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 76: “That you’ve been promoted and are no longer under Don’s supervision?” Petra asked.
“That you’ve been promoted and are no longer under Don’s supervision?” Petra asked. She looked at Sophie for an answer.
“I’m now supposed to report to Elizabeth Walker as my supervisor,” Sophie told her. “Do you know her?”
“I haven’t met her but if she is your supervisor then you have definitely been promoted.” Sophie frowned. “It’s part of the hierarchy,” Petra explained. Don supervises those on Kristen, Carrie and Ryan’s level and Elizabeth supervises those on Don’s level.”
“Oh,” Sophie said. “Well I did change titles once they assigned the database to me for set up.”
Petra grinned. “I’ll have to look up the title. The fact that you are higher up than Kristen will totally burn her. I bet Don will have a conniption as well.”
“Because I might outrank Kristen.”
“Because if you rank the same a him then he can’t assign things to you,” Petra said.
Sophie looked at the grin on Petra’s face and the gleam in her eyes and remembered that before Evers hooked up with Carrie, he was seeing Petra.
“Look I don’t want to start any trouble. Just want to quietly get on with my day. And I don’t want to be art of some sort of vendetta you have against Evers.”
“You know about that?” she said.
Sophie shrugged. “I over heard enough bits to figure it out.”
“It was such a mistake,” Petra said. She seemed to sag. “Does everyone know?”
“I don’t know,” Sophie said not wanting to say anything. “I mostly just hear what Kristen says as she’s on the other side of the wall and the walls aren’t thick.”
“Yeah, cube land,” Petra rolled here eyes. “You know Kristen doesn’t like you, right?”
Sophie thought of the sneers and scowls she was usually favored with. “I had a clue.”
“Yeah she isn’t subtle is she. It’s the clothes.”
“The clothes,” Sophie repeated. She looked down. Today she was wearing the chocolate pants and the emerald top. “What’s wrong with them?”
“Nothing’s wrong with them,” Petra said. “I actually quite like them. Kristen thinks they are too pretty for a cubicle.”
“They don’t look that different from the type of things she wears,” Sophie said.
“I know,” Petra said with a shrug. “She just likes to be the only one who dresses nice and things others should. She thinks you are trying to compete.”
Sophie frowned.
Ten til Midnight 