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 49: The podium in front of her now showed that one hundred dollars had been added to her score.
The podium in front of her now showed that one hundred dollars had been added to her score. Gwen felt herself smile, pleased she managed to get an answer right. Bob returned to the board and asked her to pick again. She decided to stick with food and the next question dinged.
Each time Gwen was only able to choose the category. Whoever was behind the scenes decided the order she would take them She went from one hundred dollar questions to five hundred dollar ones and then she hit several two hundreds in a row. If there was a reason behind it, she didn’t know. She did notice that with each right answer her confidence grew and she was able to shout the answer with clear determination. She realized she was starting to have fun. It was like a game, getting to know herself.
‘And why wouldn’t I know all of the answers? They are all about me,’ she thought. ‘Besides it is my dream even if it is a crazy one.’
With the thought awareness that this was a dream began to intrude. The dream became fuzzy and started to fade. In bed she started to shift. She blinked awake, and the dream shredded around her. Still tired, Gwen rolled over and went back to sleep. She half hoped she would fall back into the game show but she didn’t. She found herself dreaming of numbers dancing around with top hats and canes. It was the same dream she had before her last accountancy test and so it was, in its own way familiar. And then that too faded and she drifted off into normal sleep.
Finally she woke. The sun was at a strange angle and she couldn’t tell if it was early or late. She didn’t know which way her windows faced. She did however know that her bladder had to be emptied. She slipped out of bed and went to the bathroom. After using the facilities and washing her hands, she ran a brush through her hair and tried to decide if she should dress for the day. Then she realized she didn’t know what the day would hold and not knowing meant she couldn’t choose an appropriate outfit.
She went bck into the bedroom and looked around for a clock. She couldn’t find one and knew her watch was packed in with her jewelry. ‘Cell phone,’ she thought. Gwen pulled it out of her travel bag and realized it was still turned off from her trip. She was worried the battery would die if she just put it on airplane mode. She turned the phone on and as it came to life all sorts of beeps sounded. Gwen checked her messages. They were oddly from Lisa and Toby. She read through them with a strange sense of wonder.
Toby heard she was going to see her grandparents. “Pick me up a souvenir,” she read. She shook her head. Why would he think she would pick up anything for him?
She scrolled through the messages from Lisa. She too heard that Gwen was off to see her grandparents. Gwen read her messages with a growing disbelief.
“I hope you’ll be back in time for the wedding planning,” Gwen read. “We’ve planned a kick off weekend to start the planning. I know you will be amazing.”
Gwen shook her head. “Lisa thinks I am helping her plan her wedding to Toby.”
Ten til Midnight 