Question: I have a system which has the following structure:

Inbound > Open > Pending > Awaiting reply > Ready > Closed

I'd like to use single-words, so the one that sticks out like a sore thumb is "Awaiting reply".

I obviously can't use "Pending" because that's already in use. And "Awaiting" is too similar to "Pending".

Is there a word for "waiting for a reply"?

Answer: 
Potentially you could turn the focus around from the expected action of the respondent, to the last action of the maintainer/asker. For example, perhaps one of the following could be used:

* Inquired
* Requested
* Solicited
* Queried

At the moment I'm liking "queried", because it has two syllables, like everything else in the OP's list up until "closed".

Other synonyms for "request information" at [Thesaurus.com](https://www.thesaurus.com/browse/request%20information).
Here is a word that pertains to the anticipation felt when waiting for a response to a text message :
“TEXTPECTATION”