Desdemona ''Des'' Winchester wants nothing to do with Melliford Academy. In fact, she's pretty sure her parents shipped her off to boarding school just to get her out of their hair. It's a move they'll come to regret if she has any say in the matter. Nothing humiliates posh folk like having a daughter sent home from the country's most esteemed educational institution. Just flunking class isn't dramatic enough, though. Des plans to get booted in the most spectacular manner possible, just to make sure her parents' social circle will never let them live it down. Her scheming, unfortunately, encounters three roadblocks within the first week of class. The first: Exie Quinnell, teacher's pet, whip-smart, and unreasonably attractive. Neither girl intended to end up on a project together, but their teacher deemed Des in need of a little... remediation. The second: There are things about Melliford Academy that none of the teachers will talk about, even when pressed. Things that should be easy answers. The third: The first student found dead with a folded paper dove perched on their chest. ❖❖❖ Complete and fully edited. Comments and critiques are both welcome and appreciated. I write characters from many different backgrounds, with many different experiences. If you share those traits and find that I have misrepresented anything, please let me know! I am feedback-friendly and here to learn :)

Yeju Hwarng no longer believes in love. After breaking up with her long-term girlfriend and watching her parents divorce over the summer, all her passion disappeared, including her passion for science that got her into her microbiology Ph.D. program. When a new roommate moves into the apartment, Yeju recognizes her as more than just a familiar face; she is an enemy that needs to be chased out of her life. Lia Choi does not need love. Her parent never gave her any, and confessing to her childhood best friend over the summer only caused a fall out. Love has proven to be both unnecessary and a liability, and all Lia needs instead is to do well in college and get into a prestigious research position in the microbiology department. Unfortunately, her research mentor turns out to be her new roommate. And she is hell bent on ruining Lia's life. Tension escalates both at home and in the lab, but the more they work together, the more they realize: they have a common goal, and they need each other to achieve that. All they need to do is to open their hearts. Love is hard, but a life without love is harder. *** THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS meets DELILAH GREEN DOESN'T CARE; a STEM-oriented college sapphic romance about struggling adults navigating love despite their broken hearts. *This is a stand-alone spin-off to Cherry On Top. 💫 2023 Watty's Winner! 💫 Editor's Choice, 26 May 2023 - 29 June 2023 💫 Featured on Wattpad's Summer Loving Days reading list, 21 Jul 2023 💫 Featured on the official @lgbt, @Romance, @FreeTheLGBT, and @WattpadAfterDark profile First Published: 2 Feb 2023 Completed Date: 24 June 2023 Edited Date: 22 July 2023 Word Count: 55,000-60,000 Also posted on Scribblehub, Tapas, and RoyalRoad (Not on Amazon or anywhere else!) Cover art by Sarimopi on Instagram

🏆ONC 2023 || Ambassador's Pick 🏆ONC 2023 || Round Two Qualifier One night is all it takes to change a life. There's something wrong with Felicity Farr. It's how she can't seem to do her job right no matter how hard she tries, and how she's still under her parents' thumb years after moving out, and how she looks at girls the way she should look at boys. So even though she can't fix anything, she tries to fix herself all the same. But when a blind date ends with her in an attractive stranger's bed, Felicity is forced to question everything in her life. Especially when said attractive stranger asks her to run away with her for a week. Clover Chai is beautiful, confident, and everything Felicity should avoid. But she captures Felicity like the drag of the tide, and as the week drags on, Felicity finds herself having to choose between her head and her heart---especially since she can't imagine her summer fling remaining a fling anymore.

Ethan Wong, an ex-prodigy violinist, thinks it's not meant to be. After his latest mental breakdown at his last violin competition, where he placed tenth out of ten contestants, he's not sure why his music professor appointed him the soloist for their New York concerto. Cameron Langley, the star college baseball athlete, believes it's meant to be. After being completely ghosted and shut out of Ethan's life after high school, he's finally found the man at a chance encounter at an overbooked hotel. More determined than he is to win his college's first championship, Cameron is desperate for answers and another shot at love with the guy who stole his heart. Will they face the music or strike out from each other's lives for good? -An Open Novella Contest 2023 Shortlister-

Within the opulent and bewitching city palace of Udaipur, an aura of mystery and suspicion pervades the air. The demise of Mewar's reigning monarch has left a dubious legacy in its wake. Amidst the ensuing chaos, Ashish Singh, a young man thrust into the spotlight, inherits his ancestral scimitar-a weapon steeped in a history of bloodshed and deceit-plunging him into uncharted depths. Haunted by his father's murder, Ashish embarks on a perilous quest to uncover the truth. As each passing moment heightens the stakes and danger intensifies, a cryptic letter discovered within his royal chamber unravels dark secrets and hidden agendas. Ashish must employ all his cunning and guile to survive. With mounting casualties and the specter of betrayal looming, Ashish confronts his deepest fears and formidable foes. Will he outwit his enemies and claim his rightful place on the throne? Or will he succumb to deadly ambitions? Within the city palace's walls, power, intrigue, and lethal secrets await discovery in this epic tale. ***** Cover Credits: @MoranaInDesign Content Warning: Mention of Murder, racism, blood, drug abuse, and sex. Achievements: 2nd Runner Up in ONC-INDIA 2023. Top five Grand winners of ONC-INDIA 2023. Featured by: @StoriesUndiscovered [April-2023], @Crime, @adultfiction, @OpenNovellaContest, @MysteryThrillerIN, @mystery, @BadassReads, @dangerouslove, @WattpadLitFic @AmbassadorsIN

[Pride Awards 2023, hosted by official lgbtq , Romance Category Winner and 5th Place Grandwinner] The foster son of a former cupbearer marries the cursed king of Persia, becoming not only the first consort to survive after the wedding, but also a threat to many conspirators. **** Shahryar had lost his first wife to a man no equal to him just after the wedding. Following their execution, each wife he marries dies some way or the other- falling down the stairs, suicide or even poisoning. Shahryar and his ministers are lost as to why it's happening, and eventually the king is called cursed. People are dissatisfied with the king and a rebellion threatens to bloom secretly. Soon there is a dearth of suitable women to marry Shahryar. But the sun cannot be complete without the moon. So comes forward Shahrazad.

Everyone knows the band Zenith, but nobody knows how they managed to rock Zerkovkia's youth into starting a revolution... until now. Tolya Viktov is coming of age in the 1980s to the tune of spinning records, cheap liquor, and Zerkovkia's nine year war with neighboring Blivdova. The perms and denim jackets are hip, but it's the underground music he's most excited about. By the time he enters university, his lyrics and his talent have helped him break through on the student musician scene. Tolya, a duo of genius guitarists, and a bandless drummer soon come together when a producer realizes the key to achieving radical change in Zerkovkia is getting them to make music. What happens next is the stuff of legend and a whole lot of love, revolution, and rock and roll. Honors/Awards: ONC 2023 Honorable Mention ONC 2023 Ambassadors' Pick (Round One) "VIKTOV LIVES!" is featured on @music's "mighty drumset" reading list @storiesundiscovered's "feast on fiction" reading list @flexiblebookexchange's "read these gems!" reading list @opennovellacontest's "2023 honorable mentions" and "2023 ambassadors' picks" lists Copyright © 2023 Elle Chaika Open Novella Contest VI (2023) | Prompt No. 44