Time is flexible, it can change, bend, and twist to your desire…well, as long as you have a time machine. A magnificent time machine that can transcend time and space…you could travel anywhere to anytime in the universe. I lived long enough to see it transform not only time, but the people as well for the better and for worse. It is true that I am older than any average human, even time-lords…but I'm getting ahead of myself. This is a story, my story, of a young woman on a somewhat average day who gets thrown into the world of time and space. How her life turned upside down so that a lonely man would never have to be lonely.
I ran down a long hallway and rounded a corner running down the hall again, there was no way I was going to be late again. Bumping into a few students and I apologized along the way, my backpack was halfway across my back which made it impossible to run. I managed to slip into my classroom just as the teacher was about to close the door and gave her a cheeky grin.
Lifting a brow at me and crossing her arms, she said, "You're late", "Actually, Miss Free, I am a minute early", I told her, as I pointed at the clock on the wall. Now Miss Free had a thing about students being late...preferably to those who were a minute almost too late to class.
"Go get your tardy slip", she told me, and I gaped at her, "What? But…I'm early", I told her getting upset.
"Even so…you've been a minute early to my class every day. Colleges and jobs won't be as lenient, I am preparing when that day comes and all you need to do is be here a little earlier. Go now", she said, and I walked out upset. Little did I know she had a bigger role to my story than I thought.
I blushed in embarrassment and pouted as I made my way down the hall again towards the office. Even if I was eighteen and a senior in high school, I still had much to learn on the matters of time. As I roamed the hall, I hadn't noticed I stepped on some green slime until I felt something wet drip into my shoe. Looking down I saw that my shoe was completely covered in green slime, I was a little more than grossed out and took my shoe. I followed the slime trail to where it came from and it led into the chemistry lab, was it some sort of science experiment I wondered. Walking into the lab in the dark, I felt my blood run cold as I heard a gurgling noise.
"Duck", I heard a man yell from behind me and after I did so, I heard a whirring sound a splat. The lights turned on and green goo was splattered everywhere, until the pieces whined and escaped through the air vent. The man seemed familiar somehow and somehow I knew there was more to the story than a man chasing down some run away goo through a vent.
I sighed and stood, then watched as the man ran to the air vent where it had gathered together and escaped, "I need a way to trap it in the air vent and flush it outside", the man said. Of course, cool air kept the goo firm and the water in the lab kept it moist, but if it went outside in the hot-dry air it'd turn to liquid and then evaporate.
"I know where you can access the vent controls", I told the man and he looked up at me, "They're in the office, which so happens is where I'm going", he smiled broadly from ear to ear.
"Let's not waste any more time then", he said chuckling as he stood, then he walked out of the science lab and began walking to the office until I quickly walked in front of him, hands on my hips.
"Where do you think, you're going", I asked, "To the office", he told me obviously and I shook my head.
"No, no, no, no, I'm going to the office by myself, I'll go to the back of the office and flush it out, then you can go to the back slime", I told him.
"How do you know where the controls are", he asked me, "I may or may not have gotten in some trouble before", I told him before I stared walking away.
"Oi", he yelled I stopped and turned around, "What's your name", he asked me, "Acacia Berry Wood", I told him and he gave me a look.
"Yeah…I know it's silly, my parents had a sense of humor…Who're you", I asked. "Doctor", he told me, "Doctor who", I asked and he smiled sadly, "Isn't that always the question", he asked me.
I gave him a confused glance before turning around again and making my way to the office, as soon as I walked in the office clerk's eyes were immediately on me.
"I was told to see the principle, the phone wasn't working so I came straight here", I told them and they sighed, "What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself in this time? Honestly, I thought you grew out of it, go on", one of the clerks said and then they went back to work.
I nodded sheepishly and walked down the corridor inside of the office where different vice principals and guidance counselors had their offices. I snuck passed the principals and the securities' office and was finally at the controls room that controlled everything inside of the school, why they had the controls all the way at the back…I had no idea.
Glad I could remember how to use the controls, I then shut every air shaft except the one that led outside. Opening up a window, I looked outside to see the green slime slip into a cooler with the Doctor giving me a thumbs up before closing it. After that, I then opened every air shaft to every room inside of the building.
"What are you doing in here", I jumped as I glanced over to the left to see the security guard glaring down at me.
The security officer just so happened to be my dad…well one of my dad's, my biological dad, "Oh! Hi Dad", I said awkwardly as he crossed his arms and looked disapprovingly at me.
"Acacia", I heard the Doctor shout outside of the window, "Who's that", my Dad acting security officer asked, "Um…a friend, speaking of which…I have to go", I said then quickly jumped out of the window.
"Hey", my Dad shouted as he tried to grab me, his body half way outside of the window.
"Sorry…say hi to Charlotte for me", I said and waved at him before running with the Doctor into the forest. I saw a blue police box in the distance, now that was odd…we were in the U.S. why would something like that be here, I wondered.
"It's time for me to go and take this little guy home", the Doctor cooed at the cooler and I looked at him confused, "You're talking as if it's a pet", I said.
"He is, goes by the name of Oogle..a baby slime from a planet far far away", he told me and I crossed my arms, "Is that a Star Wars reference", I asked, "Yes, it is", The Doctor told me amused.
"And you're going to a planet far far away with a pet slime", I asked and he nodded, "To return him", he added, "Right", I said as if he were completely crazy.
"Look if you don't believe me , take a look for yourself", he said taking a key out of his pocket and opening the door to the police box and I just looked at him questioningly.
"Go on", he told me and I sighed, shaking my head, "I must be crazier then you", I told him and he just smiled as I opened the door and walked in.
I gaped at the large room inside and held onto the railing for balance as the Doctor came in behind me and placed the cooler down next to the console.
"What do you think", he asked me, "It's…beautiful" I said after a moment, "Isn't she", Doctor said proudly, "You're inside the Tardis…a time machine that can travel through time and space."
"You want me to come with you", I asked, "Of course, but not until you graduate", he told me as he walked up to me and pulled out a metal rod with a red tip, tinkering with it before handing it to me.
"See this button", he told me, pointing at a button on the side of the metal rod and I nodded, "Press this after you have your diploma in hand", he told me, "Okay", I agreed confused.
"Now out you go, I have a pet to return and don't forget to press the button as soon as you have your diploma", the Doctor said as he started pressing buttons on the console.
"W-will I see you again", I asked nervously, "You'll see me again", the Doctor affirmed me and I nodded walking towards the door.
After I opened it, he added, "Sooner then you may think, Geronimo", the Doctor said the last part quietly before I exited. The Tardis made a whirring sound, before it faded away and my heart was going a mile a minute.
Not too long after I heard my Dad's voice as he ran up to me and gave me a hug, I could tell he was worried about me running off with a strange man that I had just met. However, for some reason I felt like I could trust him and I gazed at the metal rod he had given me.
It's been a long year and its June, graduation day, I certainly dressed for it as I glanced down at my purple dress. My parents were proud, well mainly my Mom and her long-term boyfriend; I had left them a goodbye letter in my bedroom. I would miss them.
All the seniors were dressed in the same graduation outfits and we stood alphabetically in a line as we waited for our names to be called out, so we could go on stage shake the principal's hand as he handed us our High School diploma. Since our class was so big, we had our graduation ceremony moved to a local coliseum, which so happened to be next to a rather large forest.
"Acacia Berry Wood", I heard my name called from on stage. I slowly walked up the stairs, lifting my graduation gown, going on stage to shake the principal's hand as he gave me my diploma. I noticed he nodded in approval before I tried to elegantly go down the stairs off the stage and failed. I tripped a little and blushed in embarrassment before leaving the large room and quietly exited out of the building to go straight into the forest.
Pulling out the metal rod, I gazed at it and remembered I had it sitting on my dresser. Every day I would look at it, but never picked it up. At least not until today. For some reason, it felt like it was waiting and when I picked it up today, it was like it had sighed in relief, like it was glad I had picked it up. Slowly, I pressed the button as instructed, however what I didn't know and the Doctor forgot was that the signal could be reached to every single Doctor in our universe…the past, present, and the future.
Every single Doctor parked far away from me, except the one that I knew of upon exiting he walked up to me and said, "Look right at me, don't look round", "Why not", I asked confused, "Spoilers", he told me cheekily.
"I see you've graduated", he told me pointing at my hat, "Ah yes", I said removing it, "I just got my diploma today."
"Yes, I see", the Doctor told me as he looked like he was having an inner struggle, "Doctor…? Are you alright", I asked.
"Yes and no", he told me glancing around the forest, "May I have my sonic screwdriver back?" I gave him a confused glance, before taking out the metal rod, "This is a screw driver", I asked as I handed back to him.
"Yes and it helps me get out of certain situations, however it doesn't work on wood…shall we go inside", he asked.
"Um sure", I said as we walked into his police box, he seemed…antsy when we were outside. When we were in the Tardis he seemed to have calmed down and even sighed in relief.
"Now…where shall we go", the doctor asked me as I took off my graduation gown and hat placing them down on a seat, "How about…anywhere? You did say this was a time machine that could go anywhere in time and space. So how about…pilot's choice", I asked.
He grinned as he pressed a button and off we went. However, what happened next was completely unexpected, at least to the Doctor, The Tardis jerked forward and back then it spun around. My body felt like it was being pulled, and somehow in that moment, the Doctor and I had inadvertently created an alternate universe. It was if time itself shifted to fit a random time anomaly in it.
Suddenly the lights inside the Tardis began to fade in and out, until the lights turned so bright that it was hard to bare and I closed my eyes tightly so I didn't have to look. Once it was gone, I slowly opened my eyes again to see an older gentleman stand across from me on the other side of the console. I was in a brightly lit white room with a man and woman standing on one side of the console and a girl standing on the other side.
They all looked at me as if expecting something, "Um…hello", I said meekly, "Ah…American, so it is you", the older man told me.
"" Me?" What do you mean", I asked as the man and woman fidgeted, I noticed, "You look different, younger and less bouncy", the girl told me and I gave her a perplexed glance.
"Yes and…well, we're here", the Doctor told us, "Here? Now hold on…wait a moment, I need answers. First, where's the Doctor", I asked and they all looked at each other and then sighed.
"I'm the Doctor", the older man told me, "What? But…that can't be…you were- ", "Who you saw before was a regeneration…. I'm a Timelord, an alien from Galifrey. Surely, I've told you all this", he told me, cutting me off.
"No, he…I mean you didn't", I told the Doctor as my head spun, what the hell was going on?!