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 207: This time, the flight was full.
This time, the flight was full. Sophie settled into her seat and tucked her bag under the seat in front of her, her mp3 player ready and waiting while her book sat in her lap. All of the seats filled in around her. She smiled wanly at the person who took the seat next to her. He offered her a flash of upturned lip before turning away ad settling himself.
‘At least it is only for the shorter flight,’ she thought as once seated the man seemed to spread out, taking over both armrests on either side of him and claiming as much space as he could. ‘At least I wasn’t next to him on the transatlantic flight,’ she reminded herself.
The flight got under way and Sophie put her ear buds in. She turned music on and opened her book. She read until the flight attendant came by and then she got a ginger ale. Sophie paused her music but left her ear buds in while getting her drink from the flight attendant and folding down the seat back tray to put it down. She heard the man next to her sigh and shift his knee. She though she deliberately knocked his knee into the tray. She managed to keep her drink from spilling and then decided to lean forward. Placing her book on the tray for extra support as she read and drank her soda. She turned her music back on and if he sighed again, she didn’t hear it.
Sophie did see him shifting about a lot and decided he just wasn’t going to be happy in confined spaces and simply wanted everyone to know it. ‘Not my problem,’ Sophie decided.
She ignored him and when the flight attendant came around picking up trash she passed the empty cup and napkin to her. Feeling annoyed with the man next to her, she left the tray down and her book on top of it. He shifted again, and bumped the tray. She ignored him.
Finally the pilot came on the intercom and Sophie began putting her things away, she put her tray table up and her book and music away She sat back in the chair and waited for the landing. The man beside her studiously looked in the other direction as though annoyed with her. She had the absurd desire to kick him and pretend it was an accident.
She didn’t and just remained quiet throughout the rest of the flight. The plane began it’s descent and the man sighed loudly, dramatically rubbing his ears. She wondered if he wanted her to ask, but as her ears were popping as well, she didn’t bother.
The landed and almost as soon as the wheels hit the tarmac he had his seat belt off. They ran across the flat surfaces slowing down and then bounce rolled towards the terminal. As soon as the fasten seat belt signed dinged off the man in the seat next to her stood up he popped out of his seat like a jack in the box bent on escape. She used the space to pull her bag out from under the seat and place it on her lap.
He popped open the overhead compartment and took his bag out fast before shoving his way towards the end of the aisle.
Ten til Midnight 