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 30: She hoped they wouldn’t change the gate on her and double checked it against the paperwork.
She hoped they wouldn’t change the gate on her and double checked it against the paperwork. As she double and even triple checked the numbers, Gwen realized she was nervous and forced herself to stop. ‘It’s because I didn’t plan on this trip,’ she told herself.
She was a planner by nature. She liked to see all of the little details lined up before she started something. Both Toby and Lisa teased her about it, but they came to rely on her for it as well. Whenever they went somewhere either as a group or in pairs, they always counted on her to know exactly where they were going and how to get there. She arranged for rentals, reservations and all the other items they would need on their trip out.
As Gwen waited for the plane to begin boarding, she tried to picture Lisa planning something like a wedding on her own. She thought of all the multitude of details it would require, how they would need to be juggled and settled just right in order for things to go off without a problem. She somehow couldn’t picture Lisa doing all of that.
‘Maybe her mom will help her,’ Gwen thought. Boarding began for her flight and Gwen was more than happy to let thoughts of the Lewis family go.
Gwen boarded and tucked her carry on suitcase under the seat in front of her. It fit neatly and she was happy to not have to stretch to fit it in the overhead compartment. Before pushing it in completely Gwen took her book, music player and ear buds out of the bag. She then pushed it further into the shadows beneath the seat.
Gwen was seated by the window and she put her ear buds in as the plane filled up around her. She let the music play and tried not to think too much about anything. She watched as the fasten seatbelts sign went on and the flight attendant began her safety lecture. Gwen secured her own seatbelt and wondered what the likelihood of a water landing would be. From the plane water always looked like lines and splotches across large stretches of open land. She wondered if there was a statistic about the possibility of them hitting water instead of land.
‘I doubt it is a high percentage,’ she thought.
The man next to her placed both of his arms on his two available arm rests so Gwen leaned towards the window and the one remaining arm rest available. He took out a book and opened it, clearly not wanting to talk any more than she did.
Gwen looked out of the window and watched all of the support staff scurry around the outside of the plan preparing it for takeoff. She was pretty sure she saw her bags being loaded onto the plane. Gwen imagined the large thump was her bag being chucked into the cargo hold, but suspected it was the door being latched shut. She felt a slight bit of excitement as the plane finally began to taxi towards the runway. They were finally on their way. She was going to start something new.
They made their way to their launching position and then raced down the runway finally leaping into the air. Even though she knew it didn’t work that way Gwen always envisioned the road runner’s legs beneath the plane before he beeped and took off at supersonic speeds.
The planed climbed and leveled out. Gwen watched the world below as it seemed to drift past. It was laid out as though it was flat even though she knew there had to be various bumps in the landscape. There were too many shadows for there not to be. She tried to pick out markers and found a few before the plane turned and left the city she occasionally visited behind. Buildings grew few.
Ten til Midnight 