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 79: Eric and Mark might not listen, but James suspected Agent Morris would.
Eric and Mark might not listen, but James suspected Agent Morris would. James finished his cookies and made a mental note to return to the restaurant soon. It was a good place to establish himself as a regular and any meal there was one he didn’t have to come up with on his own. He flipped through Cassie’s book but figured that Eric and Mark wanted him out so they could gain control. Other than that, he didn’t really see the need for details. He left the couch and poked through the rest of his reading material. Nothing really appealed to him and he ended up showering, changing for bed and watching something vaguely amusing on his phone as a means to occupy himself until bed time. It was enough to keep his mind from dwelling and allowed him to relax his mind before sleep.
When he did finally get to sleep, James dreamt once again of the library. There were no visitors from elderly deceased family members, but there were still sections he couldn’t reach which bothered him. He woke up feeling slightly annoyed.
It was a relief to be able to get dressed and get ready to leave. James had yet to figure out something to fill his Saturday and the files actually came as a bit of a relief. James chose one of the sweaters Carson chose for him with a white Oxford shirt underneath and added blue jeans instead of the pants he rotated through during the week. He decided against packing a lunch but felt a little unbalanced at the thought of not bringing his work bag with him.
He spotted Cassie’s book, still out on the couch. To have something other than pens rolling around in the bottom of his bag, James added the book. It provided a satisfactory weight to the bag and felt less like a prop. He let himself out of the apartment and walked down the stairs.
The parking lot was full, everyone seeming to have returned safely from their forays the night before. James looked over the assorted vehicles and realized that his car didn’t look as out of place as he thought it might. Every other vehicle was older and some had parts that showed signs of repair but many of them looked like they could have easily been inherited from older family members.
‘And as I a m a bit older than anyone else I’ve seen around here maybe I just inherited my vehicle from an older family member.’
James wasn’t planning on telling anyone such fiction as it would be easy to check his purchase with the local dealer and more than likely someone would have seen it, but it felt good to have a blending in justification for Carlson.
About the time James decided this, Carson pulled into the parking lot. He glided to a halt and James saw the locking mechanism unlock the passenger’s side door as he walked over. James slid into the car. Carson was less agitated than the day before but otherwise looked virtually identical. His suit was the same, his hair was the same. James wondered if he was just put into a box like a doll when he wasn’t needed. He smiled to himself at the thought.
The ride into the office was quiet. Carson seemed to have no need of small talk.
Ten til Midnight 