The Innocent One” by Vince Vance

“Amber on the Run ” by M B

“Living in a Snow Globe” by Marty B

“Farting at a Funeral and Other Life Lessons” by Richard Thompson

“Blame” by Jessica Summerell

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story that includes the phrase “This is all my fault.”

Write a story where a murder occurs — and the suspects are all pointing the finger at one another.

Write a story about a corrupt politician trying to avoid blame at all costs.

Start your story with a character telling their best friend that their spouse is having an affair, only for their friend to “shoot the messenger”.

Contest #165

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

203

Contest entries

106

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: