Well it's going to have to do. It's just a night out with the girls, they don't really care if she looks sexy at the bar.
But she actually is sexy- if she's honest with herself. Because, if she's honest, she still looks twenty. Not a wrinkle nor a grey hair to mark her progression through depression, a child, and her job.
She tries not to notice it and for the most part she succeeds. The subtle make-up she wears now is a far cry from what she wore in her youth and makes her feel more her age. She's not much of a jeans and T-shirt girl anymore, but she does enjoy wearing them once in a while.
And those are the days that people remind her how young she looks. Those are the days she takes Jon out to the chippy or the park or something and people mistake him for her brother or nephew.
She looks twenty and not old enough to have a seven year old son. It's true. If she steps out of the shower, naked and hair soaking wet around her shoulders, she looks exactly same as she did before she came here, exactly the same as when the Doctor left her.
She hates it, because it scares her and unnerves her and without the Doctor there to explain it she feels lost. And yet, in some corner of her mind, she loves it, because she looks young and sexy and if she wants to, she can pretend that she's still with the Doctor.
God, does she miss him. Outwardly she's so skilled at putting on the façade that she's moved on, that she's focused on Jon and her job and that she doesn't think about him anymore. She lets the world think that she doesn't long for him anymore.
But she does.
Some nights, when the day was hard and long, she cries for him. She cuddles up against her pillow and wishes as hard as she can that he's there.
She's not broken anymore. She was in her first few years there, but she's grown to accept it, and even like it. She likes having her family and Mickey and she loves Jon more than she could ever imagine. But she'd give it all up, with the exception of Jon, to be back with the Doctor.
"Rose! You ready?"
Jody's voice- one of her friends she's going out with- startles her awake and quickly she glances herself over and nods her tentative approval. Another long night of batting away men, forcing a smile, and coming back to an empty home.
Nah, her life hardly sounds depressing.
/-/-
Two point charges are fixed on the y-axis. A charge of +q is placed at y +a…
This would be a lot easier if his head weren't throbbing. Just for hour- if it would stop for just that long, he'd be fine.
No, not even an hour. Twenty minutes, long enough to finish this problem. That would be great.
"You okay?"
"What?"
"You're rubbing your head again. Another headache?"
"No, I'm fine. Just thinking."
"Yeah. Okay."
Determine the magnitude and direction of the electrical field at the point of origin.
He can't focus. The throbbing is behind his eyes now, making them sore and achy.
David's looking at him. He can see it out of the corner of his eye. David always does that- peering at him, pestering him to make sure he's all right. Well he is and David's not his mum. He can handle himself. He's fine- okay, so he's not fine, he's had the same constant headache for all three weeks he's been at school, but he still doesn't need David breathing down his neck.
So yeah… back to the problem.
Determine the magnitude and direction of- What was that?
"What are you looking for?"
He shakes his head, rubbing away the sight from his eyes. "Just thought I saw someone come into the courtyard."
"No, just us, mate."
"Yeah, okay."
Where was he? Right. Determine the magnitude and direction of the electrical field-
There it is again! No, it's just a shadow. Just his tired eyes seeing things.
"You sure you're okay?"
"Yeah. Fine." He closes his books with a thud and stands, tucking them under his arm. "Actually, I think I'm just going to go up to our room and rest. I can't focus."
"All right. See you later then."
"Yeah. Later."
/-/-
He knows the answer. This should be easy; it's review. But he can't think and can't focus. He can't do this.
It would be easier if someone wasn't constantly talking behind him. He can't help the slight twitch his head makes every time the muttering starts back up. The voice is too quiet to identify; he wishes he could just to yell at them to stop. It's a test!
Not to mention the pounding headache erupting just behind his eyes. He tries to hide it from David, but he's right- the migraines just keep coming back.
And the whispering! Who taught this kid to take a test?
Back to work. Only thirty minutes left.
Okay, a ball with mass M is thrown vertically with a velocity of-
Why isn't Professor Chapman yelling at the kid. He's getting louder. Jon just barely controls the urge to turn and look for the talker. He grips his pen tighter and buries his fingers deeper into his hair and forces his eyes to stay on his paper.
Vertically with a velocity-
Can't they be quiet? Jon spins around, eyes darting around the back of the room. No heads are up. No lips are moving.
"Mr. Tyler?" Professor Chapman is staring at him when he turns back around in his chair. "I should think that I need to remind you of the definition of a test."
"No, Professor. Didn't you hear someone talking?"
"Talking? I didn't hear anything."
"You didn't hear it? Someone's been talking through the entire test."
He can see out of the corner of his eyes that the other kids are glancing at each other and shrugging. Professor Chapman glances around, but he seems equally as unconvinced.
"I didn't hear anything. Quiet down. Get back to work."
It's quiet for just a moment as Jon rubs his temple, trying to calm the throbbing behind his eye.
Air resistance shown by F -kv, where k is-
Jon's pen stills and his neck straightens. Professor Chapman's eyes are down, eyes and pen running over homework papers. Jon looks to his sides but everyone is working. No one is bothered by the noise- actually, no one is making the noise.
"Mr. Tyler?" Professor Chapman is staring at him again; he's barely half way through the second question; his brain is throbbing and the voice is getting steadily louder in the otherwise silent room.
"I'm not really feeling well. Can I go lay down?"
/-/-
