Story Stoppers

I take story starters from around the web and make them stop. Starters are highlighted in bold.

[storystoppers]

Follow Your Heart

Each morning I wake up with him on my mind and pain in my heart.

By "him," I mean my doctor, and by "pain in my heart," I mean the kind you see a doctor about.

[storystoppers]

Singularity

Whenever Heather wanted to be alone, she traveled to the observatory.

Only nerds went there, and Heather was one-of-a-kind in Coolsville.

But not in a cool way.

[storystoppers]

Bat Chat

A bat flew in my window and told me, “SKREEEE!!” “SKREEEE!!” it remarked again, clumsily flitting into the surrounding walls before finding its way back outside. 

[storystoppers]

Un-stat-isfactory

“They call me Dr. Snail and I don’t work in the ER anymore.”

[storystoppers]

Annualization

This morning I woke up and was 40 years old. Exactly one year had passed since that morning I woke up and was 39 years old.

[storystoppers]

Depressing

Peter wondered what would happen if he pressed the green button.

He knew he shouldn’t, but he pressed the green button anyway.

Seconds passed and nothing happened.

Peter was disappointed in himself.

[storystoppers]

Aracknowphobia

I didn’t know until that moment that Nell was so afraid of spiders.

“I’m so afraid of spiders,” said Nell.

At that moment, I knew I would never not know again.

[storystoppers]

Puppy Love

The religious scout leader grew orchids close to the small town on Wednesday for the puppies.

“Puppies love orchids,” he announced to no one.

But there were no orchids.

And there was no scout leader.

[storystoppers]

Now or Never

The detective saw his opportunity. He grabbed the waitress's arm and said, "I'd like the check, please." And then the rest of his day happened.

[storystoppers]

Never Mind

Crash. The attorney looked up from his newspaper. Incredibly, a red Pinto and black Mercedes had just crashed in front of him. He smiled and approached the two cars. He withdrew his business card and handed it to each of them. "I saw the whole thing. Whoever hires me will get a nice settlement."

He then apologized to both drivers, tucked the card back into his jacket and walked away briskly when he realized they were dead.

[storystoppers]

A Sound Analysis

She knelt on the tile floor, carefully picking up the shards of glass. Why did it have to be this one that broke? "I guess the other cup that fell is more structurally sound than this one." She thought aloud. Her friend shrugged and countered, "Or there could be additional factors to consider, such as the angle of the impact or who the hell even cares..." They shared a laugh and clapped each other on the back as they left the kitchen because they both knew without saying a word that the answer to the latter was absolutely no one, whatsoever.

[storystoppers]

Dadication

The caller said if I dropped the money off at 3 p.m. he would let my kids go. I wrote a check and grabbed my keys, determined not to let my children down; they'd been looking forward to this field trip for weeks.

[storystoppers]

OCD

Each time Nora picked up the phone, she placed it right back down on the cradle. "Damn this OCD," she thought before moving on to the light switch.

The bald patch on her dog's back tingled with dread; soon she would come for him.

[storystoppers]

And Neither Will We

Rosaline never knew what hit her. The End.

[storystoppers]

Crying in the Rain

The rain got harder as Tina walked alone in tears. But her troubles were soon forgotten when she turned the corner and walked into another cliché.

[storystoppers]

Nailed It

"That will show them," I thought as I hammered the last nail into place. I took a step back to admire my work. "Now you know how to hammer nails, kids!" My children's half-hearted thanks told me they didn't appreciate the lesson, but some day they would. My eyes narrowed.

Some day...

[storystoppers]

Plain to Sea

The waves crashed across the sand and I knew I was on a beach.