Welcome to the Fifteen Minute Novel. Each morning I spend fifteen minutes writing on a singular story line. Each morning starts with the last line of the previous day. The goal is to get a (very) rough draft out of the simple story idea and to avoid letting the story idea languish in limbo forever, actually writing it out. This is the third year I have done this writing experiment and each year I learn just a little bit about myself and the way I write as well as creating a framework for the story. But without further ado…
Day 14: Gwen wanted to look especially nice for graduation, even if she was still wearing the same black gown as everyone else.
Gwen wanted to look especially nice for graduation, even if she was still wearing the same black gown as everyone else. She showered and used all of her most high end products to give herself a salon-like experience. Most of the high end products were samples of products she couldn’t afford to use on a a daily basis. She tested them out ahead of time to make sure they wouldn’t cause her skin irritation, and then set them aside for today.
Yesterday she planned to be fresh from the salon for the dance. She expected to have spent the day at the spay relaxing before having her hair professionally done and then slipping into her beautiful dress. Her step-mother ruined the dress and she cancelled the appointments. As she showered Gwen thought about the envelope Sharron left for her. Having cancelled her appointments she actually saved a lot of money, but she supposed it was nice that Sharron was paying her back for the dress she ruined.
“It would have been nicer if she hadn’t cut the dress to begin with,” Gwen told herself as she turned off the water and reached for her towel. The fact that her step mother waited to give her the money until it was far too late for her to purchase a replacement dress had not escaped her. She tried not to frown as she dried herself off.
She left the shower and began the process of drying her hair, applying her makeup and getting dressed for graduation. When she was finished she admired her handwork. The makeup wasn’t as dramatic as she would have used for the dance. It was more subdued and she thought classier. It would work well not only with her outfit, but it would not make the black graduation gown wash her out. Her hair wasn’t professionally styled but it looked good and it had a gorgeous light scent from the high end products she used that she really liked.
Because of it, Gwen decided to skip the perfume for the day. She gave herself the once over in the full length mirror and was satisfied. She hadn’t chosen any jewelry to wear today because she wanted the engagement ring she thought Toby was going to give her to shine. Gwen shoved the thoughts away and went to her jewelry box to add earrings. They were only studs, but they were real diamonds, given to her by her grandmother. She slipped them in her ears. She didn’t want any dangling earrings as she would be putting the gown on and slipping it off and thought it would be more trouble than pleasure.
With the earrings in place, Gwen decided she was ready to face the graduation. She gathered her things and checked the time. She knew her father and Sharron would be coming with the other parents but all of the students were advised to arrive early so they could be placed in line and everything double checked. They wanted to make sure when they handed out the diplomas they handed them out to the right people.
As she left the house, Gwen felt an odd nervousness begin. Toby and Lisa were engaged. While the sight of the ring didn’t bother her as much as she thought it would, she was nervous about facing everyone. By now everyone knew that she was dumped and that Toby had been cheating on her with her best friend.
‘I wonder how many of them knew before?’ she thought as she got into her car and drove across town to the auditorium. While the school was in walking distance, it was a small one and for all major events the city auditorium was used.
Ten til Midnight 