Start or end your story with one or more characters shouting “Happy new year!”

Posted in Holiday on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 46 stories

“180” by Dee Wes

Submitted to Contest #126

*This story contains mild expressions of sensual intimacy.*Highway 180 was congested during a drive to Mount Binah. This offered unpleasant movement through uninhabited space locals named Potential.There were an assortment of vehicles headed in the same direction-all paused for an unknown reason. Some drivers honked their frustration as others created hell within their minds and ruminations. Rana Poston had been guilty of both expressions during other times like this, but when urge arose this time she set her gear in park before checking her...

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“Mr. Ahn” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #126

My father, George Frost, Sr. was sent to Pusan, Korea by the army in 1951 during the war. Twenty four years later, the United States Air Force sent me to Kunsan, Korea, but there was no war when I got there or at least what they told me. In my time there, I wondered if there was a war being waged, but no one bothered to tell me about it. Whatever the case may be, I was sent there in February, 1984 on a remote tour which lasted twelve months. Thinking back, I am fairly certain there was a war being fought, becau...

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“The Cinco ” by Troy Chavez

Submitted to Contest #126

The kitchen smelled of beans, rice, and left-over enchiladas and tamales. It was around 6:30 pm. Dinner was almost ready. The Sanchez family hosted a small cadre of family and friends. The tree was still up and beautifully decorated & lit brightly. The fire place exuded heat. The wind was chilly, and the air was frigid. “Oh, boy… look at poor Danny,” said Clarita Sanchez. “What’s his problem? He’s been sitting on the kitchen counter moping and pounding his fists for at least an hour…” Said Anise Sanchez, their cousin. “He’...

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“Happy New Year Hank” by Rebecca Overstreet

Submitted to Contest #126

“Happy New Year!” I hear from the crowd around me. I sit over a tepid cup of coffee at the local 50’s style diner several hours before the ringing in of 2022. The door behind me swings open to issue the biting sting of the glacial winter breeze and an elderly gentleman. The man, in a knee length, slate colored coat and a matching brimmed hat, both of which are dusted with snowflakes, shakes off the cold and walks haltingly into the bustling room. As he approaches the counter where I am huddled from the cold, he waves to people seated ar...

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“Painkiller” by Deni Merrill

Submitted to Contest #126

“You’re aware that I’m a demon, yes?” he asked, his sultry smooth voice holding an edge of confusion along with his earlier intrigue. He clasped his hands on the bar top, raising an eyebrow as he looked at me, his eyes drifting up and down as if he was scanning me. The crowd behind us cheered with the ringing New Year, but neither of us cared about that. This was a very important moment for me. “Yes,” I nodded, keeping my answers short, sweet, and to the point. I knew exactly what I was doing, and that included the...

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“The Campers” by Harlow Jones

Submitted to Contest #126

They had been out there for six days. Today was the start of their seventh. They had tents, grills, various sports balls, and a sun bathing station. I opened my curtains a bit more, sure to stand behind them. The park never looked so crowded. I grabbed my purse and jacket and rushed down the stairs. I yelled out to Mom that I was leaving for the market. I planned on baking a cake for Emily’s birthday. I opened the door and closed it behind me. No walls or windows stood between me and the campers. Everyone walking past stared at them. I woul...

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“The Old Gang” by Florence Simpson

Submitted to Contest #126

Alex Mitchell sighed and looked around. All the old gang were here, just the way they had been that New Year’s Eve so many years ago. Older yes; many white haired, some bald or balding; not as slender and agile, but still the same group as had gathered here forty five years ago. He smiled contentedly, and sipped his drink. Nancy looked over and smiled, too, lifted her glass and glanced around at the people, then took a sip. Yes, she understood how he was feeling; all of them together again to celebrate yet another new year. As he looked ar...

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“Looking Forward” by Ian Gonzales

Submitted to Contest #126

“Well, Happy New Year!” yells the old man sitting at the bar, turning his shaggy, white-haired head towards the doorway. I look up from wiping at the countertop to see the last one walk in. A glance at the clock on the wall show it’s only a few minutes to midnight. He’s running late. But then, when isn’t he? The new arrival gives the old man an irritated glare. He has the features of a young man, but his face is etched by deep frown lines across his forehead and at the corners of his eyes and mouth. “Give me a break. You know as well as I d...

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“Happy New Year” by Dell Bell

Submitted to Contest #126

CW: mentions of suicide The champagne was poured early. The celebratory dinner had been served at 7:00pm sharp, crackers pulled around 8:00, the TV turned on at 10:00, but once 11:45 came, Arleen Walters let a bit of her nerve slip out with the bubbly five minutes early. Handson Walters, who was sitting a few feet away in the living room, did not notice his wife’s slip-up. He would not have cared anyways, but the rather significant amount of alcohol in his veins made it difficult to notice much of anything, besides the impendingly ...

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“Smell of the Holidays” by Robert Obszanski

Submitted to Contest #126

Waking up to that rank stench never seemed to ever get any easier. All the deafening sounds eventually faded into a muted cacophony. The tremors reverberating through the earth became a gentle stir. The shouting, the screaming, the filth and the dreariness. All of it was easy to become accustomed to with time. Only those green enough not to have experienced it found it unsettling or even shocking. But the smell? It reminded the primordial parts of the brain what the true purpose here was. The creature comforts from the civilized world certai...

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“Sea Change” by Dan Luby

Submitted to Contest #126

Sam and I had been friends a long time and we met in a shoreline dive. We often agreed to meet at that place, where we went when our spirits needed buoying. New Year’s Eve was the ostensible occasion, but hell, as long as Sam was thirsty, so was I.The smell of the salt air permeated the place, which added a gentle touch to our divey surroundings. I made up my mind that it was finally time to tell him, to tell someone, to tell anyone.“My uncle told me he was married once,” I said, finishing my drink.“Your uncle, the crazy one?”“Yeah.”“Who the...

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“Love in the New Year” by Sheila Sarrett

Submitted to Contest #126

"Happy New Year" "Happy New Year her office mates waved to Patty as they left he office early to get ready for their dates. Patty, the office manager, stayed behind to lock the office doors. Patty was a pretty girl with beautiful blonde curls. She was always smiling and everyone in the office loved her. Many on her staff wondered why she did not have a boyfriend or at least go on some blind dates. Patty was not in a rush as she did not have a date for New Years nor did have a date all year. She began to realize that she was working so har...

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“Every Time” by CJ Rodgers

Submitted to Contest #126

December 31st, 1879Another life, another New Years. She smiled and danced and kissed cheeks in the Continental way, trading giggles with the other unmarried women as she did. She danced and sang a duet and offered a handsome boy her final dance of the night. She quite liked this style of a New Year's. Parties were such a more preferable way to wait for it all. She was so used to just waiting around that this was a breath of fresh air. She hoped the party tradition continued.A few minutes before midnight, she went out to the garden.He was wai...

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“New Year, Same Old Year” by David Nesbit

Submitted to Contest #126

New Year's Eve and the more things changed the more they stayed the same. Clive sighed. It wasn't so much a sigh of frustration as much as it was one of resignation. He knew the closing of the year would be much the same as it was every year - the same old faces with the same old forced jollity, the determined good nature of people who for 364 days of the year at best tolerated and at worst actively despised one another, the obligatory countdown to midnight followed by thirty seconds or so of incessant screeching and yelling of good wishes...

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“The Cheating Resolution” by Day Woznick

Submitted to Contest #126

“Brooke! Brooke. Stop walking away from me! All you're doing is avoiding the inevitable talk we will have whenever you come back.” Eric calls out as I briskly walk away from him. I halt at the last words. I do a quick turnaround, my ponytail hits the opposite shoulder as I face him. “The inevitable? What if I don’t come back, what if I never. Ever. want to see your face again? What about then? If you hadn’t cheated on me this wouldn’t be inevitable! Don’t act like you're the bigger person trying to have a conversation. And for the record, I ...

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Start or end your story with one or more characters shouting “Happy new year!”

Submissions are closed

✍️ 46 stories

“180” by Dee Wes

“Mr. Ahn” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

“The Cinco ” by Troy Chavez

“Happy New Year Hank” by Rebecca Overstreet

“Painkiller” by Deni Merrill

“The Campers” by Harlow Jones

“The Old Gang” by Florence Simpson

“Looking Forward” by Ian Gonzales

“Happy New Year” by Dell Bell

“Smell of the Holidays” by Robert Obszanski

“Sea Change” by Dan Luby

“Love in the New Year” by Sheila Sarrett

“Every Time” by CJ Rodgers

“New Year, Same Old Year” by David Nesbit

“The Cheating Resolution” by Day Woznick

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a character reflecting on the previous year.

Write a story about two people who don’t know each other but bump into one other on New Year’s Eve (either once or every year).

Write a story about someone seeking a fresh start after a difficult year.

Write about a character setting an unusual New Year’s resolution.

Contest #126

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

162

Contest entries

100

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: