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 77: Sophie frowned.
Sophie frowned. “Kristen doesn’t like me because she wants to be the only one in the office who dresses nicely?” She repeated.
Petra nodded. “I know crazy right?”
“I don’t even know what to say to that.”
“Well don’t let it impact your clothing choices,” Petra said.
“I won’t,” Sophie replied. Petra smiled at her and Sophie smiled back.
“And if you need anything from HR you know where to find me.”
“Thanks,” Sophie said. Petra smiled, turned and walked away. Sophie frowned.
While Petra had always been pleasant to her, they rarely exchanged more than a few words. She was on their floor more often when she was seeing Mr. Evers but once that stopped she only visited when she was required to do so. This had been the longest conversation she had ever had with Petra.
‘And I really hope she doesn’t stir the pot,’ Sophie added. Regardless of why Kisten didn’t like her, Sophie knew she didn’t like her and was already miffed she couldn’t pass off work. As Sophie turned to her lunch she thought about Kristen. It wasn’t surprising that she thought of herself as the queen bee of the office.
‘But she always looks nice. I don’t know why she even thinks we are in any sort of competition.’ The whole thought was absurd. Sophie finished her lunch and got back to work. Eventually the lunch group in Mr. Evers’ office broke up and they each headed back to their cubicles. They may not have gone out to a restaurant, instead only dipping out to pick up food before gathering, but they didn’t really shorten their lunch breaks.
‘Not my concern,’ Sophie told herself. ‘Especially if I am not picking up the slack.’ After her conversation with Petra, Sophie decided that keeping her distance a little more wouldn’t be a bad thing. ‘And while I am not working late, perhaps I will lag behind just enough to not be stuck in the elevator with them for the next few days at least.’
While the others might be a bit disappointed, Sophie could easily see Kristen edging into openly hostile.
Th day passed quietly. With her change in status there was no reason for the others to come around the cubicle wall and none of them did. She wasn’t terribly surprised. ‘Although I do sort of wonder how Evers evaluation went.’
While she was curious, Sophie found she wasn’t curious enough to actually get on the elevator with them. At the end of the day, she dawdled just enough that she had to wait for a second elevator. It still had her leaving more or less on time.
‘but without the angsty silence of the big metal box.’
As was becoming habit, once Sophie left the office, she set the entire thing out of her mind. She concentrated on finishing up the dressing gown she was working on for the rest of the night and didn’t think of the office until she returned the next morning.
Ten til Midnight 