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Write about someone who thinks they just got a great deal on something, only for them to realize…

Posted in Mystery on Mar 3, 2023

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✍️ 32 stories

Near and Far

Shortlisted for Contest #188 ⭐️

A bagful of popcorn kernels, three ripe tomatoes, three wire coat hangers, and six marbles. That’s all it’s going to take for me to be able to see without glasses. I am super nearsighted and have to wear these really thick glasses that I hate. I’ve been wearing them since I was eight and thought the bright pink frames were awesome. But now I’m eleven and they are not even remotely awesome. My folks can’t afford new frames, or better yet, contacts, so I have to take this chance.I know it is completely ridiculous, but right now, I don’t c...

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The Point of No Return

Submitted to Contest #188

“I’d like to return this TV, please.” Herbert Whistlebottum - a middle-aged man with the appearance of a college professor, had waited patiently for his chance in the Returns line at one of London’s top electronics stores. The January sales were in full swing with shoppers looking for bargains, spending gift certificates received in their Christmas stockings, and some, like Herbert, were trying to return unwanted items. “Certainly sir,” the young casually dressed shop assistant replied. “Have you brought your receipt with you?” Fumbling thr...

43 likes 49 comments 49
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Keep Your Eyes Open

Submitted to Contest #188

Walk along the walls where the floors don’t creak. Get your bag and take just what you need. Don’t turn the lights on. Don’t use the toilet. Pad the stairs, silent as shadow. Look in the mirror; get a good look. Memorize your face: the cut above your brow, your swollen eyes, the gash on your lip.Now slip into Julia’s room. Fill a bag with diapers, pajamas, her favorite bunny—whatever fits. Scoop her from the crib. Take the blanket too. Rock and sway as you leave. Don’t trip over the blocks on the living room floor—the ones you didn’t get the...

39 likes 40 comments 40
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The Day the Music Died

Submitted to Contest #188

Have you heard the rumor? The one going round town? About a no-hope kid, his luck just going down. Rumor has his number,Rumor's splashing it around;Rumor shouts: run, kid, your luck just hit the ground.Gnawing the stub of pencil, I look back at the lyrics. Not quite Bob Dylan, but the words sing my story; the ballad of the howlin’ no-hoper: Mitch Malarkey. It’s a freezing Monday in March and the wind tugs at the paper like it wants to snatch it away. Yet another thief, trying to up and run with the last of my possessions: a fe...

38 likes 37 comments 37
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Gateways and Doorkeepers

Submitted to Contest #188

Akhila slid through the grate. Into what used to be a storm drain. Before the big outbreak. A musty dampness enveloped her. She flicked her headlamp on. If she were lucky, she could harvest enough contraband to get Neel and herself real food till the next full moon. She didn’t count herself among the lucky though. Lucky were those who had fortified themselves across the River just after the big outbreak. Or the families that had perished together. She hobbled through a pile of rubble. She might be the first one to be there in a while. She h...

36 likes 32 comments 32
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Bridge Bargain

Shortlisted for Contest #188 ⭐️

Agor unfurled the crinkled yellow parchment and grinned at the deed in his hands. For a troll, securing the most trafficked bridge in Rhodinia was a life’s ambition. It had cost him, but even the depleted coin purse tucked into his loincloth couldn’t have dampened his spirits today. For the first time, Agor gazed upon Krakow Bridge. Stretching across the rumbling Tibeth River, the bridge was comprised of four arches, divided by three piers of interlocking stone. The parapets were the tallest he had ever seen, perfect for concealing his ...

33 likes 30 comments 30
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The Train

Submitted to Contest #188

“It’s em.”“Naw, can’t be em, he died, on the cross two thousand years ago.”“Mate, I tell yer, it’s em!”Both boys leaned off the raised platform peering into the train, noses pressed against the window trying to get a better look.“Bloody hell Bobby, I think yer right!” Mikey’s right hand rose making a cross over his body sanctifying and protecting in one swift motion.Jesus turned and saw the boys staring. Jesus smiled. Jesus scratched his beard. Jesus had a back pack on his lap. Army Green, an American flag stitched to the front.“An American ...

18 likes 18 comments 18
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1963 Fender Stratocaster

Submitted to Contest #188

 Paul had found the fountain of youth, and it was slowing stealing his mind. It didn’t look like much, faded and worn. The retirement present from his old boss. The boss who forced him out of the business he built. Paul remembered the chubby and energetic kid he had hired and mentored for the past 10 years. Derek was twenty years younger, and through political maneuvering with the Board had taken over as CEO. If Paul still had the fire in his belly then maybe he would have fought harder to keep his executive positio...

17 likes 19 comments 19
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Dick’s

Submitted to Contest #188

Jack preferred the old gas station Dick’s because he thought the cashier was pretty and she never carded him. He only went there after really rough games. He would buy a six-pack, play Xbox, and tell no one. Thursday was a rough game. Coach barely let him play any. After the game, Jack’s dad Mr. Davis offered a dead-eyed smile to the sweaty brown-haired boy before complimenting his little sister's tumbling and asking Mrs. Davis if they were eating meatloaf again for dinner. They were.  He drove with windows down. His sweaty curls drie...

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Motherhood is the Neck of the Chicken

Submitted to Contest #188

Otillia “Tillie” Duncan’s favorite part of a chicken was the neck—or so she claimed.  I know this because she is my great-grandmother, and though I’ve never met her, I’m fascinated by her life story. Suddenly widowed in her early thirties, Tillie was forced to raise eight children and run a ranch during the height of the Great Depression, by herself. Somehow, she managed it. When Tillie made roast chicken for supper—one, small roast chicken, mind you, for her family of nine—she always exclaimed enthusiastically, “I get the neck! Save t...

15 likes 3 comments 3
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Pete's Big Speech

Submitted to Contest #188

             PETE’S BIG SPEECH Pete Dunbar was about to make his first speech on behalf of the Pac-More Luggage Company. He was new at the company and had already made such an impression on the big boss he was chosen to give the annual speech at the Victorian Hotel in downtown Cincinnati. He and his wife, Debbie, rehearsed the speech over and over every night during the week leading up to the event. They called Irma, Debbie’s mother, to take t...

15 likes 2 comments 2
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My Money's Worth In Teeth

Submitted to Contest #188

Monday afternoon. Busy. I had just come out of the 3.30 appointment with my new dentist and it had gone well. Really well. My faced was flushed with excitement and my grip on Michelle’s hand was bone crushing. I hadn’t noticed until she yanked it to let me know it was time to let go. I apologized profusely.‘I just can’t believe how much it’s going for! It’s crazy!’ I shrieked.‘Oh hun, it’s a fortune! Nowhere in this town have I been met with such outrageous prices,’ said Michelle.‘I know. But free checkups for up to a year? It basically cove...

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The House that Wasn't Haunted

Submitted to Contest #188

I got my first house for more than $10K under market value. The low asking price made my mother nag at me to get every inspection I could pay for, but after the home inspector, the termite inspector, the radon inspector, and the structural engineer all came back with clean bills of health on the property, even she had to admit I'd found a good deal. The seller, an older fellow named George, took my first offer without any haggling. He said he didn't have the energy to take care of the place anymore and just wanted it off his hands. We closed...

14 likes 7 comments 7
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Highway Robbery

Submitted to Contest #188

It’s not a good deal unless it feels like you’re pulling off a scam. Ash had driven off the lot in her new truck like a thief, glowing with pride tempered by only the weakest press of guilt.  She’d never set out to take advantage of anybody, but it’s survival of the fittest. Don’t go selling a truck before you know its worth.  She’d found her victim hosting an estate sale. Ash was no antiquer, and she didn’t go hunting for hoity-toity clothes sold at a song on account of their owner’s unexpected demise, but she liked an adventu...

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THE FLIP SIDE

Submitted to Contest #188

" Customized breakfast coming up !" I cry as l put a plate of sunny side up eggs in front of Ron and scrambled eggs in front of Sheila . ' Wow ! " they cry in unison . I am blissfully happy. Life has truly given me the best deal possible. In a few weeks Ron and l celebrate our fourteenth wedding anniversary . We have a large staff to keep our seaside villa spotlessly clean and to cater to our every whim but l love to cook on Sundays . Our twin sons have just been selected in this exclusive residential school for boys...

14 likes 1 comment 1
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