A Misdemeanor

Ch. 1

"You're failing my classes among many of your others, when are you going to do more with yourself?" Shannon was being lectured once again by her teacher, all she could do was do as she always did; murmuring "Yes ma'am" and the occasional "Of course I do". But in reality she was blankly staring at the nearest wall, not wanting to hear the same thing they tell other student before her. She could really care less anymore nothing mattered, she really didn't need to hear how she could get through this. She just wanted to leave somewhere else.

"May I go now ma'am?" She asked from her seat, her professor signed seeing the lecture had not gotten to her. She uncrossed her arms and motioned her to the door. She walked with her opening the door for her and Shannon just walked unaffected by her.

"I believe you can do it." Her professor told her as she walked down the hall not acknowledging her.

As walking down the long corridor of her school she walk by the break room for the teachers and stopped from hearing her name.

"Why does she even bother coming to school? She has no strive to do any of the work and doesn't bother to even participate." Mr. Gilmore said.

"Not to mention when we assign group work she just doesn't show up the next few day to avoid the work. Then she gets in to fights after school." She clenched her fist and continued to walk forward.

"I took classes on how to handle children in college and she just seem like a lost cause…."

Shannon began to run through the halls and out the door she didn't stop until she got to a little old park and dropped herself on a swing. With her hands to her face she was ready to brake down before she heard the prats coming by.

"Hey Dirt-Head why you all alone, gonna cry." Kevin and his goonies laughed as they referred to her brown hair.

"Fuck off idgit." She said bracing her hands on the chains of the swing. She was not wanting more to deal with do she got up to walk away. Her efforts were in vein though do to the fact they push her down back to the ground.

"Stay down." He laughed.

She wasn't going to, she stud up and faced, him only to be pushed down again. She only got up to brush off the dirt though. This went on for a couple rounds before Kevin got fed up with this and kick her in the gut as she was still on the ground.

"I said stay down." He yelled as the others gave her a kick too. She clenched her gut with her forehead to the ground for support. Her high ponytail draped over her cheek. She planted both hands down to get up and face him right in his cold blue eyes. He whipped his blonde hair out of his face. You could see he was worried do to the face she wont stay down.

"Bitch!" He got frustrated and throw a punch with is right. Shannon however grabbed his wrist with her right, and with her left put her hand on his shoulder blade and guided him to the ground. Unlucky for her she was out number by two other and the goons grabbed her by the arms and Kevin had got back to his feet.

"You must be the most unluckiest bastard alive." He joke strutting forward.

"You haven't my friends then huh?" Her smartass remarked fumed her oppose and got her a punch in the gut again. He was starting to chuckle. "Is that all you got?"

He was becoming more fumed and continued to punch her, but became more discerning when she still kept that grin on her face. He was stop by a fist grabbing his arm as he was going into another punch.

"Three guys against one girl that hardly makes you look like a man." Hyde said rather grimly.

"Not to mention their beating up our favorite girl." Elliot add not looking any happier cracking his knuckles like the dork he is.

Kevin and his lackies began to panic, while Shannon was rather relieved. Elliot and Hyde were her best friends. The three of them ever go looking for fights, but they seem to run into them anyways. And not that she brags they never loss.

Shannon felt the grip on her arms loosen, so she took the opportunity to fling the left one over her shoulder, and pivot around to punch the right one up the jaw. The third one was up and swing a sloppy punch at her that she stepped from grabbing his arm and kicking him in the kidney. He'd be bleeding like a girl for a week.

She saw that Elliot and Hyde where done with Kevin. She didn't know what happen, but unlike her there bruises were visible and they were going to her about at school tomorrow.

"You got two, no fair Shan." Elliot envied.

"Looks like we landed ourselves another detention." Hyde said surveying the bodies.

"Not like we killed them." Shannon shrugged, they were going to get one anyways. "Thanks." She shrugged down holding her stomach. She lifted her shirt to find a multicolored bruise already forming.

"Geez," Elliot worried "let us get you home. Here." He kneed motioning her to get on his back.

"No, it's okay I'm-"

"Either you get on my back or I carry you bridal-style." She complied rather quickly to that.

They began to walk talking about random things, old memories, and unrealistic scenarios. They where on the road still 3 miles from Shannon's home and it was getting dark. All of a sudden a black SUV came up with the eminent logo Torchwood. Jack pulled up, they didn't know him personally but work got around about him.

"Wanna lift?" He ask.

"From a stranger?" She asked rather skeptical.

"Hey I was given them offend in my pasted, if your worried I promise you, you can keep you phones." His charismatic exterior just made us be able to trust him. We shrugged our shoulder and got in to the back.

"Didn't your mother teach you not to get into cars with strangers?" He joked.

"Not when she drunk."

"Or not home."

"Or to busy yelling at the sperm donor."

"Sounds like you guy have it ruff; not that you want my pity." He add.

"Not really." Shannon said nonchalantly. "It not like we have anywhere else to look to."

"Well if you every feel lost, listen for the raggedy sound of a broken brake. It would be a beacon of hope for you guy." Jack told them.

"What a daft thing to say, but well keep that in mind the next time we are on the edge of a building." He laugh.

"Please do, nothing make me more sad then to hear of a kid having to be buried by his parents." He stopped next to Shannon's house. "This the place?"

They nodded.

"Well it was a pleasure talking to you twerps." He said shaking Elliot's and Hyde's hands first. Jack how even kissed Shannon's. "And I have to day you have the most gorgeous green eyes." He said winking causing her to blush uncontrollable. "Now get outta here, there's a lot of hell to raise tomorrow get your sleep."

We hobbled out and wave him bye as he drove down the road honking as he disappeared into the night. It strangely gave use a little hope to have an adult talk to us like adults and not be lecturing us.

From twisting the back of her wrist around Shannon saw the time. "See you guys later." She said turning pivoting around and walking to her window.

They gave a silent wave knowing she was late home before they jogged off. She pushed up her window and climbed in, she was lucky enough to have a one-story house. When Shannon came into the house she new they never notice she was gone because their yelling was about her. Her parents always yelled, she came home to the 'melodic voices'. Even though they were divorced Shannon's dad was a lay about saying how 'his daughter' need her father. And mom had no backbone to kick him to the curb, but enough to bark about it.

And everyday she would come home to it being tugged around like a rag doll being bribe, told, or threatened to pick a side. All in all she stayed away from home as long as possible. She could never get studying done or even simply quiet time, the little she did had was. Even when her mom was at work, her so-called father was laying on the couch drink cheap beer. The time he wasn't doing that he was trying to manipulate Shannon.

They only in she could do was run away. She found early on her favorite place to be was the library. Being about to escape her world to another was a salvation for her. However reading wasn't her way of fun at first. When she was about seven years old she was trying to get away from her parents cornering her again. She ran so far she didn't know where she was going, until she hit the library. Shannon walked in and they were telling stories to the kid she was the oldest one so she stud in the corner not wanting to be caught with the 'babies'.

They were reading Corduroy. The book tells the story of a teddy bear named Corduroy, displayed on a toy shelf in a department store. One day, a girl named Lisa arrives in the store with her mother and spots the bear. She is willing to buy him, but her mother declines to spend more money and notes that a button is missing from his overalls.

After they leave, Corduroy decides to find the missing button by himself and embarks on a trip around the department store after it closes in the evening. He goes upstairs and finds furniture he had never seen before, including beds and mattresses. Thinking that one of the mattress buttons is the one he is missing, he pulls it hard and eventually falls down from the bed, making noise. The store guard arrives, finds the bear and puts him back in place. The next day, Lisa comes back with the money she had found in her piggy bank and buys Corduroy. At home, she sews a button on his shoulder strap and the book ends with them saying that they had always wanted a friend and hugging each other.

The story had gotten to her; it was her life. Being shut up and display waiting for someone who actually care to pay attention to her. But no one ever came. Then it was like some great power took sympathy towards her and sent someone to her. A man in a black leather jacket and funny looking ears came to her. He kowtowed down beside her as she looked up at him. She rubbed her tears and he gave her this great big goofy smile that reached to his ears.

"What the matter? You hungry?" She knew even at a young age that he already knew she wasn't. "Come on lets go over to the table."

He held out his hand and Shannon took it. He walked her to a table and sat a crossed from her.

"I love that book don't yah? I could see that way you let yourself become par of it." He answer for he.

She was sure what he meant, but went along with it. He was odd but nice, like Jack Skeleton.

"I'm the Doctor."

"Doctor? Doctor who?" She asked

"My name's not 'Who' its that Doctor." He laughed.

Shannon giggled. "Your silly Doctor." He smiled more as she laughed. "Will then I'm ummm…." Shannon looked around to find something to call herself to, she saw a cook book. "Sushi!"

Doctor chuckled at that. "Alright then Sushi, it very nice to meet you."

From then on they talked for hour about his silly travels and stories even though she never understood what he meant. She forgot about her troubles. Hour passed as they talk and they barely realized that the library was closing. She became sad. Shannon looked up at him clinging on to his arm.

"Will I ever see you again?" She asked with hopeful eyes.

He knelt down and grabbed from the inside of his pocket a necklace with a key at the end of it. "8 years from now I will come and take you away on an adventure I promise. But you have to promise to come her all the time and read."

"Why?" She frowned at the though of that.

"Because all good adventures start with this." Doctor poked her forehead throwing her off balance a bit. "Come on lets get you home." He extended his hand to he and walked her home.

After that day she went to the library everyday, at first to hope to see the Doctor again. She wait long hour until her third day she got so bored she picked up a book. It was the first one to a series, about an America prairie girl growing up as a pioneer with her family. It was an autobiography, but not like those boring ones; this one had adventure and danger and never talk about her being the best and self-righteous. She had finished the series quickly to her desire.

The she went on to the famous sharp shooter Annie Oakley, the girl who was such a 'Little Sure Shot' that she shot the newly crowned German Kaiser Wilhelm II cigarette out of his mouth. Then Queen Elizabeth I. Later she read fantasy with a wizard-ing boy and another with wandering hobbits. Then a guide for the galaxy, it gave you the reason why you should always carry a towel and answer forty-two.

She was there so often that she met her best friends there, and other great thing came along to where she forgot about her almost Doctor and life outside. But she always kept the key in hope of going away from here.