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Discover weekly, the best short stories

Looking for a steady supply of drama short stories? Every week thousands of writers submit stories to our writing contest.

18740+ Drama Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. Being one of the most popular genres among the submissions to our weekly contest, the drama short stories collected below include riveting works you won’t want to miss.

Drama Short Stories – Page 1181 of 1250

Under These Circumstances

Submitted to Contest #56

Cora deftly weaved in and out of the morning traffic, throwing off her normally even-tempered defensive driving in favor of slicing seconds off her trip to the hospital where her boyfriend Jamie lay in an unknown condition. “Why did he have to do this on a Monday,” she thought, finding the congestion of the road frustrating, turning up the heat of her already boiling anger. Her hands clamped the steering wheel in a grip that could shatter granite, and the car rocked back and forth, up and down, to the hasty acceleration and deceleration of h...

6 likes 1 comment 1
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Pawn

Submitted to Contest #56

“A soirée,” Benjamin whispered as he took my coat, “is the only marketing technique you’ll ever need.”“Ah, won’t the marketing department be thrilled to hear that,” I replied, glancing around the room. I was fighting the urge to correct him, as this was a simple business cocktail party, but my mission was to have a naïve mind, ready to benefit from the wisdom his father’s money had given him.“Not for the company. For marketing yourself.” I raised a brow and he sighed. “You know what I mean. It’s only outside the office that things happen the...

17 likes 2 comments 2
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The Arcane Truth of Neon Light

Submitted to Contest #56

Tranquil Travels Motel blends in with the barren desert. Dust covered and soul-draining. Its neon sign glows a deep blue, creating the only light for miles and adds a drunken glow to the worn stone pathway, spreading out across the land with a somber intensity, in competition with the twilight stars. It sways, buzzing, blue and blurry in the stiff and deadpan air.  A mirage, a fever dream, sauntering away from reality. A silhouette rambles down the road, enticed like a moth to a flame, perhaps it is the urge to escape the deafening ...

41 likes 15 comments 15
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A decade

Submitted to Contest #56

"We'll forever be friends Star, don't cry. When I'm older I'll come back for you and we'll get married like we've always planned. Just don't forget me" said the 10 year old Jaden. "I'll miss you Jay and I'll never forget you. " Star says to her best friend of ten years. Yes, they've been friends since birth. It only made sense since their parents are friends. "Happy 8th birthday Star" he said handing her a small box. She opened it and inside was a bracelet. She gasped. She tried to speak but words failed her. "Wear this everyday Star. I'll a...

4 likes 0 comments 0
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Baby Love

Submitted to Contest #56

“Oh my god, what have we done?” Mary was so sleep-deprived she didn’t know whether she’d said it aloud or just thought it. She was too hot; slick with sweat so her thighs slipped across each other when she rolled. Her wet hair matted at the nape of her neck and her face was a landscape of puffy and drained rises and dips; she could feel this as she squinted her eyes open. The gray digital display read 3am.  The room was a soft blue, with moon yellow stripes on the comforter like caution tape, stenciled through the slatted blinds. ...

12 likes 1 comment 1
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7.1 billion

Submitted to Contest #56

I was barely seven when my father took me to a rugby game. In my childlike innocence, I was amazed by the full stadium as I looked at all the faces surrounding me. Surely everyone on the planet was sitting there, watching this one game. I was horrified when my father, a blunt and straight to the point man, informed me of my ignorance. This stadium didn't even hold a third of New Zealand's population, let alone the total seven point one billion people in the world. I got a sinking feeling in my chest, a weight that held me down for the rest o...

5 likes 1 comment 1
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The Amazing Sounds of Orgy

Submitted to Contest #56

“Leland, this is Maxine. Maxine—Leland—he’ll be training you today.” Leland had been busy getting the deli ready for the day—filling the hot-water baths, turning on the exhaust fans and heating up the fryers, bringing out the bowls from the back and dumping yesterday’s remains of potato salad, pasta salad, and ham salad into them—so his back was turned when Brett, the manager, approached with the new hire; this Maxine. Leland turned to give her at least the courtesy of a nod, if not an actual “hello”, but momentarily froze upon looking int...

19 likes 11 comments 11
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DAY IN THE LIFE STORY ABOUT A FIRST TIME PARENT AND THEIR NEW BORN CHILD

Submitted to Contest #56

For the first time parent’s life begins in strange ways. For immediate recollection I have three first time parents with very different stories, to relate their dilemma, determination, decisions, pain, paradoxes, irony, involvement and so on and so forth.Of the three cases, I shall take or relate the stories of two males and a female. So let us first start with the female, in line with the letter and spirit of the saying, “Ladies first”.I vividly remember my uncle uttering the phrase “Loves Labour Lost” euphemistically for the couple who had...

11 likes 0 comments 0
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Finding Herself

Submitted to Contest #56

It seemed like memories could fade away just as quickly as they came. But I didn’t know that until he was right there in front of me. I had forgotten. The time we spent together faded like a flower that wilts and dies. The truth was hard to admit considering how close we had been.  I once loved him. And this is my story. … Sunday morning came just as quickly as weekends go. I could only think of the week ahead with its bustling work schedule, the loud chime of clocks ticking, and the crowd of people getting to and from wherever they wer...

14 likes 2 comments 2
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walk away

Submitted to Contest #56

Woman What to wear, how to do my hair .. should I go natural or go all out.. all out of my mind is where I'm going.. uhhhhh... How do you date ..I don't know the first thing to do . should I play hard to get or just go for it.. I know , I will just be myself..smh.. nope because myself is crazy.. I'm hopeless.. I'm not going.. Man Yeap . Yeap yeap I'm getting some tonight.. Get yourself together boy you got this, no you a man .. no you the man.. yeah I'm the man..yeap yeap yeap I'm getting some tonight..I hope hope hope I hope she looking rig...

9 likes 0 comments 0
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Buried Find

Submitted to Contest #56

RecollectionIf you forgive the fox for stealing your chickens, he will take your sheep. It was an old Georgian proverb that Grandfather would often recite, but I never fully understood it until The Day. I could still vividly recollect the intensity of all that transpired - the whispered chill of the cool November air, my pores raising with hairs at the back of my neck; the muffled sounds becoming clearer as I approached; the sinking sensation in the pit of my stomach; the taste of the bile swimming in my mouth; the thudding of my heartbeat w...

13 likes 2 comments 2
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Heads or Tails

Submitted to Contest #56

Heads or Tails A Short Story Copyright © 2020 Robert T. Childress All Rights Reserved     “Heads, we get married; tails, we break up.”     Before Laurie could accept or decline the deal, another mortar shell exploded, much closer than the previous one.  She and Tommy both got small. Getting small was what you called it when you were receiving incoming fire and you tried to make yourself as small a target as possible. In this particular situation, that meant getting as low as possible i...

6 likes 2 comments 2
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The Elevator

Submitted to Contest #56

I hate using the elevator at work for the sole reason that if there is someone else on it, I feel the need to chit chat with them instead of stand in awkward silence. I guess it’s in my nature, I can’t stand to stare at someone, or stare at the ground, as we go up or down from floor to floor. However, a few weeks ago, I had the experience of a lifetime on the elevator, one that I will never forget.              I had just gotten my lunch in the cafeteria on the first floor and ...

7 likes 2 comments 2
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Baby Blue Two

Submitted to Contest #56

What was with all these tea-kettles? James couldn’t understand it. One would be bad enough. He hated tea and kettles. But here, on every burner was a kettle. And one on the warmer. All of them shrieking like someone had bottled up the soul of the river. “Tom!” he shouted, holding his ears as the sound got louder. “Tom!” His fiancé came into the kitchen. It was very narrow, perhaps four feet in width, not really big enough for two grown men. For some odd reason he was wearing a frilly apron, which norma...

22 likes 3 comments 3
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Red Candy Apples

Submitted to Contest #56

        I had no good reason to dislike Bella as much as I did. She had a sweet smile and soft brown eyes. Her dark brown hair always looked smooth and elegant. She was quiet and pleasant, and her voice was calm with a slight Southern accent. She used her genius IQ for the benefit of science fairs and fundraising for the school, and she built Rube Goldberg machines in her free time.               I had no reason to dislike Bella...

16 likes 8 comments 8
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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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