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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 17 of 356

Once Upon a Midnight Graveyard

Submitted to Contest #282

Once upon a midnight graveyard, I emerged from the dirt. I arose from my resting place in the cold ground where death held me in a tight embrace. The moon shone almost as bright as the hours under the sun—the hours I had not beheld since I met my death. I drank in the crisp night air, my lungs expanding as they once did before. Looking upon the lonely grave I now call home, I ran my iridescent fingers over my name. Daughter, sister, friend, it reads. I look at my hands, my feet, my new body: wispy and white yet also translucent, much like th...

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Operation M. U. T. E.

Submitted to Contest #283

I left the house and met up with my best friend Megan. We always walk to school together, but today just felt… different.         “Ellie!” Megan yelled as she ran down the street.        “Hey, Megan” They hugged and then started walking         “Does today feel weird to you in any way?” I asked Megan “No… does anything seem off to you?  “I have no idea. There just something up like-” I stopped abruptly w...

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Hey Ma,

Submitted to Contest #282

“Sorry I haven't been by in so long.” I reach up and coddle my chin with one hand before pushing it hard right, getting a pop out of it. A sharp snap of my wrist sends my head in the opposite direction. Two pops. “I guess your passing didn’t make me any better of a son, huh?” Wind sweeps over the graveyard. Some trees sway in the warm breeze.  Overhead somber clouds mosey around in layers. They sift all life from the light so what tumbles out is dull, lifeless. I lean over in preparation to sit down, holding her headstone to steady mys...

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Radio Edit

Submitted to Contest #282

It started with rain but most things don’t, most things just start smack in the middle or at the end or after six suns already blew the fuck up—whatever’s most interesting, I guess. That’s how they wanna play it. No. Here…here we just start at the rain.No idea what day it was. Couldn’t tell what year or what time or what color…couldn’t tell, period. You can only tell one story so many times until… but it would all be a waste of money. That’s what they sell me: don’t bother. Don’t go back.Well I wouldn’t be here if I had any ch...

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Hold Me Closer

Submitted to Contest #282

“I am soooo sorry Michael.” I held up my right hand wondering if I did what I thought I did. “I didn’t mean to do it, I swear.” I don’t know why I said this next, but the previous night's memory plagued me. “I know you didn’t do it, but it seemed like the most plausible explanation.” He already had a surprised look on his face but when I added that line, I felt like crumbling. I still didn’t believe in him. I don’t even trust my own boyfriend! I’m not sure who’s hurt the most right now, me or him. Tears were forming in my eyes and I felt su...

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Breaking the Rule

Submitted to Contest #282

Breaking the Rule by Peggy Moritko “I’m sorry Lily. I wasn’t trying to get anyone in trouble.” Maia shook her head. “I didn’t go through the trash, not really. It was crumpled up on the floor next to the trash can.” Maia defended herself to fellow employee and best friend Lily. They were employed by Hipton Hotel. It was strictly against the rules to go through the trash as they cleaned the guest rooms. “Well, still,” Lily insisted, “You know what management would say. It is clearly meant to be in the trash can so it’s trash.” “Yes, but l...

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Aspirations of a Ball Girl

Submitted to Contest #282

This year was her final chance to be invited. Addie knew it. She wanted to be a Junior Champion. For that to happen, she had to impress the summer camp staff. She had to perform superiorly better than others in an environment chock full of drills, matches, stiff competition and all the etceteras associated with stiff competition. After summer camp, maybe she becomes a ball girl. Become a ball girl, she wishfully thought, she becomes a Junior Champion. The administrators of the local summer tennis camp were gearing up for their annual Junior ...

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Planet X: Coded Life

Submitted to Contest #282

“Done!” I said, gazing at the finished boxes in my room. It almost looks abandoned now. Good. It’ll be a fresh start for me.“Helen.” I turn around quickly to see my friend, David.“David? Hi, how’d you get in here?”He waves the spare key in my face and replies with a smirk, “You’ve never changed, Helen. Try not to leave the spare key in the plant next to your door next time.”I giggle, “Good thing it’s just you, right?”“Yeah. Moving out?” I grab my bag and say, “Yeah. I just got out of a relationship and took the poor guy’s money. I wish ...

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Saturday Is The Coldest Day of The Year

Submitted to Contest #281

Monday.  I am freezing. My hands are stiff, tight, and red, nearing purple. I’m walking forward. One foot in front of the other. What else did I do but continue to walk forward on Monday? Just going forward isn’t enough to keep my blood moving. I feel it thicken with every step.Saturday…Tuesday.  My girlfriend has been texting me, and I just feel bothered. She says that I’ve been distant and she wants the same amount of effort. That’s not right. It’s Tuesday, and my girlfriend is texting me. I’m trying to respond, but my hands are ...

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Rescued by the Giant Octopus - Voyages of the Destiny's Dreams

Submitted to Contest #281

“In the ancient codices, how does the sun come back after it sinks into the ocean on the longest darkness of the year?” When the storyteller Ana spoke, she saw the shining eyes of nineteen-year-old Xochitli, the scholar of Nahuatl ancient history and myths.Xochitli's face and eyes showed someone with depths that held many secrets. The young Nahuatl woman spoke. “The sun, Tonatiuh, he who goes forth shining, is reborn as a hummingbird. It is in the hieroglyphics of the ancient codices.”She continued. “We must find the ancient codice...

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The Journal

Submitted to Contest #281

“A journal?” I said. “I thought you said I had too many notebooks already.”  My roommate, Kat, shrugged. “You do.  But I thought you’d like it, so I picked it up," Kat said.  She handed the journal over to me. It was leather bound, slightly stained, and worn, like it had gone through a lot of use. What an odd thing to find at a thrift store. Curious as to how much use the journal had actually gone through, I flipped through it. The pages were completely filled with fancy handwriting, so it wouldn't be much use as an actual jou...

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The True Story of Rudolph

Submitted to Contest #281

You all know the story of Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen. But let me tell you my side of the story—the true story of Rudolph.I was an orphan and arrived at the North Pole totally by accident. To be honest, I was lost. The last I saw of my mother was about three months before meeting that jolly old elf that many call Saint Nick. You see, I was born the spring before on Alaska’s North Slope. And for those of you who don’t know, that is oil country. There are oil rigs, pumping stations, miles and miles of pipe...

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I love you, I’m sorry

Submitted to Contest #282

“I love you, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for not saying what I should have said three months ago. I’m sorry if I made you feel like I’m a burden. I’m sorry if I took up all of your time. I’m sorry if I made you feel like you couldn’t escape me. I’m sorry I was afraid of telling you what I should have said before, when I never used to be afraid of telling you anything. There’s so many things I wish I would have done three months ago, because maybe I could have prevented this from happening. My heart aches at the thought of all the memories I have wi...

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One And A Half Years

Submitted to Contest #282

OneA walk. the worst of worse to come.I struggle to see. My rose-gold glasses forbid it, let me down once again. So I squint. Streetlights stretch and overlap, but Mom’s silhouette clears. Blonde hair, dark roots and loose curls fall on her black jacket, looking familiar. She perishes, my eyes readjust.“It might be time for some new glasses.”New glasses, just to see less. It’s always too bright, even when there’s no moon or sun and the clouds cover everything that’s not close. Someone painted this town yellow.The doors fall shut quietly, but...

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In Return for the Gloves

Submitted to Contest #281

It was two weeks before Christmas, and Marty Blevins had just finished installing the last LED bulb above his fireplace, which was now lit up like a shrine. It was the final accomplishment, the final brush stroke, on his home remodeling work of art. Calling it “art” was probably high-minded, but Marty knew he was standing in a large new living room that had once been just a dirty old carport. Marty’s wife Gloria had been busy arranging chairs around the tables and fumbling with the stereo remote, to get the music just right. She wore a ...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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