We got 13* submissions! Because we dont expect you to read that many stories in one sitting, I’m going to break it up.
- For 48 hours, you can vote which one of the four stories below you like the best.
- After this poll closes. another will open, featuring 4 more stories! This will also last 48 hours.
- Finally, one more poll will be put up with the last 5 stories.
- The three winning stories will be voted on next!
- The winner of the final poll will be the first Writing Event Winner! The Judge’s picks will also be announced at that time!
Before voting, please read all 4 of the stories below. They are anonymous to try to remove any bias voters may have for their friends.
(1) Coin-Operated Boy by Amanda Palmer
Put it right over there please!” Amanda said, clapping her hands with glee. Two men brought in a large wooden box sealed with nails.
“I’ve waited ages for one of these, ‘’ Amanda whispered to herself as the two delivery men left. Amanda held a crowbar in her hand as she pried open the casket of fun. Laying in the wooden box was an immaculate figure, his face white as snow with perfectly smooth features, his blonde hair almost see through. He was the text book standard for a perfect man. Except for one small problem; the giant crack on his face.
The lifeless boy sat up suddenly, a robotic voice commanding: insert coin for joy
Amanda fumbled for a coin, she shoved it into the fake boys chest. His mouth moved robotically,
“Hello my new love. I am yours forever.”
His voice sounded like 6 different men speaking at the same time.
“But… you’re broken” Amanda spoke stunned
“Am I not satisfactory?”
“You’re broken!”
The boy reaches up and feels the crack across his face
“I’m sorry I couldn’t be what you wanted me to be.” The boy says as if it’s an automatic response, devoid of emotion
“I’ll give you a chance. I’ve broken many real boys, destroying an already cracked one seems fun!” Amanda says all too ready to embrace the broken figure. She pulls the Boy out of his casket, she poses him in a dancing position. She moves to another part of the room and starts a piano track.
“Dance with me toy.”Amanda says, taking Boys hand. She led him in a graceful waltz, both of them smiling. Boy looks around, the house he is in seems old yet lavish. He’d imagine that he’d be very happy here. Only one thing was bugging him.
“Miss?” Boy said unexpectedly
“Yes?” Amanda responded nonchalantly
“What happened to the other boys you ‘broke?’” Boy spoke slightly frightened
Amanda stopped dancing, she pulled boys arm hard. She led him silently through her house, she eventually stopped in front of a door filled with locks.
“This happend…” she pulled the door open and shoved Boy into the dark room that had been revealed. Boy looked at her as she slammed the door shut.
“Get comfortable down there Toy, I’ll let you out when I’m bored again. Maybe by then you’ll have learned that I don’t like to be asked questions.” Amanda laughed as she walked away from the door, Boy was left with his thoughts. Nothing in his programming had prepared him for this, he was taught “Be loving to be loved” but that wasn’t working.
“I shouldn’t have crossed the miss, this is my fault. When she comes back I’ll love her like I was supposed to!” Boy spoke aloud to himself, certain to win over Amanda’s favor. Boy looked around his new, and hopefully temporary, prison. It was dark, barren, and absolutely filthy. This was not a place for a pretty little thing like him. He looked around once more, seeing something in the darkness. Around him were bodies, dozens of them piled up around him. At first he couldn’t see due to the darkness, but once he saw one of them he was able to see them all. Boy stood there terrified, worried that his carcass would join them. He backed up against the door and waited.
About an hour later the door finally opened.
“Are you ready to listen?” Amanda said opening the door smiling
“Yes Miss!” Boy replied quickly wanting to leave his prison. As he exited the prison Amanda examined him.
“Oh you’re filthy! Get cleaned or I will dispose of you!” Amanda snapped pointing at the bathroom
“Yes miss!” Boy headed to the bathroom to make himself acceptable for Amanda. For the first time Boy was able to see what he looked like. Aside from the crack on his face he thought he looked quite handsome. His perfect jaw outlining his perfect face, his blue eyes giving the color accent, and his blonde hair making him look pristine even though he was covered in dirt. As for his clothes, he was clad in a black suit which looked very expensive even though he was covered in filth. He quickly cleaned himself up, looking presentable for his Miss.
“I’m ready miss!” He said as he exited the bathroom and made his way to her
“I’m afraid I was mislead. I was told you’d love me, and all you do is fear me.” Amanda said with her back turned to Boy
“Miss?” Boy questioned
“You aren’t perfection, and you don’t love me. I’m afraid I’m going to have to return you.” Amanda said her back still turned.
“I understand miss, I’ll return to my box.” Boy said relived he’d be sent to someone else.
“Here’s the thing…” Amanda started before Boy could walk away “I can only return you if you don’t function… and they I see it you still work.” Amanda turns around revealing a large knife in her hand. She runs at Boy, aimed to kill.
“If it satisfies you, destroy me if you’d like” Boy looked surprised, he couldn’t stop the words from coming out of his mouth. His programming allotted for her to do whatever she wanted. He stood there in fear, he was unable to stop her. She attacked him. Gruesomely. As she plunged her knife into his robotic chest, he was met with pain. The first thing he’s felt physically hit him like a brick, his insides were torn apart. His gears, his oil, his wires; similar to the structure of a human. Covered in oil he fell to the ground. Amanda watched and laughed.
“Glad to be of service” his voice box said broken as laid in his own black blood. Amanda looked at him with no feeling. She lifted her boot and crushed his once perfect face. Shattering it. The last thing Boy thought before his circuits stopped was, Do robots go to heaven? His body stoped twitching. He was as lifeless as he was when he arrived.
Not five minutes later Amanda placed an order for a new one.
(2) Ringo by Itzi
“Hey, stop that!” a girl shouted back at a boy who was running away. Tears welled up in 14-year-old Carmen’s eyes. How rude. That boy, Jason, had basically just told her that she had to follow in her parents’ footsteps, whether she wanted to or not. Carmen wasn’t a regular 14-year-old, and she wasn’t living in a normal world. Carmen lived in Winterglade, a world far away from planet Earth. Even in her world, she wasn’t normal. She was royalty. But Carmen wasn’t like most royals; she didn’t like wearing dresses and makeup. In fact, she preferred to wear baggy clothes, like hoodies and jeans. People always thought she was weird, but she tried not to let that bother her. She wasn’t very good at ignoring others and standing up for herself. As she was walking back home, she thought about what Jason had told her. When she reached her mansion, she went directly up to her mom’s room and told her mom what kids at school tell her. Her mom comforted her and said, “Don’t worry about what others say. You do what you want.” Suddenly Carmen felt a boost of confidence. She immediately felt better and determined to be herself. The next day, she wore her favorite hoodie and ripped jeans to school. As she walked down the hallways, she got a lot of stares. During recess and lunch, when people came up to her, she brushed them off, telling them she can do whatever she wants to. Finally, Jason came up with a smirk on his face. Carmen stood so close to him that she could hear his breathing and said, “I’m not a princess anymore. I’m just a regular kid with dreams of becoming an engineer.” Jason looked shocked. Carmen walked away happily and confidently. Later in life, she left her mansion to live in a small apartment in Juneburg, which is across the country. She became a successful engineer and loved her job. She never regretted that decision to make her own destiny ever in life.
(3) You Belong With Me by Taylor Swift
Tay sat on the couch in Jamie’s dorm. One room over, Jamie was on the phone with his girlfriend. Despite the fact that she wasn’t on speakerphone, Tay could hear her screaming at him. Tay put on her headphones and started nodding her head to Fallout Boy as she worked on her Calculous homework. She slowly moved a stray hair away from her face.
A couple minutes later, Jamie walked into the room looking pissed.
“God, I love her,” he said, “but she gets on my nerves sometimes.”
Tay took off her headphones. “Well, hello to you too, Mr. Polite.” He glared at her, and she smirked back. Jamie rolled his eyes. Being serious, she continued. “What did she do this time?”
“She’s just complaining about the most ridiculous of things. I come to the game just to watch her cheerlead, and she complains that I complimented her cheerleading instead of her nails!”
Tay nodded in response and changed the subject. “What if we go to the park? I know walks cool you down.”
“Alright.”
Tay quickly grabbed her sneakers and a hoodie to go over her baggy tee. The truth is, she got Jamie like that. More than anyone else could. She knew that he didn’t want some girl in short skirts and high heels. He wanted a girl like Tay. And that killed her. As she sat on the bleachers, she watched as he looked at his girlfriend in a way that is practically indescribable as her heart shattered. His eyes glistened, and it was like there was nobody there but her.
Tay wanted that from him.
She had always been there for him, at his back door whenever he needed her. Couldn’t he see? He belonged with her. She was the one who understood him. Not some girl in a frilly top. She dreamt about the day when he would wake up and realize that what he was truly looking for had been there the whole time.
As they walked through the park, Tay spotted a bench and lead Jamie over to it.
“Why are you with her?” Tay asked, sitting down.
“Honestly, I don’t know.”
Putting her hand on his shoulder, she replied, “Jamie, can’t you see? She’ll never get your story.”
“But, I think, just maybe, there might still be a chance, you know?”
Tay looked at him dead in the eyes. “Jamie, you belong with me.” She turned beet red. She did not mean to say that. It just slipped out. Jamie looked shocked, too. After a long silence, he stood up and walked away.
“Jamie! Wait!” Tay called out. But he kept walking. She ran after him and grabbed his arm, her words smushed together. “I’m sorry, that was uncalled for. Please forgive me?!” He shrugged her off.
Tay sank to the ground and sobbed.
(4) To Love Someone by Benson Boone
I’m looking at our pictures again. I’ve been left alone with my thoughts too long again. You know how it is, my overthinking. I just didn’t expect it to be over so soon. Would it be too much for people to love like there’s no tomorrow?
I look at my phone, thumb hovering over the send button. Jeez, why did my hopelessly romantic heart have to still be latched on to him? I delete it all and go hop in the shower.
The hot water runs down my back as I get absorbed in my thoughts. Am I a burden to my friends? No, I don’t think so. Great. I’m spiraling down into that wonderful rabbit hole of overthinking. It hurts so much thinking of what could’ve been if we had never broken up. I mean we’re still friends but… I know he’s just waiting until he’s absolutely ready but, it’s caused me so much pain just thinking about it. I love him- I turn the water to cold to get myself out of this downward spiral of depressing overthinking.
I flop on my bed face first and “ughhhhhhhhh” into my mattress. I check my phone expecting to see a notification in response to the text I never sent. Instead I’m greeted by a picture of his face lit up with a smile on my lockscreen. I sigh and flop onto my back. Now nothing is the way that it was. And it all feels like my fault. I glance out the window to see two birds in a nest full of eggs. Well that just called me single in every language.
The poll will close in 48 hours! Please try to vote fairly.
- (1) Coin-Operated Boy
- (2) Ringo
- (3) You Belong With Me
- (4) To Love Someone
i kinda skim read it cause i wanted to get to the stories
When’s the next challenge?