Asimovian Sugar
I can't write something for this because my favorite story already exists - and I've discovered a link where you can read it yourself: https://www.npsd.k12.nj.us/cms/lib/NJ01001216/Centricity/Domain/564/Rain_Rain_Go_Away_Text.pdf
"Rain Rain Go Away" is a short story by Isaac Asimov about a seemingly perfect family next door who for some reason avoid all forms of water. I read it ages ago as a kid who digested science fiction short stories like potato chips. I'd get those huge hulking compendiums of old 60's/70's stories and read them while I was in class pretending to pay attention (if you still manage to get good grades, you get away with shit - we all know it). I read so many weird stories but this one still sticks in my head.
Yeah, the premise is kinda obvious / cheesy, but when you're randomly reading through sci fi stories and suddenly this pops up in the mix you kinda pause and go "Huh?"
I think these shorts were honestly the best examples of playing with ideas and fantastical plots, none of which had to go very far to really take you places. You can have interstellar sagas, or space battles, or technology gone wrong. Then you can just have a strange, quirky family next door and mind = blown.