A MADMAN WITH A BOX
By imafeckingstarr
Summary: Isobel Turner's life suddenly turns upside down as the world is once again overrun by aliens. She has heard the rumours, like everyone else, but didn't believe a single thing… until she met the Doctor in an interview room where she was supposed to be enquiring about a part-time job. Who was he, and why was she so willing to go travelling with him in his big blue box?
A/N: I've never written a Who fanfic before, so please be nice. I was going to use Emmy – those of you who have read my other fanfics know who she is – but I decided against it as she's going to be in something else. Original, I know. But uh, enjoy this chapter and please, let me know what you think!
THE WORLDS END… MAYBE
"Turner pay attention!"
Isobel turned around so fast she almost tripped over her own feet, to then find herself sprawled on the freshly polished floor as she was hit in the face with an oncoming ball. Gym was, officially, the worst part of her day. She rubbed the side of her face, and hoped the impact wasn't hard enough to leave a bruise. That wouldn't be a great impression on a potential employer, Isobel had an interview later that evening and she couldn't afford to mess it up.
"I aimed lower I swear," Amanda skipped over, picking up the ball that was at Isobel's feet. Isobel rolled her eyes. She was aware that Amanda aimed for her face on purpose, she did so every gym lesson, and only this time she managed to get lucky.
"She got lucky that time, since you weren't paying attention," Isobel's best friend, Gemma, said as she helped her to her feet.
"I know," Isobel replied, "the interview later has got me a little jittery. I've hardly paid attention to anything all day,"
"You'll smash it, you know you will. Stop your worrying squirt. Hey, reckon we'll be able to leave ten minutes early? I'm so done with gym and I need to go meet Joel…"
Isobel let Gemma waffle on, not listening to a thing she was saying. She wasn't sure what it was, but something seemed a little off. Not just with her, but with everyone else. Amanda never caught her off guard before, Gemma was acting weirder – since when did she call her squirt? The answer was never. Isobel ignored the feeling, it was probably down to her nerves. This job interview was a pretty big thing. Her interview was for a spot on the blogging team at Dead Reckless Magazine, Isobel needed the job.
Nothing could go wrong today. Nothing. Everything had to be perfect.
"Maybe I should go put some ice on my face, it still feels all tingly. If she has left a bruise…" Isobel huffed.
"Yeah, yeah, you'll tickle her pink or some shit."
Isobel glowered at her. She was never one to assert violence, after all, she was a lover not a fighter. If the time ever arose, however, Isobel was sure she could defend herself.
"What, did you expect me to say you'll kill her? Oh, Izzy please! You couldn't harm a fly even if you wanted to." Gemma snorted, dodging a ball that whizzed past her ear.
"Whatever. Still gonna put ice on my face," Isobel muttered, rubbing her cheek. She left the school gym and headed straight towards the nurses office. After complaining to the nurse for ten minutes about the brute force of some people, she walked in the direction of the girls changing rooms, ice pack firmly held on her face.
"The redness will go down shortly Isobel, trust me!" The nurse called after her, for what seemed like the millionth time. Everything seemed a little off today. Again, Isobel put it down to nerves. There was nothing off with anything but the fluttering of her stomach, emphasising the butterflies hovering around in her gut.
Isobel changed out of her gym clothes and into the outfit she deemed 'smart but casual' enough for her potential employer at Dead Reckless. The butterflies in her tummy were flapping about as she left school and hopped on the bus. She held her stomach, as if caging the nerves, stopping them from getting loose.
'Get a grip Turner. You can do this!' She told herself, it did nothing to calm the jitters in her legs or the tingling feeling shooting up her arms. 'I'm going to die and I haven't even made it to the building yet. Jesus Isobel, get a hold of yourself!' She looked at her reflection in the window and shot herself a look, as if she were pep-talking herself in the mirror. After a couple of hard stares, she managed to calm herself down and go over directions and small bits of information about herself.
The bus pulled to an abrupt stop and Isobel clambered off, book bag bouncing off her heels. She took an array of left and right turns before reaching the magazine editorial building, where her interview was situated. Isobel sucked in a deep breath, gave herself one last pep talk, held her head up high and walked inside. The foyer was littered with people running about with bits of paper and clipboards, people talking into phones and headsets and photographers messing with cameras. The entire place seemed to buzz with excitement, with life. Isobel beamed, working here was her dream job, she'd be damned if she didn't get it.
Taking a deep breath, she walked towards the reception desk and asked where the interview room was.
"Sorry, what was that?" The guy behind the desk asked as he tapped away at his computer.
"I'm looking for Room 441? I have an interview with Jessica Pike about a part time job…"
"Yes, yes, I know. She's always handling interviews. Room 441 you said? That's the fourth floor, final door on your left. You can't miss it. The lift is over there," With his eyes never straying from his computer screen, he pointed behind Isobel, who turned her head to have a look.
"Thank you for your help," Isobel said with a smile. She had to be polite; they could be working together in the near future if things went well. He just nodded at her, and Isobel turned towards the lift. There was a large flatscreen television mounted on the wall in the middle of the staircase, images from photoshoots, music videos and runways pulsating every few minutes, accompanied with some strange upbeat music that seemed vaguely familiar to Isobel.
She pressed the button and waited for the lift to arrive as the button glowed red faintly. Isobel started to hum tunelessly to herself, gently bouncing back on her heels. She looked behind her. That uneasy feeling was back. All that was behind her was the hustle and bustle of people doing their jobs. Again, Isobel pegged the feeling down to nerves. She desperately wanted this job. The lift pinged open, and she walked inside, pressing the button that said number four. The doors closed, and strange music began to play. It was sickeningly soft, almost lullaby-like.
Isobel pulled a face, "How creepy," she mumbled.
She quickly reached the fourth floor and hurriedly left the lift, the strange music leaving her with a weird feeling. Isobel eyed the doors as she passed them, each one coated in a dark shade of green.
"437, 438, 439…" Isobel said, her pace quickening as she checked the time, "I have two minutes, shit! Ah, 440… here it is, 441."
Isobel brushed imaginary dust off her clothes, fiddled with the hem of her shirt and took a deep breath.
"This is it,"
Grasping the door handle firmly, Isobel turned it as she knocked loudly.
"Miss Pike?" She called, "I'm Isobel Turner, I'm here for my interview?"
The room was faintly lit and sparsely decorated. The large swivel chair behind the desk was facing the wall. Isobel walked into the room and stood there, waiting for a response. The chair swung round dramatically, revealing a man in a suit and bow tie. He was wearing a bright red fez.
"Hello!" He beamed, "I'm the Doctor."
It has been so long since I've written any kind of fan-fiction. I've missed it. I've been meaning to write something like this for a very long time, and I'm so glad that I've finally managed to get round to writing it. If you liked it and would like me to continue, please favourite, share and review it.
As I stated before, I've never written a Doctor Who fanfic before, so please, let me know what you think!
muchlove,
imafeckingstarr xxx