Ashley Masterson was the prettiest girl in school. Thanks to our names, she sat directly in front of me.

“I heard you won the school chess tournament, Rollie! Can you teach me sometime?” Her smile was radiant. My palms were sweaty.

“Earth to Roland!” boomed Mr. Daniels.

Ashley turned around–for real this time–and giggled.

K: Poor Roland. Not only is he daydreaming about a girl, he’s also daydreaming about a nickname that sounds less dorky than his actual name. Before I changed dramatically in about ninth grade, this hopeless romantic daydreamer was me. I roll my eyes at Rollie, even while totally understanding and loving the kid. SILVER

MD: Isn’t this a scene in Mean Girls? Well, the sexes are switched, but I’m pretty sure it’s Mean Girls. That’s the thing that’s bringing this story down — it’s a semi-cliche picture of a nerdy guy’s school existence. I otherwise have nothing against it. It’s clear, succinct, and a perfectly fine portrayal of a scene in everyday life. Technically, the other story is all of these things, too. It just includes a tiny bit extra imagination (from the writer, and not just the characters), and so it gets the nod from me. SILVER

W: Wow, both of you decided to use children for your stories today. I love that Roland succeeds, but not through his initial plan (well, ok, his initial plan was working, but getting called out by an authority figure clinched the deal). The stakes are small, but this story is very cute and accessible. GOLD

So, I lost the finals on 2-1 ballot. My opponent’s story was very good, so no qualms about losing this one. It was fun to get to play every week. And I’ll be participating in another writing competition in a couple of months, so look forward to more stories then!

The bedroom door creaked. Jennifer was sure the coast was clear, but sighed with relief when a quick survey revealed nobody. Tip-toeing, she entered.

She had always wanted a little girl. A baby wouldn’t hit her or be mean. A baby would love her. Now was her chance. Without hesitation, she swiped Mom’s pills and headed for the toilet.

K: Smart and fun twist. We have dark, then what?, then dark, then fun. Sure, this isn’t the kind of thing Jennifer should do, but her heart’s in the right place, right? Again, the characters shine through despite not interacting. GOLD

MD: Compared to the other entries, this is straight-forward. No flowery, purple prose here. Is this an extension on the story of the kid who gets beat up after catching her parents having sex? The only downfall of this story is that the age of the narrator isn’t clear. She’s old enough to know what those pills do, but young enough to think her abusive parents having more babies is a good plan. BRONZE

W: At first, I thought this was an homage to Raising Arizona. Now, I’m not quite sure what sort of demented Coen Brothers scenario was imagined. Maybe, I’m just being a little dense here (and, like with Pepper’s last story, I just struggle to put myself in the mind of a female character), but is she trying to induce labor? increase fertility? What is up with the pills? Nonetheless, I like this story a little more than the first one. BRONZE

The winner this week scored two gold medals and a silver. Third place scored two silvers. That means I eked out second place by one point and am headed to the finals! The final prompt will be about a “champion” and results will be posted here sometime on Tuesday.

“I’ve decided to quit the team, Coach.” I gave him permission on the condition he talk to Coach directly and state his reasons. “Because I’m not having fun. You get angry even when I try my hardest.” Wow. Didn’t think he had it in him. “Okay bye.” He hung up the phone, his hands trembling. “I did it, Dad.”

K: Heh…I had to go back and see what the prompt was after this one. I like the POV on this one, focusing on Dad instead of Coach. This has to be a difficult moment for the kid, but I know coaches like this and I see why he’d do this. SILVER

MD: Without the prompt, this story wouldn’t make sense as anything other than a random snapshot of a phone call. Luckily, we have the prompt, and this gives the story more poignancy. This kid is potentially rebelling against multiple strong male figures in his life: the mean coach who is ruining sports for the kid; and his dad, who appears to lack belief in his child and probably sees quitting as a sign of weakness. I like the nuance, and hopefully I’m not imagining it. GOLD

W: The rare supportive parent has been mostly absent throughout this season. The story here is fine, but the stakes are pretty small because we’re observing the internal conflict of one character dealing with possible disappointing another character through a third character.

The story is from my life, though it was 20 years ago, so my memory of the dialogue may be a bit off. In other news, my scores were good enough to advance me to the semifinals! The next prompt will be about a thief. Results posted here next Monday.