For those just tuning in, this challenge is about taking a story idea from bare bones idea into a fully fledged story by writing consistently every week day for fifteen minutes. The sentence I end with on one day, is the sentence I start with on the following. Part one was Bob’s story and has nothing whatsoever to do with the story below. Part Two follows a character named Penelope. I have a few basic sentences to act as road marks on her journey. I am loosely calling that an outline. We will see where she ends up by the time the story is done. For now, we start Part two of the 2025 Fifteen Minute Writing Challenge.
Day 14: She reached into her purse and pulled out her phone.
She reached into her purse and pulled out her phone. Penelope looked at the screen. It was Trinity. She frowned. Trinity never called her. Penelope pressed the answer button and lifted it to her ear.
“Yes,” she said.
“When are you going to be home. Mom wants to talk to you.”
“I am heading that way now,” she said. “If traffic isn’t bad I should be home in about forty five minutes, well before dinner.”
Trinity sighed heavily. “Just hurry up,” she said. Trinity hung up.
Penelope rolled her eyes and slipped her phone back into her bag. There would be time to look through the house soon enough. For now, she needed to get back to the house and avoid the wrath of Jannette.
‘Cause if Trinity is calling then it is because her mother told her to.’
Penelope headed for the stairs and descended quickly towards the first level. There would be plenty of time to return and look through the books. ‘There is even an entire third floor to look over as well as the roof top garden.’
She made it to the basement door, let herself out and was certain to lock the door behind her. She tested the door to be certain it was locked and then, conscious of time left the house behind, hurrying back to the parking garage.
Luck was with her and traffic had not yet reached the snarling inching along level that rush hour could usually reach and she managed to make it back to the house in just under forty five minutes.
‘Forty three,’ she congratulated herself as she parked in the drive way, making sure not to block in the other cars. She got out, picked up her purse and locked the car door again. Penelope hurried into the house. She let herself in. As she closed the door behind her, she heard a door open upstairs.
“Penelope is that you?” Jannette called down the stairs.
“It is,” Penelope replied. “Did you need to see me?”
“I did, please come to my study.”
Penelope turned towards the stairs. She glanced into the living room and saw Trinity sitting on one of the couches. She looked at Penelope with a smirk as she passed. As Penelope hadn’t actually done anything of note recently she suspected that Jannette either wanted to make sure she knew she was not invited to the party or to remind her that she was now old enough to look at finding a place of her own. ‘Possibly both,’ Penelope said. She climbed the stairs to the second floor. ‘Its not like I haven’t been trying to find a job and be able to move out for months,’ Penelope thought.
She swallowed back her own irritation and forced herself to show a pleasant smile as she walked into the study. Jannette was sitting at the desk shuffling papers and doing her best to look as though she was in the middle of something large and important. As all of the papers involved Trinity’s birthday and all of the preparations were made, the details signaling that the were settled weeks ago Penelope knew it was for show.
Jannette looked up and frowned as though disturbed by the interruption.
Ten til Midnight 