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Looking for a steady supply of teens & young adult short stories? Every week thousands of writers submit stories to our writing contest.

5330+ Teens & young adult Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. Looking for the best short stories for teens? Our collection of funny, suspenseful, and relatable young adult short stories will meet your needs.

Teens & young adult Short Stories – Page 11 of 356

Soaked

Submitted to Contest #288

Wearing his best suit, Bentley stood under Francine’s second story balcony. He hoped she would accept his apology. It began to rain. Though he had no umbrella, he didn’t care. Starting as a heavy mist, the drizzle soon became a steady shower. ‘Maybe it’ll help,’ he thought.If he’d blown it with Francine, nothing else mattered to him. He couldn’t believe how stupid he’d been. ‘Stomped on her heart… for pride…? Ego…? Nothing so elevated…’ He didn’t know what to call it. He missed her.Bentley thought back to their argument a week ago. Francine ...

24 likes 6 comments 6
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No Matter What

Submitted to Contest #288

My sweaty palms tremble as I unfold my speech one last time and internally recite the opening words. The paper is yellowed and brown at the creased seams, stained with coffee and salty teardrops. After all this time, I’m finally ready. Sally is standing with her small group of friends outside the science block, leaning against the red bricks with the sole of her right shoe pressed against it, her knee bent. She’s so effortlessly confident, showing her friends her new manicure, squealing about how perfectly the colour will match her prom dres...

13 likes 3 comments 3
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Echoes In The Rain

Submitted to Contest #288

CW: Contains themes of loss and griefCharlotte stood in front of her childhood home for the last time, her heart heavy with an overwhelming sense of loss. The rain poured relentlessly, soaking her to the bone, mingling with the tears that streamed down her face. Her parents were gone, old age having swept them away like leaves in the wind, leaving her alone in the world. No family, no siblings—just her. Grief and confusion wrapped around her like a snake, suffocating her and stealing every breath, each gasp a painful reminder of all she had ...

9 likes 2 comments 2
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Forever

Submitted to Contest #288

Monique Jones stood undercover, outside of the café. It had begun raining almost from the moment she’d gotten into her car this morning. The clouds looked like they would be settling in for the day. They even forecast snow for later. But that wouldn’t stop her from getting the specific coffee she was after.The Opal Garden had been in business for about eight months, but it quickly gained a steady reputation. More people came rushing up behind her. The owner Anabella glanced at her watch, while unlocking the door. “9 am, right on time. H...

9 likes 0 comments 0
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Warm

Submitted to Contest #288

He’s so cold.Milo’s hopeful smile falls from his face as he stares at his world ending right before him, as rain pelts down on his body. He stands there, staring, shivering, frozen in shock. Or maybe fear. He doesn’t know. He can’t feel the rain, or see it, or hear it. The water could be pouring into his ears and he still wouldn’t realize it’s there. There could be a tsunami headed right toward him and he wouldn’t notice, because all he hears right now is a light ringing, one that he can only compare to those brief moments of tinnitus that c...

10 likes 0 comments 0
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Arthur and the Wind

Submitted to Contest #288

Steady steam from the boat’s engines blew along the sea winds, its plume almost as black as the near starless sky. In fact, everything past the massive ship was dark. The ocean and sky lines blurred together, making it seem like an endless world of dark. It gave Arthur a sense of fear along with the slight shiver of excitement for adventure that was pretty uncalled for someone chilling on a cruise ship. Still, near everyone was on the forward of the ship, enjoying a party or movie or some other activity, and it let Arthur relax in the Aft to...

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Pallets

Submitted to Contest #288

The sky, the colour of pewter, had been spitting a drizzling rain for a few minutes. “Ah shit. Just my luck.” She pulled the collar of her denim jacket to her neck and wiped her eyes on her cuffs as the lights started to streak. A thousand identical grey cars streamed past. Streetlights and car headlights washing into a tie-dye blur. Blinking, she held out an arm, raised a thumb. The slipstreams of passing trucks repeatedly sucked her to join them, their wheels whistling past on the damp oily tarmac. She planted her trainers against the blas...

31 likes 12 comments 12
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Tea, Ghosts, and Caterpillars

Submitted to Contest #287

Tea, Ghosts, and CaterpillarsI can’t get warm. No matter what I do, I can’t get warm. I shrink underneath the pastel pink knitted blanket, running my fingers along its patterns. They’re Celtic knots, blended with butterflies along the edge of the yarn. I’m not one for pink things, but the color is strangely soothing. My bedroom is shaded in all kinds of blue; my favorite color. It’s supposed to evoke calmness, but it doesn’t calm me like the color is supposed to. I’m drowning in freezing waters or suffocating under an avalanche’s snow. Right...

6 likes 1 comment 1
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A story of tea and jungle juice: my teenage life in America

Submitted to Contest #287

After inviting me to her house for the first time, Victoria offered me a choice of tea, juice, or water. When I chose tea, she opened the kitchen drawer in response, revealing a space full of cartons in different colors and sizes. I chose peach as my next selection, fascinated by the number of options. I watched as dark orange swirls emerged from the sachet of my choice into the boiling water, eventually filling the whole cup. After she made peppermint for herself, we brought our cups to the living room. The top of the fireplace was lined wi...

5 likes 1 comment 1
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Steeped in Sympathy

Submitted to Contest #287

She hurried into the mud room, shoved her feet into rubber boots that her grandparents call wellies, and clomped into the garden. Not even the hollyhocks, foxgloves, or peonies soothed her. Nor the buzzing bees, the lush grass, or the atypically sunny afternoon. She dropped to her knees and allowed a sob to erupt from her stomach to her chest, and finally her throat. She’d been in Banbury, England, at her grandparents’ house for two weeks. She could’ve called it a fortnight if she’d been in the mood to use a British term. The day after she a...

4 likes 4 comments 4
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Black Tea Blues

Submitted to Contest #287

Honey.  That’s what I need–honey. I found the half jar of honey in the back of my cabinet next to something that was probably expired. The honey was a gift from my friend when I first moved into my apartment last year. The note she wrote was still attached to the jar; I read the words over and over again. The note was short and sweet saying how proud she was of me for moving out on my own and that this honey was a perfect match for the tea I loved. If we were still friends, I would have told her that I didn’t like tea, which is ironic s...

3 likes 0 comments 0
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TEA's HOT!

Submitted to Contest #287

The Café It was a crisp spring afternoon in London, 2010. The city was alive with the rhythm of footsteps and the hum of double-deckers weaving through cobblestone streets. In a quaint café tucked away in Camden, a man named Happy sat at a corner table, staring at his untouched Earl Grey tea. The café buzzed with laughter and chatter, but Happy’s thoughts drowned out the noise.  At 28, he was ready for life to settle into something meaningful. His friends called him a hopeless romantic—a man with simple needs but a heart that wanted not...

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A Dark Horse - Part 4

Submitted to Contest #287

Jenny couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she did see Mr. Thompson gesture toward her. Soon after, they were gone. Jenny continued her session with Trey. When they were finished, she passed Kip in the barn aisle looking a bit miffed. “Happy now? It’s all your fault!” He scowled at her as he hissed out the words. She had no clue what he was talking about, but she was soon to find out. Kip stomped after her ... ***A Dark Horse – Part 4 Jenny led Trey into the stall and took his halter off. She patted him on the neck and spoke, “I’ll put y...

8 likes 0 comments 0
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Night Picnics

Submitted to Contest #287

Night Picnicsby Ashly Callaway Nora’s SisterOnce a week, Nora goes on night picnics. She walks our neighborhood on the nights before recycling pickup and says you can tell a lot about a family by what they’re consuming. In bare feet she stoops over each plastic recycling bin and shops for the things that make her feel better: Prego spaghetti sauce jars, empty skim milk jugs, Orange Crush cans, Coors Light cans, sometimes a lovely but empty bottle of wine, sharp opened tins of sardines, a folded cardboard box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. But sh...

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It’s My Life

Submitted to Contest #287

“You’re just a child, Ashley, you don’t know what you want.”“Passion fades away, practicality is what matters.”“Just say you don’t want a future.” My parents’ voices flooded my mind, making it impossible to focus on the task at hand; the college application form in front of me. “I can do this,” I think to myself, “I know what I want.” As I press submit, the weight on my shoulders only gets heavier knowing I still have to inform my parents of what I have done. “Deep breaths.” I take one shaky step after the other, heading over to the living r...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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