The Fifteen Minute Novel is a novel written fifteen minutes at a time with each week day’s section starting with the sentence from the previous day. At least it is attempting to be a novel. For now I am just aiming at one continuous story, worked on for fifteen minutes each day. Started Friday January 1st, 2021 (in case you want to search for the beginning. I can’t wait to see where it ends up. It could be good, or it could be a mess. We’ll have to see. For now, here is today’s fifteen minutes.
Day 21: As stocked as he could be on groceries, James pulled a copy of every magazine and newspaper from the offered rack that didn’t look like celebrity gossip and added it to his cart.
As stocked as he could be on groceries, James pulled a copy of every magazine and newspaper from the offered rack that didn’t look like celebrity gossip and added it to his cart. James wasn’t entirely certain what his immediate future held but he was now caught up on sleep and would need something to do. As the past few months he had been kept away from the news by his agents who thought it was for the best, James realized he missed knowing what was going on in the wider world.
He felt as though he was emerging slowly from a cocoon.
When he reached the register, the clerk lifted an eyebrow at his cart but didn’t say anything to him. There was no comment about his purchases or even a friendly greeting. As everyone in the store looked as though they would rather be someplace else, James supposed he shouldn’t’ be surprised. The bored looking clerk slid his items over the scanner one by one, the scanner emitting an electronic beep with each pass. The items were put into plastic sacks and James waited for the reminder to bring his own reusable grocery bags on his next visit, but it never came. He held his breath as he inserted the brand new debit card into the machine. It prompted him for his pin and he luckily remembered what was put into the file and entered it instead of his usual pin number. The machine accepted the payment and James tried not to sigh with relief.
“Although what would they do?’ he thought as he put the card back in his wallet and the wallet back in his pocket. ‘I come with my own federal agent.’ James suspected the federal agent would trump the beat cop in terms of jurisdiction, at least where he was concerned. ‘At least for the next six months anyway.’
The bags were placed in the cart and James was allowed to push his cart out to Carson’s car. His groceries, newspapers and magazines went into the trunk and the two men got back into the car. A few minutes later they were at a discount store. James picked up a micro wave and a Mr. Coffee. He added a small radio with an extendible antenna. As a bonus for shopping, James was given a free coffee mug and a Keychain that read, ‘I got it all at Crazy Larry’s’.
James assumed that the business was actually crazy Larry’s as he had only seen neon sales and discount signs out front and no actual store name. His electronics purchases went into Carson’s back seat and the two of them returned to the apartment building that James now called home.
Despite being a quiet shadow throughout the shopping experience, Carson helped James carry his purchases back up to the apartment. James left the electronics on the couch and began trying to fit all of his newly frozen foods into his freezer. They fit, barely.
As he fit the rectangular packages into the freezer space, Carson returned to his car and came back a moment later with a thick file folder. He waited until James was done and then the two of them settled back down at the dinatte table.
“We tried to take into account the skills you possess from your job but find places that wouldn’t seem as noticeable.”
“Noticeable,” James repeated.
“Well we aren’t going to sign you up to be the CEO of any local international corporations as that would be too blatant. You will be a great deal lower on the totem pole no matter which job you take, but we managed to find several jobs that use skills you possess.”
“So I’m starting from the ground up then?” James asked.
Ten til Midnight 