Category Archives: 101 word short story

“You should be thinking about your life, your goals,” Theresa was saying.

Sam pondered over his sheet of paper with the words “BUCKET LIST” at the top underlined twice for emphasis. He tapped his pencil in frustration.

“What do you want to accomplish with your life, Sam? You only have a limited amount of time on this planet.”

Sam penciled a bullet point and scribbled “write a Bucket List.”

“Without a purpose, life is aimless and meaningless,” Theresa was in her own world now.

Sam crossed out his only item. “Done,” he said. “I have now lived life to the fullest.”

“It’s not safe to cross,” he said with unwavering rigidity. “You will need to wait a minute.” His face was cold, uncaring.

“You can’t tell me what to do!” Heather said with lips pursed, head bobbing, and finger pointed to the sky. “I do what I want, and no man will tell me otherwise.” Heather proceeded into the street, the palm of her hand outstretched toward the rude man. “I do what I want,” she repeated.

Heather was hit by an oncoming city bus.

Moral of the story: Always follow high authority figures, like crossing guards. It could save your life.

“Is there a problem?” the waiter asked.

“I ordered the Avant Garde Macaroni at fifty bucks a bowl, and you gave me Kraft Macaroni and Cheese™!”

The waiter chuckled, “I assure you, sir, that is not Kraft. This macaroni was made with the finest ingredients money can buy.”

The patron hesitantly tasted the pasta in front of him again just to make sure he was not mistaken somehow. “It tastes like cardboard and powered cheese!”

“Of course it does! Do you know how hard it is to make fresh ingredients taste like cardboard and powered cheese? The chef is a genius!”

Arthur Smalley had always been a pessimist, disgruntled and dejected. He did not take care of his appearance either and was always disheveled. His mind was worse, always getting discombobulated by the simplest things.

But today Arthur was going to change all of that. Today he would dismantle his life and mantle it back again.

Arthur started with mind exercises to combobulate his brain. Then he ironed his clothes and sheveled his hair and left for work a new man. With resolute determination he greeted everyone with a gruntled “Hello.” By the end of the day he was optimistic, feeling jected.

“Baking is a science,” Master Pastry Chef Rupert would say at least five times a day whether there was anyone around to hear him or not. “It’s all about proportions and chemical reactions.”

Melissa, an apprentice with dreams of her own small café still dancing in her head, had memorized this speech and mouthed the words as Rupert continued. “Anyone can fry an egg! Only the very best can bake a pastry just right.”

Over the course of seven months, Melissa found Rupert’s statements enlightening, then dull, then stale, then horrendous, then aggravating, then hilarious. Now she found them endearing.