Welcome to the fifth week of the Spring Writing Challenge!
You all did so well with your stories last week! There were so many interesting and unique ways you interpreted the prompt. It’s now the fifth week, so it’s time to do it again! Will your story have fairies? Time travel? Ghosts?! Whatever you decide, we can’t wait to see what you come up with.
So, without further ado, here’s your next prompt!
Week Five Prompt – The Sentence Prompt
Write a story that includes the following sentence:
Needless to say, this wasn’t the first time…
Wait…what’s a sentence prompt?
A sentence prompt is a prompt that uses a particular sentence. It doesn’t matter where your story takes place, who’s in it, or what’s said. The only thing that matters is that your story must include the sentence, “Needless to say, this wasn’t the first time.”
Before you start writing, we have some important rules for you to follow.
Writing Rules
1. Please keep the content of the stories you post to a PG rating. Please avoid real curse words. Violence/fighting should be limited and purposeful. Please do not include any spice.
2. Your story must be 1,000 words or less, and must contain the prompt to be counted for the challenge. You’re not required to post it in order to “win” the challenge, but if you want it to count for your team, your story must be posted by Sunday at 11:59 PM ET, and you must include your team name.
Remember to scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and post your story as an “answer” to this question, not a “comment”. 🙂 You’re all doing such a great job! I’m so proud of all the stories you’ve posted.
Happy Writing!
Fog Notes – Team A
By A.T. Johnson
Steam clung to the surface of her bathroom mirror, thick as morning mist rolling off a riverbank. Marisol wrapped her hair in a towel, ignoring the chill that crept into the tiled bathroom as she ventured out of the shower’s warmth.
And then she saw it.
The message scrawled across the fogged glass.
“Good morning, Marisol,” it read. “Did you sleep well? Let’s have a wonderful day together. From, Daniel.”
Marisol blinked, once or twice, and sighed. She wrote her reply below his message.
“Whatever, pal. From, Marisol.”
Needless to say, this wasn’t the first time she found a message on her bathroom mirror. Every morning, as if by some invisible hand, a greeting from Daniel would materialize after her shower. But whoever he was, she had no idea.
It started out simple, just a question on the first day—”Who are you?”— but they grew more personal and friendly with each passing morning. There was no explaining it. She had no roommate to be pranked by. He insisted he wasn’t a ghost. And she definitely wasn’t insane; she had taken photos of the messages with her phone.
At first, she had been unnerved. Then, she became annoyed. Eventually, she just got used to it. It was like having a pen pal, she told herself. Just like she did in elementary school. No harm in having a pen pal.
A smiley face got drawn up before her very eyes, and the fog faded away.
—
Marisol had worked at the bookstore cafe for a year now, and she knew almost all the regulars by their drink orders. The man who approached the counter with the tentative “hello” was no exception. He was a creature of habit, a black coffee, cinnamon, no sugar, no frills, always at the same time of the day. And he always ordered under the name—
“Morning, D.M,” she greeted him. “Nothing adventurous today?”
His eyes darted around the room before settling on hers.
“I… you’ll probably think I’m crazy,” he began, “but I think we’ve been… communicating.”
Marisol paused, fingers hovering over the register. “Excuse me?”
D.M. avoided her eyes, looking uncharacteristically nervous. “I’m… Daniel,” he murmured, leaning closer. “On the mirror. The messages. They’re from you, right?”
Marisol’s hand jerked, almost knocking over the tip jar. She stared at him. He stared back.
“But… how?” she stammered.
He shrugged. “I don’t know. But we’ve been talking. Haven’t we?”
“But that’s impossible–”
“I know.”
The sounds of the café dulled in her ears; the hum of espresso machines droning softly, the doorbell jingling as people came and went. A strange awareness settled in the space between them.
So, her ‘pen pal’ had been right under her nose. They had been talking to each other all along.
But how?
And, more importantly—why?
She took a deep breath, keeping her cool, and typed in Daniel’s usual.
“My shift ends in an hour,” she said, her voice unnaturally steady. “Can you wait until then?”
Daniel’s eyes lit up with a mix of hope and bewilderment. “Can we have dinner?”
—
In the end, they never figured out how their mirrors became connected. She was surprised to learn that she was technically the one who messaged him first.
“I got out of the shower one day, and my mirror was covered in butterflies and hearts,” Daniel explained.
Marisol thought about that for a moment, then she flinched, remembering. “Oh… sorry. It was my day off, and I think was bored.”
They both laughed, a tension-breaking chuckle that reset their entire evening. The waitress breezed by with their orders and offered to refill their glasses.
“Well, what are we supposed to do now?” he asked.
She took a sip of her iced tea. “Who knows?” she wondered, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. “Guess we’ll have to find out, don’t we?”
Very creative!
I really liked the idea concept of messages being sent via mirror- I’d love to dig deeper into this world-building aspect and see what the story has to offer!
TEAM A
SUSAN BY ADELAIDE RIGGS
Near the local dirt road in a lush field, there was an abundant variety of grasses, wild flowers, and small creatures. All who dwelled here lived their lives with simplicity and gratitude. This included Susan, a beautiful flower whose color reminded everyone of a ripe summer lemon (but she was not quite so sour).
One morning, Susan was in the clearing enjoying a soft breeze when suddenly the air rapidly changed direction. Fragile as she was, Susan fell on her face, unable to get up. Panicking, she tried calling for help but the ground muffled her voice. Susan was helpless.
Just a minute later, a tiny, round old woman wearing a bright red cloak with black polka dots came into the clearing. It was Mrs. Dotty! She noticed the girl laying on the ground.
“Oh my!” exclaimed Mrs. Dotty as she hurried over to Susan. “What ever happened to you, dear?”
“I fell and ca-can’t move,” replied Susan quietly. “Could you he-help me?” Then she began to cry.
“Yes, yes of course! Be patient my dear. I’ll go as fast as I’m able to the house of Dr. Chippy.” And with that, Mrs. Dotty turned and quickly scuttled away, her red cloak fluttering behind her.
Susan was alone again, and very anxious. She wondered if she would never rise to see the blue sky again. Despite these thoughts, she tried to focus on her respiration. After what felt like months, she heard a pitter-patter, and out from the tall grass appeared Dr. Chippy with little Mrs. Dotty riding on his back.
“There she is, Doctor!” said Mrs. Dotty, pointing with one hand while the other five hung on tight. Needless to say, this wasn’t the first time he had been summoned, however this was the first time he had dealt with little old woman riding on his back.
“I see, I see! Please do not yell, you’re already near enough to my ear!” replied the doctor. Dr. Chippy was tall, dapper, orderly man, with a decent amount of good humor. They approached Susan.
“Hello?” asked the girl.
“Hello! So sorry about your condition. I’m Dr. Chippy, and we will help you get up.” These words made Susan feel better.
“Pardon, but where is the other one?” inquired Mrs. Dotty.
“Well, Perk should have been behind us. Excuse me for a second.” The doctor filled his cheeks and gave a couple sharp whistles.
In a moment, a boy appeared next to them. He looked rather lofty, and had a smirk on his round face. Mrs. Dotty jumped up and landed in a ball, her arms and legs tucked in.
“Perk!” said the doctor sternly as his son began to laugh. “This is a serious matter. I did not ask you to come along to play games!” Susan thought it was quite funny, but would have enjoyed it more if it weren’t for the condition she was in.
“Ok, let’s get to it,” said the motivated doctor. “Madam, you fetch some water from the brook and grab some witch hazel on your way back. Perk, you’ll need to climb onto my shoulders so we can lift this poor girl up.” Immediately Mrs. Dotty flew down the hill to complete her orders.
Just as Perk was about to climb upon his father’s back, Dr. Chippy noticed a break in Susan’s back. “Oh my, we will need some long grass to bind that wound. Got it, Perk?” “Sure, dad!”
Overhearing the doctor’s concern, Susan’s nerves were on the rise. “A-am I going to be OK?”
“I believe you’re going to be just fine,” consoled the doctor.
Perk made quick work of gathering some long grass and wasted no time in hopping up onto his father’s shoulders. They worked together to lift Susan up off the ground and stand her upright, Dr. Chippy encouraging Susan throughout the process.
Mrs. Dotty arrived not a moment too soon with the water and witch hazel, the latter of which was applied to Susan’s fracture.
In a jiffy Dr. Chippy had bound her wound with the green bandage and all was well.
“Oh, thank you all! I feel so much better, except it feels like my eye might be bruised,” said Susan.
“Well miss,” Dr. Chippy responded, “it does look pretty dark.”
“Black, I’d say,” added Mrs. Dotty.
Dr. Chippy applied the witch hazel to Susan’s bruise, but it did not seem to work.
“I’m sorry, but there is not much else I can do. What’s your name, miss?”
“Susan.”
“Susan,” Dr. Chippy looked her in the face. “Your black eye is beautiful.”
“Black eyed Susan.” said Mrs. Dotty….