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 34: Somehow, she never had the time to go to the gym.
Somehow, she never had the time to go to the gym. ‘Even with it right there.’ She knew there were people who used the gym in the mornings before work. The few times she made it down to the gym before work it was packed. It was similarly busy by the time she made it home from work. She generally arrived late enough for her neighbors to settle and feel like getting their evening work out in.
Sophie wasn’t certain she wanted to fight for the machines or have that many people potentially watching her work out. ‘Especially when I am getting started.’ She put her pasta noodles in the boiling water and measured out a portion of sauce from the jar and into a bowl. She put the bowl in the microwave to heat while the pasta cooked.
“I could go a little later in the morning,” Sophie told herself as she waited for the elements of her meal to be ready. On the few days where she had been home she noticed that after the pre work crowd cleared out there were very few people in the gym. ‘I could look up a simply plan and go after it clears out. That way I get a little exercise, and no one is there to see me start a routine. If I like it I can make it a before work thing when I go back to work.’
Sophie smiled as the timer dinged. It seemed like a pretty good plan. She scooped he pasta out of the water and into a bowl. She took the sauce from the microwave and poured it over the pasta, setting the now empty sauce bowl in the sink. She used her fork to toss the pasta and the sauce together and took the bowl to the table to eat.
The next morning felt strange. Sophie woke knowing it was Monday and had to remind herself that she was not expected at work. It was a strange feeling. She skipped her shower and put on work out clothes instead. She ate a light breakfast of toast with peanut butter and bananas on it and washed it down with a cup of coffee. Knowing that there was always the possibility of running into someone n the gym, Sophie made certain to brush her coffee breath away and do an extra mouthwash gargle.
After checking for toothpaste spatter, she made certain to have a podcast loaded and took it and her workout plan down to the gym. As expected she lingered over her morning long enough that the pre work crowd dissipated. The gym was empty but it had the feel of a place people just left, as though she could look around the corner and see their departing backs.
Dismissing the thought, Sophie slipped in her ear buds, checked out the first item on her workout routine and turned her podcast on before slipping it into the side pocket of her spandex pants. Sophie started with her warm ups while listening to the latest fashion trends. She sweated her way through the work out, periodically checking the downloaded plan and finally reached the cool down stage. By then her podcast was over and she was more than ready to leave the gym. “I’m more out of shape than I thought. She took out her earbuds, slipping them into the case.
Ten til Midnight 