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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 57 of 361

Heartbeat

Submitted to Contest #243

I like to imagine things, a lot of things. Sometimes I like to imagine myself being locked in a library by myself, enjoying the peacefulness that staying alone with the smell of ink gives me; sometimes I like to imagine flying a kite in the middle of nowhere and then lying down on the ground when I get tired and watching the sunset; sometimes I like to imagine running out of the hospital and finding freedom that is in theory too far away for me to catch, but in my imagination, anything is possible. I can hold onto freedom closely in my arms ...

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The Button

Submitted to Contest #243

I was late.The quad of my high school campus - the central outdoor area of the New York Academy of Arts - was packed with protestors holding handmade signs that screamed TIME IS TIME and NO HURRY NO DELAY in red paint.I should have expected it; I'd heard on the news that a new and improved version of the Button was about to go on the market, and anytime there was news like that, there would be protests all over the city.NO HURRY NO DELAY. I shook my head. I did need to hurry. I had an appointment with Amelia Amour. She was a famous actress -...

26 likes 9 comments 9
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Shifting Colors

Submitted to Contest #243

When I was little, the world was full of color. I remember the colors more than anything. More than the shapes, or even the feelings that came from these memories. The colors were the feelings. They were the memories. I could name these colors, but doing so would steal from the power they hold. I could describe them, but to be honest, I don’t think you’d understand.  It’s okay, really, I don’t expect you to. You’re only human, after all. The human who understood left this place a long time ago, and I don’t blame her. But I do miss her. ...

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Otherworld

Submitted to Contest #243

OTHERWORLDBy Laura Bogner Calliope slept fitfully. Winter in Joshua Tree had been unusually cold and the wind howled through the windows in her cabin as she tossed and turned pulling the covers around her like a mummy. She had been to The Palms earlier that evening. Corona, the beer not the virus was on special but these days it seemed the virus was all anyone talked about.  Millions of people around the world had died, businesses big and small had been closed forever, people were protesting against racial injustice across the globe an...

8 likes 0 comments 0
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A Life Worth Living

Submitted to Contest #243

Have you ever imagined a world where time doesn't exist? Time is useless, for the only time we have is our life, and how can we 'measure' it? Even if we can, how are we to possibly build a time measuring invention? Impossible, yes, so the only thing we have to so-called 'measure' our time, or lives, is our immune bracelets. An immune bracelet, or IB, is a band of light metal, stuck around our waist, and yes it can be adjustable. It has a small screen on it, that shows just exactly how many breaths we have left. I've tried to count how long i...

6 likes 2 comments 2
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Ham, Cheese and Picasso

Submitted to Contest #242

“Well… well…” There was a brief pause. “Well?” “Well!” the security officer said, leaning over the desk so closely that his nostril hairs almost tickled Connor’s face. “I don’t think you realise the kind of trouble you’re in, do you son?” he said, his words laced with false authority and disapproval. The teenage boy sitting opposite simply shrugged and rolled his eyes up to the ceiling.  The room was small and certainly not intended to be for interrogations. Looking now at what was on the desk in front of him, Connor noticed that beside...

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The secret of the gallery

Submitted to Contest #242

It was the gallery of the empress. Elodie had heard the stories, the rumours through out the city. How she had teams working on this feat. The living paintings, coming only alive at night. It was claimed that that was because of the decadence, the construction of the spell. Elodie wondered if it was not also a matter of skill, that the spells had to be structured that way to work rather than a choice they made. Still, Elodie was curious for the paintings. There were some things, uses really, coming to mind, depending on what the spells were ...

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The Dark Space

Submitted to Contest #243

The air around me was hot, and sticky. I tried to wiggle free, but I only managed to wedge myself deeper. My lower half was twisted around peanut butter coated molars, my midsection was punctured by two, large canines, while the rest of my body hung from her drooling jowls. There was no escape.  We were picking up speed, zooming from room to room when Ellie suddenly stopped short. She spat me out, save for my midsection, and began whipping me back and forth as hard as she could against the side of her face. She continued to do this in a...

11 likes 3 comments 3
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Where Blue Orchids Bloom

Submitted to Contest #242

She stood gracefully in an old garden, the sun constantly kissing her autumn skin. Behind her, emerald green sycamore trees grew in the middle of the breezy meadow. She gently held onto her snow-white bonnet with one delicate hand, and she clutched a bouquet of orchids ranging in different shades of blue in the other. Her dark, curly hair was tied up into a bun with loose strands hanging beside her darling face.  God, her face.  She had an exquisitely curved nose that was placed perfectly between her sweet, almond eyes. Her smile w...

21 likes 4 comments 4
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The Poor Poet

Submitted to Contest #242

The walls of an ancient Scottish castle arranged with paintings of people, animals, and abstract figures began to come to life as darkness fell and froze as daylight returned. My aunt used to tell me this fairy tale all the time. Yes, it was a long time ago, and I have since gone to the museum several times at night to write down my thoughts. I even pursued it as a career. You could think I'm a loser. But I'm telling you, it's all true. Do not give me this look. I noticed you staring at me with your enlarged, weary eyes. The art historian's ...

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In 1898 - Trapped in the Ship's "Museum"

Submitted to Contest #242

Waves splashing against the ship “Pacific Odyssey” echoed in the dark hold beneath the decks. It was anchored off the shore near the Mystic Lighthouse and the year was 1898.A musty smell wafted in the still air. Dark shapes of the captain’s collections from faraway places created a twisted labyrinth. A rustle sounded from deep in a corner. What was that? A rat?From the shadows one of the shapes began rising. It became taller, wider.Slowly it moved closer.What was that? Where was the way out?Elsie stopped breathi...

51 likes 53 comments 53
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The Collective

Submitted to Contest #242

“Hello!” Izzy called out in the dark warehouse. “Is anyone here? Hello!” she called out again. She pulls her brown hair away from her eyes. The young woman walked slowly through the deep darkness. “Why didn’t I bring a freakin’ flashlight?” she mocked her own stupidity at that moment.   Her hands extended outward. She had already ran into four things that were probably old warehouse equipment. This place seems abandoned. She thought. Out of nowhere a massive spotlight hits her face stopping her in her tracks. She was no-less blinde...

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Why?

Submitted to Contest #241

“What have I done, what have I done?” I whisper to myself over and over again. Becky is lying there, in a pool of blood. Dead? Maybe. I rush over to see if she’s still breathing, and she is. Oh, thank you, Jesus! I think her heart is barely beating, so I take out the knife from her back, flip her over, and start doing chest compressions. Five minutes ago, me and Becky were chatting and we were best friends. Or at least, she thought we were best friends. I’m going crazy and I have been for the past five years, I tell myself and as soon as I d...

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Unexpected Betrayal

Submitted to Contest #241

I hopped off the school bus, hitting the ground at a dead run ahead of my two younger brothers; dropped my book bag at the house door and ran down to the barnyard. I couldn’t wait to touch the little horse who would be waiting to see me, after a full day of going through the motions of attending my Middle School classes. I wanted to get home to continue the training of my young horse. He was coming along sop well! The horse had been purchased for a small fee from a poor quality situation. He was of unknown breeding, and a non-extraordinary b...

11 likes 2 comments 2
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The Last Family Trip

Submitted to Contest #241

I draw a line down the middle of the notebook page. I aim for precision, but the line swerves in my unsteady hand. On the top left I write “Dad”, cross it out, write “Father.” At the top right I put “Mother.” Soon enough I’ll place my own name under one of the columns, take my position on one side of that crooked barrier. Because last week mom called the four of us into the kitchen. She was sitting at the table, a table older than me with dark stains so deep in the white plastic they’re part of it now. Dad was there too, pacing around, looki...

8 likes 5 comments 5
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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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