Recently, I entered a flash fiction writing contest. It needed to be 200 words or less and include a twist. Mine was cutting it close at 193 words. When I entered my story, “I Hate Sarah Smith,” the contest through Fusilli Writing was free. It was the last free contest for the company, and they never acknowledged receiving my entry. I’m not 100% sure if I lost the contest or if they just didn’t get my story. Either way, here’s the story:
I Hate Sarah Smith
“I hate Sarah Smith,” I whispered. “She’s such a jerk.”
“She’s not so bad,” Heidi insisted.
I glared at Heidi.
“Not so bad? She’s terrible. Remember yesterday? She tripped that one kid, and he hit his head,” I reminded her.
“I’m sure it was an accident,” Heidi said.
I could only shake my head. I’d been there. I’d seen Sarah trip the poor boy. He’d fallen face-first onto the sidewalk. While the doctor said that he’d be alright, there had been a lot of blood, and he’d been taken away in an ambulance. As usual, Heidi wasn’t there. She’d been hiding out in the bathroom, exactly like she was doing now.
“It wasn’t an accident, and it wasn’t the first time. Just last week, she tried to push that kid down the stairs,” I said.
Heidi stared back at me, the look of pity evident. She wanted to believe the best in people, but eventually she had to realize that not everyone’s good.
“Sarah, Sarah,” the voice from down the hallway called.
“I think that’s your mom,” Heidi said.
I took one last look at Heidi in the bathroom mirror before walking away.
Why It Didn’t Win
Of course, I can only speculate on why it didn’t win, but overall it’s not that original of an idea. I can admit that. Along with that, if they didn’t actually get my entry, I wasn’t even in the running to win.
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