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 54: “I think we’ll go for some honest fiction,” he decided.
“I think we’ll go for some honest fiction,” he decided.
James spent the rest of the weekend reading and skimming through magazines. He grazed from his pre-purchased offerings. He only once left the apartment and that was to visit the small local grocery down the street to pick up something for his indigestion. His body was not reacting to the slate of frozen foods well. He knew something would have to be done, but it was a something he hadn’t quite gotten around to figuring out.
His first thought was to hire someone. Then he realized that he wasn’t living that sort of life anymore and hiring a full time cook and housekeeper would not exactly go unnoticed. On his one excursion outside of his small domain, he saw others coming and going. He smiled and nodded at those who smiled and nodded at him, but for the most part everyone kept their distance. He checked the mailbox and found circulars for stores in the area. He thought about pitching them, and then decided against it, figuring he ought to find out what businesses were. Once he settled into the job he would have a better idea of his life. He placed the files in a stack next to his reading materials.
By Sunday night James was excited at the prospect of the entry level accounting job that awaited him in the morning.
‘I’m pretty sure I would welcome any job at this point,” James thought as he looked over his available work clothes. He chose the black slacks and white dress shirt for his first day. Carson included no ties and James suspected that was because one wasn’t expected. Likewise there was also no jacket.
When Monday morning arrived and James dressed in his designated outfit, he felt as though he was only half dressed for the office. He couldn’t add the jacket from his suit to the outfit, but he did tuck his tie into his pocket. He patted the bulge it made.
“Perhaps into the bag.”
James went into the living room and picked up the satchel he bought for the office. It was a faux leather case suitable for bringing files home if need be. At the moment it only held his sack lunch, a note book and a couple of pens. James added the necktie to the bag. Even if he didn’t end up bring files home he couldn’t actually bring himself to simply carrying the small lunch bag as though he was heading off to school.
Satisfied that he did indeed have everything needed to face the day even though he felt ill prepared, James left for work. He programed the address and directions into his phone and he and the Studebaker were soon on their way. Not knowing what traffic would be like at this time of morning, James left a little early. Either he managed to beat the rush or there wasn’t a heavy morning commute because he sailed through the modest traffic arriving at a nondescript office building twenty minutes early. There were only two other cars in the parking lot.
Ten til Midnight 