Welcome to the Fifteen Minute Novel. Each morning I spend fifteen minutes writing on a singular story line. Each morning starts with the last line of the previous day. The goal is to get a (very) rough draft out of the simple story idea and to avoid letting the story idea languish in limbo forever, actually writing it out. This is the third year I have done this writing experiment and each year I learn just a little bit about myself and the way I write as well as creating a framework for the story. But without further ado…
Day 13: She then turned on her laptop and began playing one of her favorite games.
She then turned on her laptop and began playing one of her favorite games. The game involved finding hidden objects and it kept her busy looking for small things instead of wondering what was happening on the other side of the town. She knew the ballroom would be softly lit by now and that couples would start arriving. She tried to put it out of her mind and focus on a timed game, trying to find all of the objects before the timer ran out.
She looked at the clock and realized the dance would have started. Toby and Lisa would have found their way to the dance even without the car. She tried not to picture them dancing. Tried not to picture Toby asking her to marry him. She tried not to picture anything. She played her game until her eyes were drooping and she could no longer tell where the stripped umbrella was hiding.
Giving up the game Gwen shut her lap top down. She thought about checking her messages but decided she didn’t want to see them. She didn’t want to know. Tomorrow would be time enough to find out.
Morning arrived and Gwen stretched. The dance was over. Whatever was going to happen was done. She felt oddly light. There was no dreading the dance any more. Today there was just the graduation ceremony to get through. As seniors they took their exams early and then then spend a week recuperating while the under classes took their finals. Then came the dance and then the day after, the graduation ceremony. Today, Gwen knew she couldn’t hide. She would have to face everyone.
Knowing she needed to know what was going on before she walked into the auditorium, Gwen picked up her phone and turned it back on. The phone beeped as it announced he slew of calls and messages she missed. After Toby and Lisa asking where the car was it went silent for a bit. Then there were texts from both Lisa and Toby. Gwen frowned.
‘ Do you know about this?’ Came in from Lisa.
‘Did you have anything to do with this?’ From Toby. There were several exclamations as well as question marks.
Then there was a message with a photo. It was from Lisa.
‘It doesn’t matter how much you and Ron tried to ruin things, we are still engaged.’ The first picture was of Lisa’s hand showing an engagement ring. The second photo was of Lisa and Toby smiling the ring clearly on her finger. As expected Toby looked quite handsome in his Tux. His hair was oddly rumpled and there seemed to be some sort of stain on his lapel. Lisa’s hair was not done in the elaborate style she planned to get at the salon, but simply pinned on top of her head. The dress too looked different than Gwen remembered. ‘I thought her dress was supposed to be pink,’ Gwen mused. The dress Lisa was wearing in the photo was yellow.
‘Odd.’ She thought. ‘But at least I know they are engaged.’ The thought stung less than she thought it would. She still felt the hollowness of loss, but seeing the ring on Lisa’s hand didn’t hurt the way she thought it would.
‘I wonder what Ron did,’ Gwen thought as she set her phone down and went to get ready for the day.
Gwen wanted to look especially nice for graduation, even if she was still wearing the same black gown as everyone else.
Ten til Midnight 