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Tricia Shulist

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Feb, 2021

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118 Followers
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150 Stories

1660 karma pts

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Ninety Days, Then It's Yours!

NINETY DAYS, THEN IT’S YOURS! I could hear the music thumping through the walls of my office. I looked at my watch. Right on time — eleven fifty-four. The contract said the show needed to end before midnight.   “WE’RE DONE! NO ENCORES! GO HOME!” screamed the amplified voice of the lead singer. Then a chorus of boos, and “You suck!” and “We hate you!” You had to love punk bands. It’s like they hated their fans, almost as much as their fans hated them right back. I looked at the monitor, and I c...

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Heard It Through The Grapevine

HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE Callie Watson was having coffee with her friend, Jennifer Saunders. Both were high school teachers at the same school, Central High. They had a long-standing meetup for Friday after school to meet at Mr. Bean, the local coffee house. It was a bitch session for both women who found it extremely therapeutic to be able to moan and gripe about their week. Who better than another teacher to know what it was really like in the trenches? Where else can a fourteen year-old call you an f-ing ...

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If I Can't Have You ...

IF I CAN’T HAVE YOU … I was so excited. It was perfect!   Let me back up a bit. I refurbish unloved furniture. Usually its hand-me-downs, or inexpensive pieces found on Facebook Marketplace. Sometimes, like today, the pieces are what I like to refer to as orphan pieces — pieces I find on the curb on garbage day, or at the side of the road. Today’s find was just sitting there, beside a dumpster, waiting to come home with me. It was a lovely desk. I didn’t know why someone would throw it out, but they did...

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Chill, Dude!

CHILL, DUDE! The last day of classes. Exams are the only things between the students and summer. This is a senior class, so most of the kids have summer jobs, and the majority are headed off to university or college. There are a few who are heading right into the world of work or an apprenticeship, and a few who are coming back in September because they don’t have enough credits to graduate.   This is a physics class. Definitely not an easy class. Most students have struggled with the concepts presented, ...

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Chip Off The Old Block

CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK I know I’m different from all the people living in my pod. Maybe even in the enclave, or the entire territory, for all I know. And I have realized it for a few days now. I’m just not sure what to do about it. It started on Monday. Or it could have been going on a bit longer and I just didn’t realize there was a problem.  Who knows? But it was Monday when I first realized there was a problem. With me. Anyway my co-worker Angela and I had worked late on a project, a demand made b...

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Listen To Me

LISTEN TO ME The first time it happened, I didn’t pay attention. I’ve learned, since then, that’s not a good idea. I was maybe nine years old, walking home from the bus, thinking about a project that I had to work on for school the next day. I was alone because my stop was the last stop on the route, and Henry Bonners (pronounced Baw-ners, not Boners, like the kids at school called him) and I were the last kids off the bus. Henry’s house was at one end of the street, and mine at the other, and Mrs. Brown, the bus driver,...

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We Can Rebuild Them, We Have The Technology

WE CAN REBUILD THEM, WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY “Ya know, Jamie, I’m not sure that this is right the job for you.” Steve looked at Jamie, the love of his life, and waited for her acquiescence. Like she usually did. After all, he was Steve Austin, astronaut, test pilot, secret agent, bionic man. Jamie looked at him, the smile gone from her lips. “I beg your pardon?” she said. Steve shrugged. “I think that maybe I’m the best man for this assignment. No offence, but you’re a woman, and this is pretty dangerous s...

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I'm Such An Idiom

I’M SUCH AN IDIOM The meeting had just ended, but Charlie and Jun were still sitting at the conference table, looking like someone had stolen their puppy. In a way, someone had. “Well, this sucks,” said Charles. Jun, who’s first language was not English, understood “suck.” It was a very common and versatile word in the English language. “Yes, Charlie, it truly does.” Charlie looked down at the presentation package that he and Jun had worked all night to perfect. He looked at the last slide frozen on the screen, ...

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Leaving On A Jet Plane

LEAVING ON AN JET PLANE “Come on, come on, come on!” I said out loud, pacing back and forth across the porch. My best friend Daja had insisted on driving me to the airport, and she was now very late. I needed to be at the airport two hours before the flight, and the airport was a solid fifty minutes away. We should have been on the road forty minutes ago. Instead I was wearing a path across my front porch with my pacing. I’d called her and reminded her this morning at five-fifteen a.m., and she said everything was s...

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She Should Have Stayed Lost

SHE SHOULD HAVE STAYED LOST “Hello, YoYo.” I had my back turned away from the front door, and was facing the shelves behind the front counter, restocking product. I stopped cold. I had not heard that nickname in a long, long time. Not during this century at least. In fact, I hadn’t heard that nickname since the early nineties — a time when I was a completely different person. A time I wanted to forget. I had recognized the voice, as well, and I was even less enthused to face its owner. A person I wanted to for...

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The Grass Is Always Greener ...

THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER … I looked around. This was my chance at freedom. I was tired of the same thing day-in and day-out. The same food, the same activities, the endless time spent going around in circles. Now was my opportunity to switch up my whole life; to explore the outside world. I was ready. I knew that there was more out there, and now the universe had smiled on me, and I was ready to go. I walked out through the door. Someone hadn’t latched it, and I was able to get out and flee my ca...

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Speak Now

SPEAK NOW “Speak now …” I looked at my soon — very soon — to be husband. He was smiling at me. Not even worried. He looked so sure of himself, so confident. Like the day we met … ***** “Hey.” I turned and saw a tall guy looking at me. Was he looking at me? I literally did that thing where you look around behind to make sure that the person is really talking to you. I even pointed to my own chest with a finger to make sure. “Yeah, you,” he said. “You’re new here, right?” I was new...

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Why?

WHY? “Brother Charles, there are two people to see you.” Brother Charles looked up from the work he had been doing at his desk, at Abbot James, surprise writ large on his face. “Me?” he questioned. He was sure that he didn’t know what this could be about. He rarely had visitors, and anyone wanting to see him called and made an appointment, or he saw them away from the Abbey. Abbot James nodded. “They are waiting in my office.” The two men walked together towards the Abbot’s office. When Brother Charles ente...

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A Leopard and Its Spots

A LEOPARD AND ITS SPOTS “So, what’s the catch?” I looked across the table at Anna, my best friend. “I can’t believe that you and Kevin are inviting me to dinner at Chez Chic just because you like me. Why so fancy?” “Weeellll,” said Anna, “Kevin’s friend from university, Colin, is in town, and Kevin thought that maybe you’d like to join us, and —“ “No.” “Cami!” “No,” I repeated adamantly. “I do not do blind dates.” “It’s not a blind date.” “Are you and Kevin inviting me to a fancy restaurant to meet Kevin...

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Kittens in Thebes

KITTENS IN THEBES The two kittens stayed close to the wall, edging their way closer to the door. The door should have been closed, but it wasn’t, so the kittens saw their chance for escape. When the human standing at the door turned away, they made their move, dashing for freedom. But the human caught movement in the corner of his eye. “Hey! Stop!” He made a grab for the kittens, but they were faster. They ran down the alley, the human in hot pursuit, bellowing after them. "Stop, kittens! Stop!" The k...

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