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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 16 of 356

The Path to Truth

Submitted to Contest #284

*This is the first story I have finished in quite a while, so please feel free to leave constructive feedback or any tips and advice after reading! * “I cannot believe you got us lost in the woods” Olivia said looking on the paper map sprawled out on the ground in front of her”“I just wanted to clear my head. It is not my fault that they decided to build this retreat in the middle of the impossible to solve woods” Veronica huffed quickly, turning to see if there was suddenly a magical yellow brick road to follow back to their cabin. A few we...

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Scoops of life

Submitted to Contest #283

After an eight-hour-long journey, I finally arrived back in my hometown after spending my first semester in college. It had snowed here the night before, sparking the Christmas season in the town. The train station was dazzling with bright lights, and Christmas decorations dangled around the fenestrations of the building. People were coming back from all over to celebrate the holidays with their families, but for me, I knew this was going to be the worst Christmas ever.  I had been thinking of several last-minute excuses in my dorm room...

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The Christmas After

Submitted to Contest #283

I gasp as I'm startled awake. There is an old lady sitting across from me looking at me as if I'm crazy, which I must admit I seem like I am. A sixteen-year old all alone on a train, the day before Christmas. My dark blond hair is a shaggy mess that almost touches my shoulders, my face is covered with what is either dirt or food, and I’m clutching my bag as if it had my grandfather's ashes in it or something. She probably thinks I’m a homeless boy planning to rob her. I sigh and try to fix up my hair and wipe my face with the back of my lint...

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The Ghosts Of Memories’ Past

Submitted to Contest #284

“Why does everything feel so different?” I said to myself, with confusion and heartache. “I got my favorite teacher yet again, for a second year in a row, but it doesn’t feel anything like last year.” I thought to myself. Why is it so different? Why doesn’t it feel the same? Why does everything feel so strange and foggy? “Take me back. Take me back to last year, someone take me back please.” I continued crying to myself, almost unable to breathe from the anxiety I was feeling. As I walk past my old classroom from last year, with my favorite ...

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For once in my life, let me get what I want.

Submitted to Contest #283

I was expecting this Christmas to feel joyous, at least compared to the ones that came before. Last year, Jacob’s snowboarding accident at the lodge was a major stinker. Then the year before, when Mom got really sick while Dad totaled the car against a telephone pole. Bad years, both of them. But bad things, they’ve always followed us, haven’t they? Like the night you finally got that invitation to basketball camp, only to find the car’s tires slashed the same evening. Or when we spent five whole days plotting out your homecoming proposal to...

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Getting to Know Homeless Joe

Submitted to Contest #283

The clouds in the sky looked like fluffy pillows. The air smelled of Lavendar and Bryson was with the girl of his dreams, Tara. This is too good to be true, he thought."Bryson! Bryson! Wake up!" Huh??? He rolled over and opened his eyes to find his mother red faced standing over him. "What? " He asked wearily. "Surely you picked up the party tray from the market, right?" He jolted straight up on the bed. It was 1:30 in the afternoon. he was supposed to pick it up at noon. "Oh, gosh Mom! I'm sorry! I was studying earlier and got sleepy!" Actu...

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A Homecoming Surprise

Submitted to Contest #283

"A new year signifies a new start. You should all be thinking about what you want to accomplish this year and how you want to be perceived. You only get so many chances in life to make a name for yourself, and this could be one of those times for you!" Mrs. Hanican told us. I sat and wondered what in the world she was trying to get across to us because I couldn't focus on what she was saying. I knew at one point she was talking directly to me, but I was lost in thought. I received a letter from my parents yesterday, and it was all I could t...

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Coincidence or fate?

Submitted to Contest #283

If I had to describe my love life to someone. I would probably say that it's just complicated and that love is harder than it seems. For me, it's more on the unlucky side if I could say so myself. After the last fallout that led to the "breakup" with my date, I decided that I should just take a break. A break from dates, a break from situation ships, a break from romance. My mother tried her best to convince me not to give up yet. That true love takes time and I had a special gift of attracting the wrong people ever since I got my first ever...

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Lulu and the Complaints of the White Oak Tree

Submitted to Contest #283

It was Christmas time, but the snow was taking an awful long time to fall in Lulu’s region. The ground was dry as if it had been turned to stone—like a punishment for the devil's tempting ways in the desert. The sky was a cold blue, allowing the sun to shine on the earth while freezing its rays. The birds had all flown south, leaving no life visible in the sky. The bold eagles were probably nesting nearby, but one day, when Lulu looked up, the size of the empty sky overwhelmed her, dwarfing even the majestic eagles.  The trees stood nak...

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Mister Know-it-all

Submitted to Contest #283

Mr. Know-it-all“I wasn't expecting that!” And it almost cost me my job!Some stuff you need to know before I tell you how “that” happened. I was 29 years old. I got my bachelor's degree in English education from New Jersey State College.  I had been teaching for four years in Hackettstown High School, New Jersey—seniors. I know everything there is to know about teaching seniors in public high schools! Don't give me diagramming of sentences, nor did we have 25 vocabulary words every week— but I did demand my students learn how to write a ...

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The Magazine

Submitted to Contest #283

Lincoln Eldridge Lopez."What a man." Liliana sighs dreamily and her twin brother rolls his eyes in contempt. He reaches over to tug at the magazine gripped tightly between her hands and Liliana whines. She struggles for a few seconds before begrudgingly releasing it."Behave." Lorenzo eyes her pointedly and her hands lift into a sign of surrender. "We need to get to father's event before Melanie calls and chastises us." His words carry humor, but they both know how accurate his concerns are. She looks between him and the Magazine of the best ...

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'Tis the Season of Love

R S

Submitted to Contest #283

I check my watch; 6:32pm it reads. It’s been thirty minutes and Jessie Wilkins hasn’t shown up. On a typical Christmas eve sundown, I’d have been in my grandmother's antique dining room with the eye-aching floral tapestry wallpaper. I’d be seated at the ornate table at the very center of the dining room with my mother, father, grand old Tim, aunt Beatrice, uncle John and aunt Joan, and of course, we can’t forget the cousins either- the Siamese twins (Hanna and Hector), Jasper, Laura-Jean, and of course me, Mason. By now we’d all be...

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In Darkness, We Lie

Submitted to Contest #282

My people are “bottom dwellers”–that’s what they called us. Born without sight but blessed with lungs to filter the dusty air, long strong fingers to dig through tough granite, sturdy backs to protect against falling debris…the list goes on. All the cards were in our favor to thrive in the “Community”.And “surface walkers” was what we called them in turn. Lavish in their lifestyle and spoiled by the bounty above. There were countless stories of carnage between countries and humans, spawned from greed. Our people once lived alongside the...

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The Bolton Families Monster(s)

Submitted to Contest #282

TW: Gore and abuse!“I’m sorry you know.” Huh, that wasn’t expected, my eyes met my twin’s, for all the ‘sorrys’ he gave me, he didn’t look sorry. Or if he did it was carefully concealed. One I was far too used to in this family. “I don’t know, I don’t think I know a lot of things honestly” “The professor who double majored in psychology and chemistry doesn’t know everything? Color me shocked.” He said, and I wish I could say I didn’t huff a small laugh. “You know I don’t, never did. Never will. Now why aren’t you up front with the others...

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Inbetween

Submitted to Contest #282

TW: suicide, self harm, mental health, cussing 2:00:00     Only two hours. Her corpse stepped onto the tattered, musty floors, as her warm breath condensates in the frozen air. Into the toll clinks 75 cents, insignificant to the sacrifice already paid. The fluorescent lights flicker a welcome, as the girl with sharp eyes gaze around. In the seats are bodies, some alive, some dead, but all quiet. The girl takes her seat along the window and waits patiently for the journey to begin. 1:59:01     The bodies sway in unison to ...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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