Summer 2026 Short Story Contest: One Small Thing

Entries

• Test Text entry · Jul 21, 2026 · Anonymous

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  Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed vestibulum metus sit amet scelerisque viverra. Vestibulum sed enim id arcu lobortis volutpat sed in urna. Etiam eleifend sem eget est auctor, ut luctus dolor vulputate. Quisque vel risus id elit vestibulum ultricies. Vestibulum auctor fermentum purus id iaculis. Maecenas ipsum metus, egestas sed arcu eu, tempus vestibulum mauris. Phasellus sodales erat mi, nec pellentesque mauris fringilla et.
  
  Praesent massa magna, rutrum nec aliquam ac, sodales a mauris. Phasellus nisi augue, viverra dignissim lacinia eget, elementum sed sem. Nunc vehicula, sapien at mattis pharetra, felis sem porttitor orci, at dictum lorem quam sed metus. Sed dignissim et nisi vitae blandit. Donec ante odio, eleifend et malesuada bibendum, lobortis quis eros. Aliquam id magna ac quam porttitor feugiat. Vivamus gravida turpis eu dolor condimentum fringilla.
  
  Suspendisse ex lacus, placerat in lacinia pellentesque, ornare at nibh. Nunc in felis egestas, sagittis justo eu, ultricies mi. Nullam vel blandit augue, et imperdiet turpis. Integer gravida ante erat, et ullamcorper mi pulvinar a. Curabitur mollis dui sit amet feugiat mattis. Donec porttitor venenatis neque, vitae volutpat quam porttitor vitae. Mauris congue, augue molestie lacinia pharetra, massa velit scelerisque erat, sed ultrices ex dolor sed nibh. Pellentesque sit amet nunc dui. Fusce pellentesque faucibus nisl id tincidunt. Maecenas rutrum pellentesque ligula vel malesuada. Sed id interdum urna. Duis auctor mollis metus, at finibus mi venenatis nec. Fusce lacinia purus eget arcu elementum, et molestie magna rhoncus.
  
  Nullam commodo ligula vehicula risus lobortis aliquam. Mauris est nibh, varius vel dictum sit amet, dictum sit amet massa. Morbi tristique ante nisi, fringilla dapibus massa sagittis sed. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Sed porttitor venenatis vestibulum. Donec cursus orci augue, sed venenatis nibh rhoncus rhoncus. Nullam suscipit, nisl eu elementum venenatis, erat nulla pellentesque mi, at bibendum velit lorem eu risus. Cras varius, quam in porta pellentesque, erat lacus aliquam sem, vitae dignissim augue sem non est. Cras vel convallis diam. Morbi et luctus purus. Nullam nunc mi, consequat sed odio in, molestie pulvinar mi. Vestibulum id tincidunt arcu. Nulla efficitur dolor nec libero tristique tincidunt.
  
  Aliquam sit amet elementum purus, nec vehicula leo. Cras vestibulum quam sed fringilla viverra. Proin aliquam auctor faucibus. Suspendisse eget dignissim metus. In ligula erat, interdum bibendum turpis sit amet, dapibus interdum nibh. Donec eget eleifend dolor. Vivamus egestas ex non blandit dignissim. Nulla arcu arcu, posuere nec maximus ut, iaculis vitae sapien. Vivamus euismod metus elementum ante malesuada euismod. Morbi commodo lectus nibh, et molestie metus euismod ac.
• Locker 271 Text entry · Jul 22, 2026 · Anonymous

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  Today is rough, and I haven’t even gotten to third period. Being in my senior year, that means a lot.
  The day began like any other. Or at least mine.
  Which meant I overslept.
  In my defense, I’d been reading until one-thirty before Mom confiscated my book with the devastating announcement that “fiction would still exist tomorrow.” Rude.
  I happened to look up, and there, clinging to my ceiling, was the most horrifying spider I’d ever seen. Naturally, I screamed, which only earned me a “Shut up!” from our next-door elderly neighbor, Mr. Thompson.
  Now, I lean against my locker, fighting to keep my eyes open. I’d used an obscene amount of concealer to hide the damage. I finally look up, noticing a crowd of people gathering around a locker, the audience mostly girls.
  Why not?
  With nothing better to do, I join the crowd myself. Ohhhhhh. That makes sense.
  Leaning against Locker 271 is a boy, looking like a teenage model. As Kayla, my best friend, would call it, he’s certainly “movie-star handsome”-- dark hair, blue eyes, nice jawline, charming smile. And he’s clearly enjoying all the girls, alluring them with his dimples. Then his gaze lands on me, and the corners of his lips tilt up.
  “You there. Redhead.”
  My head whips around quickly, hoping there’s another redhead in the group. There is not. I raise an eyebrow, hoping my nervousness isn’t visible in the slightest.
  “It’s Penelope. What do you want?”
  He makes the finger gesture for me to come closer. I shake my head. He doesn’t stop. Of course he doesn’t. Because apparently my morning wasn’t ambitious enough already.
  God, help me.
  Kind of pathetic to ask for God’s support now, seeing as I only go to church on Christmas, maybe Easter. I slowly, taking as much time as possible, walk over.
  “Mind showing me where Ms. Alcarez’s class is?” he asks sweetly.
  I stare at him, deciding whether this is a genuine question or some elaborate trap dreamed up by a suspiciously attractive person.
  “You mean the algebra room, or are we talking about the one where teachers go to slowly lose their will to live?” I ask.
  His smile widens like he relishes that answer. “I’ll take either, as long as it gets me there. I’m Carter, by the way.”
  Great. He’s either charming or unhinged. Possibly both.
  “Didn’t ask.”
  “Still told you though.”
  "You always this difficult?" he asks, still grinning.
  "You always this confident?"
  "Usually."
  "That explains a lot."
  I roll my eyes, turning away, but I can’t stop the smile despite myself.
  Turns out, the spider wasn't the worst thing waiting for me that morning. It was the boy with blue eyes and an alarming amount of confidence in four of my classes.