Chapter 1
I yawned and stretched, blinking at the sunlight that filtered through my hotel room window. It took me a second to realize that it was sunny for once! In London! I jumped out of bed and quickly got dressed. I finished brushing my hair and picked up my ringing cell phone.
"Hi Mom," I said, while searching around the room for my camera and purse.
"Alice! I'm surprised to hear you up so early."
"It's sunny today. I'm going to grab breakfast out and maybe walk around Kensington Gardens."
"How are your dad's business meetings going?" she asked.
"I don't know. He's been really busy; I haven't got to talk to him much."
"I'll try calling him tonight. Well, have fun sweetie! Oh, and be careful!"
"Thanks Mom, I will." I said trying not to sound sarcastic. Even though I was 19 and able to go places on my own, she still treated me like I was 12. I finally found my bag, and walked out the hotel into the bright London morning. It was unusual for the weather to change from cloudy and rainy to warmth and sunlight so quickly, so I was excited for a nice day.
After breakfast and tea at a small café, I took a walk through the gardens next to my hotel, taking pictures of the statues and buildings. I turned a corner on the pathway and found a strange object blocking my way.
It was a large, wooden, rectangular box painted a deep blue. There were two paneled windows on each side. Near the top was a sign that said "Police public call box". There was another sign in the middle that read "Police telephone. Free for use of public. Advice & assistance obtainable immediately. Officers & and cars respond to all calls. Pull to open."
I had been in London for a week and I had never seen anything like this. Curiously, I pulled the handle. It didn't budge. Even more confused, I pulled out my iPhone and searched "Police telephone box" on the Internet. It turned out that these were used in the 1950's, to do what the sign said: call the police. This particular model didn't seem to be in use anymore, so I assumed it was just of piece of modern art, though it was out of place compared to the marble statues and buildings of the park. I took out my camera and took a few pictures.
"Uh…Hello." A British voice said from behind me. I turned to face a peculiar looking man wearing a tweed jacket, suspenders, and a bowtie.
"Hi." I said back.
"What are doing?" the man asked with a very confused expression.
"I'm taking pictures of the telephone box…" I said slowly
The bewildered look on his face deepened. "But…wha… you can see it!"
"It's a big blue thing in the middle of the path! Of course I can see it!" I was coming to the conclusion that this man was not entirely mentally stable as he started to walk around the box, touching and examining the outside.
"Most people don't notice it. Is there something wrong with the perception filter?" He muttered to him self. Then, he took out a small metal rod with a light at one end and started waving it around the box. It made a weird buzzing noise when he pressed a button on it.
"What is that?" I asked.
"A screwdriver." He responded as if it was obvious.
"Then why does it make noise?"
"It's sonic. See, a sonic screwdriver." He replied in the same prompt tone.
Suddenly, he stopped "Maybe…" he wondered aloud. He ran to the doors of the box, opened them quickly, and thrust his head inside. He then withdrew and shut them just as fast. "Nope, it's definitely the right one." He said.
"Right what?" I asked.
He turned to me "If there's nothing wrong with her than it must be you. There's something special about you."
"I'm pretty normal actually." I said.
"You're American. What are you doing here?"
"Ever heard of tourism? My dad is on a business trip here and he let me come along."
"No but why here? Why Kensington Gardens? And why today?"
"It was unusually nice out. I wanted to make the most of the day and be outside. It's perfectly logical."
He looked skeptically at me.
"Is it yours?" I asked, nodding to the box.
"Of course it is. It's my TARDIS."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Time And Relative Dimension In Space." He spoke as if he had said that sentence a thousand times before.
"That's an interesting name for a 1950's police box."
"The TARDIS is no police box. Imagine a doorway to any world. The key to seeing the universe and all its wonders. Any time, any place, and this can take you there."
Even though he sounded crazy, and nothing he said made sense, there was something about him that I couldn't help but trust. He looked young, but his eyes were old. Everything he said sounded foolish, but still wise.
"Who are you anyway?"
"I am The Doctor." And with that he turned, and walked away.