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 255: She shook her head remembering the crazy look in Kristen’s eyes.
She shook her head remembering the crazy look in Kristen’s eyes. “She was just so crazy looking,” she repeated.
“And what did you do?” the detective asked her. Sophie looked at him. “I slapped her with my ruller and closed the door. I made sure the deadbolt locked.”
“You slapped her with the ruler?” he asked.
“I dropped it by the door,” Sophie said. “I just did it. Not sure why.” She shook her head. “No I was mad,” she said. “Kristen was bragging about breaking in and damaging my apartment and clothes and I had the ruler in my hand and I just slapped her with it. You don’t think that’s why she started shooting? I mean she looked crazy before that, and I wanted the door closed.”
“She had the gun with her already,” the detective pointed out. One of the officers picked up the ruler and brought it over. The detective studied it and then put it on the coffee table. “I doubt that caused much damage,” he said.
Sophie nodded.
“And after the door was closed?” he asked.
“Well she started banging on it as though she was trying to break it down and then she got quiet so I went to the window to see if I could see what she was doing.”
“The window and not the spy hole in the door?”
“You can’t really see a lot with that, at least I can’t unless someone is standing directly in front of it. But if I look down from the window I can see the whole hallway,” Sophie explained.
The detective nodded and made a note.
“Plus,” Sophie continued. “It’s the fire exit. I figured if Kristen did break the door down, I could go out of the window.”
“Not a bd plan, running away from an armed assailant,” he said.
“I didn’t realize she was armed until she started shooting the door. Or I guess just before,”
“Just before,” he asked.
“She took aim and got into a sort of stance like she was shooting a target,” Sophie said. “Or at least how they look when they shoot targets on television.” Having never actually seen a gun in real life let alone shot one she only had the television to go on. “It’s louder than I thought it would be,” she said.
“I’m betting the echoes didn’t help,” he said as he made notes.
There was little to say after that. The photographs were done and plywood was put over the pullet holes in the windows.
“I’ll be sending someone to fix the glass as soon as I can get them,” the building manager said. “Alec has gone to get one of the extra doors and locks from storage, and he will patch up the hole in the plaster tomorrow.” Sophie nodded, relieved that her doorway was at least going to be fixed.
Ten til Midnight 