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 138: There were more people milling around outside as it was closer to noon, but none paid her any attention.
There were more people milling around outside as it was closer to noon, but none paid her any attention. Sophie was more than happy to be anonymous. She swiped her card at the entrance and went inside. With Kristen not in the building Sophie suspected little likelihood of spillage before arrival.
She made it safely back to her floor and was soon the center of attention.
“Thank you so much for this,” Linda said as Sophie handed her the lunch container. “There is no way I’m getting away from my desk and I forgot to pack something.”
“Not a problem,” Sophie said. “Although I am probably not going again this week.”
“Don’t worry,” Linda said with a grin. “I’ll remember my lunches.”
Everyone soon claimed their order and Sophie took her own lunch back to her office. She sat down at her desk with it and began to eat. She didn’t mind going to the food court alone, but she somehow doubted Kristen would be letting her sighting of Kelly go. ‘And I’d rather not be carrying five lunches when she has a fit of temper.’
As she ate, Sophie tried to decide if that made her practical or a coward. ‘Technically it is only one lunch out I am skipping as I only go to the take out option twice a week.’ She weighed the practical over cowardly in her head and as she finished eating and disposed of her things, Sophie decided it ultimately didn’t matter. She didn’t want to spend her afternoon covered in everyone’s lunch so she wasn’t going to risk it.
Mentally settled on the matter, Sophie got back to work. She put her podcast in and continued with her assigned tasks for the rest of the day. By the time she logged out and gathered her things to leave, he mind was already switching gears to her afterhours design work. She left with the others and walked to the elevator.
“So is it like this every quarter with evaluations?” Sophie asked, more for conversation than anything else.
“Oh yes,” Petra said. “There are the evaluations and their general paperwork of course, but there are also promotions and the paperwork they generate as well as bonuses and other things.”
“I think were end up adjusting things in every system during the quarterly evaluations,” Linda added. “There are some systems I only access during the evaluations.”
“Really?” Sophie said.
The ride down in the elevator featured talk of databases and the various paperwork that the evaluations generated. Sophie suspected that it was a lot but it was interesting to hear the levels that everything had to go through from multiple copies for different record keeping methods and signatures to digital management.
“Sounds like a lot,” Sophie said as they reached the main floor and moved towards the exit. “Glad it is you and not me.”
They stepped outside and Sophie’s heart sunk as she saw Ryan and Kristen in the parking lot.
Ten til Midnight 