Boy Who
Part I – The boy
Part II – The Doctor
Part III - Clara
Chapter 1 – The Boy
It all started on a Wednesday. At the time, he didn't know why this day was so significant for the Doctor. Up until now, the only remarkable thing about Wednesdays, as far as he was concerned, was that classes finished two hours earlier than usual. Which didn't mean much to Nils, since he stayed until the doors closed every day.
The noise startled him at first. It sounded like an old asthmatic car trying to start. But there was no car when he looked up from his book. And soon voices reached his ears.
"Why did you park in the yard? It's stupid, anyone could see us."
"Shh, shut up, Chris!"
"I'm just saying, Doctor, I reckon the storeroom as usual would have been a smarter bet."
Nils was quite sure he knew those two voices, but it wasn't until they turned the corner that he recognised them.
"Oh, shit, Nils saw us!" said Jordan, quickly facing the only person in the trio Nils didn't know.
"He's in Year Nine with us, Doctor," he added in a low voice, looking up at the mysterious man as though Nils wasn't standing just a few feet from them and couldn't hear everything they were saying.
It all clicked in his mind when the stranger looked at him directly for the first time. Jordan and Chris called him the Doctor. Would that mean that he was the mythical Doctor, then? The one older pupils sometimes whispered about to scare off the newbies? The one who kidnapped kids in his box and took them away for months? The one who some said had once worked at the school, years and years ago, only to come back looking exactly the same? The one who was linked to the death and disappearance of several teachers?
But Nils had heard other stories, too. Stories about a magical man who came from a forgotten planet. A man who could show you all of time and space if you were lucky enough. A man who could transform your whole life for the better. A man who only accepted the best and the brightest aboard his ship, Nils remembered last.
"Hi," he then said bravely, squaring his shoulders and staring straight into the man's eyes.
He'd show him he was worthy. After all, if he'd deigned Jordan and Chris suitable, then he'd certainly allowed him to come with them. Maybe.
There was no answer forthcoming, and Nils realised quickly that he was probably looking like a dunce, with his eyes opened wide and his jaw somewhere near his shoes. He felt about two inches tall and his resolution not to appear weak was crumbling. Strangely though, instead of utterly crushing him, the Doctor's continued silence eventually propelled him to speak.
"Are you the Doctor?" he asked, trying not to notice his two classmates sniggering.
"What if I am?" the tall man replied in a gruff tone, unperturbed.
The boy was no stranger to cold exteriors from adults and children alike, and he thus managed to keep his aplomb.
"Was that your spaceship I just heard, then? Can I go with you?"
"We've just come back. And we only travel on Wednesdays," was the Doctor clipped and to-the-point answer.
"Oh," Nils muttered, deflated. But before he could admit defeat once and for all, he thought of another question, which he was pretty sure caused a slight smirk to appear on the Doctor's face.
"So can I come with you next week?"
"We don't need him, Doctor, he'd only slow us down," assessed Chris, looking down on him from his superior height.
"Yeah," added Jordan with his arms folded over his chest, "he's not even fourteen yet."
"I'll be fourteen in two months, I was born the same year as you," retorted Nils, shortly.
He wasn't surprised by the boys' attitude - he was used to it. What shocked him was his own reaction: he never defended himself against this type of personal attacks. But he'd quickly realised that he had nothing to lose and everything to gain from this situation. Like a ticket to outer space.
The Doctor remained impassive during the exchange, as though he didn't really care whether Nils went with them or not. But he started observing him in a new light after Chris next jibe.
"He's just a bit weird, Doctor."
Nils felt himself flush under the Doctor's intense scrutiny. He resisted not looking at his feet with difficulty and instead allowed his gaze to focus just behind the Doctor's shoulder. He was trying to imagine what the ship looked like. Was it really in the shape of a blue box, like the rumours said? Could it travel anywhere and everywhere? It was there, almost at the touch of his fingertips, new worlds and galaxies. He'd actually be able to see it if that brick wall wasn't there to block his view.
Nils set his teeth and resolved to sustain the Doctor's stare once more. The man wasn't done appraising him yet, but he eventually seemed to come to a decision after having catalogued each and every one of his features.
"See you all three next Wednesday, then," he stated.
With a cursory nod, he put his hands in his pockets and turned his back on them. Nils watched him until he had turned the corner, unblinking. Unbelievable, he thought. He was never this lucky. Never. Not even his classmates scoffing could dampen his spirit. He was going.
The following week crawled slowly on for Nils. Surprisingly, Chris and Jordan's taunts were minimal during class. Not only that, they seemed worried, somehow. He only understood the reason for their unease when they cornered him after maths on Tuesday. Realising quickly that he had better listen to what they wanted to tell him, he stayed put, and they all waited until the classroom emptied.
"So, are you going to grass up?" asked Jordan, looking intently at him.
"What?" Nils replied, frowning.
"You'll get scared, and then you'll tell someone and he'll never come back. It's gonna be your fault, I just know it," added Chris.
If his shoulders weren't already touching the wall, Nils would have tried to back off, but he was trapped. He felt his heart-rate accelerate and his palms moistening. Don't lose it now, you're so close, the Doctor is coming tomorrow! He swallowed once, and raised his chin defiantly.
"No, I won't. And who would believe me anyway?" he reasoned. Even Chris's slow brain seemed to find his rationale satisfactory.
"So, it's really true, then? You actually travelled in space with him?" he couldn't help but add in wonder. He wanted to know everything, even though part of him yearned to be surprised come tomorrow. But he had to make quite sure this wasn't some elaborate trick they were playing on him.
His obvious admiration mollified the taller boys, and they couldn't hide their amazement from him.
"Yeah, it's fucking incredible, you won't believe it. He only took us on the TARDIS twice, but it's the best thing ever."
Not wanting to look even more clueless, Nils didn't ask Jordan what the TARDIS was - he was pretty sure it was the Doctor's spaceship, after all.
"You're gonna go mental. So don't mess it up, you hear?" Chris underlined each of his word by jabbing his index on his chest progressively harder. Nils nodded, a constant mantra playing is his head: tomorrow, it's tomorrow, I just have to hold on until tomorrow.
Unsurprisingly, he couldn't concentrate during classes the next day, but the teachers didn't seem to pick up on it. They rarely noticed anything when it came to him anyway.
When the last bell of the day finally rang out, he searched the other boys' eyes and they signalled he should follow them. A small part of him still believed that it was all a big joke and they would soon be making a fool out of him. The rest of him was overwhelmed by excitement. Blood was rushing to his ears and his throat was parched. He tried not to show his childish trepidation to the outside world, especially to Chris and Jordan, but he couldn't help it.
Nils almost stopped in his tracks when he realised where the boys were leading him. The old storeroom. Was his first instinct right, after all?
"Relax, nitwit, that's where he parks."
He nodded silently and when Chris set foot inside the dusty room it was there, right in front of him. The big blue box with the light at the top. He unfortunately didn't have the time to record all its tiny, wonderful details, because Jordan was soon pushing him through the half-opened door.
Nils barely registered that his two classmates were rushing ahead of him. His heart thumping wildly against his chest, he gripped a handrail as he felt his knees weakening. Forcing himself to breathe in more slowly, he made two small steps before he was compelled to stop once more. The fact that it was so much bigger than a phone-box didn't really startle him – he'd somehow expected it to be. No, what left him aghast was the feel of this place. The warm, subdued lights pulsating in time with his heartbeat. The smell of old books and leather. And the sound inside his head... How could the others not be entranced by that song? Nils called it a song because he didn't really know what it was. A constant melody, playing in his head and soothing his nerves.
One more step and he was facing the console. Images appeared to the forefront of his mind. Warmth, safety, mirth. Walking in the forest to pick up mushrooms. Mr. Connolly's low baritone reading Oliver Twist. The wet sand between his toes and the exhilarating rush of cold water against his calfs. His most cherished memories relived in the span of a few short seconds and making him feel dizzy as a result. It was almost as though the ship was analysing him from the inside out. Cataloguing his features like the Doctor had done. But Nils didn't feel uncomfortable. On the contrary, he was smiling like he hadn't smiled in ages.
He let go of the handrail and the sensation eased off considerably. The song was still there, though. She was still singing for him.
The Doctor suddenly appeared from behind the central column which was slowly moving up and down. Chris and Jordan were standing side by side on his right, their eyes fixed expectantly on a screen. Nils couldn't look anywhere but at the Doctor though, as he was slowly walking downstairs from a platform he hadn't noticed yet.
He was dressed all in black like the previous week. With heavy duty boots and his coat buttoned in the middle. When he put his hands in his pockets, the red lining flashed for a second and clashed with the rest of his clothes. As far as entrances went, Nils had to admit that this one was pretty impressive.
"I'm the Doctor," he intoned, standing on the last step, "and this is the TARDIS, my ship. It stands for Time And Relative Dimension in Space."
He then walked towards the controls, and looked at Nils directly.
"Since it is my ship, I make the rules, of which there are four. If you do not respect them, I'm taking you back, effective immediately."
Transfixed, Nils was only able to nod weakly.
"Rule number one: don't wander off," he started, typing in a string of numbers he couldn't see and turning a dial.
"Rule number two: you sick up, you clean it up."
The Doctor then proceeded to pull a lever, and Nils was promptly wondering if he was about to make use of rule number two. The central column started moving more quickly, and the strange coughing sound he had heard last Wednesday started again. They were actually moving! Nils gripped the handrail once more and welcomed the comforting sensations floating through his mind.
"Rule number three: I decide where we're going."
Jordan and Chris were still intently watching the screen in front of them, and Nils realised that it must show their destination. He desperately wanted to take a peek, but he had a hard time letting the handrail go, and not because he thought he was about to revisit his lunch - not anymore. The song had changed. Her song. It sounded thrilled and inquisitive. A bit like him, actually. Was it mirroring his emotions, somehow? Nils didn't have time to ponder this line of query – the Doctor was pulling on the lever once more, and everything stopped. They had landed.
"Rule number four: follow my orders," uttered the Doctor as he was passing him on the way to the door, his two classmates behind him.
Nils gave himself a mental kick -or was that the TARDIS again?- and he followed suit. The sun was shining so brightly on the other side that it took him a minute to open his eyes properly. He looked down at his feet and realised that he was standing in a desert somewhere because there was sand everywhere.
"Where are we?" he asked, unbuttoning his shirt collar and loosening his tie knot. It was scorching.
Chris raised his chin smartly and smelled the air, pretending to consider his question.
"Egypt. 1350 BC. Or thereabouts. Right, Doctor?" he inquired.
"You just read what was on the screen," said Jordan tersely, "no need to show off."
"What's got your knickers in a twist, Jordie?" mocked Chris.
"Nuthin'," he replied, crossing his arms over his chest as though he was cold. "I'm just not a big fan of Egypt, is all."
Nils looked up at him and realised he indeed didn't look very happy to be there.
"Not to worry," declared the Doctor, "we're just here to visit a friend."
This seemed to worry Jordan even more, who grudgingly followed them once they started walking. Nils wondered how the Doctor could stand the heat. Both he and Chris had already removed their jacket and tie, but he seemed completely unfazed with his woollen coat and kept his hands resolutely in his pockets.
"Who's your friend?" asked Nils, trying to match the Doctor's long strides while Chris and Jordan were having a talk about haunted pyramids behind them.
"Queen Nefertiti, the Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten. I met her before she got married. Actually, at the time, I was pretty sure she was going to marry someone else."
"Who?" inquired Nils, pleased to see that the Doctor was apparently warming up to his questions and his presence.
"A hunter going by the name of John Riddell," he replied, a small smile on his face.
"I've never heard of him," admitted Nils, frowning.
"You wouldn't have. And he unfortunately never understood how passionate I was about liquorice," was the Doctor's answer. His eyes were definitely twinkling, now.
"Doctor!" yelled Chris behind them. "Can you take us to see mummies? Jordan has a thing for them," he sniggered.
"Shut it, Chris! I'm serious!"
In the end, they didn't get to meet either Nefertiti or mummies. Instead, they got acquainted with very strange and very small sand insects the like of which the Doctor had never seen. They therefore had to inquire where they were coming from only to realise too late that they had a particular taste for human flesh. Fortunately, they seemed averse to the shade, which meant that to Nils' delight – at least – they got to visit a real pyramid.
Once the Doctor had worked out that no, they weren't an alien race of insects who had come to conquer the Earth but merely some very old and very hungry sand fleas, they went back to the TARDIS. Although Chris and Jordan thought their afternoon had turned out a bit underwhelming – and annoyingly made that fact known – Nils was elated. They'd been to Ancient Egypt! They saw a real pyramid! He hoped they'd go on another planet, next time. But he wasn't about to suggest anything, for fear of breaking rule number three.
As it turned out, Nils got his wish the following week. They went to a place called Shan Shen. It looked somewhat like he imagined China used to be like, if not for the various alien races they came across in the market town. He couldn't help but stare at them and ask questions to the Doctor when he didn't wander off himself, thus rendering his first rule moot. He never seemed to tire of his questions, which was a welcome change for Nils, and he was hardly ever testy anymore.
Another welcome change was Chris and Jordan's attitude towards him. Sure, they still mocked him on a regular basis, but their attacks were less vitriolic. They would sit together sometimes during lunch, and share stories about the Doctor in quiet voices.
One thing they couldn't agree on was why the Doctor was allowing them on the TARDIS. Jordan seemed to be the most familiar with the various rumours circulating in the school. According to him, the Doctor had been doing this for years: taking carefully chosen pupils every Wednesday to visit far off places or time zones. Despite the dangerous situations they sometimes faced, it had apparently never ended in tragedy. But some students had disappeared for a few months, only to come back believing only a couple of hours had gone by.
"Which isn't surprising, really," asserted Chris, "have you seen how he pilots this thing?"
"But what started it? When did he decide to do it? Surely that can't be out of the goodness of his heart, or whatever. He didn't suddenly think we humans needed to be educated or somethin'. I reckon he's been doing that for centuries, but not with kids like us. He's like... completely clueless about us, sometimes. Don't you think? He just forgets we're there or thinks we're just small adults," added Jordan.
Nils thought about the other boy's words for a while. The Doctor did seem mystified every now and then about trivial things. But it wasn't all down to his alieness, he believed. He was hiding something. It was just a front. And Nils was quite good with fronts himself. There was a deep sadness in him, he could tell. It was as though he'd taken on his task of showing children glimpses of other worlds as a personal challenge he couldn't break away from.
"What about that story about Miss Oswald?" he eventually said, in all seriousness, "Do you think there's anything to it?"
"What do you mean?" asked Jordan.
"I'm sure they travelled together at one point, the rumours must be true, it just fits," Nils argued.
"Yeah, but she disappeared a while ago, now. What does it have to do with the Doctor? Do you think he knows what happened to her?"
"Maybe..."
"She's probably dead, though. That's why they named the assembly room after her," interjected Chris.
"Maybe not. Maybe the Doctor is sill looking for her. And she was a great teacher, that's why they named the room after her. So perhaps she's the one who made the Doctor promise to travel with us, to teach us what was out there."
"Why would she do that? And why would he listen to her? He doesn't listen to anyone."
"Well..." Nils blushed slightly, "you've seen how he is. I think he's pining for someone. And I think it might be her."
The other boys looked at him strangely. Chris made a repulsed face, but Jordan seemed to be pondering his words.
"What? You think they were shagging, or something? Have you seen him? And... he's an alien!" underlined Chris.
"According to her picture in assembly, she was really fetching," conceded Jordan, "surely the Doctor noticed that, even if he's not human."
"We could just ask him," said Chris, lifting one of his shoulders.
"That's like, super personal, we can't do that. And he probably wouldn't even answer anyway," reasoned Jordan.
Nils smiled sadly. His classmates were right. Still, he couldn't help but wonder. He didn't want to be unnecessarily cruel towards the Doctor, especially if his hunch proved to be true, but he was sure there was something worth digging. And that it all gravitated towards Miss Clara Oswald.
