"So is he here yet?"
"Yes Lisa. He's backstage right now. Getting ready." replied a slightly frustrated and busy Madison.
"And he's got everything he needs? What if he needs a drink?" Inquired Lisa, barely able to keep up with Madison through the bustling crowd. Lisa had been like this all day. Her sheer excitement had kept her up all night and she was now ready for a life changing experience.
Madison turned to Lisa and in a kind but firm voice replied, "Lisa, he's in the building, he's ready to go, what could possibly go wrong? I've got this Lisa. Just try and relax". Madison was fully aware of how excitable Lisa could be. She also knew how easily Lisa would blow things out of proportion. But today was different. Madison had been organising this event for months and people from miles around came to see. Lisa wasn't overreacting this time. This time her excitement was justified, and though you'd never know it, Madison was excited too. "Now go take a seat; we'll be starting soon."
Lisa flashed Madison a quick grin and quickly ran off into the crowd, mumbling to herself in excitement. Yes, both Lisa and Madison couldn't wait, but Madison had a nagging feeling that something just wasn't right. Though that feeling wasn't exclusive to that day. All throughout her life she had always felt like something was awry, the real world seemed surreal to her and she always sought excitement and adventure. Which would explain her current predicament. Still, as always she soldiered on with the task at hand. As she checked in with her fellow organisers she took a moment to take in the room. She'd spent so much time inside those four walls preparing, and even more time prior, and finally everything was in order and after a few final adjustments she made her way backstage.
Standing in the wings she peeked out onto the murmuring crowd, taking in the face of each of it's members. She scanned the crown for Lisa, but after a few moments it became clear that such a task would be impossible, given the size of the audience.
"We're ready for you on stage." squawked her earpiece, and with that she began her walk to the middle of the stage. As soon as she stepped out onto the stage, the crowd went silent and focused only on her. A spotlight lit the stage, drawing focus to a small wooden lectern. She couldn't believe it. Endless emails and phone calls to countless organisers and public relation agents had finally lead to this moment.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us today for this most exciting occasion". The crowed roared with anticipation, and then went quiet, impatiently eager to hear what she had to say next.
"We have been offered this once in a lifetime opportunity to meet a great man. No, more than a man. A legend.", she continued, every word teasing the audience to the point of eruption. "A legend that has offered so much, and captured our imagination countless times. ". The room was flooded with anticipation, the audience could take no more. "So without further ado-". WHOOSH! Madison was interrupted.
A sudden burst of air exploded from the middle of stage, blowing Madison's pages out from her hands and across the crowd. A second wave hit the stage hard, this time blowing Madison's hair free from it's tie and over her shoulder, what was going on? She held her hand in front of her face to shield her eyes. Then a third wave hit, this time followed by a deep thudfollowed by a somehow familiar mechanical shrieking. The audience was in awe, was this supposed to happen? Madison knew the answer. No. This was not part of her plan. From between her fingers, Madison saw a blinding light emanate from high above the stage, accompanied by yet another blast of air and smoke. The light dimmed and shone rhythmically to the deep whirring that accompanied it. Finally the source of the disruption began to become clear. As the light dimmed once more a large square entity became faintly visible. The light brightened again, causing the audience and Madison to avert their gaze. One final thud and the sounds and smoke stopped. The light dimmed and finally went dark, allowing Madison to clearly evaluate the situation.
She was amazed. She couldn't believe her eyes. How could it be? It must be some kind of trick. "The TARDIS", she whispered to herself in disbelief. The crowd was ecstatic. They had no idea that the events that just transpired where as much a surprise to Madison as it was to them. Their cheers and applause where abruptly cut short by the TARDIS doors flying open, giving Madison quite the startle. The audience drew quiet in anticipation and curiosity. Finally a tall slender figure slowly emerged from the TARDIS interior. He straitened his tie and pulled at his jacket firmly before confidently introducing himself, "Did somebody call for a Doctor?" The crowd was... confused. Who was this man? He certainly wasn't the same man as on TV. He looked similar yes, but his hair was much shorter, his chin much smaller, and his costume was all wrong. They muttered amongst themselves in confusion.
Madison was confused beyond words. What was going on? Who put together such an elaborate display, and why couldn't they at least find a half convincing impersonator. The strange man stood in place for a moment, his confidence shattered. He too was confused, this clearly wasn't the reception he had expected at all. "Hello..." he hesitantly greeted the crowd. They responded poorly. People all over the convention centre began to boo and hiss. He tried to improvise, "I can do the landing thing again if you like. It was a little loud but, you know. Thought I'd give you a show". Madison was embarrassed beyond belief, she couldn't believe what was happening. The whole event was ruined. Then, she was struck by a sudden realisation, she whispered to herself, "Matt...".
As the strange man continued his failed attempts to keep the crowd entertained, a second figure emerged from the wings of the auditorium. As the crowd realised who it was they began to cheer once more. The strange man smiled with confidence, foolishly thinking that the applause was for him. He went to continue on his embarrassing ways but was interrupted. The second figure was now behind him and tapping him on his shoulder. The strange man turned to the figure, who simply and suavely stated, "I believe that was MY cue?".