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…
Monday, March 11th, Day 51: As she passed Kristen’s desk, Kristen favored her with a smug smile.
As she passed Kristen’s desk, Kristen favored her with a smug smile. “Good luck,” Kristen said in a sugary sweet voice. Sophie offered a half smile back and continued on her way. The conference room booked for these meetings was on her floor, just down the hall. When she arrived, she found herself slightly relieved to recognize two of the three people in the room. Sean and Elizabeth were both seated at the conference table and smiled politely at her.
“Please come in and shut the door,” the person she didn’t recognize said. “I am Mr. Peters and I will be conducting this evaluation. My compatriots ae simply hear to observe.”
“Okay,” Sophie said. She received encouraging looks from the others as she took the seat Mr. Peters indicated she should use. Sophie sat down in the chair and placed the notebook on the conference table.
“We have been looking over your work and have found it exemplary,” Peters began. “Due to the month we asked you to take off we were able to evaluate how your office functioned without you in it. Thank you for assisting us with this, I hope it did not create any hardships.”
“No,” Sophie said. “It was a lot coming back, but I think I am all caught up now.”
“Indeed,” Peters said. He checked his notes and then looked back up at her. “It was noted that when you left your work was not portioned out to anyone?”
“No,” Sophie said again when he paused and looked at her.
“I see,” he said. He made a note on the page and then looked back to her. “And you have been setting up the database sent down to you?”
“I have,” Sophie replied pleased to be able to say something in the affirmative. “I finished the file sent down last week and actually completed this week’s file before coming into this meeting.”
“Did you?” Peters said. There was a note of surprise in his tone. “And how is the rest of your work with this new addition?”
“Fine,” Sophie said. “I can handle my workload just fine with the addition of the database set up.”
“Mmmhmmm,” Peters replied. He flipped a page and looked down at it before looking back to her. “Prior to your thirty days of leave you were taking in quite a few projects that were not on your list and as a result you were staying late nearly every evening. Since your return you have not coded in for anyone else and have left more or less on time each evening.”
“That is correct,” Sophie replied. She felt nervous flutters in her stomach.
Peters looked at her and smiled. “And if you continued to only do your own work, could you take on an additional file or two for this new database project? Without staying late?”
“I believe so,” Sophie replied.
Ten til Midnight 