Center your story around an unexpected guest who changes a traditional get-together.

Posted in Short Story on Jan 3, 2025

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✍️ 38 stories

“The Seductress” by Ronald John MacLennan Jr

Submitted to Contest #284

It was our annual New Year's Eve party. A traditional black and white tie affair. The party had been in full swing for at least an hour before I noticed her. The band was playing and the guests were dancing. In hindsight, the fact that she slipped past me without me noticing was unusual. My eyes are like radar at these gatherings, scanning for any new or intriguing faces. Somehow, she slipped past my awareness until the moment she stepped into the grand ballroom.I was pouring myself a drink, my usual gin and tonic, when I felt the atmosphere...

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“THE ASSASSIN APRENTICE” by HAAKON RAGNSKJOLD

Submitted to Contest #284

“It was a dark and stormy night...” Do not fool yourselves. That line has a venerable history. First scripted by my good friend, Sir Edwin Bulwer-Lytton in his 1830 novel, Paul Clifford. I was good friends with him from the time he was a lad. In fact, he got the line from me. I gave it to him freely, with my blessing. I had often spoken of that other “dark and stormy night.” The rain did indeed fall in torrents. But there were no “occasional intervals when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets...” Indeed, there ...

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“The Good Thief” by Astrid Skarsgaard

Submitted to Contest #284

Rowland Parker arrives, uninvited, at the Ainstock Christmas dinner. Lord Wilchester’s second son isn’t exactly adored by Lord and Lady Ainstock, but it doesn’t have the whiff of a Shakespearean tragedy about it. True, Lord Wilchester still felt aggrieved by losing his coveted EID MAR Roman coin to Lord Ainstock in a card game fifteen years ago, but that’s as far as it went. They were made of better stuff than Italian nobility and declined to try to kill each other for sport or vengeance.“Freddy couldn’t make it. Did his ankle on a morning r...

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“LOVE CONQUERS ALL” by Glenna Agnew

Submitted to Contest #284

LOVE CONQUERS ALL The elegant swan ice sculpture sat on the circular table in the great hall where it had presided for the past few hours as the wedding reception proceeded. Small droplets started dripping from its beak under the dozens of chandeliers that lit the ballroom, their crystal prisms shimmering. Pristine white tablecloths covered each table, adorned with gleaming china, elegant crystal, and a large and confusing array of cutlery. Dead centre of each table was a centerpiece with cream-coloured roses, ivy, and tall stately ca...

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“Good Enough” by Diane Elliott

Submitted to Contest #284

It was a good night. One of those places that doesn’t try too hard because the regulars show up regardless, and they like it just fine like it is. We sat at a table in the back corner and Jimmy got us a couple of beers from the bar.A mismatched couple—middle-aged woman dressed and groomed and older man in a ZZ Top t-shirt—were singing “Two Tickets to Paradise,” and they really meant it. When they finished, people clapped and cheered them by name. The emcee asked, “How many years you been singing together now?” “Three, in March,” said the wom...

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“A trip to Vienna with a Legend ” by Janja Polanec

Submitted to Contest #284

Capote’s introduction to a short story comprises the literature as: writing, good writing and the art. He does describe his efforts to reach a higher level in his endeavors. He does not specify how to create the art. In short: writing is like sculpturing, adding or subtracting the material or starting again.My best friend is Monica. A fair-haired, blue-eyed architecture student with dimples in her cheeks. We’ve known each other since the first grade.When she suggested a trip to Vienna, I was overjoyed. Onkel Otto W., her dad’s brother lived ...

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“Begin Again” by Hannah K.

Submitted to Contest #284

“You’re giving black cat energy.” My face remains slack as I internally balk at the slight. After a pause, I smile nonchalantly as if I were not a mallard – moving gracefully in the gaze of my appraisers while chaotically moving my feet underneath the cover of the lake. I propel myself towards what I pray is forward. I sip my club soda with lime, discreetly concealing my sobriety to the hawkish gaze of other party-goers. I take a breath, send a bicoastal smile across my face and look Savannah directly in her dancing carob eyes. Carbonat...

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“Facing Myself” by Emily Hickey

Submitted to Contest #284

My mother looks at me like I have two heads. But considering there are two of me standing in the room right now, I suppose that’s technically true. “Honey?” Mom says, pursing her lips and putting a shaking hand, heavy with silver rings, to her chest. Her face flicks over me, then the mirror image beside me, then me again. “I… um, darling? June?” I look over at the Other June, who informed me upon our first meeting that she prefers her (my? our?) full name, Juniper. I always thought that name was a little too flower-po...

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Center your story around an unexpected guest who changes a traditional get-together.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 38 stories

“The Seductress” by Ronald John MacLennan Jr

“THE ASSASSIN APRENTICE” by HAAKON RAGNSKJOLD

“The Good Thief” by Astrid Skarsgaard

“LOVE CONQUERS ALL” by Glenna Agnew

“Good Enough” by Diane Elliott

“A trip to Vienna with a Legend ” by Janja Polanec

“Begin Again” by Hannah K.

“Facing Myself” by Emily Hickey

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about someone who receives a gift or message that changes their life forever.

Center your story around a character spending their first holiday alone.

Write a story that includes the line “I should’ve known better.”

Set your story in a place where everything should be familiar to your character(s), but isn’t.

Contest #284

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

347

Contest entries

145

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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