Telling Time with the Doctor

By A.M. and S.R. Rosso

Started and Ended: 1/28/14

Summary: Jeff can't tell time, the Doctor can

Jeff:*enters the console room of the TARDIS from hers and the Doctor's room* What time is it?

8: Half past six. Why?

Jeff:*looks at 8 confused* What?

8: *figures Jeff didn't hear him so he says it a bit clearer* Half past six.

Jeff:*looks at 8* That means nothing to me

8: It means six thirty. ... Did you actually not understand that?

Jeff:*face turns red and she looks away from 8 a bit embarrassed*

8: So, I guess that's a no... Why were you never taught this?

Jeff:*looks at 8* Are you having another one of your bits of amnesia again?

8: No. Forget it. I'll teach you what it means, it's not that hard. Come here.

Jeff:*looks at 8 a bit confused, but walks over to him regardless*

*the clock on the TARDIS console (for the sake of the story) is analog*

8: Alright. First off I need to know if you can read analog. Not completely necessary but still a good skill to have. *sets clock to 6:52* What time is it?

Jeff:*stares at the clock for a while trying to figure out the time*

8: *waits for a few moments* ... Don't know?

Jeff:*says nothing, but it's clear she's mad at herself for not knowing*

8: Okay... This is how it works. The little hand points out the hour. Or do you know that bit?

Jeff: I know that part

8: Perfect. And you know the big hand shows the minutes?

Jeff:*nods her head*

8: Okay, then... So what don't you get?

Jeff:*silent, because whenever this topic was brought up she'd either be called stupid or whoever was trying to teach her would make it hard for her to understand*

8: Do you want me to explain it?

Jeff:*makes a move to walk away*

8: *keeps Jeff here* It's already begun. It's a simple concept; it won't take long to teach.

Jeff:*gives 8 an "I've heard that one before" look*

8: I'll try to make it easy.

Jeff:*figures she's not going anywhere anytime soon so she sighs in defeat and looks at 8*

8: Since you know the concept of hours already we'll just get the minutes over with.

Jeff:*quietly* Okay

8: We start at the twelve, which is zero. And we go up by intervals of five. So, one would be five, two is ten, etcetera...

Jeff: I know that and in military time one is thirteen, two is fourteen, and so on and so on

8: *having trouble seeing what Jeff doesn't understand* So you understand what this is, then? *sets clock to 6:45*

Jeff: Yeah, 6:45

8: *sets clock to 6:20* What about this?

Jeff: 6:20

8: *looks at Jeff with confusion and sets it 6:37* This?

Jeff:*stares at the big hand for a moment counting the how far away it is from the seven and then says a bit unsure* 6:37?

8: *nods slowly* How did you know what this is but not 6:52?

Jeff:*feels like an idiot because she honestly doesn't know and just averts her eyes from 8*

8: Alright, at least you can tell analog time... Let's work on the terminology.

Jeff:*just nods her head because she just wants to fast forward to the part where even 8 gives up on teaching her how to tell time*

8: Alright, we don't need the clock anymore. Don't worry about the clock. *sets it back to 6:30* Earlier, when I said it was half past six, what time was it?

Jeff: 6:30

8: Alright, great. This shouldn't be to hard.

Jeff:*waits for 8 to start confusing her*

8: When the minute hand is on the nine, it's quarter to. When it's on the six, it's half past. When it's on the three, it's quarter past. Got it?

Jeff:*thinks for a moment* Okay

8: So if I said it's quarter to nine, what time would it be?

Jeff:*unsure* 9:15?

8: ... No. It's 8:45.

Jeff:*annoyed with herself*

8: Okay, let's try this again. Half past three, what time is it?

Jeff:*still unsure* 2:15?

8: *shakes head slowly* It's 3:30

Jeff:*hangs her head*

8: Well, now that you know that, what's half past seven?

Jeff:*quietly and unsure* 6:30?

8: Half past six is 6:30. Half past seven is 7:30.

Jeff:*runs her hands over her face, getting pissed off at the fact she's having a hard time grasping this*

8: Don't worry about it to much, Jeff. Let's keep going with this. Half past twelve.

Jeff: 12:30?

8: Yes! Excellent. Now, to be sure you have it... What's half past two?

Jeff: 2:30?

8: Yes, perfect. Now we can move on. Quarter to three.

Jeff: 3:45?

8: No. It's 2:45. Now using that as a reference, what would quarter to six be?

Jeff: 5... 45?

8: Yes, wonderful. Now since you know those the last one shouldn't be to difficult. Quarter past nine.

Jeff: 9:15?

8: Yes! See, that wasn't very difficult, now was it?

Jeff: I guess...

8: *confused* What? Is it still confusing?

Jeff: No I get that part, but there are other time terms I still don't get

8: Oh? Which ones?

Jeff: Almost all of them, I know the o'clocks, the thirties, and forty-fives, but other than that *shakes her head*

8: What? Do you mean, like AM and PM, or something?

Jeff: No, like three to ten

8: Oh... That means three minutes to ten. So basically, all you do is take three away from sixty. So three to ten is 9:57.

Jeff: Okay

8: So let's say it's two to nine. What time is it then?

Jeff: Uhm... *a bit unsure of herself* 9:58?

8: No... No, that would be two to ten. Alright, here. When it's a random amount of time TO something. It is the number before it, hour wise. So, because I said two to nine, the time would be 8:58.

Jeff:*nods her head somewhat getting it*

8: So, let's say it's seven to eight. What time is it?

Jeff: 7:53?

8: Yes, that it is. Now we have to address the opposite. What if it's... Seven past four?

Jeff:*unsure again* 7:20?

8: No... Where did you get the twenty from?

Jeff:*doesn't even know herself* The four?

8: Okay... The last number will almost always signify the hour. The first will correlate to the minute.

Jeff: Would it be 4:07 then?

8: Yes, there we go. 4:07. What's ten past five?

Jeff:*thinks for a moment* 5:10, right?

8: *nods* Five to three?

Jeff:*thinks a bit* 3:55?

8: Yes! Do you think you got it now?

Jeff: I think so

8: Fantastic. ... Any other questions then?

Jeff: Where are we going?

-The End-