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 127: There she saw the other students were also getting into cars with drivers.
There she saw the other students were also getting into cars with drivers. As she looked Gwen realized that the other cars were a lot like the car her grandmother arranged for her. They weren’t driven by parents picking up their offspring but by hired drivers. Gwen looked at them and wondered if they were hired the same way her grandparents hired a car or if these were more employees of the family. She couldn’t tell but she knew designers and there hadn’t been anything but high end brands worn by those in her class. Gwen shrugged it off. None of them appeared to want to be friendly to her and while she liked the thought of making more friends, she had no desire to force her company on anyone.
‘So I doubt I’ll ever know about the drivers,’ Gwen thought. She shrugged it off and got into the car with Sebastian driving.
“So that was your class leaving then?” he asked as they made their way out of the museum parking area and back into main traffic.
“It was.”
Sebastian smiled. “Not exactly a friendly lot?”
“I think the class has been meeting every summer for while so I’m the new kid,” Gwen shrugged again. “Since they are all my age I suspect it will be the last summer they take the class, so why bother making new friends here?”
“Ah,” Sebastian said. “Well you might be seeing some of them again outside of class, as a warning.”
“Oh?”
“I recognized a few although they were dressed less artistically when I saw them. Their parents tend to run in similar circles to your grandparents.”
“So you are saying that even if I don’t make friends I shouldn’t make enemies?” Gwen guessed.
Sebastian laughed. “Something like that.”
“Good to know.”
Their conversation strayed more into small talk and Sebastian handed her a small circular that listed various concerts that were coming to nearby venues in the coming months. Most were bands she recognized.
“Thanks,” she told him. She slipped it into her bag.
When they arrived at the apartment and she got out, waving Sebastian goodbye, Gwen felt better about the class not really welcoming her. ‘I don’t need to be liked by everyone,’ she decided. ‘And it would be exhausting to try to be liked by everyone.’
She made her way upstairs and found her grandmother returned before her. Margaret was dressed in an expensive looking business suit, with a skirt instead of pants and a jacket that was fitted to show off her still slim figure. She had several take out menus laid out across the kitchen table and was studying them.
“Hello,” Gwen said.
“Back already?” Margaret said. “Good you can help me decide what to order and then tell me all about your day.” She gestured to the splayed out menus.
Ten til Midnight 