He stepped off the carriage, bag clutched in one hand and the other holding books to his chest. He squinted through the blinding sunlight, looking up at the large boarding house in front of him. A new location. A new start. Just what he needed after the burning of his home.
Shoving the memories back into a dark corner of his mind, he mounted the steps. He had to lean his whole frame into the heavy door, but it creaked open, and he nearly tumbled inside head first.
The cool air of the school house was such a contrast to the heat outside that he stopped.
"Doctor Smith?" he spun around, eyes falling on a small brunette woman.
"Yes, hello." He forced his face into a smile that still came off as slightly nervous, stepping towards her and shuffling the things in his arms so that he could hold a hand out to her. She took it lightly.
"The schoolmaster has been waiting for you to arrive. If you would not mind following me?" She didn't wait for a response as she turned and headed up the winding staircase.
She didn't say anything to him or even try to break the silence as they wound their way through the empty building. He couldn't help but wonder where the children were; surely with a school as prestigious and large as this, there would be some noise from the students.
"Excuse me, Miss, ah, I didn't quite catch your name."
She paused to look at him then, really look at him. "Chantho. Sarah Chantho."
"Such a unique name!" he commented with a smile, happy to get her to respond.
"My parents were ambassadors in the Asian countries." And just like that, she was turning away from him and leading him back down the echoing hallway.
Every door they had passed looked the exact same, so when she came to a stop finally, he was completely lost. He wouldn't have been able to find his way to the exit if he tried.
Miss Chantho rapped lightly on the door, pausing to hear a word of acceptance before she pushed it open and stepped back to let him into the room.
A man in dark clothing with hair lighter than his own sat behind the desk, not even looking up as the door clicked closed behind him. "So, you must be the Doctor." He finally paused from the paper he'd been scanning.
The Doctor's smile slipped away at the cold, hard look the schoolmaster was giving him. He was overcome with a sudden urge to run, to get out of the building, to get far away from him. But… there was the slight problem of not knowing how to get to the front door.
Instead he stayed where he was, staring down the man in a similar fashion. "You must be the Master of this establishment. I have to thank you for giving me the position here."
The Master leaned back in his chair, eyeing the Doctor up and down. "I didn't. You'll have to thank Miss Chantho for that. She insists that you're the best doctor in the country. We needed an expert. I suppose we shall have to settle for you."
The Doctor felt his face reddening, and his grip tightened on the bag still in his hand. But he kept his mouth shut tight as they glared at each other.