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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 3 of 356

The Midnight Scythed

Submitted to Contest #297

Most teenagers in Whitwood avoided the church at the northern edge of the town. Rose Kerrell was fairly certain she must be the only one who liked to spend time there, although she knew Rue Graves and their friends had been messing around inside a month ago. She’d assumed they were smoking or something like that, not trying to solve a murder, which was always going to be a fair assumption. Murder investigations weren’t the best way to make friends. At least as far as she knew — she’d never gotten involved in anything like it before. Of cours...

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A New Dance

Submitted to Contest #297

It was suddenly 7PM. Marnie steeled her nerves as she left her mattress and began sifting through her coat hangers in search of a different sweatshirt. “Everything alright?” Her roommate asked, sitting up in her bed which was placed on the opposing side of the room. Marnie’s first week at boarding school had, at least so far, been enjoyable despite her initial dread upon arriving. Her new dread lay in confronting her parents after not returning their calls throughout the week. Unfortunately she too started to believe that boarding school co...

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I’ll Remember April

Submitted to Contest #297

Summer, 1995Who ever thought my first love affair would occur in what we called the jazz shack—a once-proud open air chapel in the middle of the forest that Boy Scouts had repurposed with makeshift plywood walls? I also never imagined it would be with a piece of music, but that is truth. It's possible to fall head over heels in love with a melody. For me, it was I’ll Remember April, that ballad made famous by Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and countless jazz legends.The wind blew right through that chapel's gaps, carrying with it an assortm...

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The Art of Falling Forward

Submitted to Contest #296

Katie released a big sigh. “I’m entirely bored with life.” I paused Love Island: All Stars. The reality show’s latest bombshell, Ekin-Su, was mid-sob after the “Snog, Marry, Pie” challenge, tears, mascara, and whipped cream frozen all over her face. I had a feeling my girlfriend’s face would soon resemble Ekin-Su’s, so I wrapped my arm around her, giving her shoulder a light shake. “What makes you say that?” I asked. “It’s just the same old thing every day,” she replied, nestling into my shoulder. “Commute. Work. Commute. Gym. Eat. Sleep. I ...

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Mine, Always...

Submitted to Contest #296

The gardens of House Caelyn were vast—easy to hide in, intentionally or not. The hedges were high, the flowers always in bloom, and the air carried the careful touch of the estate gardeners.Avelwen sat beneath an old willow, its sweeping branches shielding her from the world. Her crimson braids shifted in the breeze like silk ribbons. A pale dress lay folded beneath her, the fabric brushing the grass. She tilted her face toward the sky, letting the sun warm her dark, glossy skin, which shimmered with golden undertones.A faint smile played on...

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The Sub

Submitted to Contest #296

The Sub"Get it out." Mom sits beside me at the table, my reading book between us. This is our nightly homework routine. I try to speak the words, but they refuse to come.Words, words, words. Wonderful to read in books, describing characters' adventures. But oh, such a tortured tangle to speak out loud."Keep trying. I know you can read. Now speak." Mom points to the awful word, which begins with P. Soundlessly, I open my mouth, willing the word to form. My throat tightens, still I can't speak. Taking a deep breath, I try again. This time, I p...

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One Royal Falls, Another Rises

Submitted to Contest #296

We've been planning this for weeks. Everyone in the castle knows. Well, everyone but the Prince. And people are too scared to tell him. Even me. He'd tell his father. So, I'll just have to deal with him when the time comes. We're ready. Everything is in place. The time is set. The guards have been persuaded to our side. The King has been abandoned by everyone. Except for the prince. But, what is he going to do? Defeat almost a whole kingdom? ~~~ “Ready, ma'am?” asks one of the guards. “Yes, you?” I answer, my hand on the knife in my pocket a...

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A Burden Made Lighter

Submitted to Contest #296

A Burden Made LighterbyCarl IndovinaMom and Dad’s voices floated out from the front room, strange. Normally they didn’t get back from work until after five.And then a third voice chimed in. I recognized it as belonging to Mrs. Goodwin. My parents met with the pastor’s wife from time to time to sort out their numerous marital disagreements. She spoke in calm tones that reminded me of water gently flowing over rocks.I didn’t want to be accused of spying on them, so I stepped farther into the foyer where I could be seen.Mrs. Goodwin spotted me ...

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June's Story

Submitted to Contest #296

BASED ON TRUE EVENTS “Did you buy something from Apple?” June’s grandmother’s voice rings out through her phone. “No, not recently, why?” “My card got charged $5.99 for something and I can’t figure out what it is.” “Oh, I can check my subscriptions, hold on.” A car pulls into the driveway. June hears the gravel crunching from in her room. She doesn’t need to look to know it’s her step dad, Heath, returning from who knows where. Her eyes roll before she can stop herself. Figures, she thinks to herself. He obviously had time to go do whate...

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10:45 am or The Time that Thing I feared to Happen Finally Happened

Submitted to Contest #297

I don’t really want to talk about it. It’s every teacher’s biggest fear…well, after school shootings and such. For 21 years, I managed to avoid it though I knew it was only a matter of time. What are the odds that it never happened? There had been a couple of close calls, but each time a student had covered for me. For that, I will forever be grateful.I was thirty when I started teaching. Older than most new teachers but still youngish and fresh. I was much more slender and cared more about my appearance. I wore makeup daily and would’ve bee...

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Love To Die For

Submitted to Contest #296

As I read the name, a hint of panic rises in the deep empty chasm where my heart should be. But I make sure to keep my face expressionless. You can't show emotion in front of Victor Donatelli. You could get killed for it.“So, are you up to it?” he asks with his normal cold voice, staring at me with that sharp gaze.“Of course I am. I always am,” I reply calmly, but also firmly. I return the look.“Good. Cause, you do know the consequences if you aren’t.” He taps his fingers right next to the knife laying on his desk.Keeping my eyes on his fing...

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Alice in Dairy Queen

Submitted to Contest #296

Alice was excited to attend her first wedding. Her parents eloped when she was twelve and most of her relatives didn’t bother getting married at all. She had been working at the Dairy Queen since halfway through her senior year, and now at 19, her assistant manager invited all staff to her ceremony and reception at the VFW hall where she had attended bingo with friends a few times. The invitation suggested a formal or semi-formal dress code, and the couple preferred light colors. Perfect! She had wanted a chance to wear her prom gown again. ...

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The Idea of Summer

Submitted to Contest #296

I lift my face from my childhood bedsheets and check my phone. A 10% battery warning flashes on the screen. Unbelievable. I bought this model because it was supposed to have the best battery life. Or maybe I just spent too much time on it today. Not that I had anything better to do. What else are you supposed to do at a funeral? Summer Nguyen had plenty of people to deliver long-winded, emotional eulogies and wail over her open casket. I sit up and unlock my phone, ignoring the low battery warning. It’ll warn me again at 5%. Instinctively, I...

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When Ducks Fly

Submitted to Contest #296

I hadn’t actually internalized that ducks could fly until that one afternoon at the stone circle we called a pond. I remember it vividly: How they took off then, soaring above the buildings. How I turned to you and said that The Flying Ducks would make a good band name.You shrugged. “Not really,” you said. “It’s a bit boring. Obvious, you know?”I nodded. “Of course, yeah. I didn’t mean it, anyway.” We always ended up at the pond those days, didn’t we? Going for walks, hand-in-hand, through the muddy fields, a loop that took us past the pool,...

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The First

Submitted to Contest #296

The singular rickety lightbulb that hung overhead in the dope den flickered between off and on as the moths flocked to it. I rubbed my eyes as I emerged from the darkness I'd been lying in, atop the dirty floor-bound mattress. Once my pupils finally adjusted to the unstable light, I could see that a picture with some writing in the bottom corner was being held up in front of my face. It was a boy. He was nineteen years old. His name was Owen Kress."Yes. You have to kill him."Gulp.When I saw him, time slowed to a stop. He looked so happy. His...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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