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 188: Instead of a podcast, or her language lessons, Sophie put on her high energy play list.
Instead of a podcast, or her language lessons, Sophie put on her high energy play list. She kept working at an accelerated pace throughout the morning and decided to skip lunch instead of going to the food truck. She grabbed a bag of cashews from the vending machine and took it and a bottle of water back to her desk.
‘It’s protein packed,’ she thought as she crunched down on the cashews while getting back to her files. Since the whole Kristen going crazy incident, Sophie had been left to work on her own. It was calm, quiet, and in fact everything she hoped her workday would be. It let her work through her self-assigned post work schedule and let her imagination flow into her own designs.
It was the way she liked things. As she crunched through her replacement lunch, Sophie had to admit that Elizabeth’s e-mail had her concerned. She worried her time of steady and calm might be coming to an end.
By the time of her meeting arrived, Sophie had powered through more files than planned as she tried to control her nerves. She closed her files and took out her ear buds, turning off her music. She took a deep breath and locked the files away. Sophie locked down her computer, picked up a notepad and pen and walked to her door. For good or ill, it was time to see what her supervisor wanted.
No one looked up as she moved through the office to the elevator. The others were too focused on their own set tasks to wonder or care where she was heading. She took the elevator up to her supervisor’s floor. The receptionist smiled at her arrival and sent her back to see Elizabeth.
Sophie was waved into the office by Elizabeth who was on the phone. She sat in the indicated chair while her supervisor finished her call and jotted down a few notes. When Elizabeth set down the phone she huffed and shook her head.
“So many details,” she said.
“Oh?” Sophie asked.
“New policy roll out,” Elizabeth explained. “We have been asked to go over the hand book and policy list in detail and came up with pros and cons for some of the standard items we’ve always had. Which is why you are here.”
“I see,” Sophie said. She felt her insides flutter.
“They are adjusting some of the vacation time accruement. A portion will still be able to roll into next year, but a certain amount won’t. You have way over the limit of vacation time so if you don’t use a certain amount then you will use it. So we need to figure out a way for you to take the extra vacation time. I know you were saving it up for a trip?”
“Yes,” Sophie said. “Nothing definite, but that was the plan.” Mostly as there was no one to take up the slack left by her taking time off she had been hesitant to take time off.
“Right, well hopefully we can make that a bit more definite,” Elizabeth said. She turned to her computer and clicked a few buttons. Sophie could see it was her file that now filled the screen. Elizabeth navigated to the accrued vacation and sick leave section of her file and then printed out the page. She took the page and placed it on the desk and then pulled up an e-mail.
“Okay in the new regulations you are only allowed to roll a certain number of hours over.” Elizabeth checked the e-mail to get the number before turning back to the printed page and jotting the number down.
Ten til Midnight 