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 16: She knew that Jannette would want to control the narrative and make sure there was a legitimate reason for Penelope not being there.
She knew that Jannette would want to control the narrative and make sure there was a legitimate reason for Penelope not being there. ‘Maybe that’s why,’ Penelope thought. She knew that several of the people attending were invited because of her mother’s family connections.
She shook it off. She was done anyway. With the inheritance she could move out of the house and take her time finding a job. There was plenty of money but she wasn’t certain how much money an estate would take in upkeep. She suspected it was a lot even if she hadn’t seen the estate.
‘But at least I have time to find a job.’ She thought about everyone insisting she had magic. ‘And I suppose I have time to learn that as well if I actually have it.’
Personally she thought the test was wrong, but at the same time, she didn’t know how to refute it. Penelope shook off the thoughts. She would need to move sooner rather than later. Her brief conversation with Jannette proved that. Penelope smiled to herself. She suspected that the few weeks left before the party would no doubt be filled with little reminders that she needed to get moving on finding her own place. Jannette would want her moving as close to the party as possible so that it would seem natural that she was so busy.
Penelope found she didn’t really want to stick around and listen to them. Not when she did have an escape hatch. ‘If I am moving, there are a few things I will need.’
The notebook she left on the bed was still there but the pen had been returned to the study. Penelope moved to her purse and dug around. She came up with a golf pencil that still had a point on it.
“Maybe I can put buy pens as the first item,” she decided. She flipped to a clean page in the note book and scratched pens on the list. Below it, she wrote mattress. She was fairly certain she could order and have it delivered. She just didn’t know how long it would take.
‘As I don’t want to sleep on the floor, maybe I better find that out first.’
Penelope went to her desk and took out her lap top. It was hidden under a bunch of old accounting books so that Trinity would not take it. Technically Penelope paid for the lap top with her own money earned from one of her summer jobs. It was an essential tool during the school year, but Trinity had a way of laying claim to anything she liked. As many items Penelope purchased over the years she had been forced to share with Trinity, Penelope knew to hide the laptop. Not only did Trinity borrow thongs, but if they ever came back to Penelope it was only after they had been broken.
Penelope shook the thought away and looked up mattresses. After a quick search she found a company that shipped them and could ship her one overnight. She looked at the photos. Apparently, it came compressed and shrunken and only when she removed the bindings would it fluff out.
“Which should make it easier to get up to the second floor.’ She checked the price and found it was within her budget. She put the delivery address as the town house and placed the order.
“One necessity down,” Penelope said. “And if I don’t like it, I can always put it in one of the guestrooms.”
Mattress ordered, Penelope returned to a list, determining what she would need to do before she moved out.
Ten til Midnight 