Halfway through a fierce competition, your character is given the opportunity to cheat their way to victory: do they take it?

Posted in Short Story on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 52 stories

“Pressure” by Angelina Tran

Submitted to Contest #66

“Work harder!”“Do better!”“Try again!”“No- not like that!”“Do it again!”The sounds of his mother’s ‘encouragement’ —or lack of— had pressured him to work harder, do better, and try again.And he needed to work harder, do better, and try again to win the 2020 Sportsman of the Year annual competition at his school. It was only for seniors, and this year was his chance to shine— especially because winners go to the national competitions. “142, 143, 144…” his mother counted his push-ups.He pushed himself using the final bit of energy he had ...

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“Villainous Standards” by Meggy House

Submitted to Contest #66

I just have to preface with the fact that standards for current villains are ridiculously high. You know how hard it is to get away with anything nowadays? There are cameras literally everywhere. Once upon a time, my great grandfather was able to murder somebody in cold blood and stand next to said cold blood, with the very same blood on his hands, and the police were none the wiser. “I wonder who could have comm...

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“The Tortoise and the...” by Lani Lane

Submitted to Contest #66

The crowd cheered as Theodore and Harry stood at the starting line. The tortoise watched the hare bounce from foot to foot, his ears flopping with every jump. “Show off,” muttered Theodore. “Come again?” asked Harry. He cartwheeled over Theordore and the crowd cheered louder. “READY?” shouted the announcer, Mayor Squire the squirrel. He stood on a small stage to the side, microphone in paw. The crowd screamed and stomped their feet. Bleachers lined the track for at least a hundred feet until the track faded into the forest at the edg...

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“Candice Takes the Challenge” by Gip Roberts

Submitted to Contest #66

Candice couldn't lose. The stakes were too high. A slew of ingredients covered the kitchen table: carton of eggs, sticks of margarine, sack of all-purpose flour, five-pound bag of sugar, the chocolate chips, everything the online recipe she'd printed said to use.She grimaced at herself. Sixteen years old and had never so much as even boiled a pan of water. But somehow, she had to pull through on this. The timer was ticking, and she felt lost as a foreigner in a new land. Her frizzy, strawberry hair was already soaked with the same perspirati...

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“The Empty Cup” by Ben To

Submitted to Contest #66

It was the 18th hole of the Austin Valley Open, and Hugh Grace had a one stroke lead. He could finish this final hole with a par and still win the tournament. It would be his first tour victory, and along with the over-sized trophy he would receive a 1-million dollar purse. It began to lightly rain as Hugh and his caddy, Sam, hustled up the final fairway and into the rough. The wind whipped at their umbrellas as they began to search the tall grass for Hugh's golf ball. As they hunted for the ball, Sam was all smiles. “You wer...

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“The Darkest Path that Leads to Light” by Emmanuel Olaleye

Submitted to Contest #66

This was a battle you had lost three times before, even after you had made great speeches and grand promises. You carried along with you the laymen, even as you rose to the highest point of diction, to outshine your competitors, at every Presidential Debate floor. But it all came to nought, as you lost... again... and again... till your fire began to die slowly on its hearth.This is your lifelong dream, and you're at it again, probably for the last time. The Presidential Debate was a success, just like the previous three before it, and the P...

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“Luck by chance..or by worth?” by Pratheeksha R

Submitted to Contest #66

There’s a cold breeze blowing up that gives me goosebumps. I’m normally acquainted with the cold, given that I’m in Canada where the temperature drops to -45° C. We spend nearly 7-8 months in a year in snow, but today, I’m not my usual self. I have been summoned to the “Provincial Centre of Speakers Bureau” for a debacle that happened 3 days ago at the Area Contest where I was contesting. However, I’m not alone. Along with me, there is Dimple Mehta - the Area Director, Meena Bhat - the Division Director, and Lily Murphy - the Chief Judg...

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“Would you cheat? ” by Gabrielle Marian

Submitted to Contest #66

"Ten more minutes!" Eliza's brow furrowed as she stared at the paper. The numbers seemed to blur and the bright white of the paper made her blink. She read the problem again. Five people were eating apples, A finished before B, but behind C. D finished before E, but behind B. What was the finishing order? Uh, maybe the next question. A man has 53 socks in his drawer: 21 identical blue, 15 identical black and 17 identical red. The lights are out and he is completely in the dark. How many socks must he take out to make 100 percent certain he h...

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“CyberAthena” by Leviathan Four

Submitted to Contest #66

Marisol had been ready, willing and able to earn the contract the right way. After all, her cybersecurity firm, CyberAthena, was the best, and Nicholas Kozlosky needed the best.Kozlosky, Inc. was a multinational hedge fund, voraciously engaged in trading on financial markets around the globe. As far as Marisol could see, if a firm ever needed CyberAthena’s expertise in keeping the trading volume of short selling, leveraging, and derivatives safe, it was a target as rich as Kozlosky, Inc. She'd shown up an hour early for her appoin...

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“ THE THIRTY YEAR GUILT” by Claire Tennant

Submitted to Contest #66

It is not often that I get nervous, but then it had been a long time since I sat waiting to be interviewed. I looked up at the others in the room, as I turned the page, of the only magazine available. I assumed these busy beavers were the staff. Glancing back, I stared at the picture on the page; it was of a young girl with a pretty smile. I did not read the blurb so I did not know whether it was an article or an advert, I simply stared at the photo, mesmerised. The young girl could be no more than ten. She wor...

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“Assistant Manager” by Kk Nelson

Submitted to Contest #66

You know the movies you watch when the main character competing for something that could make or break them? I'm not gonna say that's my situation, but it kind of is. It all started on a nice fall day. The old assistant manager had just retired, so we were looking for someone to fill the job. My boss had the brilliant idea of giving us little "assignments," similar to those of our assistant manager's tasks, to see how well we could handle them. We all excelled, so he decided he would start up the competition: who could make the most change ...

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“Spicy Noodles Soup” by Francis Lavoie

Submitted to Contest #66

“Cheating is the only way of winning in this world.” Her mother’s words were already engraved in her, echoing endlessly in her mind walls. Even before it was announced that for the last Cooking Round of the Acornia Purifying Match, all ten of them would be allowed to do any type of immorality or in other words “cheating”, Eraline was very much prepared to cheat her way into glory, or in their case, survival at least. King Huxley II was the worst ruler in the history of the slowly collapsing, isolated country of Acornia. Instead of ...

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“At the Edge of the Cliff” by GRACE LARSON

Submitted to Contest #66

The sun burned down on my sweat-streaked face as I sprinted around the corner and began the last lap up the mountain. The boy beside me was clearly as tired as myself; his face was flushed dark red and he was breathing heavily, yet he kept on with the same determination. Darn it, would he ever fall behind? All the other kids had dropped out long ago, yet this one kept on. This could present a problem. I put on an extra burst of speed, although all my muscles seem to shriek in protest. I was gasping with the effort now, sweat pouring down my...

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“The Cupbearer” by Ruby Galvez

Submitted to Contest #66

I. PressureI was no stranger to pressure of competition, but this eco-challenge race in the Pacific Islands was a different new game. Nearly a thousand participants joined to complete a race through one of the most dangerous mountain ranges in the world, aptly called the Devil’s Playground, in pursuit of glory and riches.I could feel all eyes on me -- Ben Kelly, younger brother to Andrew, Greg, and Sean Kelly, all of whom dominated the same race one after another nearly two decades ago.“Hello, sponsor’s ace,” a voice beside me said as we lis...

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“Just That One Chance ” by Soumya Garg

Submitted to Contest #66

It was midway between his medical entrance, his nerves were wrecking up and his fingers were frozen. It was the worst exam of his life. He could feel a panic attack approaching consuming his soul as a whole. He closed his eyes, the air conditioner was too cold in that room. The time was running out and yet fifteen whole questions were pending on that paper.He had studied hard but not hard enough to get him to crack that exam. He could feel his eyes had started to water and his hands were trembling holding that pen. There was nothing he could...

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Halfway through a fierce competition, your character is given the opportunity to cheat their way to victory: do they take it?

Submissions are closed

✍️ 52 stories

“Pressure” by Angelina Tran

“Villainous Standards” by Meggy House

“The Tortoise and the...” by Lani Lane

“Candice Takes the Challenge” by Gip Roberts

“The Empty Cup” by Ben To

“The Darkest Path that Leads to Light” by Emmanuel Olaleye

“Luck by chance..or by worth?” by Pratheeksha R

“Would you cheat? ” by Gabrielle Marian

“CyberAthena” by Leviathan Four

“ THE THIRTY YEAR GUILT” by Claire Tennant

“Assistant Manager” by Kk Nelson

“Spicy Noodles Soup” by Francis Lavoie

“At the Edge of the Cliff” by GRACE LARSON

“The Cupbearer” by Ruby Galvez

“Just That One Chance ” by Soumya Garg

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with one character telling another, “It doesn’t count if you’re already planning your defeat.”

Write about a character who makes a dramatic life change to pursue a goal they’ve secretly always wanted.

Write about a contest with life or death stakes.

Write about a character who’s finally on the verge of achieving their lifelong dream.

Contest #66

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

584

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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