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 238: James went into the work week the next morning feeling rested and relatively relaxed.
James went into the work week the next morning feeling rested and relatively relaxed. His curiosity still twitched, but he resisted, telling himself that he would check for calamities at the end of the week and not before. He would not hover over the e-mail. In the mornings, he pushed himself in the pool. In his before work swims he couldn’t extend the length of time that he swam so he tried for faster speeds, fitting more laps into the same amount of time. During work, he went through his set routine, trying to focus on the work rather than think about anything out side of the office walls.
Lunch was a pleasant distraction and he realized that while he would never consider any of those at the table with him close friends, he enjoyed their company. After work, he ran, his little training group moving from the indoor track to the outside one, their path circling around the outer rim of the golf course. James found himself enjoying the run far more than he ever enjoyed the golf. He also found he enjoyed running outside more than he enjoyed the indoor track.
When he returned from his training session, James showered, ate whatever dinner he managed to prepare and flopped on the couch, first with the television series he was watching for work and later with the Play he was working his way through. Knowing he would finish the first reading soon, James bookmarked several film adaptations to have them ready.
The simple routine of it all, helped keep his curiosity at bay and prevented him from checking in on Cassie. This self-control lasted until Friday morning when he allowed himself to check the James Monroe e-mail before he went off to his swim. There was no message.
James logged out and feeling a twinge of paranoia, erased his internet history making certain to hide the visits to both the message board and the e-mail. James didn’t really think anyone was going to come looking at his lap top, but decided that there was little point in creating a secret identity if he wasn’t going to at least try to keep it secret. Once his history was wiped clean, James slipped the lap top into a drawer and grabbed his gym bag to head out to his morning swim.
Friday went as the rest of the week had, smoothly, calmly and without a single bump in the road. James began to wonder if the steady routine of his day was what was causing the slight rise in paranoia. Had he become so used to the unexpected that when it didn’t occur he felt off balance? He laughed at the notion and settled in for his Friday night viewing of the first of the movie adaptations of his current Shakespearian focus.
Saturday, James felt a touch of excitement when he woke. Diving had been on his list of things to try for so long that actually attempting it seemed slightly surreal. James went for his morning swim and extended his time and laps as much as he could without completely exhausting himself. He wanted to still have some energy left.
‘Even if I’m not getting into the pool today,’ James reminded himself. After his swim, he changed clothes, and went directly to the dive shop for his first lesson. He took the paperwork he was asked to complete in with him when he went. As expected, he and the two other people in the morning’s class didn’t go anywhere near the water. Instead they covered the equipment, how it worked and the safety procedures. They practiced them all without even getting wet.
While not as exciting as James hoped diving would be, he found it fun.
Ten til Midnight 