Ok, I decided to republish the first chapter with a note: Please, if you notice any outstanding errors, message me – and also, reviews are always very welcome. Thank you. I hope you enjoy the story!
Brenda's head pounded as she glared out through the dirt-covered bus window. Sighing wearily, she turned up the volume on her MP4, although it might not help the pounding in her head, at least it succeeded in blocking out the dreadful noise of gossipy school-girls screeching pointless garbage at one another.
Brenda Pemto was a 16 year old girl of average height, she had long, dark blonde hair with eccentric blood-red streaks, complementing her dark eyebrows, her eyes were a deep green that occasionally changed colour depending on her mood.
Out of habit, Brenda sat alone on the bus, as was her preference. She was a gentle, untrusting, solitary character, but people tended to get the impression that she was quiet, moody, unapproachable, and sometimes rather intimidating.
Rubbing her forehead, Brenda continued to stare out the grubby window in boredom, watching disinterestedly as trees, hedges, and fields passed her by. Gently tapping her fingers on the window in slight impatience, Brenda closed her eyes, creating a fantastic, imaginary world in her head – she often did this, shutting out the world to let no-one else in.
As the bus trundled grudgingly down the lane which eventually would meet the road on the way to her school, the automobile suddenly began to slow down, finally shuddering to a halt.
'Great,' thought Brenda bitterly 'another traffic jam. Either that or this junk-heap has broken down yet again'. Brenda half-opened her eyes to see what the cause of the problem was, pulling out her headphones she peered curiously around the side of the seat in front.
"Good morning!" shouted a man's cheery voice "I don't suppose this is the bus to the school, cause it just so happens that I'm a new teacher there – first day and my car breaks down – can you believe it!" The teacher sounded more amused than exasperated.
The bus driver just stared at him, frowning as he tried to process the information, "S'pose you want a lift in then?" He asked gruffly.
"Oh yes please!" The teacher exclaimed enthusiastically, jumping on board the bus. Brenda couldn't help herself but smile slightly as she watched the teacher's uncharacteristically juvenile behaviour.
"Hold on," the driver said suddenly, as a thought occurred to him. "Do you have papers for proof of identification?"
"- Oi! Get on with it!" One of the boys from the back of the bus rudely interrupted.
"- Or do you want to turn back and take us home early?" asked another hopeful. Brenda rolled her eyes.
The bus driver ignored the tedious comments and held his hand out for the strange man's identification.
A few moments later, the teacher leant forward to whisper something in the driver's ear, and discreetly handed him a small black identity card.
Promptly, the driver nodded and gestured for him to get on "Sorry, but you're going to have to put up with sitting next to one of this lot."
"Allons-y!" The teacher remarked cheerfully as he walked up the temporarily hushed bus isle.
Brenda glumly looked down at her MP4. 'Well, that's today's entertainment over with.' Just as she was about to repress the play button, she glanced up, and to her surprise, met a pair of deep, dark brown eyes belonging to the odd teacher.
"Mind if I sit here?" he asked, indicating the seat next to her.
Brenda nodded uncertainly, and he jumped energetically onto the seat. 'Wow, I've never seen a stranger teacher.' she thought to herself as she registered him.
He appeared to be in his mid-thirties; he wore converse trainers, a suit, and a long brown coat. His hair was a crazy, messy brown. As Brenda looked in his eyes, she registered a deep and secret sadness.
Brenda raised her eyebrows slightly at his odd appearance, before blushing as she realised that he was watching her. It was almost as if he could see exactly what she'd been thinking. His eyes glittered slightly.
"John Smith." he introduced, holding out his hand, which Brenda shook, still embarrassed at being caught staring.
Brenda's eyes were caught by his identification as he began to tuck it back in his pocket. "Excuse me, may I see that?" she asked daringly, pointing at the little black book.
"Yep!" he replied, obligingly passing it to her before relaxing back into the moth-eaten seat, leisurely folding his arms behind his head.
Curious, Brenda cautiously opened the little black book. After staring at its contents for a few moments she frowned in confusion.
"Why is this blank?" The girl asked recklessly, pointing at the fake identification.
The strange man froze momentarily, looking shocked to his core, then, covering his surprise quickly, he gently took the blank identification back, and smiled cheekily.
"Just checking you're awake!" he said jovially.
Brenda frowned deeply in disbelief, sensing that the man was lying. However, pushing the thought from her mind, she decided to change the subject.
"Hmm, I don't know how to put this politely but…" Brenda started to say, but trailed off, worried about how this strange man would react to her boundless curiosity.
"Never be too polite!" he advised her, the cheeky smile spreading once again across his face. "I'm always careful to not be polite! There's this place, far away from here – millions of miles – where it is actually rude to be polite – say please, and you're likely to get banished from there for eternity – imagine that – Ha!" He shouted happily, his eyes sparkling with amusement.
Brenda laughed too, fascinated and in awe of this eccentric man.
"Ok then," she continued, once she had stopped laughing "I was going to say that I don't think you're really called John Smith." Brenda looked up, meeting his eyes squarely.
"Oh?" he grinned back, his eyes still sparkling with glee. Brenda could see that he was impressed, and once again, her cheeks coloured slightly in response.
Self-consciously, Brenda turned back to the grimy window in an attempt to regain some composure. Her face fell rapidly as she realised that the bus was already at the entrance to her school. Quickly reaching for her heavy school bag, Brenda roughly pulled it onto her back and rose to her feet.
As soon as the bus ground to an unsteady halt, a stampede of children pushed and shoved their way to the front of the bus, whilst Brenda and the strange 'teacher' waited patiently for them to clear out. To her confusion, the eccentric man kept glancing back at the school girl, sending her a funny, cheeky smirk whilst he silently assessed her.
Ignoring the strange looks she was attracting from passing students, Brenda smiled back, realising just how long it had been since she'd talked to someone so openly. It was unusual for an adult to converse with the school girl as an equal, rather than looking down on her.
Eventually, both the Brenda and the strange man managed to escape the bus, before walking towards the school. As they neared the entrance, the man stopped, glancing anxiously up one of the side streets close to her school.
"I've got to, um, go up there." He told her suddenly as he pointing towards one of the shabby streets, almost as if there was something there that the school girl couldn't see. Brenda nodded acceptingly, allowing a small, timid smile to escape.
"Thanks." Brenda said quietly, as she watched the strange man.
"Thanks for what?" He asked, puzzled as he ran a hand through his messy hair.
"Doesn't matter." Brenda replied quickly, beginning to feel embarrassed again. Lifting her gaze from the floor, she looked up to find the 'teacher' striding away from her.
"Wait!" Brenda shouted, holding her arm out as she caught up with him, before he disappeared around the corner of the road. Turning around to face the school girl, the mysterious man's eyes flashed, showing something else beneath the smiling, cheerful, eccentric man - a person who was merciless, powerful, angry, and burning in pain, but also filled with deep compassion and caring.
"You never told me your name!" she shouted after him, watching his expression change. There were so many questions she wanted to ask him, but she was only allowed one.
"I am the Doctor." the Doctor stated calmly, sending her a look of deep understanding, but also something else.
His eyes silently begged the girl to let him be. He knew she wanted to follow him, to know, he recognised the longing in her eyes to be someone. But he couldn't ruin anyone else's life, like he'd done so many times before.
Brenda perceived his unvoiced order - 'Don't follow me.' he seemed to say, giving the girl another glimpse of his concealed agony and loss. She watched, motionless as he turned his back to her, sticking his hands in his pockets and proceeded to stride down the road until he turned the corner.
"Doctor," Brenda whispered thoughtfully "Doctor who?"