Write a story that centres around an Instagram post.

Posted in High School on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 20 stories

“Posted Two Minutes Ago” by Alyssa Telgenhoff

Submitted to Contest #144

Jason King liked my Instagram post. The one I posted two minutes ago. This can mean one of two things. He’s casually scrolling through the app. Possible. Or he turned on the notification to tell him when I post something. Seems unlikely. But! Jason asked me to borrow a pencil to take a math final we had yesterday. He didn’t ask Amber Prescott or Courtney Hall for a pencil. Both are more popular and sat closer to him in math class. Does this mean something? I study the picture in question. It’s one of my favorit...

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“Ouija Board Blues” by Stevie B

Submitted to Contest #144

Although none of our fingers were placed upon it at the time, the planchette moved magically and effortlessly atop the worn and weathered Ouija board surface, moving solely of its own volition. That had never happened before. There are three basic rules when you work with the Ouija board. Only two of the three really apply when it came down to survival. One: never use the Ouija board alone. Three: Always say Goodbye. How was I to know that some idiot at tonight’s table would take out their cell phone to begin snapping pictures and then posti...

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“The Answer to Queer Quandaries” by Laura Eliz

Submitted to Contest #144

Ah yes, 5:00pm on Friday, that magic hour where I am set loose from the metaphorical cage that is my office at the NYC DOE and set free to roam once more. The last 30 minutes of my day always seem to drag. I have picked up the bad habit of boredom scrolling Instagram. My Instagram discovery today was that my ex girlfriend Maddie had gone and gotten engaged. She was now engaged to the ex girlfriend of my dear friend Mel. Th...

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“#instaregret” by Matthew Parker

Submitted to Contest #144

I wish I never sent a post out the first time. It was the most stupid idea I ever had, but my friends begged me to get on Instagram and share my story to the world. "It'll be fine Mark!" they told me. "It isn't that bad!" They told me. They lied. With their venomous words, they flipped my life upside down. At first it was nothing but a couple of posts of my cat or new video games I purchased. But then, someone replied to one of my posts. I should have ignored it, you know. My parents told me never to talk to strangers, especially on the inte...

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“The Void” by Christina Hicks

Submitted to Contest #144

Snap. “So, like, if I don’t get my geometry grade up, my parents say they will ground me,” yourbaebailey pouts her glossed lips. Snap. “That’s so lame,” mira_miranda rolls her eyes in solidarity. Snap. “On god!” Snap. “Which filter? Clarendon looks so good on my skin, but juno makes my eyes pop!” Flush. Both girls sigh in irritation. The stall door swings open, and another sixteen-year old steps out. yourbaebailey and mira-miranda refuse to move away from the mirrors, and the mirror lights. “Uh, excuse me? I need to...

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“Why do I never get to be in your selfies?” by Karen McDermott

Submitted to Contest #144

I know most people who see and like this post won’t read the caption. I mean, who reads captions, right? But I need to get this off my chest, even if it only ends up being for me. What is it you think you see in my photo? A bubbly, self-assured blonde woman in her 20s who’s got it all under control? I mean, how could she *not* be in control with those immaculately brushed brows, true? Or a carefree girl with her head thrown back in laughter at what must’ve been a pant-wettingly good joke? A lovely lady who’s mind must be as free from cloud...

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“Peter Pan” by Amber Hamilton

Submitted to Contest #144

No. No no no no. I tap on the image in the Instagram post, accidentally liking it, and then quickly untap it in a panic. If feel like I’m I’m having an out-of-body experience as I pace the kitchen, absentmindedly unloading dishes from the dishwasher before I realized that they’re dirty. My head feels buoyant, like all thought has eluded me, like those neurons are refusing to fire. This is fine. It’s fine. Oh, forget it. It’s not fine. There’s no use pretending I’m okay. I slump to the floor, my back against the cabinets. I wonder what t...

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“Old Blood, New Body” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #144

TW: Swearing and Violence. “Facial recognition software matched the image from this Instagram post to that of Cedric Sliabh. Last seen during the apartheid in South Africa, Sliabh was one of the immortal sponsors of the regime there. Big racist piece of shit basically. He’s wanted for multiple counts of murder there, extrajudicial killings, torture. His reputation goes back further than that. Rumours say he ended up in South Africa when the Nazi’s lost World War Two. T...

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“I saw you on Insta” by LK Brindley

Submitted to Contest #144

Aisha grunted as she took the full weight of the bar off the rack. She was lying on her back, the bar in her hands trembling slightly as her biceps quivered. She steeled herself, brought the bar down to her chest. Nice and controlled. She gave herself a tight smile, took a deep breath, and tensed her shoulders to push the bar back up again, when a face appeared in her peripheral vision. Right where a spotter would stand, if she had one. Which she didn't. Aisha frowned. The face hovered, upside down to her perspective, and smiled at her. She ...

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“Case Closed” by Daniella Vaugn

Submitted to Contest #144

Marisa Wright. She looked so normal to me, so painfully average. She was a young woman that posted pictures of her little white dog and her iced lattes from Starbucks. Who donated to homeless shelters and posted pictures of her volunteer work every other week. Missing? I couldn’t believe the stories going around. In all my years as a crime detective, I’ve never studied a case so mind-boggling. Disappeared, out of nowhere. Disappeared, out of thin air. Who would want this nice woman gone? I continued to scroll through her Instagram acc...

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“Roommates” by SEAN MILLER

Submitted to Contest #144

“You can’t be serious…” Ava groaned, scrolling through social media. She just saw the new post from her band teacher on Instagram. It was a picture of the band room with the caption: “Band Practice Tonight!” She hated that her band teacher used Insta to send out news. He was trying way too hard. She shook her head, it was so cringe. Jen, Ava’s roommate, looked up from her book, “What is it now?” Ava sighed, “Band practice got moved up to tonight instead of tomorrow…” Jen shrugged, “And?” Ava shook her head, “You never pay attention, ...

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“How I Met My Brother ” by Jill Engelhardt

Submitted to Contest #144

I posted a picture on Instagram. Some friends of mine were doing a #funfactfriday challenge and I decided to join in. The photo was a polaroid of a toddler boy sitting in a highchair. He has a mop of red-brown hair on his head and he’s wearing a blue and white striped polo. He’s averaged sized with the pudgy cheeks of childhood. He had a small cake in front of him. His eyes look at it greedily. Around him are several adults, clearly in mid-song. The photo has that red-brown tinge to it that happens to polaroids from the late 1970s ...

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“Leah's World” by Jesper Jee

Submitted to Contest #144

It was Tuesday morning and time moved slower than usual. Leah consulted her watch. In the time it had taken for the clock to go from 10.30 to 10.50, she had; brushed her teeth, dried her hair, applied her makeup, downed another Celsius energy drink( Sparkling Grape Rush ) and, also according to her watch, walked approximately 632 steps, mostly around her own room. She was excited. There was still ten minutes left until she could post her recent picture. In reality the picture was almost a full week old, take at last weeks boat trip with the ...

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“Tension Breaker” by Carmen Ella

Submitted to Contest #144

Tension Breaker It wasn't the greatest of times; it wasn't the worst of times. Mom had passed and the Smelly Old Man From Across the Lake had come for a visit to pay his disrespects. The Man would visit every 2 weeks for the next 3 months. He had stopped caring about mom ages ago. The Smelly Old Man From Across the Lake had decided long ago that he was too good for his family and abandoned them. If they didn't want the criticism or hatred or any of the other parasitic behavior that he had to offer, he'd moved on with his life and le...

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“Break Point” by Eric Miller

Submitted to Contest #144

The city below Lukas’ apartment balcony bustled with the sounds of the Consumers - hundreds of people bustling to complete one tedious task after another. Like any city, Omni was a giant machine - fed by those willing to do the undesirable work. Today, a Consumer might be tasked to monitor a waste disposal drone, and tomorrow replace old sewer grates with new ones. Whatever unsavory task needed to be done to earn the credits needed to consume, the Consumers would do.Lukas sipped his latte.And, like the city, the Consumers also...

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Write a story that centres around an Instagram post.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 20 stories

“Posted Two Minutes Ago” by Alyssa Telgenhoff

“Ouija Board Blues” by Stevie B

“The Answer to Queer Quandaries” by Laura Eliz

“#instaregret” by Matthew Parker

“The Void” by Christina Hicks

“Why do I never get to be in your selfies?” by Karen McDermott

“Peter Pan” by Amber Hamilton

“Old Blood, New Body” by Graham Kinross

“I saw you on Insta” by LK Brindley

“Case Closed” by Daniella Vaugn

“Roommates” by SEAN MILLER

“How I Met My Brother ” by Jill Engelhardt

“Leah's World” by Jesper Jee

“Tension Breaker” by Carmen Ella

“Break Point” by Eric Miller

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with somebody taking a photo.

Write a story about a wedding photographer.

A character finds an old roll of film, and takes it to be developed. What do they find?

Write about a character who’s pathologically camera shy.

Contest #144

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

192

Contest entries

115

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: