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 176: “I know he and Lisa split,” Gwen said.
“I know he and Lisa split,” Gwen said. She didn’t particularly want to hear about Toby but figured it was inevitable.
“Oh, that’s not all,” Becca said. “Lisa and Toby were coming out of the movies and Monica, the girl he was seeing out in Unionville, came to see him because she heard that he was cheating on her and that his other girlfriend was pregnant.”
“Lisa is pregnant?” Gwen asked.
“Oh, not Lisa,” Amy said. “A girl named Petra in Ferrington.”
Gwen’s fries and shake arrived, and she took a sip of the shake trying to process. Unionville and Ferrington were both places Toby visited for various car related things. After the disaster of the even she went to with him, Gwen stopped going and paid little attention. Part of her wondered how long he was seeing the other girls and part of her didn’t want to know.
“So Petra in Ferrington is pregnant?” Gwen asked.
“We don’t know,” Becca said. “But this Monica chick thought that Lisa was Petra and yelled at her right there in front of the theater.”
“I was there,” Jake said. “It was brutal, she really laid into her.”
“Wow,” Gwen said. She found herself absurdly glad she was out of town for that and glad that she hadn’t known what happened before she talked to Lisa. She suspected she would feel bad for Lisa and didn’t want to start up a friendship again just because she felt bad.
A quiet fell over the group and Gwen looked up. She saw Toby enter the café and head back towards their group of booths. He faltered a step when he saw her, but regained it quickly, a wide grin spreading across his face.
“Hey you’re back,” he said.
“Yeah,” Gwen said. He looked like he was going to walk over and join their group but Gwen turned away before he could. “So, State in the fall?” She asked Amy. “What are you studying?”
Conversation resumed as normal, and Toby found a seat elsewhere. Gwen tried to forget he was there as she caught up with Becca and Amy. She talked to jake and the others as well. As usual people moved from booth to booth. When Gwen found herself moving, she made certain that whatever booth she was in wasn’t one where Toby was located. She felt she was doing pretty well.
Gwen slid into a booth and found herself sitting next to Michael. “So how is your packing going,” She asked.
“Not bad,” he said. “I don’t think I’ll have too much actually,” he said. “I don’t have to do the full clear out like you do cause my mom isn’t selling the house.”
“Clear out is right,” Gwen said. “I think I found the costume I wore in the third-grade play. While I made a lovely carrot, it won’t be coming with me.”
“Good to know I won’t be fighting for the front seat with a carrot costume,” Michael said with a smile. His smile faltered as he looked past her. Gwen turned.
Ten til Midnight 