Sorry I didn't mention this before, but when the words are in '' it's a thought, an unvoiced opinion. Ok, hope you enjoy this chapter! :) ~TheMastersDaughter Who On Earth...? A Doctor Who Story 2 - An Alien Encounter

5 months later

Brenda frantically pulled a brush through her tangled, long hair, grabbed her weighty bags, and rushed out the door.

She tore down the road, running as fast as she could in an attempt to reach the bus-stop before her bus appeared. Fortunately, Brenda was a fast sprinter, and just as she arrived, holding her sides as she breathed heavily, her school bus pulled up at the stop.

Still panting slightly, she leapt on board, found her favourite seat near the front, then carelessly dumped her school-bag and sleepover equipment on the vacant seat next to her.

Pulling out a pen from her crammed schoolbag, Brenda wrote a reminder on her hand to meet with her newfound friend Liliana after school for a sleepover. Although she didn't know Liliana that well, at least having one friend was better than having none, and she was grateful to have someone to talk to.

After all, even if Liliana was a gossip queen, if it wasn't for her, Brenda would never have found out that her best friend come boyfriend had been disregarding her feelings and insulting her behind her back.

Brenda frowned as she remembered how Liliana had told her the truth, then how the loathsome Mark had admitted to it. She was still angry, but she kept her feelings to herself.

'After all,' She told herself, 'What's the point in talking, or even thinking about him? – it isn't going to make him come back…' Brenda sighed glumly, wishing things could be different.

'On the bright side,' Brenda thought, diverting herself, 'I'm going to get my test results later on today, and hopefully I did well on English and Physics!' She finally managed to muster a faint smile, but deep down she was trying to suppress her mountain of seething emotions.

Finally, the bus arrived, with a stench of burning rubber, at school. As it juddered to a halt, Brenda hastily jumped into the isle, preparing to push her way through the clichés of chattering students so she could make a quick getaway.

She shoved her way out of the door, then paused for a moment outside, gazing up at the morning sky, admiring the early sun watching her like a giant, golden eye.

All of a sudden, she was pushed aside as someone tall and dark ran past her, laughing.

"Hey!" Brenda exclaimed in annoyance. Sweeping around, irritated, to see who had bumped into her, the girls' face darkened.

'Mark – great.' Brenda thought sarcastically, aware that her long-dormant anger was beginning to rise. But, as usual, she bottled her feelings, forcing herself to be calm with a few deep, soothing breaths.

Brenda turned away, her veil of hair covering her face, before she began to gradually wander towards the school, being careful to keep her distance from Mark.

Once opposite the school, Brenda quickly glanced left and right, checking for the usual, agitated parents driving cars, before stepping out to cross the road.

Suddenly, the girl looked back over her shoulder as a strange screeching, scraping sound resounded through the air. The odd noise appeared to originate from somewhere down one of the side-streets.

Unable to contain her curiosity, Brenda quickly glanced at her watch before turning back to walk down the side-street and to discover the source of the weird sound.

Upon entering the dark passageway, Brenda rubbed her temples as a sudden flood of memories flashed through her muddled mind.

*Five months ago, a strange man in a suit called the Doctor had run down this very same alleyway – it was strange, because it was almost like her meeting with the eccentric man had been a turning point in her life. Nothing interesting had ever happened in her life until the point he'd sat next to her on that seemingly normal day. However, within the last few months Brenda had managed to make a good friend, found herself a boyfriend and lost him.*

Brenda abruptly snapped back to reality as a twig crunched under her foot. Remembering why she was standing in the street, she squinted down the narrow alley, futilely trying to identify the source of the strange noise.

Unable to see anything, Brenda soon gave up and started to walk down towards her school, longingly glancing back one last time as she did so.

She jumped in surprise as the school bell suddenly started to ring, indicating the start of lessons.

Cursing, Brenda sprinted towards her school. As she ran through the grounds, she realised with a groan that all the students had already gone to classes.

"Argh!" She exclaimed, frustrated, "Just my luck! On top of everything else I'm late for my first lesson – which just so happens to be Maths – how can my day possibly get any worse?!"

Within a few minutes, Brenda arrived, breathless, at the door to her Maths classroom – late. Her heart sank in dread as she imagined her reception, knowing how embarrassing it would be – not to mention that she had no reason for being late. 'The teacher is going to kill me.' Brenda thought pessimistically, glaring at the objectionable door.

Mustering up her courage and bracing herself, she finally raised her hand reluctantly and politely knocked on the door, before pushing it open cautiously.

Quickly stepping into the room, Brenda tensed, noting to her discomfort that all eyes in the room were drawn to her tardy arrival.

"Why are you late?" the Maths teacher asked, as was inevitable.

"I'm very sorry sir, but my bus was a little slow arriving, then I… I got held up." Brenda stuttered unconvincingly, grimacing as she observed how obvious it was that she was lying.

The teacher, who was now glaring at her, with his hands on his hips, looked pointedly at several other students who also travelled on her bus.

"I find it a miracle that your fellow companions on the bus managed to get here on time – although, for some strange reason – you didn't." he stated looking her up and down, making Brenda shift uneasily as she was left standing in front of the door. Uncomfortably aware that the whole class was enjoying the entertainment of watching her enduring the teacher's wrath.

"Maybe, Miss Pemto," the teacher addressed her, continuing regardless. "Maybe, you would like to remember the way from the bus to the school?" Brenda flushed angrily as a few kids sniggered at the teacher's comment.

"You may sit next to Mr Evans – if you can get there before the end of lesson." The Maths teacher finished snidely.

Brenda was only a few notches away from loosing control and telling the teacher just where he could stuff his snide comments.

Resisting the temptation to shout back at the teacher, or bang her head on something, Brenda calmly walked over to her designated place – which, unfortunately for her, was next to Mark Evans, causing the girls' eyebrows to meet in distaste of the seating arrangement.

Moodily dumping her bags on the floor, she miserably plonked herself down on the chair, before accidently making eye-contact with Mark. Taking in his expression, Brenda was sure that she saw a flicker of sympathy, until he swiftly replaced it with a loathsome smirk that ill-befitted him.

In dignified response, Brenda shot daggers at him, her face an icy mask of contempt, making Mark's cheeks turn red as he ashamedly lowered his gaze to the ground.

Feeling slightly satisfied and triumphant, Brenda slowly settled back into the lesson, which passed without many further incidents.

The End Of The Lesson:

'Thank goodness!' Brenda sighed mentally as she stuffed her books into her rucksack, hoping to make a quick escape. Unfortunately, it was not to be.

"Miss Pemto, come to my desk!" The Maths teacher demanded as he shuffled through the papers on his desk, causing Brenda's heart to sink rapidly.

Cringing, the girl unwillingly dragged herself towards the teacher's desk.

"I've called your parents," the teacher informed her with a trace of glee, "They're coming to have a nice chat with me this afternoon concerning your behaviour, and your…punctuality – or lack of it, as the case is."

Brenda felt horrified 'How embarrassing! Practically no-one's parents come in to see teachers in year 11 – it ruins your reputation! Although,' Brenda added in dark humour, 'I'm pretty sure that there isn't much left to ruin.'

Gripping her bag until her knuckles went white, Brenda felt her bottled up emotions stirring restlessly, like an agitated swarm of ants.

"Anything else sir?" Brenda asked, gritting her teeth, trying not to give her teacher the satisfaction of seeing her frustration.

"No, that is all, you can go." the mean teacher sneered, glaring at the girls' back as she left the room as fast as she could.

Lunchtime:

Brenda walked through the usual bustle of the canteen to reach the seat that Liliana had saved for her. Digging into her bag, she finally managed to locate her sandwich and began to eat her lunch whilst half-watching Liliana do her routine make-up check, nattering to Brenda about the latest gossip as she looked in her mirror.

It never failed to amuse Brenda how her friend could seemingly talk for hours without stopping to draw breath.

"…Yeah and after I got off the bus – with Emily of course, and we all got these passes shoved in our hands – and we've got to keep 'em with us all the time – they're sort of like ID cards and –" Liliana explained until Brenda cut her off.

" – is it another one of those stupid government policies? Sometimes I swear this country is just like a Dictatorship. Or I guess it could have been Health and Safety… I suppose I'd better ask for one. Where should I –" Brenda paused and turned around in mid-sentence as she felt someone tapping on her shoulder.

"Hi." She said, not wanting to frighten the kid as she recognised him as a year 8.

"N-note for Miss P-Pemto." Stuttered the trembling year 8. Holding her hand out for the note, Brenda smiled benignly. Faster than her eyes could follow, the kid suddenly shoved the paper into her hand and ran off as if pursued by a pack of wolves.

"Great – just flippin' great!" Brenda groaned, her heart sinking as she recognised the untidy scrawl addressing the note.

Addressed to Miss Brenda Pemto,

Come to reception at lunch as there is a meeting booked with your parents, your presence is also required.

Mr Curshaw – Head of Maths

"Oh no!" Brenda exclaimed aloud, causing Liliana to stop laying copious amounts of make-up on her face in an attempt to peer over Brenda's shoulder and read the note.

"Sorry Lily! I've got to run, I've been told to go to a meeting! I'll meet you after school by the buses – ok?" Brenda asked as she jumped to her feet, her heart beating at an increased rate.

"Ok, see you then Brenda." Liliana smiled, blissfully unaware of her friend's panic as she nodded absently.

Brenda shouted a hurried 'Bye' over her shoulder, before sprinting, full speed towards reception, dragging her heavy bags behind her.

Reaching reception, Brenda sighed gloomily as she noticed her parents talking in hushed voices to one another, frowning at her as they noticed she was watching.

Brenda had just walked over explain the situation when her Maths teacher emerged from the staff room to greet Brenda's parents.

"Mr and Mrs Pemto I assume," the teacher said, taking in the angry expressions on their faces. "Come this way please." He told her parents smoothly, ushering them towards an empty room where they could talk.

Brenda moved to follow them, but the teacher glared at her – unseen to her parents – and led them into a room near the library, before slamming the door shut in her face.

Fumed silently at the teacher, Brenda resigned herself to a chair outside the room, which faced the library.

Shutting her eyes in an attempt to calm herself down, Brenda heard muffled voices arguing from inside the room. Further afield, she could hear kids shouting and screaming, the ringing of the phone in reception, and the rustling of crispy autumn leaves as a gentle breeze blew over them.

Stretching, Brenda shifted uncomfortably, unable to sit still as she worried about what the teacher would say to her parents.

Once again, the girls' eyes were drawn to one of her favourite haunts – the school library. Gazing longingly at the door, Brenda worked out it was only a few steps away and, after all, her teacher didn't really, 'How did he put it? "Require my presence here."' Brenda thought grumpily, realising that it was probably the teacher's motif to ruin her lunchtime.

'That's it!' She said decisively, leaping out of her chair, 'I refuse to stay here and simmer, I'm going and the teacher'll have to like it or lump it!'

Glancing around to check she was alone, Brenda inconspicuously sneaked through the library door.

After briefly looking at the kid's DVD section, she made a beeline for the adult fiction, but finding nothing of interest, Brenda moved on again.

The nearest section was on Science, although Brenda wasn't a scientific genius, as she was frequently reminded, wandering absently towards the isle she scanned the shelves for anything that looked interesting.

Witihin moments, Brenda discovered a brightly coloured, eye-catching book about sound waves, 'Talking of which,' Brenda thought to herself 'What's with the silence?'

Curious, Brenda glanced around the end of the bookshelf and realised that there was no one else in the nearby vicinity. There was an eerie silence broken only by the gentle hum of computers and her own quiet breathing.

Brenda's heart began to beat faster as her gaze fell onto reception where the counter was empty, not a soul in sight.

Shaken, but refusing to get frightened Brenda had a reality check, but soon realised that there definitely wasn't a single person in the library.

Laying the book to one side, Brenda looked down and took a few deep breaths to calm herself down, then strode cautiously to the end of the isle so she could look through the misty windows at the deserted playground.

Although Brenda was not scared, as she walked towards the library's exit a sudden icy chill shot down her back, as if forewarning her not to leave.

Brenda hesitated, undecided as she froze shivering slightly. Glancing around once again, the girl tried to reassure herself that she was imagining the feeling of foreboding. Attempting to brush off the presentiment, she continued to walk torwards the library door.

Brenda instinctively ducked behind the nearest bookcase as a sudden flash of blinding, blue light accompanied by 'whoosh' sounded in reception as something materialised outside.

As her eyes recovered from the surge of light, she blinked hard several times, not believing her eyes as she looked up to register something that looked like a tall golden 'thing'.

'It looks just like a giant pepper pot on wheels!' she thought to herself, fighting the sudden urge to giggle at this bizarre apparition.

Brenda jumped in surprise, as unexpectedly, the large, gold pepper pot moved towards the library doors and began to speak.

"TEL-E-PORT COM-PLE-TED, OP-ER-A-TION SUC-CES-FUL." its voice sounded like a machine, yet its variant tone made it sound expressive, and distantly human.

Brenda closed her eyes and opened them again in disbelief.

"I'm either hallucinating, dreaming, or simply just going crazy." she muttered to herself, under her breath.

"Or," Added a strangely familiar voice, "This is all real!"

Brenda only just stopped herself from shouting out as a hand suddenly grasped her shoulder.

Turning around in a quick reaction, Brenda faced her ambusher. Her eyes widened in surprise as she recognised the tall shape.

"Doctor?!" She exclaimed, angry with him for frightening her, but sounding pleased to see him.

The Doctor just nodded back, grinning his classic cheeky smile. Brenda noticed that he looked exactly the same as he had last time he met her, he was even wearing the same clothes.

"Wha-? How-?" Brenda began to say.

But the Doctor just shook his head and placed a finger over his lips, indicating that now was not a good time to talk.

Brenda smiled back and met his eyes, which were sparkling with mischief. He winked at her before turning back to look through the shelves at the bizarre apparition in reception. His grin fading as more blue flashes filled reception, causing Brenda to cover her eyes.

Upon hearing the Doctor utter something under his breath, Brenda looked up curiously to find at least ten more pepper-pots surrounding the first, before moving forwards and spreading out.

"AN-Y HU-MANS RE-MAI-NING MUST BE EX-TER-MI-NAT-ED!" The one hovering outside the library announced loudly.

"EX-TER-MI-NATE! EX-TER-MI-NATE! EX-TER-MI-NATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!"