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Discover weekly, the best short stories

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

5400+ 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 44 of 360

Three's A Crowd

Submitted to Contest #258

I re-read the letter, noting the time and date of the celebration. A part of me thinks I should go; another more cautious side of me whispers that I shouldn’t bother. But there was a time, once, when Stef was my best friend…              The cardboard box has been under my bed for so long that it’s accumulated enough dust to make me sneeze. I find a cloth and wipe down the outside carefully before removing the lid. Memories I’ve kept hidden for years stare at me – relics o...

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Captivated

Submitted to Contest #258

Jerod stood at the horseshoe scenic overview on Wolf Creek Pass. The air was crisp that morning, with nearly ten thousand feet elevation. As he turned snapping photos of every angle he took a deep breath at the majestic beauty. He took pictures of the waterfall off to the right at the beginning of the climb towards the summit. The water rushed loudly as it came off the top of the mountain. He had never seen the trees along the pass, tall ones, small ones, and leaves in red, orange, and every shade of green. Jerod walked across the hors...

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Pictures of You

Submitted to Contest #258

After her older brother died, Hannah made a conscious effort to photograph absolutely everything.           As a kid, she never enjoyed being in pictures during family gatherings and events. Every birthday, Hannah dreaded the rotation of different family members as pictures were captured on her dad’s Kodak disposable cameras. As she grew older and had more siblings and more cousins, the process became tedious, and Hannah enjoyed being photographed less and less.    &n...

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The Treehouse Family of the Mystical Coast

Submitted to Contest #258

Sonya looked out from the porch of her family’s treehouse home. It rested high above the forest floor in a giant Douglas Fir.Then she nodded to her brother, Terence, who walked across the wooden bridge to the porch, from another treehouse in a neighboring tree."That smells delicious," she said to Ezra, her father, who was climbing the wooden steps that wound around the huge tree trunk. He carried hot coffee and cornmeal cakes, baked over the campfire on the ground.Today they would take more photos.It all began several years ago.*****On a sun...

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The Flash Between Us

Submitted to Contest #258

I sat alone at my desk ignoring my mother’s screams and editing my latest picture that would soon go into my portfolio filled with photos I just had to take as they caught my creative eye. The photo was of a huge oak tree scented with an interesting aroma of sorrow. It looked like an oak tree but had the feel of a willow tree, so I took the scene as a challenge to uncover the backstory so that I would be free to know what was behind its scars. See this is my interesting perspective on my love for photography, which brings me to why my mom is...

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Finding Focus

Submitted to Contest #258

 *** CW: contains a description of a panic attack***They were making their way down the steps at the back of frozen food store, Haid’s (the acronym derived from the company slogan ‘Have an Ice Day’) when Louise stopped and pulled out her phone.‘Hold on, a minute, Ree. Just got to get a picture of this.’‘What now?’ Ria turned as Louise held the phone askew, photo taken at an angle to include her own foot.Ria was as many steps ahead of her as there were years between them, but in spite of her being the younger sibling – sixteen to Louise'...

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Oh, My Dear Juliet

Submitted to Contest #257

The rain poured hard over the men's black cloaks, soaking them to the bone as they made their way through the dark and winding streets. The three men walked briskly towards the entrance of the vampire ball. The full moon hung high in the sky, casting an iridescent shadow on their figures. "So how exactly do you plan on sneaking our way in here, Romeo?" Malichi asked, his voice barely audible over the pounding rain."Just because we're wearing masks doesn't mean we will actually fit in," Julius remarked, his tone laced with skepticism as ...

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Rosaline's Role

Submitted to Contest #257

There were a couple of things in Rosaline Dawson’s life that she knew to be true.One, was that she was born to play a role in Romeo and Juliet. Not only did her own name make it seem like fate, but ever since she had joined the drama group at Eastview Academy, she had wanted to begin furthering her talents as an actress. It was her dream to become a star and ‘tread the boards’, as a seasoned actor might say and, what better way to do that than being the star in one of the most iconic plays than the bard himself?The second thing the teen knew...

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The Scottish Play

Submitted to Contest #257

Worrying about being killed during a performance might have been a whole new level of stage fright. I wouldn’t know firsthand about the stage part, but there definitely was a palpable fright leading up to the performance last summer. The troubles began well over a year ago when the drama teacher held a little get together of all prospective drama students. It was my senior year and I needed extra credit somewhere, so decided to sign up. There were a few others like me – no acting experience, and not the slightest inclination to change that i...

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Ashes

Submitted to Contest #257

I hate being poor. I hate that we’re always sleeping in homeless shelters and sometimes on the streets. I especially hate how I never had the opportunity to finish high school, let alone go to college. Thrift store clothes, cheapest of the cheap. It’s normal to me now, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay. We pretty much walk everywhere we need to go. School for my siblings, work for me and my mom, the store every once in a while when we can afford it. Sometimes we’ll take the bus downtown for things like doctor appointments. I'm seventeen and my...

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Romeo and Juliet: A Modern Retelling

Submitted to Contest #257

Our story is set in the fair city of Varona. A beautiful place, bustling with excitement. A place where tourists and locals alike enjoy the restaurants, the shopping and the beautiful history. Two families in this city stand out among the rest, both of them alike in dignity. Two families with an ancient grudge, two families who have bloodied their own hands. And from these two sworn enemies come two fated lovers, whose death will bury their parent’s strife. But our story actually starts long before this. Our story starts with a young boy on ...

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Her Juliet

Submitted to Contest #257

“Don’t let go,” she whispers, and Raina can’t think. She’s not strong enough to lift Juliet’s weight, and her side is pushed at a painfully odd angle against the windows edge. Juliet’s face is beautiful in the moonlight. The perfect picture of fear as tears that are not hers land on her cheeks, slowly roll down off her chin and onto the grass, far, far below. Raina gasps as Juliet slips a little further, but forget it all she’ll let her wrist snap before she lets Juliet go. Her hands are slick with sweat and falling tears.She hangs in the op...

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Some.body

Submitted to Contest #257

ALEXIS, 20-SOMETHING, IS SITTING IN A MEDICAL BED. HER HAIR IS WET AND SHE HAS A TOWEL AROUND HER SHOULDERS. THE WHITE BEDDING SHINES BRIGHT IN THE OTHERWISE QUITE DARK ROOM. A RADIO PLAYS CLASSICAL MUSIC IN THE BACKGROUND. ALEXIS: Once, I had a body. It was a fairly ordinary body with all the parts that usually belong. You know, head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes. The whole kit and caboodle. I didn't particularly like or dislike it. It just was there, doing what it was supposed to. Taking me where I wanted to go. It's not that ...

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The Prince Of Cats

Submitted to Contest #257

"Your coffee, sir." She said, cringing at the honorific. . Melody had started the day in hopes that she'd stand up for herself, she'd even practiced in the mirror. But only ten minutes into today's rehearsal and she already had caved in. She felt pathetic. "It's about goddamn time!" The director snapped while snatching the cup from her grip with force. Melody felt the eyes of the entire cast falling onto her. Some searing with hate, judging her as a kiss-ass, some looking with pangs of sympathy. Mercutio was laying across the stage, mock eat...

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A 'Liv' by Any Other Name (Romeo and Juliet)

Submitted to Contest #257

I took a careful sip from my chamomile tea, still steaming as tiny tendrils wafted around my nose, then set it down gently on the side table and flipped to the next page in my book. Exhaustion from all that social interaction earlier had my eyes finding difficulty focusing on the letters on the pages, but I was unable to rest just yet. The soft glow of my book light cast a small shaft illuminating my precious pages in the darkness of the moonless night. From my balcony, I could hear the distant hum of crickets and the occasional bark from a ...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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