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 87: Michaelson nodded thoughtfully.
Michaelson nodded thoughtfully. “If you are developing your abilities it might be at that. This house is out of town?”
Penelope nodded and told him the general location.
Michaelson frowned. “That sounds familiar. Something I read maybe.”
“Did you read my file before meeting me?” Penelope asked. “Because my mother died on the road leading out to the house.”
“Ah,” Michaelson said. His face cleared. “If you could wait before going out to the house it might be best. If you do feel you need to go out there, call me and we will arrange something.”
“As my car is being repaired I can’t really go ion my own,” she pointed out.
“True I suppose.” He nodded as he pulled up to the curb in front of her house. Those indulging in the neighborhood happy hour gathering were already inside. AS fat rain drops started to hit the ground as the rains tarted up again Penelope wasn’t certain they managed to have the happy hour.
“I’ll call when the car is fixed and we might be installing more cameras in the garage where you park before bringing it back just to be on the safe side. It will take some time.”
“I have enough groceries for a while and no where I really have to be for the foreseeable future,” Penelope said. “I only went out today because there was a problem at the bank.”
“If any more problems come up, call me before going out, just in case.” He handed her his card and Penelope took it, slipping it in her bag. She didn’t much care for the ‘just in case’. She nodded anyway, took out her keys and opened the car door. Penelope exited the car, closed it firmly behind herself and raced to the front door.
Michaelson stayed by the curb watching and waiting as she unlocked her front door. Penelope found herself a little nervous, as though he believed she might be attacked at her front door. She slipped the key in the lock, opened the door, stepped inside and then bolted the lock behind her. She didn’t just lock the main lock but threw the deadbolt for extra measure.
She looked through the peep hole and saw Michaelson pull away. There for her protection or not she was relieved to see him go. “I shouldn’t need protection,” she told herself as she walked towards the stairs.
Penelope did not think of herself as someone who aroused enough anger in anyone to cause them to want to attack her. She thought of Trinity. Penelope snorted. “That’s different,” she told herself as she climbed the stairs.
Trinity wanted to be the focus of everyone’s attention all the time. She wanted to have the best of everything and she wanted those she didn’t like to have anything she saw of value. That, more than anything else, was why she often took Penelope’s things. If they were nice and Penelope had them then Trinity wanted them taken away. It was also why she so often broke the things she took. She didn’t actually want them.
Penelope felt exhausted and her feet felt weighted as she climbed the stairs. Emotional or physical distress, she couldn’t decide, but she was tired. She thought about making some tea or hot chocolate and curling up with one of the journals. The rain outside was steady and soothing. It made the day seem much later than it was. Penelope was certain she would just fall asleep in her chair if she tried to read. She looked at the clock. It was far too early for bed.
‘Maybe a nap,’ she told herself. She wasn’t on anyone’s time but her own so she could stay up late after her nap if she wanted.
Ten til Midnight 