"What," said Romana, "Is the point in Monopoly?"
The Doctor scowled at the board. "It's fun. Well, it's supposed to be, when people aren't whining." He looked pointedly at Romana, who raised an eyebrow.
"I've never played this game before. How am I supposed to make it fun? You're just sulking because this game is boring and you know it."
"It most certainly is not!" The Doctor fervently defended the game.
"Then why are you glaring at the board like that?" said Romana smugly.
The Doctor pointed petulantly. "I landed in jail," he grumbled.
Romana let loose a little trill of amusement. The Doctor turned his withering glare to her.
She simply smirked. "My turn, is it?" She looked pointedly at all the hotels she had.
"Why are you complaining when you're winning?" he said grumpily.
"Because it's so dull."
"You're not playing it right!"
"And you are?"
"Well, that's not the point -"
"Which brings me back to the start," said Romana. "What's the point in Monopoly?"
"You're winning!"
"Because it's so easy!"
They both glared at one another.
"Winning's not the point," the Doctor told her. "It's the taking part."
Romana sniffed. "How dull."
"You've got no spirit of adventure!" he accused her.
"And you have?" she retorted, angrily flicking brown hair over her shoulder.
"Be reasonable, how do you expect to like a game when you're tearing it to pieces?"
Romana said, "I'm tearing it to pieces because I don't like it!"
"Which brings me back to my point!"
"Which is?"
"I haven't thought of one yet!"
"Well, let me know when you do," said Romana haughtily.
A silence descended. The Doctor rolled the dice.
"Not out of jail yet," he muttered. Romana ignored him, and slid past the go sign. She collected her money from the bank. A few more minutes passed in silence.
Eventually, the Doctor said, "Are you sulking?"
Romana sniffed. He took that as a yes.
"Please don't. We don't have to play Monopoly if you don't want to."
"I don't want to," Romana said firmly.
He shrugged. "I just thought it would be fun…"
"Well, it's not. You know what is fun? Dissecting things. Let's do that." Her eyes shone.
The Doctor looked alarmed. "I don't know about that, Romana."
"Well, it's better than this," she said. "Honestly, Doctor, I'm not a halfwit."
"I never said you were!"
"Well, this insistence of playing silly Earth games makes it seem like you think I am. These games are for Earth's children, you do realise?"
"Well of course I do!" he said angrily.
"Then why," Romana sighed, "Are we playing it?"
The Doctor shifted uncomfortably.
"I mean, you could have at least tried to find something reasonably engaging," she continued, "But this? Playing with little dogs and hats and bits of paper money? Really, Doctor."
"Alright!" the Doctor burst out. "You've made your point."
Yet another awkward silence descended. Romana (conveniently ignoring the fact that she started the first one) was getting rather sick of them.
She said, "Are you sulking?"
He mumbled something she couldn't hear.
"Hmm?"
"YES."
"Oh."
Romana thought for a moment. It was a drastic step, but she felt ever so bad. She thought a little more. Then she peeked at him from under her lashes. "Doctor."
"What now?"
"Would you like to play Cluedo?"