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 52: On the drive back he admitted part of his willingness to return home was due to Cassie’s book.
On the drive back he admitted part of his willingness to return home was due to Cassie’s book. He was curious as to what she wrote. Their lives ran parallel and often intersected. Would he remember any of the incidents she mentioned? Or would they all be things that happened when he was at work?
Either way, he had no place else he needed to be. Spotting a fast food restaurant, and thinking of the contents of his small kitchen, he pulled through the drive through, ordered a meal that would have his organic and all natural mother quivering in disgust and drove home.
“I doubt it is any worse than what I have at home anyway,” He said as he pulled into his driveway. “At some point I’ll need to look at the sodium levels though.” Sodium levels were always the item most watched in his family as it had a history of doing very bad things to them, mostly involving blood pressure.
“Another worry for another time.” James decided. He took his last minute shopping and books upstairs and dropped all but the food and Cassie’s book on the couch. The food and book he took to the table in the kitchen. James laid out the food, disposed of the bag and sat down. As he began to eat, he began to read.
The book was written in an easy to read style. It sounded a lot like Cassie as she spoke. He knew from experience that Cassie did not write as well as she spoke and thought she managed to secure a very good ghost writer. The writer captured her voice very well and as James read he could practically hear her In his head.
The book was amusing. Many of the early incidents were ones he remembered, although he remembered them from a different angle. Some of the events she claimed happened to her, James remembered happening to other members of their mutual circle. He wondered if anyone would object or if she would just claim creative license.
“Actually I doubt she’d care if they were upset,” James said. Cassie had never been one to worry over much about other people. “Of course the book makes it seem otherwise.”
The book version of Cassie was much better than the real life one. As James continued to turn pages he wondered if that was how Cassie saw herself, wanted to be seen or if the writer and editor decided between them that it would be best. He suspected it was a combination of the three.
There was a dark amusement when reading between the lines. There were people who James knew Cassie disliked in the book and they were, in a subtle, none legally slanderous way, made to look bad. “I bet she ran every line by her lawyers,” He mused between bites.
His amusement grew as he learned of her struggle to achieve greatness. According to her, she fought for her position. According to what James knew, as an only child she was groomed from birth to take over the family company. It was a bond they shared when in school, each trained for a specific place in the world. In the book it was a place she had to fight tooth and nail to achieve.
“But I suppose, rich girl trained to take over the family empire and taking over the family empire doesn’t sell as well,” James said. He turned a page. He was surprised to find that his family merited a mention.
Ten til Midnight 