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Kristy Schnabel

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Feb, 2024

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50 Followers
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27 Stories

809 karma pts

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I Want Corn on the Cob

Weekly Contest #314

Portland, OR, June 28, 2021My humans have no idea I can understand most of what they say. I just don’t care to listen when it’s not about me. I’m Simon, their 4-year-old dog of unknown breed because my folks won’t spring for a DNA test. My dad, Max, and my mom, Daisy, think they rescued me, but the reverse is true. I’m the glue holding this family together.It’s nearly five in the morning. Daisy pops out of bed like a Jack-in-the-box toy. When we have hot days, she runs around like a madwoman to make sure all the fans are pointing in the corr...

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I'm Your Match

Weekly Contest #312

Day OneKnock, knock, knock.“It’s open,” Kai said with irritation in his voice.Knock, knock, knock.“Come in!” shouted Kai. He didn’t like being interrupted while playing his video game.Aiden turned the knob slowly. He peeked through the space the cracked door provided.In a chipper voice, Aiden said, “Hell-hello. I’m your match. I’m here to assist you…” Aiden stood 5’10” and had brown, well-trimmed short hair. He walked with a limp, but Kai didn’t notice.Aiden took a few steps, stopped, and then shifted his weight to favor his good leg. Looki...

17 likes 8 comments 8
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Did We Know Each Other?

Weekly Contest #311

When I saw his name badge on the high school reunion registration table, fear stabbed my gut the same way it did in ninth grade when he asked me out fifty years ago. Fifty years! I reached for my name tag, but my sweaty hands touched Mark’s as well.How can he still compel these feelings? Is this a chance to convey to him what really happened back then, to make amends without an agenda? ***Destiny ordained being together in high school classes because my last name is Miller, and his is Mills...

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Unstoppable

Weekly Contest #310

Denny: I’m having a crisis. When can we meet?Stan: What? Writer’s block?Denny: No. 911!Stan: Daily Grind. 4pm.Denny: Thx ***Denny spotted Stan in a back booth, sucking a tall Frappé through a straw. His jet black crew cut hair had graying at the temples. He wore a polo shirt and shorts.Tall, trim Denny wore a t-shirt with a big black dog on the front with gray chino shorts. His shoulders relaxed when his friend and writing coach smiled at him.“Thanks for coming, man,” Denny said as he took a seat.The coffee shop had few customers, all starin...

11 likes 2 comments 2
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If Pride and Prejudice Friends Could Text

Weekly Contest #306

Charlotte: What did you think of the dance last night? Did any potential suitor catch your eye? 😉 Lizzy: Besides the humiliation of being passed over by the arrogant Darcy, I found the evening pleasant. I am happy for Jane, though. Bingley seemed to favor her. Charlotte: She should secure him and his 5,000 pounds a year straight away. Lizzy: Charlotte! Charlotte: I am not romantic, you know. One must look out for one’s future. 💰 *** Lizzy: Bingley’s been to the house to visit Jane twice. I think they are in love ❤️ but ’tis hard to tell beca...

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The Ghost Writer

Weekly Contest #304

Jocelyn hoped she remembered all her lies for the impending Zoom call. She’d studied the newspaper accounts and video clips of her interviews from ten years ago to prepare. The time for the call arrived, but she was still applying her makeup and styling her hair. The interviewer could wait, she decided, as she grabbed a glass of water and settled with her laptop on the sofa of her apartment family room. Jocelyn clicked the link in the email from her publisher. Zoom activated, and she saw her image on half of the screen. She adjusted her bang...

9 likes 8 comments 8
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The Unfriending

Weekly Contest #287

"I can't be your friend anymore." I stood next to Helen's red front door as her facial muscles migrated from a forced smile to shock. She didn't like surprise visits, even from her best friend."What's wrong?" said she."It's cold. May I come in?""Of course. I have the kettle on. Would you like a cup of tea? You see, I'm being gracious despite what you said.""No tea." I stared at my feet."Well, would you like to sit down?""No. I need to stay standing." We faced each other in her foyer."What do you think I've done?"I thrust the one-page governm...

25 likes 14 comments 14
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The Choice

Weekly Contest #286

(This story is about a fire evacuation.) The air filter machine whirred in competition with the TV anchor's urgent plea for viewers to follow local authorities' edicts. My phone showed "Evacuation Zone Level 2," meaning "Be set to depart on a moment's notice." John and I had been through this before but never had to leave. Usually, I liked the expansive view from the east window, but today, the emerging tsunami of red and brown toxic smoke felt apocalyptic. Deep inhale. Breathing is still okay. Asthma medicine holding up.  Still staring...

14 likes 4 comments 4
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Eleventh-Hour Greeting Card

Weekly Contest #285

It's Saturday, June 12, 1993, and I'm the pink princess phone in Melody's bedroom. Since it's nearly 9:00 a.m., I will ring at any moment when her friend Sheila customarily calls. Here I go. "Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding." Melody never answers on the first round, even if she's close by.  "Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding." "Hello?" asks Melody, as she lies on her bed's comforter with pillows propped up behind her back. "Hi, Mel," says Sheila.  "Hi. How was work last night?" "Not bad. I got a big tip near the end of my shift, but I had ...

15 likes 8 comments 8
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The Labyrinth Realization

Weekly Contest #282

As Vera stood at the threshold of the labyrinth in the hospital courtyard, she recalled when she first met Charles thirty years before. In 1990, "It's Only Lunch" had just launched as a way for singles to meet over a meal. When Vera asked her date about the hobby on his profile, the bearded, lanky, serious-looking man shared his passion."A labyrinth is not the same as a maze," said Charles. By design, mazes confuse and have more than one pathway. You can actually get lost." His deep voice resonated as if we were giving one of his math lectur...

10 likes 9 comments 9
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The Airport Connection

Weekly Contest #280

(This story has an inadvertent racial slur that gets corrected.)I hope he doesn't want the lemon one.I'll have the lemon old-fashioned and a coffee, please.Rats! Oh…Oh, you wanted it, too?It's the only vegetarian donut…unless…do you have more in the back?Sorry ma'am. It's the last one.I'll change my order. I'll have the chocolate cruller and the lemon one for the lady. That's so kind, thank you, but—I insist. I'm excited about my trip and feeling generous. Can I get you a coffee, too?It's easier to just agree—there are so many people be...

20 likes 17 comments 17
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The Unraveling

Weekly Contest #278

Everything would have been different had Brooke and Andy Tyler called before picking up their daughter early when their event got cancelled. Their Honda Civic sedan weaved through the Portland neighborhood in which Brooke had grown up, and the windshield wipers squeaked without enough rain to make them glide smoothly. The sun peeked out, accentuating the red rhododendrons and pink azaleas adorning ranch homes one after another. “Now the sun comes out,” said Brooke, leaning into the windshield and looking up. “Predictable,” said Andy, simulta...

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The Heroine Who Got Thrown Under the Bus

Weekly Contest #277

So you know the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, right? You’ve probably seen it more than once. Are you one of those who thinks that Dorothy is the heroine? Well, let me set you straight because I starred in that movie, and you’re wrong. Dead wrong. If this reminds you of the musical Wicked and reimagining a character you thought you knew, you’re on the right track. Let’s begin with my first scene when I bit Miss Gulch on the leg. That scene inspired me to take the part. Even Dorothy Gale called Miss Gulch an old witch, so it was my pleasur...

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Call From The Vestibule

Weekly Contest #276

On January 3, 1984, I started a new job, which I hoped would completely change my life. No pressure. At 7:55 a.m., with butterflies dancing in my stomach because this new role would challenge me, I opened the door to the office building’s vestibule. The cold, spartan room contained two plastic chairs and a small table with a beige push-button phone. I pressed the buttons for my supervisor’s extension, and the phone rang and rang and rang. Even if it wasn’t my fault, I absolutely, positively couldn’t be late for my first day on the job. ...

16 likes 11 comments 11
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The Year of What If

Weekly Contest #273

Monday, October 16, 2024 Dear Diary,Today, the local news announced that someone here in Oregon won the Powerball lottery worth $1.3 billion dollars. A crazy amount of money, right?! That gave me the idea for my senior thesis. I'll be asking people what they would do if they won that much cash and then analyze their answers from a psychological perspective. Cool topic, right? I may as well start with myself. I don't play the lottery and don't gamble in general. When I learned in statistics class the chances of winning, it just seemed li...

26 likes 9 comments 9
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