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 226: “Something had to have happened,” Sophie said.
“Something had to have happened,” Sophie said. ‘Someone couldn’t just set fire to a parking lot full of cars and walk away.’ She frowned at the screen. She searched for a little bit longer, but couldn’t come up with anything else. A stray thought did occur to her.
‘I should probably let my supervisor know.’ Sophie wasn’t sure how long the police would keep her car and while the office wasn’t far, it was a bit far to walk. ‘Plus no sidewalks.’
She thought about it and then looked at her phone. She had Elizabeth’s cell phone number but it wasn’t technically a work emergency. Sophie frowned. She didn’t even know if it was connected to work. Sophie blinked as a thought occurred to her.
“Kevin works in the building next to me and leaves about the same time as I do,” she thought. She had on numerous occasions waved to him a they both went through the exit. “Maybe I could catch a ride with him and kick in for gas money.”
Sophie put her phone down. She didn’t have Kevin’s number but she knew what apartment was his. Before she could talk herself out of it, Sophie slipped on some shoes and grabbed her keys. They felt strange in her hand with her car key missing but she shrugged off the feeling. She left her apartment and walked down the hall to Kevin’s. She knocked and waited.
The wait was not long. It took him only a moment or two to get to the door.
“Soph, Hi,” he said as he opened the door. He smiled. “Something up?”
“It is actually,” Sophie said. “There were some issues with my car and I might not get it back before Monday and I know you work in the building next to mine, Is there any way I could catch a ride with you until I get it back. I can help pay for gas.”
“Sure no problem.” He said. “They say carpooling is good for the environment anyway right?”
Sophie sighed with relief. “I guess it is.” They hammered out the Monday details and Sophie told him she would let him know if anything changed. She left and went back to her apartment feeling relieved.
“And if it does prove to be work related then I can tell Elizabeth at the office,” Sophie decided.
She was pretty sure it was office related, as there were only a limited number of places she actually went, and a limited number of people she spoke to on a regular basis. “But waiting for confirmation is a good idea. “So I have a ride to and from work Monday at the very least and I can wait to see what happens with the car.”
With her necessities taken car of, Sophie returned to the couch and her sketch pad. The dress for Janine was taking shape and as she was ahead on her other projects, Sophie decided to work on it exclusively over the weekend.
‘So at least getting in extra time during the week helped clear way for this project even if it isn’t an exciting local adventure.” Sophie snorted. “Well it is exciting and possibly an adventure but not the sort I really wanted. Perhaps I should get more specific with my wishes to the universe.”
By the end of the weekend Sophie had the patterns for the dress made and had checked her phone for messages form the police more times than she could count.
Ten til Midnight 