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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.

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 9 of 360

The Unnatural Paper

Submitted to Contest #295

Clara couldn’t recall who gave her this stationery. She vaguely recalled some preadolescent birthday dinner with elderly family members she hadn’t met before. They were in town for the funeral of some great uncle she had also never met, and her birthday dinner coincided with their travel plans. Of course, Mom invited everyone. The worst part was that, due to their various dietary restrictions, they could no longer dine at the Cajun seafood restaurant she had selected and had to instead go to a rather bland buffet place. The dinner bill was s...

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The Bookroom

Submitted to Contest #295

Ever since the high school switched to issuing Chromebooks, the bookroom became pretty obsolete. It was an odd shape and still full of textbooks, so it really hadn’t been repurposed as something else. It made a perfect place for Andela to arrive and depart for classes each day.That is until the janitor caught her coming out of it late one afternoon when she realized she left her bracelet in her gym locker. Her mom would definitely notice, and she wasn’t ready to reveal to her family what she had been doing all day every day for the past coup...

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Sunkissed

Submitted to Contest #295

Sunkissed, that’s what I always called her. With her freckled-painted body. Her frizzy, curly brown hair begged for my hands at any moment. Inevitably, every time, my fingers would get caught in a tangle, always ending with an accidental tug and quietly apologizing by my lips on her skin, my tongue gently running over a patch of freckles.She’d always let out the most beautiful sounds in response, stuck between a shocked laugh and a hitch of breath. I’d flash a cheeky grin, continuing my actions once again just to get the same reaction out of...

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Seeking Wonder

Submitted to Contest #295

Hannah Rose Hart walked through the small, cluttered room in her grandmother’s house, the walls lined with shelves that seemed to hold every treasure her grandmother had ever collected. The room was thick with dust, a heavy layer that seemed to cover every surface, floating lazily through the air as she moved. Sunlight filtered in through the half-drawn curtains, casting soft beams of light that danced on the faded carpet beneath her feet. The room smelled of old paper, wood, and something faintly floral, a scent that reminded her of her chi...

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The Future of a Memory

Submitted to Contest #295

Rilla frowned at the wood and rope sky bridge stretched over the chasm before her. It looked positively ancient, likely because it was in fact ancient. Still, she expected the famous mythical Sky Bridge of Timberhaven to be less…rickety. A howling wind whipped up from the chasm, the eerie sound sending shivers rippling down her spine. Creatures lived in the chasm, creatures trapped there by the Fae hundreds of years ago, but lately the creatures were more active than ever. Creatures of the night lured all of the mountain animals into the cha...

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Love Letters

Submitted to Contest #294

November 23rd, 1913Dear Rose,I write to you because we are not near enough to speak. Though, I feel like we are. You are still in my heart. I miss you. The softness of your hair, the sparkle of your eyes, the sweetness of your voice. Oh, how I wish I could end this trip early and come back to you, but alas, mother needs me. The doctors are trying everything they can to cure the sickness. They say that in a few days, she should be fine, but…I for one have lost hope. Her heart rate is down and her breathing is ragged. She rarely talks, and if ...

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The Color of Voice

Submitted to Contest #294

 The Color of Voice Blue I watch her lips curve upwards in a smile. She laughs, covering her mouth as she whispers to her friend. I’m aware of an uncomfortable stirring in my gut. Her friend speaks quickly, syllables indistinct. I tap Clara’s shoulder and she turns to look at me, a question in her gaze. I send her a text. What are you talking about? She grins, this time speaking slowly. I can tell she’s raised her voice by the way her mouth moves. I watch her lips and make out words I hate each time I hear them....

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Adolescent by taiyon winter wai

Submitted to Contest #295

At a young age, I was always a determined flower, swaying between extremes, chasing the fleeting images reflected in my own mirror. I never imagined I would end up where I am now, tangled in a strange and unpredictable coincidence that felt like the luminous glow of a full almond moon, serene yet enigmatic. My life was nothing short of a labyrinth, and when I fell into his arms, he enshrouded me like a delicate web, wrapping me up in a spell I couldn't shake off. And so, today, I share the story of an 18-year-old boy who married a 60-year-ol...

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Swipe Left, Regret Right - “Catfished, ghosted, and one margarita away from emotional bankruptcy—Sadie’s about to learn that the worst dates make the best stories.”

Submitted to Contest #294

Chapter One: The Flannel, the Dog, and the Lie— Where I realize the dog was the most honest part of the profile.If I had a dollar for every time I got catfished, I could afford a therapist who doesn’t work out of the back of a vape shop.His name—on the app—was Liam. His photos? Flannel shirt, wholesome golden retriever, an entire sourdough starter journey documented in a carousel. He looked like the kind of man who knew the difference between thyme and rosemary and would never use the phrase "emotional availability" sarcastically.So, natural...

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You Can, If You Think You Can.

Submitted to Contest #294

“You can, if you think you can,” her father said to her after she had been ranting for more than ten minutes about failing her end-of-year exam in mathematics. “You can do this. You aced your other subjects, you just need to believe in yourself. I believe in you. You have made me proud of what you have achieved so far. I know you can do this. I have been in situations where I have doubted my skills to do something and I think back to my father telling me, “You can, if you think you can,” and it spurred me on to overcome the problem. Whether ...

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When we were Wallflowers

Submitted to Contest #294

Often it is said that before you die, your life flashes before your eyes. That may be true; I hope it will be the case when I go. But I often see moments of my life every time I close my eyes to sleep. Some of the best memories of my 32 years pass by, the births of my 2 wonderful children, my wedding day, but most often I think of my time with Emory. She was my best friend all of high school; she was the one who broke me out of my shell, who made me see the world beyond the confines of my own fears and doubts. She would call me "Wallflower,"...

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The Children of the Forsaken

Submitted to Contest #294

The villagers called them “Children of the Forsaken”, those shunned to the Bearclaw Mountains, exiled from society. But the children called themselves “the Watchers” for their view of the villages nestled in the valley below, and to their parents, they were merely Rya Nevarium, Lyleth Skyden and Quill Westyn. “Who in the Risen’s Name takes the forest path to Bearclaw?“ asks Quill, features twisting as a gentle frown and harsh laugh compete for dominance like wolves fighting over a kill. Lyleth gives him the scolding look of a mothe...

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A letter to no one

Submitted to Contest #294

19th March 2025Dear Younger Me,I am currently sitting down at the wooden desk, on a very uncomfortable dining chair, hoping to take some things off my mind. There is a lot I need to tell you and I wish I could go back in time to give this letter to you.Right now you are about 15 years old, going through hormones, emotions, changes and frustrations. Your home isn’t your safe space, school gives you anxiety, your friends don’t seem like friends anymore. It is hard. Really hard.You are probably looking at yourself in the mirror, hating every pa...

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The Dawn of the Betrayed

Submitted to Contest #294

The prophecy had been spoken long before Eury and Selene were born, at least that’s what they had been told. Whispers of it were woven into the lullabies their mothers sang, carved into the stone walls of their hidden sanctuary , far beneath the earth’s surface. Farther still from the humans. "When the dawn turns red, the Betrayed shall rise. And from blood shall come the end." It had always been a riddle, a warning passed from one generation to the next among the descendants of Medusa. The Gorgonae had lived in secret for centuries, hiding ...

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Napkins

Submitted to Contest #294

My father was angry that we had to leave all his napkins behind. Two miles past Quincy with half a tank and no money to get us any further than Burlington, his most pressing concern was going to be what happened to all the napkins he left in the cupboard above the kitchen sink. All hoarders have a worthless item they prefer above all other items--worthless or otherwise. My father’s favorite was a napkin. Any kind of napkin. He collected them the way kids my age at the time collected Pokemon cards. The strange thing about a fixation like this...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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