A character overhears something at a black-tie event that puts the night in jeopardy.

Posted in Mystery on May 10, 2024

Submissions are closed

Sorry, we are not accepting submissions for this prompt as it is not part of an active contest. Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy Prompts account.

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 46 stories

“Funny Business” by Elisa Thompson

Submitted to Contest #250

It was black-tie comedy night at the Four Seasons Hotel and Dash Moody was due onstage in five minutes. Unfortunately for Dash, he’d just consumed three plates of Thai chicken and was burping volcanic clouds of curry into the electric atmosphere of the Pinnacle Ballroom. This often happened before a performance—the burping was a by-product of his stress eating—but tonight this was especially bad because Dash’s longtime nemesis, Oggie Phelps, was in the audience. Oggie was a hack, but for some reason the crowds loved him. His joke...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Marble Hands & Granite Fists” by Jason H

Submitted to Contest #250

“Are you sure?” “Y-Yes, Mr. Wright. There is no mistake. I performed the autopsy myself.” “Why did you not come to me immediately with this?” There was a terse silence as the man on the other line weighed his options. Each second that passed filled Leyton Wright with a resurging mixture of disbelief, anger, & betrayal. How could this be? Their family was always so careful to make sure something like this would never happen. They scrutinized each and every hired servant. They tested anything that ever came within ten feet of a family memb...

0 comments 0

Read story

“THE GALA” by Glenna Agnew

Submitted to Contest #250

Riley Hudson adjusted his bow tie over his crisp white shirt and then buttoned his tuxedo jacket, effectively concealing his shoulder holster. He pulled a black mask out of his pocket and firmly affixed it over the upper portion of his face. He then pulled the slightly crumpled invitation from his other jacket pocket as he entered the building and presented it to a security team member just inside the spacious foyer where elaborately masked guests in evening attire were moving through a security scanner. Others were being checked...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Unpleasant Thoughts” by Stephen Brown

Submitted to Contest #250

Content Warning: Violence and Language The sounds of conversation surrounded Olympus Hall. A surge of enthusiastic energy permeated as more guests continued to enter. These people represented all the big shots throughout the entire Sol System. Each of them a guest to Emperor Olympus, of Mars. The guests wore their best attire to show off the styles of their respective homeworlds. Olympus Hall is the Emperor’s favorite place to host individuals of this caliber. The room’s walls, ceiling, and floors hid grade IV armor within, but the guests w...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Thieves in Velvet” by Steven Nimocks

Submitted to Contest #250

Part 1 - The Unexpected CallJack Turner stepped into the Plaza Hotel’s grand ballroom, greeted by a dazzling display of opulence. Chandeliers cast a golden glow over towering floral arrangements and priceless artifacts—a diamond necklace from India, ancient Roman coins. A string quartet’s soft melody wafted through the air.The Global Legacy Gala was an annual gathering of the world’s elite, focused on global conservation. Billionaires mingled with royalty, their designer tuxedos and gowns a stark contrast to the dire causes they claimed to s...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Moot court” by E R Fontus

Submitted to Contest #250

Logan Reynolds looked across the lawyers gathered on the thirty-second floor of his office building in Boston. Red-faced, his colleagues from the other offices - New York, Philadelphia, DC - were shouting to be heard over the noise in the foyer. There was no obvious place for Logan to slip in. The associates were sticking to their local office packs; each office gathered in a tight circle. Only the older partners were moving from group to group. Other than Logan, the Boston office had only one associate, Cristina. She was now locked in...

1 comment 1

Read story

“A Family Delight” by Grayson Chilcote

Submitted to Contest #250

Tiolu sat at the cloud white table and stared at his food. Well, “food” is a generous term. What the hosts of this party gave him was an insult to food. Tiny little pieces of meat or something baked with clearly no love at all, only cooked to look nice and housed no taste, no substance, just like everything here. His mom would’ve shamed every person here. He tried to hide it, but the woman to his right, Lia, noticed something was wrong. She always did. “Tio, what’s going on?” She asked. He glanced up at her then back down to his plate....

0 comments 0

Read story

“Run Away From Kerry” by William Malave

Submitted to Contest #250

Run Away From Kerry “That’s game two! The winner is Early, that beautiful man of iron! Round of applause everyone!” Early was cheered up to the stage as he accepted his “reward,” which was just a hastily wrapped bag of food and half-opened drinks, some of which were spilling out of the package. Early snorted as the mixed dark fluid of beers and liquors seeped out of the bag and onto his sleeves. “Thank you!” he shouted, causing everyone else to cheer more. Almost everyone here was so drunk or high that they had no clue what was going ...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Priceless” by Alex McColm

Submitted to Contest #250

"Your majesty , you have outdone yourself , you bring honour to your people and all the kingdom of.............." The Prime Minister trailed off , obediently."Decades!' The Sultan interrupted , raising a thick index finger to his political servant ,"........of research ...........of searching ............ bargaining.........and finally!' he exclaimed as he turned to the presentation altar and his eyes widened as they adorned his latest prize ,'She belongs to me!'He strode slowly , yet purposefully towards the microphone stand "Behold , my lo...

1 comment 1

Read story

“Hear today and gone tomorrow” by Peter Truter

Submitted to Contest #250

“Remember you promised to behave,” whispered Zoe Turner, as she squeezed the hand of her husband for extra emphasis.The petite young woman, not yet thirty, had been obliged to pull out all the stops to convince Jack to attend the event. Even though she finally twisted his arm, she still feared he might resort to some sort of passive aggressive protest, on the night. He tended to be mischievous that way.“Did I?” mused Jack Turner, with an exaggerated frown, “I only seem to remember agreeing to come?”The wiry built man was older than Zoe by on...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Cinema’s Plot” by Rick Machiato

Submitted to Contest #250

It’s 8 pm and people slowly start entering tonight’s event. Most people have an invite, a black credit card shaped invite, with gold lettering, but some are allowed to enter without showing any credentials. These are the VIP guests, although lesser known among the journalists and photographers. Alighting from a limousine, a tall man with short gray hair and thin glasses appears. He seems to take a different route, going behind the journalists and photographers and slipping into a side entrance to the building. Who could he be? Maybe someone ...

0 comments 0

Read story

“The Emissary” by Logan Cross

Submitted to Contest #250

SENSTIVE CONTENT: Stalking, Mental Illness It wasn’t her fault. The girl didn’t mean anything by it, really; she was just the messenger. “I swear on my life,” the girl chattered to her friends at the table. “She ran off with that newscaster, the tall one. With the teeth. The sexy one.” She didn’t realize that I was listening, or even who I was at all. She wasn’t even cognizant of the fact that her message was the nail in the coffin, a coffin I once thought had been a lifeboat. I stood and headed for the hallway the gi...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Bound By Stars” by Jacqui Paige

Submitted to Contest #250

Late! She was running late, Lyria realized, as faint music met her ears at the bottom of the grand staircase. Gathering the skirts of her midnight-to-sky blue gown in her delicate hands, she dashed up the stairs. The crystals sewn into the fabric caught the light with each movement, casting tiny, star-like reflections along the corridor. Her ascent was swift and graceful, the ethereal sleeves of her gown flowing behind her like wisps of cloud as she hastened to join the other guests. Drawing closer to the entrance, there was no mis...

0 comments 0

Read story

“An event to remember ” by FJR R

Submitted to Contest #250

(Mayor Rodriguez): tonight’s the night jack, the money we raise tonight will be the launching pad for my senate campaign and i can finally get out of this shit hole town. (Mayor Rodriguez says gleefully as he struggles to tie his bow tie). (Jack p) Come on frank this town isn’t so bad, after all we were raised here. (at that moment a petite figure appears from behind jack with a sarcastic smile)(Justine Rodriguez) i think you just made his point jack ( she reaches pass jack to fix her husbands tie). Now what would you do without me...

1 comment 1

Read story

“Lady in Red ” by Andrea Shaw

Submitted to Contest #250

Can I have everyone’s attention, please? The spokesperson said, now standing, as he clinked the side of his water glass. “That’s my cue for the bathroom,” Amaya said to Roberto, her assistant and table mate. “I don’t blame you he said,” as he gave an eye roll. “I need to go and get back before they call me on stage.” Amaya was set to receive an award on behalf of her company for its generous donation and for all the volunteering efforts the employees gave for several of the charity’s campaigns. She liked to give herself a pep talk along with...

0 comments 0

Read story

Load more stories

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story in which someone is afraid of being overheard.

Dialogue – 64 stories

Write a story about a child overhearing something they don’t understand.

Kids – 62 stories

Write a story in which someone can only hear one side of a conversation and must piece together the meaning of what they’ve heard.

Dialogue – 38 stories

Your teacher tasks you with writing a story based on an eavesdropped conversation. When the story is published, your subject isn’t happy.

Funny – 15 stories

Contest #250

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: All Ears

$250

Prize money

225

Contest entries

105

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - May 17, 2024 EST

Won by VJ Hamilton 🏆

Title: Rhymes with Pepsi

View details

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

We'll send you 5 prompts each week. Respond with your short story and you could win $250!

Menu

CONNECT

BLOG

APPS

TOOLS

ABOUT

A character overhears something at a black-tie event that puts the night in jeopardy.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 46 stories

“Funny Business” by Elisa Thompson

“Marble Hands & Granite Fists” by Jason H

“THE GALA” by Glenna Agnew

“Unpleasant Thoughts” by Stephen Brown

“Thieves in Velvet” by Steven Nimocks

“Moot court” by E R Fontus

“A Family Delight” by Grayson Chilcote

“Run Away From Kerry” by William Malave

“Priceless” by Alex McColm

“Hear today and gone tomorrow” by Peter Truter

“Cinema’s Plot” by Rick Machiato

“The Emissary” by Logan Cross

“Bound By Stars” by Jacqui Paige

“An event to remember ” by FJR R

“Lady in Red ” by Andrea Shaw

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story in which someone is afraid of being overheard.

Write a story about a child overhearing something they don’t understand.

Write a story in which someone can only hear one side of a conversation and must piece together the meaning of what they’ve heard.

Your teacher tasks you with writing a story based on an eavesdropped conversation. When the story is published, your subject isn’t happy.

Contest #250

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

225

Contest entries

105

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: