Write about someone in a thankless job.

Posted in Teens on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 33 stories

“Another Day in Paradise” by Suma Jayachandar

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #121

CW: Reference to human trafficking.I am 17 and in Paradise. It feels like I have been here forever.Flashes of life before keep coming to me in my dreams; Mother feeding grains to the clucking hens and Father slumped on the floor with an empty toddy bottle rolling next to him. Now I live with Didi, Bhaiyya and their little angel.I wake up without an alarm. It must be around 4.00 a.m. now. I wake up to a space filled with food around me- just like yesterday, the day before and the day before that. I fumble with my cold hands and flick a switch...

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“96%” by Francis Daisy

Submitted to Contest #121

Driving down the highway, she passes an eighteen wheeler. It has a large yellow sign plastered to the back side: Come join our team! Customers report that they are 96% satisfied with us!“Did you just read that sign?” She asks her daughter. “They think 96% is something to brag about? They are OKAY with 96%? I don’t think I would want to work for a company where the customers aren’t 100% satisfied.”“Mom, you’re joking, right?” her daughter turns the radio back up to ear deafening, thus ending the conversation.“I’m not kidding, kiddo, what...

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“Meter” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #121

“You have got to be kidding!” If it had been a different morning, things might have gone a different way, but here she was, once again, taking a pile of abuse from another driver who did not put enough change into the parking meter before heading in to buy something in what looked like a very upscale store. She noted that the woman staring daggers at her had two very large bags in her hands and was driving an SUV. And was this a zone for only handicapped parking? No, that was not under her jurisdiction. She only covered what the city demande...

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“Nobody's Fool” by Howard Halsall

Submitted to Contest #121

There’s no doubt about it. Olga and I are grateful to the state for allowing us to work at the Hotel Cosmos. At our time in life and advanced age, there aren’t many other countries that would look after us in this way. We get to see each other at lunchtime and the chef saves us a plate of the day’s special for our evening meals. If it weren’t for the relentless nature of the work and the freezing cold conditions, we’d be laughing all the way home.#Vladimir is a stubborn old fool, but he’s my silly old fool and after sixty years of marriage, ...

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“The Magic Potion” by Melony Beard

Submitted to Contest #121

"That's Clara," the child's voice whispered from behind, "She's a witch." Maggie looked up to see the woman with long black hair wearing an orange jogging suit, balancing herself on a cane as she walked down the sidewalk. "And just how do you know?" Maggie asked looking over her shoulder at the red-haired freckle faced girl pointing across the street. "I snuck in her house once." "And what did you find?" "A million burning candles, a hundred potion bottles and six black cats." "My goodness. I guess Clara really is a witch." Maggie held back ...

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“Thank You” by Seema Pun

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #121

**TW** Mention of death, suicide, and mental health. To say my job is hard, it’s an understatement. I am one of the thousands of workers allotted to take people away after they pass. People call us Death. We don’t look the way people describe us in the media, there isn’t a dress code. We don’t wear long black cloaks and carry a menacing scythe. How we look varies on each one of us. I am light, I am scary, and I am inevitable. That’s the only way to describe me. The unfortunate part of my job starts when I arrive at the scen...

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“The Bully” by Zack Powell

Submitted to Contest #121

It's been a while since I've been in detention, but it's exactly as I remember. Black marker smudges clutter the whiteboard. The clock on the wall is running two minutes behind, even though it's digital. There is still the empty hamster cage by the sink. Mr. Wheeler, my warden, sits behind his desk and adjusts his posture to accommodate his big belly. Some things never change."Come take these," he tells me when I enter, pointing to the edge of the desk. He's been staring out the window this whole time, probably wishing he didn't have to spen...

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“The Thankless Man” by Bruce Thomas

Submitted to Contest #121

The doorbell rang, so I opened the door. There was a man there. He was long, so long, it took ages before I found his face. It was up high, high, high in the sky.I said to the face at the end of the long man, "Hello-oo".The long man also had a long face, and on it were black eyes, raven black and the eyes locked onto me, and they screwed tight, so tight that the forehead creased and the nose wrinkled. Moreover, the face was presented to me by a body entirely dressed in black, except for broad turquoise straps over the shoulders. The body was...

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“Gunther, Son of Krampus” by Tanya Humphreys

Submitted to Contest #121

Gunther smiled at the pretty she-elf and offered her his ginger snap cookie. Her clear blue eyes grew round as ping pong balls, the silver bells on her pointed red hat tinkled as she trembled, and her pouty rosebud lips quivered. At last, she let out a scream so high pitched and supersonic, it caused a small avalanche a mile away.Her breath was peppermint and vanilla cake. She swatted the cookie into the snow and ran towards her friends that had stopped their birdlike chattering to stare at Gunther in horror.He looked sadly do...

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“Thank you” by Ruvi Rajapaksha

Submitted to Contest #121

Wednesday – Mack and cheese, salad, carrots, and apples She woke up, and everything hurt. The sound of the alarm clock pierced her ears, and to her surprise, it was still working. She took a deep breath and got out of bed to do it all over again. She made her way through her small apartment and found herself eating dinner, and leaving home late. As soon as she got to school, she was off straight to the kitchen to get to work. The scent of frozen food and mac-and-cheese overtook her. She made it. With a second left in stillness, she rus...

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“Itheadair Peacaidh” by Ben Rounds

Submitted to Contest #121

Reuben rubbed at his left eye as he eased opened the door with the burning bush and stepped through into the small foyer. He did not have to.Knew that, acknowledged that.The men in black suits were not guards after all.Knew that, acknowledged that.But.Slunk and held a hand up anyway. Couldn’t help it.He traced his long, pale fingers over the thick book by the second door. The words, pressed in by heavy hands, were marked down through the pages in layers of grief six fold deep, seven… or eight. He could not interpret them,...

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“THANK YOU!” by Leyli Yuldashova

Submitted to Contest #121

“On May 25th at 6p.m, café “Paradise” will host a meeting of classmates for the 15th anniversary of our graduation” I recently received an e-mail in my inbox. Oh my God, 15 years…time passed by really fast. Then I remembered the prom at which, even if we did not swear to eternal friendship, we promised to meet at least once a year. After school, as it should be, life scattered us not only across different universities, but also around the cities and even across countries. After a long separation, such a reunion excited me, because it was ...

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“Arbiter of the Classroom” by Zach Martz

Submitted to Contest #121

The pile of papers on John Albright’s desk was still there, teasing him, reminding him of what lay ahead. It was the worst kind of workload – huge, but not quite big enough for him to doze off behind it without being seen.In the background he could hear the sounds of the children trickling off the buses and into the upper quad, where they would wait to be let in to the school as soon as the teachers got sick of watching them having fun outside. John sighed deeply, trying to tune the noise out as he wanted to get as much paperwork done as pos...

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“A reason to be Thankful” by Sam Newsome

Submitted to Contest #121

A Reason to be Thankful In life, all deal with pain and strife, And sometimes God will send a light. Not a beacon or a beam, Or even a match whose flame might gleam. But perhaps a spark to kindle hope To grow and shine for all to see And make a change in you and me. The weather could best be described as raw in a winter that seemed to last longer than usual. Perhaps life itself was becoming all too raw to match the season. A family doctor’s life is not made to be easy, but with increasingly sick patients flooding t...

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“Merton” by Conrad M

Submitted to Contest #121

The year was 1984 Merton Whipple was on his morning walk to work. He worked for the city of Binghamton New York on the back of a garbage truck. He was twenty one and had been doing it since he was eighteen. It's the only job he had ever had. Just before he turned eighteen he dropped out of high school because he knew he was far from a good student. He lived with his mother and step father in a small house on Lyon street. He had a girl friend Connie who he used to see after work. At that time of his life she was the love of his life. They wer...

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Write about someone in a thankless job.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 33 stories

“Another Day in Paradise” by Suma Jayachandar

“96%” by Francis Daisy

“Meter” by Kendall Defoe

“Nobody's Fool” by Howard Halsall

“The Magic Potion” by Melony Beard

“Thank You” by Seema Pun

“The Bully” by Zack Powell

“The Thankless Man” by Bruce Thomas

“Gunther, Son of Krampus” by Tanya Humphreys

“Thank you” by Ruvi Rajapaksha

“Itheadair Peacaidh” by Ben Rounds

“THANK YOU!” by Leyli Yuldashova

“Arbiter of the Classroom” by Zach Martz

“A reason to be Thankful” by Sam Newsome

“Merton” by Conrad M

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with someone saying “Thanks a lot” (sarcastically or sincerely).

Write about someone giving or receiving a gift.

Write a story in which someone gets credit for something they didn’t do.

Write about a character who struggles to express their thanks.

Contest #121

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

147

Contest entries

113

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: