500 Words 2025/26: read a finalist's story from the 5-7 category

Remember, spelling, punctuation and grammar are not taken into account for a 500 Words story, therefore all the top 50 stories have been published how they were submitted.

Keep calm and hug a potato by Emily-rose K.

Hi! My name's Lily, and I have a best friend who is a potato. Yes, a real potato. Not a toy potato or a pretend one. An actual potato from the grocery store. His name is Mr. Spuddy.

I found him when Mom made me go shopping with her even though I said I was emotionally allergic to crowds. (She said that's not a thing, but I'm pretty sure it is.) Anyway, I was hiding in the vegetable section because people were loud and my heart was doing the boom-boom-boom thing again, and then I saw him-Mr. Spuddy.

He was just sitting there on the floor, like he fell off the potato pile and nobody cared. He looked lonely. I know how that feels sometimes. So I picked him up and whispered, "It's okay, buddy. I got you." And boom! I wasn't scared anymore.

Mom said, "Put that down, Lily," but I said, "No, he's my therapy potato," and she just sighed and said, "Fine," because she knows I can't be stopped when I name something.

Now Mr. Spuddy goes everywhere with me. When I do homework, he sits on my desk. When I'm scared at night, I hug him. He's kind of lumpy but in a good way. Like a squishy superhero.

Once, my friend Mia came over and said, "Why are you cuddling a potato?" and I said, "Because hugs make him feel loved." And she said, "He doesn't have feelings." So I said, "Neither does your tablet, but you still charge it every night." She didn't have an answer for that.

Mr. Spuddy helped me a lot at school too. When I feel nervous before spelling tests, I keep him in my pocket. He's like my secret confidence potato. I even drew a tiny smiley face on him with a marker, and now he looks extra encouraging.

Last week, I accidentally left him on the windowsill and he started growing little green sprouty things. Mom said, "Lily, that potato's going bad," but I said, "No, Mom, he's evolving."

So now he lives in a flowerpot in my room. I water him every morning. I think he likes it. One day, I'll probably have baby potatoes, and I'll name them things like Chip, Tot, and Hashbrown.

Sometimes, when I'm feeling anxious and my brain starts yelling, I look at Mr. Spuddy and remember: if a potato can just sit there and be a potato without worryingabout anything, then maybe I can just be me.

So yeah. Keep calm, hug a potato, and everything will probably be okay.

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