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John K Adams

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Aug, 2019

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150 Stories

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Ghosted

Weekly Contest #275

Terrance watched the two women enter and tour his house. They didn’t notice him. He’d called it home his whole life. He built it. He only occupied it now. Terrance was a ghost.He’d seen the rental agent, Peyton, over the years. She came on the scene after he vacated the premises. Being an absentee landlord, his son deferred to Peyton.The prospective tenant was a young woman, smartly dressed.Terrance chided himself. “Everyone looks young to you, old fool…”He sensed she was high strung despite her professional, relaxed demeanor with Peyton.The...

22 likes 12 comments 12
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Scoped

Weekly Contest #274

Harry sat unmoving at his bench, staring at the petri dish containing his latest biology lab assignment. Everyone else busied themselves peering into microscopes, passing notes or asking questions.Harry only appeared to be staring. Lost in a reverie, he could have been anywhere. His parents’ argument that morning replayed over and again.Nothing new, their arguing was consistent and boring. A bad soundtrack to his life.‘But the things they said… How can people talk like that? They even hear each other?’Harry doubted it. He didn’t understand m...

18 likes 14 comments 14
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Three Wishes

Weekly Contest #272

Furman Bentley awoke in a foul mood, an emotional state more common than not. “Deadlines… deadlines, deadlines…!”A popular author, Furman resented his editor’s incessant prodding him to excellence. Harley Houston, of Houston, Farley and Plum was his editor and publisher.Their phone conversations usually ended abruptly. Furman would tell Harley, “I’m always excellent. I don’t submit until it’s perfect. You only make changes to justify your pay.” For emphasis, almost his signature, he’d slam his phone down. Preserving the freedom to slam phone...

32 likes 16 comments 16
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Boogieman

Weekly Contest #272

Jonathan’s kids, Arlo and Devon, crawled into their beds. Cal, their cat, curled up at the foot of Arlo’s bed. Its tail swept up and landed with a contented thud every few seconds.Arlo asked, “Will you read us a story?”Devon giggled. “A scary one.”“I don’t know… would your mom like that? The idea’s to sleep, not get nightmares…”Grinning, she held out an old, hard covered book. “This one…”The book looked familiar to Jonathan, as if from a dream. Taking it from her he looked at the faded print on the spine, ‘Stories for the Sleepless, by Edwin...

18 likes 8 comments 8
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Wedding Hells

Weekly Contest #271

It was a romance worthy of a soap opera. Each stars of their own show, Pearl Swinney and Wayne Waxen met at an industry event for actors and agents. Witnesses described their meeting as ‘electric,’ ‘smoldering,’ or ‘like a short circuit.’ That sparks flew was not seen by all as a positive sign. Anywhere outside of Hollywood, what happened between them would be called bizarre. In this town, it was called ‘Wednesday night.’No one denied their passion. They proved inseparable. Seen everywhere holding hands and trailed by paparazzi, everyone kne...

26 likes 12 comments 12
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Much to Talk…

Weekly Contest #270

Bianca got her boyfriend, Geoff’s text at work. ‘Meet at Manson’s, 6pm. Much to talk.’Manson’s, the most expensive restaurant in town, was pronounced ‘Mansion’s.’ So people wouldn’t think Charlie owned it? Or an added gloss of pretension? No matter. It was a favorite of Bianca’s.Either formal or glib, Geoff could be such a mystery. ‘Much to talk?’ Had some jock set a homerun record? Or had Existentialism found proof of Nihilism’s emptiness?Guys can be so casual. They’d gladly know you biblically before bothering with your pedigree or even yo...

21 likes 8 comments 8
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Half Hearted

Weekly Contest #269

Lionel Bricker, or Brickbat, as his friends called him, came home one day and saw the need for a change. ‘Decluttering’ had become all the rage to his coworkers. Lionel became aware of it overhearing his workmates during lunch. That grown men should waste valuable time discussing cleaning strategies struck him as odd. His staff explained that ‘Swedish Death Cleaning’ was about ‘intentional decluttering.’ Relieved, Lionel said, “Oh, I thought it was a bizarre Viking burial ritual.” He said, “I’m not going anywhere. To ensure loved ones are no...

15 likes 6 comments 6
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Taking the Fourth

Weekly Contest #268

Christine’s phone buzzed at an incoming message. It had gone to voice mail. She clicked on it and began reading the transcript. ‘Hi, Chris, this is James. Been a while. Hoped we could talk. I owe you an apology. Let’s meet so I can offer it in person. If not, I get it. Hope you’re well. Let me know.’The voice mail started before she’d finished reading. Hearing James’ voice, she almost dropped the phone.The phone rang. Startled, she answered reflexively. “Hello?”“Chris!” It was James at his cheeriest. “What do you want?”“Thanks for picking up...

11 likes 12 comments 12
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Detour

Weekly Contest #267

Feeling free, Winston jumped into his new Ferrari and barely pausing at the guard gate, revved out of the studio lot. He’d always been free. But today, the first time ever, he had no responsibilities, no restrictions, and no demands on his time. He could go anywhere, answering to no one. ‘From now on, only doing what I want to do…’Many said he was ‘movie star handsome,’ but Winston didn’t see it. Dressed in jeans, a t-shirt, and with minimal bling, he could be any young man. Except for his driving this bright yellow Ferrari, no one would thi...

19 likes 11 comments 11
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Word Is…

Weekly Contest #266

Word Is… ‘The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.’ Prov. 18:21 Ulysses finished his grocery list and saw ink on his fingers. “Damn! Running late… Stop sabotaging…”About to interview for a writing job, he wanted to look professional. ‘Would inky fingers impress…?’ He hadn’t had a paying gig for months. Pay or not, he always wrote stories, blurbs, whatever. His many novels, some completed and all unpublished, filled a shelf in his study.Friends always saw him with a pen and note pad.He washed his h...

25 likes 21 comments 21
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There are More Things

Weekly Contest #265

Dressed in his white suit, Wally Fitzhugh sat alone at a table in the bar car of the train. He liked his space. The immense scenery rolled slowly by. How many had ridden by the ancient hills and taken them for granted? Adapting to the rocking motion, other passengers strode back and forth. Three teenagers played cards at another table. Their laughter filled the car. ‘Don’t they know gambling’s illegal? A Conductor should stop them.’Though about their age, Wally preferred watching the scenery to socializing with strangers. It was a given. Whe...

20 likes 13 comments 13
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I Do

Weekly Contest #264

Pamela approached her mother, Sandra, sipping her morning coffee.“I’m thinking of moving out, Mom.”Her mother set the steaming cup onto the saucer.“None too soon. You’re what, twenty-five?”Her mother’s reaction didn’t surprise Pamela. She’d heard such murmurings her whole life. Sandra never forgave the pangs Pamela’s birth gave her. Everything she said to Pamela came wrapped in the burden of her unpaid debt. “Who you moving in with?”“Uhm… actually, Carl asked me to live with him.”“Ohhh no. Seen how that plays out. He gets a live-in maid ‘til...

26 likes 13 comments 13
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Killer Cute

Weekly Contest #263

The common criminal, Curtis Felone, entered the public eye during his three trials for one bank robbery. Each of them ended with a hung jury. It was during these trials he became known by his nickname, ‘Babyface Felone.’ Before that he’d been a small-time crook known only to law enforcement. He had no practical skills beyond those which led to his arrest. Three unsuccessful prosecutions for the same charge attracted massive media attention. Felone became the celebrity known as the ‘cute gangster,’ or ‘Babyface.’ Sociologist, Ignacio Ersatz, ...

20 likes 11 comments 11
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Big Bad Wolf

Weekly Contest #263

It’s me, the big, bad wolf. Or Wolfie, as my friends call me. Not Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, that swing jazz band from the last millennium. They were cool. But they’re not me. I’m cooler.Me. The big, bad wolf. Real and scary. Legend of story and song. Source of under the bed, childhood nightmares the world over.I’m everyone’s favorite baddy. Heard it all my life. Though it has had certain benefits, it isn’t a fair description of who I truly am.Granted, I haven’t always behaved like a lap dog. But you have to believe me when I tell you I got a bad...

27 likes 26 comments 26
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Beyond Wonderful

Weekly Contest #261

Entry 1:Oh boy! Am I grateful! Words can’t convey how grateful I am. Who would believe the over-flowing, Olympic sized pool of…? ‘Gratitude’ doesn’t even describe it.This is the first entry of my required ‘Gratitude Journal.’ I’m already thrilled to express how utterly grateful I am for so many things in my godforsaken life. Let me count the ways… For instance, I’m grateful I no longer have my family to worry about. They were such a drag. Always nosing into my business, where they didn’t belong. I’m alone. I feel so liberated, I could sing!N...

18 likes 10 comments 10
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