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 62: The thought was intoxicating.
The thought was intoxicating. Gwen tried to recall a moment where she could do anything she wanted simply because she wanted. There was no Lisa to consider. There was no Toby to take into account. There was no Sharron whose opinions had to be worked around.
Gwen blinked. She could do anything she wanted.
She took a forkful of her omelet and thought felt the crunch and bite of the onion. ‘And not just for today,’ Gwen thought.
When she left West port she felt cast adrift, let go by everyone else. It was a daunting prospect. The world stretched out before her a blank sheet of paper with no clue what should be written on it. Now that blank page was starting to look inviting.
‘I’m the one who gets to decide what goes on the page.’ Gwen nodded as Margaret talked about an upcoming exhibit at the local art museum. She thought about how much of what was on the page of her life that was written by someone else. Now she had control.
‘Maybe this is what it means to grow up,’ she thought. The thought was fleeting.
They finished their meal, paid and left the restaurant. Sebastian was waiting. As they slipped back into the car, Margaret’s phone rang and she answered it. As she did, Gwen took the opportunity to check her own phone. Lisa tried calling back twice and then switched to leaving text messages. Toby too had sent a couple of texts. As her grandmother was occupied, Gwen looked at the messages.
Lisa wanted to know why she was acting so cold. ‘You are my best friend,; Lisa wrote.
Gwen thought about ignoring the message and then decided perhaps it was time to answer it. She couldn’t just ignore Lisa forever.
She pulled up the message and began to type.
‘You lied to me and betrayed me for a year and a half. You killed any friendship we had. We are no longer friends. Stop calling and texting me.’
Gwen looked over the words and decided they were suitable. She hit send. There was no way that Lisa would not understand the message.
Gwen looked to Toby’s message. ‘I don’t understand why you won’t help Lisa out. We are all still friends.’
Gwen shook her head and sighed. ‘We are not friends,’ she typed. ‘We are nothing to each other. Stop texting and calling me. If you need something call Lisa.’
Again she looked over the message. She was satisfied with what it said. Gwen hit the button to send it and the message went winging across the electronic ether. A beep sounded and Gwen saw it was from Lisa.
‘How can you say that?’
Gwen lifted an eyebrow at the comment. She decided she was done.
‘I’m blocking you now,’ she typed. Gwen hit send and then blocked Lisa’s phone number. Another beep sounded. Gwen saw it was Toby.
She pulled up the message. ‘You don’t really mean that.’
“I most certainly do,” she muttered. ‘I am blocking you now,’ she typed. And then she blocked him. As she pressed the button, Gwen felt an overwhelming sense of relief.
Ten til Midnight 