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

“Brother broke Grandma's urn and lied about it. ” by Papa B

Submitted to Contest #165

Looking back on it, I think my brother did our family a favor. Of course, I didn’t like being the least favored child from that point on after he broke grandma’s ash urn. That moment still lingers in my head; the grey ash spread all over the carpet like a gruesome glitter bomb in front of the fireplace. The way it caked and dusted itself all over the carpet and walls. A little got on us both, but the moment mom screamed and saw us both there, he was the fastest one to point the finger at me. The little bastard was always a liar, always cheat...

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“Bad beat ” by F.O. Morier

Submitted to Contest #165

-"Good morning, Libby! Sit down." -"Sorry I am a little late. I was visiting my brother." she sighed. -"I hope it was a nice visit. You look a little depressed if you ask me." -"That's why I'm here, isn't it?" she sighs again as she dropped herself into the chair opposite me. -"Well, you do not always have to be depressed to come over here. I love it when people come and tell me they're feeling good." She gave me a sour smile and shrugged. -"What's on your heart?" I asked. -"I lost a bet." she replied. -"Oh, I hope you haven't lost too much ...

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“Mr. Brown's Ruler.” by Mark Nicholson

Submitted to Contest #165

Mr Brown’s Ruler. “I did it, sir, I didn’t steal it, sir, I just borrowed it,” she lied. It wasn’t that she was lying about the stealing she was lying about the entire act. Mr. Brown the over officious math teacher; was taken aback, aghast, and speechless for once. He had been absolutely sure that I had stolen his ruler. He had seen me hovering around his desk as he had walked past the class earlier and when he returned his treasured twelve-inch ruler was missing. I was a liar and thief, a child of a broken marriage. One of those kids from t...

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“The Devil Herself” by Erin Beilhartz

Submitted to Contest #165

As the cuffs tightened on his wrists, Damien scanned the crowd with desperate eyes searching for the one person who could clear his name. He wasn’t a killer, for fucks sake. All he’d done was ripped the son of a bitch off his woman and hit him once. Ok, twice. Maybe it was a half dozen times. But he hadn’t killed anyone. And she knew it. As the cop gripped his arm and dragged him towards the cruiser Damien finally saw the face he was looking for. Rage flowed through him again at the sight of her beautiful face bearing a bruise from th...

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“Line Between Love and Loyalty ” by Nakiera Corinne

Submitted to Contest #165

Where I grew up loyalty was everything. It’s imbedded in the culture there. Written into us like the scars on our skin. You learn early that the lines between love and loyalty become almost indistinguishable in the grand scheme of things. You lived and died by it. In our world it’s us and then there’s them and it’s us we’ve got to protect, at all costs. I think that’s what happens when family is all you have. I thought about that as the judge stared down at me from her seat on the bench. Her brown eyed stare was hard and unwavering. Her face...

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“The Favorite Son” by Elena B.

Submitted to Contest #165

He saw it all happen in slow motion: the chubby hands pressing against the wooden drawers, the cupboard shaking, the blue vase tumbling at the top. He jumped over the couch and pulled Charlie away from the imminent disaster. For a fraction of a second, the vase remained suspended in the air. The toddler landed on his diaper-padded bum as the vase came crashing down. The sound sent a shockwave through his ears.“Uh-oh,” Charlie uttered, looking at the pieces of blue and white ceramic that had exploded across the floor.Toby held him back by the...

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“This Is All My Fault” by Kristi Sturgeon

Submitted to Contest #165

This Is All My Fault By Kristi Sturgeon This story is a character study of Judas Iscariot and therefore has a small bit of gore. It also contains death and suicide. Tuesday, April 2nd I did what the men asked and was well-paid for it. We agreed on a signal, and I gave it, and they arrested my boss on some kinda trumped-up charges. But I didn’t think it would go this far. I mean, I thought they’d put him in jail for a few days and let him go–you know, just enough time to teach him ...

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“Act of Contrition” by Audrey Harmon

Submitted to Contest #165

“Hello, my son,” came a geriatric voice from behind a mesh screen. “Please begin in your own time.” What am I doing here? I wondered. “I hurt someone,” I said. The wooden bench creaked beside me. Surely he’s heard worse. “I’m so sorry to hear that. Would you mind telling me when the last time you came to confession was?” While trying to think, my phone glowed with a notification. My chest and stomach swapped places before I read what I received, a harmless alert from the weather app. Light rain recommencing in fiv...

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“The Summer Time Lie” by Keith Maynard

Submitted to Contest #165

Co-conspirators, conceivably, therefore I believe we, no, no, let me rephrase, I insist, we share any available credit. The elusive blame perhaps belongs to another a bystander or simply a victim of fate. I don’t want to take the credit for something I may have merely dreamed of after a spicy meal, and then recorded in this creative essay. Regardless, this tale, this imagined incident I expect, if it actually existed, has moved beyond the “criminal statute of limitations.” Certainly you have watched a Law and Order television show or one of ...

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“JUSTICE SERVED” by K. Anderson

Submitted to Contest #165

Justice Served By K.M. Anderson Some folks say Wendell Payne was a no-nonsense, tough-on-crime judge. Others just called him cruel and unforgiving. Through the years he'd sentenced dozens of men and women to life in prison, and more than a few to death. In his retirement, however, Judge Payne had faded from the limelight. So, it was with some measure of enjoyment that he poured himself a second glass of whiskey and sat down to watch the television report of the impending execution of the most notorious defendant to...

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“Tea and Mimosas” by Alex Flores

Submitted to Contest #165

The tables on the patio are close enough so that the nearby eavesdroppers don’t have to lean to get a listen. The afternoon sun is reason enough for people to wear their sunglasses, hiding their stare from that one table. It’s doubtful those two at the table would notice; they have more pressing matters than some onlookers absorbing their conversation. Scrolling through her phone, the woman stops on a screen, showing it to the man ...

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“Reflections” by Ashley Provo

Submitted to Contest #165

MANY PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT MIRRORS REFLECT BACK OUR INNER SELVES. To some extent, they’re not wrong. There was so much blood. So much blood, and none of it my own. Well, save for the gashes on my arms from both my would-be victim’s nails and from the shards of glass blanketing the floor around us. The woman on the floor stared back at me, wide-eyed. She edged backward, the glass slivers chinking against one anoth...

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“The Path of Blame” by Tanya Humphreys

Submitted to Contest #165

Frankie looked her dog in the eyes, eyes the same deep sienna brown as her own, and said, “Okay Audrey, today we will find complete happiness in the solitude of nature.” She tied back her long sandy blond hair.Audrey whined and stood up as her harness was fastened under her belly, the tail that curled over her back wagged like mad, wiggling her butt along with it. For a moment she forgot her manners and leapt straight up on legs like springs- like Tigger- until her eyes were level with Frankie’s. The dog said, ‘oh boy oh boy oh boy...

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“Love is a Killer” by Joseph Registrato

Submitted to Contest #165

Love is a Killer Two cops huddled in a dingy backroom finishing up reports on what they agreed had been a suicide, but then the best friend of the deceased called and said she was responsible for the death and wanted to be arrested. The younger cop said, “She’s lying. There is no way she lifted her best friend up onto a table saw, of all things, switched it on and somehow pushed her into the blade. It’s not ev...

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“Life Lessons Learned” by Marguerite Schneider

Submitted to Contest #165

Life Lessons Learned Marguerite Schneider It was the mid-1960s in Queens, NY, one of New York City’s “outer boroughs”, those parts of the City that closely surround the island of Manhattan but were then worlds apart from it. Back then, few people from Queens ever elected to be in Manhattan, except for perhaps the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade or the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. While Queens would come to have one of the most diverse populations in the US, folks back then were comfortable staying in their largely ...

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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

“Brother broke Grandma's urn and lied about it. ” by Papa B

“Bad beat ” by F.O. Morier

“Mr. Brown's Ruler.” by Mark Nicholson

“The Devil Herself” by Erin Beilhartz

“Line Between Love and Loyalty ” by Nakiera Corinne

“The Favorite Son” by Elena B.

“This Is All My Fault” by Kristi Sturgeon

“Act of Contrition” by Audrey Harmon

“The Summer Time Lie” by Keith Maynard

“JUSTICE SERVED” by K. Anderson

“Tea and Mimosas” by Alex Flores

“Reflections” by Ashley Provo

“The Path of Blame” by Tanya Humphreys

“Love is a Killer” by Joseph Registrato

“Life Lessons Learned” by Marguerite Schneider

🌟 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: