Set your story on the eve of the first day back at school.

Posted in Kids on Sep 1, 2023

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✍️ 34 stories

“Potion-making” by AnneMarie Miles

Jayce is sprinting across the yard towards me, waving his arm high, triumphantly. “I found a feather, Mom! Look, it’s blue! It must be from a blue jay.”I squat down to inspect it. “I think you’re right. Excellent job, sweetheart. Let’s put it in the jar.”Jayce wastes no time, uncorking the tiny plastic jar before jamming the feather into it.“Is that our last thing?” Jayce asks, still stuffing the feather with his index finger. Once it’s mostly in, a few stray strands of the feather are...

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“School Refusal” by Michelle Oliver

“Ellie, come out from under there.”“No, I’m fine right here.”“Come on Ellie, it’s getting late.”“I’m staying here.”“In a pillow fort?”“Yep.”“All night?”“Yep.”“Don’t you think that’s a little… I don’t know… immature?”“Nope.”“Come on Ellie, your bed is much more comfortable.”“I’m perfectly fine here, thank you very much.”“How about I get you a nice tub of Ben and Jerry’s and you crawl up here next to me and we will talk about it? Come on. I’ve got Chunky Mon...

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“First Day Back” by Jonathan Page

The rush of air smashed into John’s face as he balanced on the handlebars of the camp counselor’s bicycle, and with each bump on the hot asphalt, John’s bottom bounced into the air and lost contact with the thin handlebar that he clung to for dear life. Jim, the camp counselor, laughed. “Serves you right for not having a bike of your own—just one day of camp left—it isn’t too late to take a spill, weirdo.”John was looking forward to his first day of middle school the next day. It would be his first day at ...

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“The Mentor” by Murray Burns

The MentorOff-key crooning…“The green leaves of summer are starting to fall, and those…’’“Enough with all the melancholy end-of-summer stuff, Sawyer!”“How about something a little more upbeat like a little ‘Summer Nights’ from Grease, Jesse?”“Oh my God, no. If I hear about Sandy and Danny one more time I’m going to toss my cookies. You need to move on. Summer’s over. We had a good run, but school starts tomorrow.”“Yeah, I know, but I sure am going to miss those lazy,...

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“Loretta in Flight: Fly Like an Eagle in a World Full of Chickens” by Indee Anna Prosé

Loretta Young squished her plump figure into the tiny confessional in St. John the Evangelist’s Catholic Church. Her knee length jean shorts squeezed her thick thighs as she struggled to kneel down on the step. When she finally knelt down, the step groaned loudly beneath her. She smoothed out the invisible wrinkles on her pink tee-shirt and pulled it taut over her ample bosom and pouchy stomach. Dishwate...

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“Fried Chicken” by Jarrel Jefferson

The sun does not love you. If it did it would stay. It wouldn’t abandon you after three months. Three months of joy and freedom isn’t long enough for anyone. A person needs at least a lifetime of adventure and play and exploration to achieve self-actualization. Trapped in a prison camp, forced to study minerals and long division, who am I supposed to be beyond a statistic in a messed-up system I don’t fully understand.It's 7PM and I’m in the backyard behind my treehouse so no one can easily see me dig a grave for myself. My dog, Bu...

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“A bang-Up Vacation” by Barry Starcher

He stood, frozen in time, staring out the plate-glass window. It was raining with such intensity that Don Bryant could barely make out his car parked in the driveway. Carol came up beside him and gently put a hand on his arm. She spoke in a low, commanding voice...

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“Violet's Second Chance” by Gillian Corsiatto

Grade five had ended on a sour note for young Violet. On one of the very last days of elementary school, she had been caught stealing an eraser from a grade-five-only book fair set up in the hallways. She was humiliated in front of her teacher and her entire class when a parent volunteer walked in with the school principal and pointed her out specifically as the thief. She was then forced to publicly return the eraser th...

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“Promise of Summer” by Philip Umbrino

Ethan’s summer was boring because he was a wimp. Tomorrow was the first day of his senior year, and he was spending his last free day at Mimi’s, a local coffee shop downtown. Like he did every time he was there, he pretended to work on his summer assignments. It was his cover, considering he didn’t even like coffee. In truth he finished his work weeks ago. Most of July and August were spent at his grandfather’s home, ma...

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“BRIGHT STAR” by Charles Corkery

BRIGHT STAR I can hear her, my sister. She has dressed up in her new uniform so that mother can have a look at her before she starts school tomorrow. She obviously looks good, judging by my mother’s hushed tones of awe. They are only next door, for God’s sake. Do they think I have lost my sense of hearing on top of everything else? There’s no sense in keeping all this from me for Caroline, my twin, will come in to say goodbye in the morning and I’ll see her in uniform anyway. I’m not envious, after all. ...

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“Togetherness, Bound by Love” by Evelina Charles

The sun had just begun its descent below the horizon, casting a warm, orange glow across the small suburban neighborhood. It was a serene evening, the kind that hinted at the approaching change of seasons. A soft, cool breeze rustled the leaves of the trees lining the streets, carrying with it the sweet scent of blooming flowers. For most, it was a typical late summer evening, a prelude to the inevitable return to routin...

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“It Was the Last Night” by John Steckley

It Was the Night Before It was the night before the first day of school – always a time of high emotion for me. When I was in elementary school, it was a time of great excitement, as it would provide an opportunity to see friends that I hadn’t seen during the summer. I could catch up with their lives, and I could tell them about the highlights of my summer. But this year is much different from that. I am ...

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“Do Fireflies Go to School?” by Katie Moon

Usually I love fireflies. Not tonight, though. Usually, when I see the world light up around me with tiny suns, it means the next chapter of today’ fun is beginning. For two months, it meant grabbing that old jar Dad gave me and stuffing my toes into my already-tied sneakers. Mom hates when I do that. She says I’m going to ruin my shoes, and that I already grow out of my shoes too fast as it is. But I s...

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“The Bike Thief” by Viola Schultz

We were riding our bikes. Tomorrow we would have to go back to school, but today we were riding our bikes down Park Heights, around the field and woods near Towanda Rec Center, back up Reisterstown Road, and in and out of all the little side streets around our houses where the big fans outside the Chinese places blew out fried food smell and the trash was heaped up high and sometimes you could see two people hiding out d...

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“Pew-Pew Shoes” by Michael Martin

The scraping of the whisk against the sides of the mixing bowl was almost loud enough to mask the thud of a package being dumped at the front door. Not even the apathy of online retail deliveries could shake Brian’s excitement – and relief – when he realized that the sneakers he’d bought for Olivia had arrived in time for her first day of first grade. It was one of the very few benefits of his wife Casey being out of town for work: Brian could get away with buying Olivia the shoes she really wanted, the ones ...

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Set your story on the eve of the first day back at school.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 34 stories

“Potion-making” by AnneMarie Miles

“School Refusal” by Michelle Oliver

“First Day Back” by Jonathan Page

“The Mentor” by Murray Burns

“Loretta in Flight: Fly Like an Eagle in a World Full of Chickens” by Indee Anna Prosé

“Fried Chicken” by Jarrel Jefferson

“A bang-Up Vacation” by Barry Starcher

“Violet's Second Chance” by Gillian Corsiatto

“Promise of Summer” by Philip Umbrino

“BRIGHT STAR” by Charles Corkery

“Togetherness, Bound by Love” by Evelina Charles

“It Was the Last Night” by John Steckley

“Do Fireflies Go to School?” by Katie Moon

“The Bike Thief” by Viola Schultz

“Pew-Pew Shoes” by Michael Martin

🌟 Similar prompts

What was meant to be a great bonding vacation turns sour when an uninvited guest tags along.

Now, as an adult, your character looks back on this summer as the summer when they grew up.

Each year, your character's family goes on the most exotic vacations. Finally they discover why — their family are assassins.

It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.

Contest #214

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

210

Contest entries

99

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Tired of MS Word?

Explore more writing prompt ideas: