The Fifteen Minute Novel is an attempt to take a single prompt and use the last sentence written each day as a start for the next day. This year I had several prompts circling around a similar story, so I have combined them. However, the story starts the same way each day, with the last line from the day before and a timer set for fifteen minutes. The hope is to end up with a complete, if very rough draft by the end of the year. Some stories are better than others, but I always learn a whole lot about my own writing when I do this so for me it is not only a nice way to work out a story, but it is a tool for helping my writing get better. And so, we continue this story for 2024 with…
Day 12: “All the more reason to start looking for a job elsewhere.” Janine told her.
“All the more reason to start looking for a job elsewhere.” Janine told her.
“You mean a professional office where everyone acts professionally?” Sophie said. She pretended to look shocked. Then smiled. “I’ll think about it.”
Janine walked her to the door and opened it for her. “And remember, if you don’t want to find another office, you could always fly solo.”
Sophie smiled and stepped into the hall. “I’ll think about it.”
She knew she wouldn’t thought. It was one thing to talk about, but Sophie liked the security of her office job. Did she want more time to pursue her hobby? Sure but didn’t every one?
“I would feel better if I at least got to take some of my vacation time,” she told herself as she walked back to her apartment. Not only was there the day trip out to the mecca of luxury fabrics that she wanted to do some weekend soon, but there were fashion exhibits at certain museums not too far away that she might want to take a few trips to see and then there was the possibility of international travel. While she liked brushing up on French and learning Italian so that she could listen to podcasts and read articles, it would be nice to visit both countries as well.
She unlocked her door and let herself back into her apartment. “But actually getting a Friday off at this point seems hopeless.” She thought about Janine. While she doubted she would ever really consider going without the regular pay check the thought of finding a job that did leave her a little more free time was an idea that crossed her mind on several occasions.
‘I’d settle for something that just let me leave on time,’ she thought.
Unwilling to give more thought to work, Sophie filed her invoice with the rest of the statements Janine gave her and promised that she would look everything over later.
‘For now, there are those trousers.’
Sophie took out the material and felt it slide through her fingers. She stretched it out on the table and began to lay out her patterns on top of the cloth. The patterns were traced on both the fabric that she wanted to use and the thinner light weight liner she would use to line the interior of the trousers. One everything was marked out with her chalk pencil, Sophie set it to the side and picked up the heavy scissors that she inherited from her mother.
Her mother had in turn inherited them from her father who worked as a tailor. It was in his shop that her mother learned her trade. She then taught Sophie and after she passed, Sophie inherited the older tools that were passed down. Some she kept on a shelf as part of the room’s decoration, but the scissors she used often and made certain to keep them sharp.
They snipped through the fabric easily and soon all of the pieces were cut out. Sophie clamped the wristlet containing her straight pins to her left wrist and focused on pinning each piece as it needed to be. She wanted no wrinkles in the cloth at this stage as it would mean mis steps later. Already she washed the fabric on it’s own and then ironed it to make sure it was smooth. She didn’t want her inattention to ruin it now.
When the pins were in to her satisfaction, Sophie took the cloth to the machine and began the work of sewing them together. As she worked everything else faded away. She was just on her own making a pair of trousers. All of her attention was focused there. She didn’t have to think about work or anyone’s affairs, either current or previous blowing up her office environment. She didn’t have to think about extra projects or late hours. She could just focus on crafting a piece of clothing for her own wardrobe.
It was calming and soothing to simply work.
Ten til Midnight 