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 167: It made it feel like the long week was finally behind her.
It made it feel like the long week was finally behind her. When she left for her Saturday excursion, Sophie took her time. She had a list of supplies she knew she would use but as she knew she would be starting to sketch out future designs, she wanted to be inspired by different options.
The slow walk down the various aisle, fingers running over delicate lace, slippery silks and soft as a cloud cottons settled her. She felt calmer than she had all week and Sophie realized that work was still an irritant. A part of her wondered what would happen if she was offered another job. She thought of the look on Elizabeth’s face.
Oddly it reminded her a bit of Evers. He assumed she would be there to take up the slack for anyone in the department. It didn’t matter that they had long longer lunches and didn’t stay late, she would be there to take up the work load. Sophie realized that part of that was her own fault, she allowed that to happen. When he was told he and the others would no longer be able to do that, there was an almost shocked look on his face. It soon turned mean, but Sophie remembered the shock.
Elizabeth hadn’t turned mean and Sophoie didn’t expect her too, but when she spoke about others calling to check her references, Elizabeth had that same shock in her eyes. AAs though she expected Sophie to simply accept being put on administrative leave with no qualms.
‘I suppose that is my fault as well,’ she thought. She remembered the phrase her mother used. ‘The squeaky wheel gets the grease.’ Kristen was certainly a lot squeakier than she was. ‘But mom also taught me not to be a squeaky wheel.’
It was a conundrum. Given her love of a calm and even work environment Sophie always refrained from squeaking. ‘Maybe I should squeak a little more,’ she thought. but how much was enough? It sounded like the higherups were trying to get the lawyers Kristen hired to see they were being fair across the board, so Sophie wasn’t sure squeaking about that would do much. ‘Maybe letting them know I was looking elsewhere will be enough to keep them from taking me for granted. Especially after Elizabeth couldn’t add my work to her own.’
Sophie shook the thought away, determined to not think about work for the rest of the weekend. In an effort to push it away, she loaded her cart with more than she planned. ‘I’ll still use it,’ she thought as she checked out and took her bags to the car. she had planned to stop for lunch, but having spent more than she planned, she decided a quick sandwich at home was a better option.
Sophie headed back to her apartment and as she climbed the stairs, Janine stuck her head out of her apartment. “Thought that was you,” she said. “Got a minute?”
“Sure, just let me put these down,”
“Just come over when you drop them off.”
Janine disappeared back into her apartment and Sophie moved to her own door and unlocked it. She dropped her bags on the couch and went back out of the door.
Ten til Midnight 