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 55: ‘But I am not going to be working late,’ she thought as she got ready for bed.
‘But I am not going to be working late,’ she thought as she got ready for bed. Sophie brushed her teeth and rinsed out her mouth with mouthwash. She wondered if the not working late was going to be a real thing moving forward or if it was just wishful thinking on everyone’s part. ‘Mr. Evers thinks it is only temporary.’
As thoughts of the office made her temper start to rise again, Sophie set it to the side. “I’ll wait to make plans until after I see if the not working late thing takes,” she decided as she turned off the bathroom light and walked to the bedroom. “For now, I’ll just make some going out clothes to make myself feel better. If all else fails and I don’t wear them, maybe Janine can sell them.”
Sophie slipped between the sheets and closed her eyes. In her dreams she found herself dancing the waltz. While she couldn’t see her partner or any of the other attendees clearly and barely remembered the steps of the waltz from her gym class lessons in high school, she did get a look at her dress. It was shimmering green silk decorated with delicate, faceted beads stitched in elaborate patterns. They caught the light and sparked. Sophie found herself wishing she could step off to the side and focus on the pattern so she could later replicate it.
She woke in the morning with the music still fading away. She took out the sketch pad she kept in her nightstand and after a brief search for a pencil, came up with a purple one that still had a point on it. Sophie quickly sketched out what she remembered of the design before beginning her day.
Her morning went as expected. She went to the gym and had a warm greeting from the regulars. Kevin stopped and talked to her briefly. ‘So, I’m sort of social,’ she decided as her workout went from warm up to full on. Anytime she speculated on what might happen at the office, Sophie put in a little more effort, ramping up her speed on the treadmill until she could only focus on her breath and her body, giving her mind a break.
At the end, Sophie left, showered, and got ready for work. She drove to the office and took a deep breath. ‘They know I can’t take any more projects at this time so they should back off for a bit,’ she told herself as she parked and got out of the car. ‘I can’t go through my workday angry,’ she told herself. ‘Just let it go. And possibly turn up the volume on my podcast with no more eavesdropping.’
Sophie went into the office and found Kristen was just arriving. Sophie nodded to her and walked past, settling herself in her cubicle. She took out her files and booted up her computer. To her surprise after a few minutes after she got to work, an in house messenger arrived, dropping off a sealed envelope.
Ten til Midnight 