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 90: “Sandwiches,” Sophie said.
“Sandwiches,” Sophie said. She didn’t want to give Kristen the satisfaction of knowing they discussed her. “My favorite food truck got a spot today and if you don’t go early the lines are far too long.” Kristen snorted, and Sophie continued past to her own desk. She settled herself in her cubicle and ate her lunch while listening to the last of the podcast she started before her food truck notification sent her scurrying towards lunch.
She managed to finish lunch, wipe down her hands and dispose of the trash, before she heard a knock on the side of her cubicle. Looking over, Sophie saw Carrie standing there with a couple of files in her hands.
“Look,” Sophie said. “I can’t take them anymore.”
Carrie looked down at the files. “Oh no,” she said. “I just picked these up, I wasn’t going to leave them.”
“Oh,” Sophie said. “Sorry. What was it you needed?”
“I just heard that you went to lunch with Petra,” she said.
“We walked over t the food truck court together and then walked back,” Sophie said.
“Right,” Carrie said. “Kristen said you were friends.”
“Did she?” Sophie replied.
“You aren’t?”
‘Well, she seems nice but until today I really hadn’t spent much time with her.” Sophie replied.
“So, this was a one off lunch thing? Because you were both going at the same time?” Carrie asked.
“No, we will probably be going again. She doesn’t seem to like to go alone, and I don’t mind the company since I don’t really get to talk to too many other people during the day.”
“Oh, yeah,” Carrie said. “I guess not.” She looked around as though worried someone might be eavesdropping. Since Sophie was pretty sure that if Kristen was at her desk she was probably listening in, she didn’t say anything.
“Kristen mentioned that she might pass information on to you for Petra,” Carrie said.
Sophie leaned in and dropped her voice. “She wants you to do something so that she won’t tell me you are sleeping with Evers and so that I won’t tell Petra?” Sophie asked.
Carrie blinked. “She told you?”
“It’s not exactly a secret,” Sophie said. “And Petra already knows.”
“Oh.” Carrie replied. “Well I guess I don’t have to worry then. She wants me to take on some of her work to keep the secret, even if I need to stay late to get it done. Can you imagine?”
Sophie looked at her. “You do know that all the times I stayed late were because you, Ryan, Kristen and Evers dropped work on me so you could have your long lunches and still leave work on time?”
Carrie looked at her. “But I was told that was part of your job,” she said.
“It wasn’t,” Sophie said.
“Was it at some point but isn’t now?” She asked.
“It was never a part of my job description,” Sophie told her.
“Oh I didn’t realize that.” Carrie blinked. “Okay then, I will let you get back to your work then,” she didn’t seem to know what else to say and turned and left. Sophie sighed and wondered which of her co-workers decided to tell everyone that picking up their slack was part of her job.
Ten til Midnight 