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 137: She let the thought go as she saw Agent Michaelson’s car turn the corner.
She let the thought go as she saw Agent Michaelson’s car turn the corner. Penelope realized she was glad to see him as the car came slowly down the street. Standing in the small patio area in front of her house she felt safe, as though the protections set into the house still covered her, but she also felt watched.
She wasn’t sure if it was a friendly watching or not. She frowned as she moved to the gate. She liked the thought of finding out if anyone meant her ill but also found there were things about her neighbors she would rather not know. She was much happier letting them live their lives elsewhere.
‘So no using the spying spell unless I have to.’ She decided. She unlatched the gate just as Michaelson pulled to the curb in front of her street. Penelope let herself out, closed the gate behind her and when the latch connected with the closing mechanism, Penelope saw a small flash of blue.
‘So I guess the protections are inside the gate.’
She turned and heard the locks unclick in the car. Penelope moved to the car and opened the door, sliding into the passenger’s seat.
“Good afternoon, Ms. Douglas,” Agent Michaelson said.
“Good afternoon,” she replied. She looked him over as she fastened her seatbelt. “You look pleased with yourself.” She clicked the belt in place. Michaelson frowned, checked traffic and pulled the car back into the lane and away from the curb. As there was no other car currently driving on the street it was an easy procedure.
“Do I?” he asked.
“Yes,” she replied.
“Oh.”
Penelope watched as his face smoothed out into a more neutral expression. ‘I suppose radiating smugness is against policy,’ she thought. She found the expressionless look a bit more disconcerting and she decided not to mention any expressions in the future. ‘If there is a future.’
Michaelson may be her agent but she suspected that once people stopped trying to kill her, he would fade into the background.
“Your car was ready rather quickly,” Michaelson said.
“Good,” she replied. As she suspected that the mechanic or whoever studied and fixed such things in an official capacity was pressured into having the work done as soon as possible, Penelope didn’t think that was the reason for the pleased look he wore.
“And there are surveillance cameras placed on the parking garage,” he added.
“Always a good way to deter car thieves as well I suppose,” Penelope replied. She didn’t like the thought of being watched and recorded, but as long as everyone stuck to the public spaces and her car was no longer tampered with she supposed she couldn’t complain.
‘Except that it wasn’t tampered with at the garage,’ she thought. ‘It was at the bank.’
“I have errands to run after I pick up the car,’ Penelope said. Her thoughts were on the bank parking lot.
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Michaelson said.
“No?” she replied. “Even after the bank?”
“Well I doubt you will be causing plants to grow exponentially during your errands.”
Penelope blinked. Her main errand involved going to a nursery and greenhouse on the other side of town. While she made the list of what she needed it somehow hadn’t occurred to her that she would be surrounded by plants and sees of every description. She planned to pick up the seeds to practice with when she got home, but hadn’t really contemplated the actual place where she was picking them up.
“As long as I can control my emotions, no,” Penelope said. She looked at Michaelson. “I meant that the brake line was cut at the bank not the garage.”
He nodded and again, she caught a flash of something that looked a little smug.
Ten til Midnight 