Think you have what it takes?

Want to get some practice?

Just need an excuse to put pen to paper?

Then enter the Secret Attic Short Story Competition!

Each month you can submit an entry that will be passed onto our judges who will pick the best and award a winner. During some months the subject matter will be a 'free for all', where you can write anything you like, other months will have a specific theme.

Previous Competition Winners

February 2005 David Willshaw

April 2005 Christine Sutton

May 2005 George L Darley

July 2005 Robyn O'Hara

August 2005 Richard Adamski

September 2005 Hannah Southgate

October 2005 Heather Parker

December 2005 Feathers by Bob Lakin

January 2006 RD Larson

February 2006 Debra Spiller

March 2006 Nethi Sette

April 2006 Joe Louis

May 2006 Kim Montgomery

Love of Literature by Raymond Hopkins, Kronoby, Finland

Missing by Debra Spiller, Kent, UK

“You must be mad, sitting at that computer all day long. Whatever do you do on it?”
Susan smiled at her friend who was peering over her shoulder, “Loads of things. They do say it’s ‘the world at your fingertips’.”
“ Yeah, but apart from it helping with school stuff maybe, what else?”
“ Nothing really. Well, there’s chat.”
“ Chat?”
“ Yeah, you register and then you…hang on I’ll show you.”
Katie watched in amazement as Susan tapped at the keyboard and ‘logged on’ to what looked like just a list of names and an empty white square.
“ Is that it?”
“ Yep.”
“ Well, what’s going on?”
“ Look, I’ll type something and someone will answer me.”
Susan typed; ‘Hi lonelyguy, howz u?”
Within seconds text flashed up in the white square…‘Hi sexyteen, where u been l8tly?’
“ Jesus, who is that?” Katie asked.
“ I talk to him a lot. He’s eighteen, works in town. He’s fun.”
“ So, what do you talk about, you and this…” Katie checked the screen, “Lonelyguy ?” She moved her chair nearer the desk and snuggled up next to her friend, never taking her eyes off the screen.
“ Oh, you know, this and that. Music mainly. He loves McFly...”
Katie watched as the cyber conversation took place between ‘Lonelyguy’ and Susan, aka ‘sexyteen’.
“ Why do you call yourself that?”
“ Cos it’s fun. There are some real mad names on here. At night, it livens up, but weekends, like now, are a bit quiet…”
“ Do your mum and dad know about this? I though kids weren’t allowed in chat rooms like this. Don’t you have to be over eighteen or sixteen at least?”
“ Dunno. Anyway, Lonelyguy thinks I’m eighteen.”
“ You what?”
“ I told him I’m eighteen.” Susan caught the expression of disgust on her friends face.
“ Oh lighten up Katie, he’s not know who I really am, is he?”
“ I understand what you’re saying, but that can work both ways can’t it?”
Susan stopped typing and turned to her friend, “How d’ya mean?”
“ Well, for all you know he could be a mass-murderer. I’ve read about things like this. You must have too; it’s splashed across the papers enough.”
Susan tapped furiously at the keyboard and then the screen went blank.
“ What’s happened?” asked Katie.
“ If you’re going to be all sensible about a bit of fun Katie, there’s no point in showing you, is there? Christ, it’s a bit of fun. That’s all.”
They stared at one another in silence for a few seconds.
“ Katie! Susan! Dinner, come on girls…” Susan’s mother called from downstairs.
The girls left the bedroom and went downstairs. Tucking into her beef burger and chips, Katie soon forgot all about ‘lonelyguy’.
Susan however, couldn’t wait until it was time for her friend to leave so she could get back up on the computer.
Susan ‘chatted’ to ‘lonelyguy’ for five hours before switching the computer off and getting into bed.
He made her laugh and so what if he wasn’t eighteen? So what if he was fifteen? Made no difference, he seemed nice…and funny. Susan decided that Katie was jealous, “Just cos I’ve got the Internet and she hasn’t…” she mumbled to herself as she climbed into bed.
She lay on her side, gazing at the beam of moonlight creeping through the gap in the curtains. She couldn’t help smiling; she loved the excited feeling she had in the pit of her stomach right now. She was so looking forward to tomorrow. She wouldn’t tell Katie a single thing about it. She wouldn’t tell a soul, come to that. She fell asleep planning what to wear, confident of passing herself off as eighteen.

“It’s pouring with rain Susan, where on earth are you going?”
“ I’m just going for walk Mum…won’t be long, I fancy some fresh air…”
“ Well,” Susan’s mother wiped her hands on her apron as she followed Susan up the hallway, “At least take an umbrella. You’ll catch your death.”
Susan accepted the bright pink umbrella and kissed her mother on the cheek.
“ Don’t be long, lunch is at two…”
Susan slammed the front door and tried not to run down the path and through the gate.
The rain never let up and when she walked through the park gates, Susan dodged the puddles and made her way to the bench.
He wasn’t there. He was supposed to be sitting on the bench. She panicked for a few moments; he had said the fourth bench in, hadn’t he? She checked her watch, twenty past.
She looked around the park, not a soul to be seen. Susan stood awkwardly by the bench happy that no-one was around to see her standing in the rain.
She decided to give it a few more minutes when she felt the tap on her shoulder. She spun around…
“ Hey sexyteen…” ‘lonelyguy’ smiled down at her.

“Hello Katie, is Susan with you?”
“ No Mrs Harris, I’ve not seen her today. Is everything OK?”
“ Well she hasn’t come home for her lunch. She went for a walk this morning and hasn’t returned yet. I wondered if she had popped by your house on her way back?”
“ No,” Katie frowned, “I’ve not seen or heard from her.” Katie said goodbye to Susan’s mother. She spent the rest of the afternoon wondering about Susan. By eight that evening, and still no sign of Susan, Katie started wondering about ‘lonelyguy’ too.
Mrs Harris called the police at seven the following morning to report her daughter missing.
Katie spent the morning with Mrs Harris walking the local streets. They called at every house where Susan was know. No-one had laid eyes on her.
They made their way back to the house via the park. As they entered, Mrs Harris stopped.
“ What is it Mrs Harris? Are you OK?” Katie followed her stare.
An opened, pink umbrella, lay upside down in a puddle at the side of the path.
“ That’s her umbrella…” Mrs Harris muttered.
“ Mrs Harris…I think we should ask the police to look at Susan’s computer…”