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-
