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 112: “I will,” Sophie said. “Thanks.”
“I will,” Sophie said. “Thanks.” Cal left and Petra showed her where the printer was. A couple of people from HR and a couple more from accounting introduced themselves. They seemed friendly an polite.
‘Which is a nice change,’ Sophie thought. Once she knew where things were, Sophie began unpacking her office supplies and files. She slipped her bag under he desk and put her ear buds in as she got back to work.
The incident with Kristen and the move slowed her down, but Sophie figured if she shorted her lunch a bit the rest of the week she would easily be able to make up the time. She worked at her desk until the end of the day and when it was time to leave, Sophie logged out, closed everything down and walked out of the office with the rest of the staff.
There was joking and laughing with those who were joining in the mass exodus at the end of the day and Sophie was introduced to several people she hadn’t spoken to earlier. They seemed nice and she tried to keep their names straight as they rode down to the exit. Once they left the building, Sophie was surprised that they scattered. There were a few who seemed to park near each other as the parking lot wasn’t exactly an enormous space, but there didn’t seem to be as many obvious cliques as there were in her former department.
‘Maybe I’ll see where they are formed later,’ she thought. Sophie got into her car and as was now her custom, she put all thoughts of work to the side as she left the office behind.
“Well most thoughts,” Sophie corrected. “I do need to pick up a new water bottle.”
Once home, Sophie made dinner, hopped on line to order a new water bottle for the office and then chose an emption from her list for her personal design challenge. ‘Maybe I’ll see what Janine thinks of the designs on Saturday.’
The two of them planned to go to a flea market on the following weekend. It was one of the largest in the state and happened only once a year. Janine told her that in addition to furniture and other household odds and ends there were occasional vintage clothing pieces and jewelry to be found.
‘I’ll bring it up when we are browsing,’ Sophie told herself as she closed her sketch pad and went off to get ready for bed.
The next morning started pretty typically. She did her workout in the gym, said a few words to Kevin in passing and then went to shower and get ready for her workday. Once at the office, Sophie had to remind herself that she needed to go to a different floor and once she stepped in the elevator and pressed the right button, she smiled.
‘No walking past Kristen’s desk today,’ she told herself as the elevator took her upstairs. Sophie exited on the new floor and greeted the people from both HR and accounts that she passed. All offered her a fairly generic morning. Sophie was fine with that. She wasn’t looking to make friends, she just wanted a lack of animosity.
‘Which is what I am getting.’
It was a relief and when Sophie made it down to her office, she found that a new section of files had already been sent down. There was a note with them and after a quick read through Sophie understood what needed to be done.
“It looks like the filing cabinets are here for me after all.”
Ten til Midnight 