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Catherine McKenzie

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Mar, 2025

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23 Followers
8 Following

25 Stories

397 karma pts

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Guns Don’t Kill People, Bullets Do

Weekly Contest #358

Cassidy ran with the gun clutched tightly to her chest. She was mostly sure this was a fever dream, but the bullet kept insisting it was reality. Something in the last 24 hours had gone terribly awry and she had no idea what it had to do with her. When the bight began, she was coerced by her best friend to go out even though she was pretty sure she had the flu. “You promised,” Jessica reminder her. “When I promised, I didn’t have a fever and a plugged up nose,” Cassidy declared. “I can’t breathe and am coughing up phlegm constantly.” “You p...

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She Calls Herself Carmilla

Weekly Contest #348

Warning: blood and suggestions of violence She calls herself Camilla after some long forgotten tale. As she stands outside the motel room door, she listens for signs of life inside. There it was, the faint pumping of a heart trying to keep up with supplying enough oxygen to keep a body alive when there wasn’t enough blood to carry it. There was the soft inhale and exhale of lungs almost unable to continue on. Carmilla looked around cautiously before walking through the door. The scene she came upon was horrific. A scene a forensic team wou...

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Ouija Me

Weekly Contest #347

Look, I’m not a stand up kinda guy. I’m weak-minded, lazy, and selfish but obviously self aware. There’s one thing though that I decided I would never do and never have. I will never play with a Ouija board. It’s not for any religious reasons. I’m atheist and don’t believe in angels nor demons. I’ve been very proud of keeping that one rule for as long as I have. But I am especially weak-minded when I get attention from pretty women, and Sharlene is gorgeous.At some point, her circle of friends started hanging with my circle of friends. We we...

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The Merit Scholarship

Weekly Contest #347

My academic journey is a map of nonexistent schools. I have a bad history with the history of my education. Where I attended elementary is now a Planet Fitness. My junior high was converted into apartments, and my high school was simply erased, replaced by two newer, shinier versions of a future I wasn't part of. If you look for the landmarks of my youth, you won’t find a single building of matriculation. The most profound ghost is the Art Institute of Houston. It’s defunct now but in 1997, it was the center of my universe. I was a video pro...

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External Dementia

Weekly Contest #345

It started with a dream.I had that feeling you get when a dream stays with and lingers for a while after you begin your day. It’s both cozy and eerie and reminiscent of that déjà vu feeling. But if it started as a dream, it ended up a nightmare.That first morning I started the coffeemaker before showering. My partner usually gets up after me and makes us both breakfast, and then I pack us both lunch. It’s been our system for a couple of years. But that morning, I walked into the kitchen to find my girlfriend eating alone.“Hey, where’s breakf...

4 likes 1 comment 1
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The Wrong Head Tumbled

Weekly Contest #344

As she kneeled there, the image of the Red Queen shouting “Off with her head!” flashed through her mind. She was mildly disappointed that her life didn’t flash in front of her eyes, but considering the circumstances, she didn’t feel right being too disappointed. It started a couple weeks ago when Marta got into an argument with her best friend over the most idioctic reason. Her parents expressed their disappointment to her for changing her major from pre-med to art in her senior year of college. Jackie had always been her biggest supporter ...

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Dahlia's Revenge

Weekly Contest #303

It had all become too much.Mrs. Rod was known for having good rapport with her teenage students. She balanced the pressures of classroom teaching with the ever-increasing policies from an inept administration and school board that consistently piled on more work without taking anything away. She never took out her stress on the children in her classroom and gave them frequent redirections to correct their behavior before relying on help outside of the classroom from parents and principals and security. Her kids tried to live up to her expect...

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Magda's Revenge

Weekly Contest #303

Chloe just wanted a cute picture for her profile. She asked AI to whiten her teeth, tone her arms, and even out her tan. The picture it produced looked almost like her but not quite right. It was a little creepy and seemed to be smiling at her. She showed her friends and laughed it off then forgot about it.Magda didn’t. She was surfing the veil when she felt a thin part and passed through right into the image of Chloe’s creepy doppelganger. It came equipped with Chloe’s memories and knowledge.“Lovely,” Magda said, smiling.***Chloe had a roug...

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L@$t

Jody was known for letting her friends down. She had decided that she was going to return her library books on time for once. The night before she had set them on the floor in front of the door, so that when she opened the door they would fall on her feet. She tried hanging her bookbag on the handle, but she just walked out without them. Well, today it worked. She put the books in her basket and started pedaling the few blocks to the library. It was a lovely spring day. The kind that makes you forget about how awful the weather can be. No ...

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Poor Marvin

Weekly Contest #302

Mable was murdered on accident. If you can plan a murder where everything went wrong, you’d end up with her death. Marvin and Hazel had a whirlwind romance and eloped in Vegas to the surprise of everyone they knew. People misinterpreted Hazel to be cold and calculating, but she was just one of those people who relies heavily on logic and reason instead of emotion. For her to suddenly get married with no planning shocked those who knew her. Marvin is a super sweet guy known to be a player. He never meant to be. Women are drawn to him for how ...

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ADHD Arranges an Amazing Day

Weekly Contest #301

Jody was known for letting her friends down. She had decided that she was going to return her library books on time for once. The night before she had set them on the floor in front of the door, so that when she opened the door they would fall on her feet. She tried hanging her bookbag on the handle, but she just walked out without them. Well, today it worked. She put the books in her basket and started pedaling the few blocks to the library. It was a lovely spring day. The kind that makes you forget about how awful the weather can be. No cl...

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Gone Viral

Weekly Contest #298

Phyllis had gone viral. She hadn’t wanted to and was rather embarrassed by it all. In grade school, she wanted a skateboard. Her parents refused for various reasons, but the two that stuck out stuck with her the most. First, they were for boys. Her counterargument was that all of her friends had one and they skateboarded around the neighborhood without her. Second, her brother had one that he barely used anymore and she could use his. That didn’t go over well–just like with the Legos.Phyllis had asked for Legos a couple of years before. Her ...

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Dare to Unravel the Universe

Weekly Contest #297

Nikki feels the familiar pull of her night fading as the first fingers of color paint the horizon. Fear and excitement intermingle as she anticipates this meeting. She chooses to gaze at the remaining twinkles of stars instead of the sunrise as a last attempt to hold on to the night. The ocean breeze brings the scent of decaying seaweed and salty brine. Like the emotions swirling inside her, the good mixes with the bad. When Rory arrives she plans to voice her anxiety about how she needs to change but fears the repercussions. If Rory can’t a...

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An Unrequited Moment

Weekly Contest #297

Today was the day. She had stayed up late making that decision and planning it out. When the bell rang to signal the end of 4th period, she ran out of the door first and headed to the commons so she could look like she was standing there nonchalantly. Carmen at first half-leaned on a table but felt awkward so she shifted to stand with hands on her hips. That felt more natural, so she relaxed.As her eyes scanned the area that was filling up with students, her eyes linked with Mrs. Withers, the old librarian across the way. They were very fami...

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10:45 am or The Time that Thing I feared to Happen Finally Happened

Weekly Contest #297

I don’t really want to talk about it. It’s every teacher’s biggest fear…well, after school shootings and such. For 21 years, I managed to avoid it though I knew it was only a matter of time. What are the odds that it never happened? There had been a couple of close calls, but each time a student had covered for me. For that, I will forever be grateful.I was thirty when I started teaching. Older than most new teachers but still youngish and fresh. I was much more slender and cared more about my appearance. I wore makeup daily and would’ve bee...

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