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Start your story with a student on their first day of apprenticeship.

Posted in Teens on Oct 27, 2023

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✍️ 17 stories

The Library of Disappearing Things

Submitted to Contest #222

Boris Bondarenko lived in a multicolored cottage house in a one-road village in the Ukranian countryside and had the remarkable ability to read every known language. Most of the anointed were marked from birth, but Boris went unnoticed by the Library for years. It was strange then, but also appropriate, given his time in the world, that it fell on him to prevent the whole thing from burning to the ground.As a boy, Boris loved to run through the sunflower fields and chase bees. Boris’s childhood duties included cutting up cucumbers and potato...

38 likes 20 comments 20
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Beowulf: Big Brother

Submitted to Contest #222

I had thought old age would bring me the finer things in life, like a small staircase at the foot of Mother and Father’s bed to help me climb up without having to jump; or chicken broth in my kibble to soften it; or more frequented walks; or heck, maybe some freaking pain meds that would make the world feel like it had when I was a puppy. Those were all the things my older friends at the park had bragged about when they told him what to expect in my elderly years, and it was the only thing that made reaching my tenth birthday something to lo...

23 likes 18 comments 18
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What's Your Favourite Type of Pie?

Submitted to Contest #222

“How long have you been doing this?”“Twenty-five years, sir.”“Remember your first, do you?”He did.*The air was so cold that the thick skin of clean white gloss that covered the room of steel and brick could have been ice.“Now, Albert, remember everything we talked about. We’re here to do a job. Simple as that. I’m the lead, you’re assisting. Easy money for you today, you’re here as a witness more than anything else. I’ll see to his bindings. Nothing for you to worry about.”“Yes, Uncle Tom.” As they waited Albert found that his main concern w...

22 likes 17 comments 17
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Nancy's Notes

Submitted to Contest #222

   For Charlotte, it was a reunion straight out of the movies, which was appropriate since it was with the woman who had been her drama teacher and mentor in college; a woman, it would be accurate to say, Charlotte had openly adored from the first moment she saw her on the first day of classes of freshman year. Nancy – Mrs. I, as we called our professors in those days,  glided into the classroom, graceful, feminine, and important even on those impossibly high heels, wearing a tight skirt and tucked in sweater.&n...

12 likes 2 comments 2
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The Impossible Work

Submitted to Contest #222

Four tentative raps against a chrome door. “Who is it?” “I-It’s Tyler Ramsey, sir. It’s my first day here? I was told to – “ The shimmering metal slid downward into the floor. “Yeah, yeah, I know who you are. Come on in, Tyler.” The voice was gruff, and his words were clipped. Tyler didn’t think it was an inviting voice at all, but he followed his command regardless. “Alright then, Tyler. Let’s see… your first day at the institute, huh? How’re you feeling?” Tyler could feel the cold sweat running down the back of h...

11 likes 2 comments 2
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The Apprentice

Submitted to Contest #222

  The Apprentice   Walking the back ally’s and side streets of Philadelphia with a mobster was not exactly how I envisioned my first day of my apprenticeship. It all began with my father’s involvement as a bookkeeper for the Salvatore Sabella Family in the summer of 1921. l was born in South Philadelphia in 1906. Thousands of immigrants, emigrated to New York and Philadelphia at the turn of the century to fulfill their dream of a better life, including my father. He had worked as a tailor and part-time bookkeeper in his native S...

11 likes 2 comments 2
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The Cedar Strake Apprenticeshop

Submitted to Contest #222

Cedar Strake Apprenticeshop By Joshua Robinson The first thing that James noticed when he walked up the five steps and entered the large post-and-beam workshop was the smell. The mixture of pine and cedar and mahogany overwhelmed his olfactory senses in a welcoming way. The resins of other exotic woods had long made home in the pores of the shop, but James’ nose was not yet attuned to those foreign woods from around the world, some of which were almost now extinct. He had first entered the shop a few weeks previous during the interview pro...

11 likes 2 comments 2
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Get Real

Submitted to Contest #222

School was completely shit. I need to get that straight from the very start. Filled with a bunch of tossers and the worst of them were the teachers. Sanctimonious know- it-alls spouting crap that was neither use nor ornament. Surviving was all it was about. What a waste of time. Good job I had a good bunch of mates. We had a laugh. That was all there was. It was a case of getting through it and nothing more than that. The day I left school was the best day of my life. I’d arrived. End of the bullshit. I was going to earn and a man ...

9 likes 4 comments 4
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On the Shore of Styx

Submitted to Contest #222

The boy peered beyond the river to the desert beyond. Somewhere in all that desolation, a monstrous city teaming with souls awaits. He could still go there. His option to cross the river is still on the table. Then there was the alternative. Stay with the ferryman, learn from him, and awaken the thing inside him. He has felt something growing in him, pressing against his ribs, aching for release. It had been a gift passed down to him by his mother. Until now, he always considered himself cursed with her talent. The boy can see the dead. H...

9 likes 6 comments 6
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My First Apprentice

Submitted to Contest #222

Beakers? Boiling. Alchemical ingredients? As many plant parts from around my shop as my old bones let me gather are organized on the counter.  My student will be arriving today– the first apprentice I have ever taken in all my years of hiding out in this country full of idiots. If not for her weepy and whiny voice, and her damned story about her dead wolf companion that broke my heart, I never would have accepted her. Even now, when there’s barely an hour before she’s supposed to arrive, regret sinks deep into my bones. Alas, what’s do...

8 likes 0 comments 0
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The First Apprentice

Submitted to Contest #222

“Is it too late to turn around?” I whispered to myself as I stared at the huge house before me. To be honest, I had expected to be working somewhere more…businesslike. Not at someone’s own home, especially one that looks more like a haunted house. You know, the place down the street kids would call “The Witch’s House”? Guess I’m about to be some witch’s next meal. After taking a deep breath, I finally mustered the courage to walk down the short, cemented pathway that led to the porch steps. I was soon standing at the front door of the house...

7 likes 2 comments 2
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Sensei

Submitted to Contest #222

“Line up! Bow!” I say the commands sharply, and as she bows, I do too, hands in fists, one holding the other, then slap my hands to my sides in attention. “Always keep your eyes on your opponent, even when bowing,” I tell her. “Run through your katas and give me your best.” Circling her, I watch, correcting her punches lining up her feet, hips, and shoulders. “When you do your kiai, I should be able to punch you in the stomach and not push you back or hurt you,” I explained. “Ready?” I watch as she drops into a horse sta...

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Just an apprentice

Submitted to Contest #222

As the morning sun shone through the windows of the apprenticeship building, Emily could feel her heart pounding with excitement. It was her first day as an apprentice chef and she couldn't wait to get started. She had always loved cooking and had dreamed of becoming a world-renowned chef since she was a little girl. Emily had spent months researching and preparing for this day, and she was ready to make the most of it. As she walked down the hallway, Emily noticed that the door to the room that was her cooking classroom was slightly ajar. S...

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An apprentice Frist day

Submitted to Contest #222

Maya stood in front of the large glass doors of the tech company, her heart pounding in her chest. It was the first day of her apprenticeship, and she was so excited and nervous. She had always dreamed of working in technology, and now her dream was finally coming true. She took a deep breath and pushed open the doors. The lobby was bright and airy, with a modern design and a friendly receptionist. Maya checked in with the HR Department and was given a badge and a building map. Maya followed the map to the engineering department, where she w...

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a student on their first day of apprenticeship

Submitted to Contest #222

I am early, not just early, one hour early! No one wants to be late on their first day of job, but now I am standing in front of the gate and I have to kill at least forty five minutes before entering inside the office. Killing forty five minutes in a normal day is not a big deal, I could have take a walk and check the surroundings but today is not a normal day, since yesterday night it is continuously snowing and sometimes raining and that’s another reason I head for office early. It’s freezing cold outside and if someone sees me standing o...

4 likes 2 comments 2
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