Rose walked into the dining hall, uniform tidy, bag strap settled on her shoulder. It was never hard to find her friends. With Donna's red hair and Jack's blatant disregard of the uniform, they stood out like the autobiography section of the library. When she reached their table, almost on her toes from excitement, she found her friends in a heated discussion about the school's generosity.
"Sure, they gave us textbooks. It's nice of 'em. But they didn't give us the most important one." Jack took out a batted paperback from his shoulder bag. "The Well-Kept Secret of the History Major. The reason I'm even on this track." He beamed at the others.
"I was wondering why you'd want to look at books all day." Rose took the two hundred pages between her hands and examined the back. The white print shone against the dark blue backing, a photo of the author meeting her gaze between golden curls. "So what is this secret?"
"Time travel, baby. They're preparing us for a new age of magic—the lovechild of hard science and spellcasting."
"Or summoning," Tenna added, handing the book back to Jack. "It doesn't say which."
"But we're the best, aren't we?" Rose leaned into her hands. "Of course it would be our craft and not those Abandon fools." Donna took a bite of toast as the others gave their agreement. It's not like they're trying to hurt you, she reminded herself. It's just school rivalry, plain and simple.
"Spot on, Rose Tyler. Let 'em fall into the past." Donna tackled her toast. They didn't mean it, it wasn't personal—but Jack. Jack too?
"C'mon, get your schedules out, everyone." "Everyone" meaning "Tenna," of course, but Jack and Donna got out their class list. Donna pressed hers to her lips. It was heavy paper, cream colored, the kind that would take more than a little wind to crease.
"Jack, what do you have first—"
"We've got classes together! Look at that." Rose leaned into Tenna's shoulder. "We have…battle applications! Ooh, nice." She shifted, grinning. "I get to destroy you."
"Oh yeah? Who's to say I won't smack you down first?" He grabbed her shoulders, and she pried him off, laughing.
"You guys are lucky," Donna piped up. "Jack and I, we're stuck in our departments alone."
"Yeah, you two. Show a little respect." He sipped from his cup of tea daintily before wincing and spitting it back out. "Ack. Raspberry."
"Like you ought to be talking, Mr. I-can-travel-through-time." Donna smacked him on the forehead. "And the only thing wrong with this tea is your taste buds." She took a sip to prove it, squeezing her eyes shut at the—admittedly—sour brew.
The owl on the clock hooted, signaling the end of breakfast.
"Guess we've gotta go. Walk me to class, time traveler?" Jack stuffed the book back into his bag reverently and took Donna's side. Tenna took a little longer. He stared at his schedule for a moment before sighing and joining Rose. She smoothed down his collar, resisting the urge to touch his chin.
"Are you ready?"
"Yeah. I guess I am." Rose started to reach for his hand, then thought better of it. He was lost in his thoughts, preparing for the class ahead. Already he was far away from her.
"Before we begin battle applications, we must administer the Assignments." The instructor paced around the room, his hands clasped behind his back as tightly as if they were in handcuffs. "Two of you have been deemed appropriate to receive the test." Rose's eyes lit up. She elbowed Tenna.
"It could be us!" She whispered, loudly enough to attract the smirks of their classmates. Their professor, oblivious to the rivalry sparking between the students, revealed two impossibly tiny scraps of paper.
"I will call the names." He waved one of the papers up with his finger. "Number one—" The sliver fluttered in front of Tenna's desk. "Tenna Matterfield."
Rose bounced in her seat. "That's right! Go…Tenna!" The surprised and overwhelmed candidate was sure Rose would've hugged him to bits had she let go of her manners. She clapped for him instead, her enthusiasm earning a few smiles from their less hostile classmates.
"Ahem. Number two—" The paper unfolded in front of a confident smirk and baby blue eyes. "Mr.—"
"Call me The Master, if you don't mind." He reclined in his chair, one ankle balanced on his knee. "It's my new title. Like it?" His voice has an insufferable twinge to it, simply oozing disrespect.
"Excuse me, Mr. Sanction, but you are applying for a different position."
"Master, Doctor, same difference if used correctly." He turned his pencil between his fingertips. Tenna was surprised he even bothered to bring supplies to school, the rich kid that he was. How he itched to turn that impractical blond hair to gray!
The instructor bristled at the accusation but chose to turn away and load the lesson on his screen. The other students, dismayed or breathless or a combination of both, turned to the displays on their desks and loaded the presentation.
"Six other candidates will be taking the assignment test," he said with a nod to Tenna. "Instructions are on your paper. It's charmed," he added, catching a curious stare from Rose. "Only candidates will be able to read it." Rose sank back in her seat.
"Spoilsport." She crossed her arms with a huff. Tenna wished he'd be able to share the testing with her. It made him anxious, quite honestly, and Rose had a way of making all that disappear.
Lev linked his arms with Rory and Amy conspiratorially.
"They said I wasn't supposed to tell anyone." He kissed Amy on the hand and flashed her a smile. "But how could I stop myself?"
"Stop flirting with my girlfriend, Lev." It seemed that no matter how long Rory stood by Amy, Lev had a way of getting in between them.
"But this is my special day! I'm the only possible Doctor." He spun and stood in front of his friends, head cocked, legs faltering.
"We can celebrate, but only if you leave Amy to me." He took her hand and gave her a concerned look. I know, she thought back. She bit her lip. Lev as The Doctor. Honestly?
"Fine, fine. Don't want her anyway. Need someone with a little more…power." He touched his fingers to his lips.
"Why do we even hang out with him again?" Rory whispered to Amy.
"Relax! He's just like this 'cause he ate one of those euphoria pellets after class." Rory shook his head.
"Let's hope he gets more competent before…"
"There will probably be a challenger." This didn't calm Rory at all, so she squeezed his hand. "There always is. Right?"
"Plotting against me already?" He waved away their excuses. "C'mon let's just go to the arcade. Do you play video games? I love video games." Rory glanced at Amy, panicked.
"Are you sure he took just one?"
"Maybe…four." Rory buried his face in his free hand.
"We won't be able to leave him all night."
"Hey, c'mon. Let's have fun." Amy shook her boyfriend's arm. "It's our first real date, OK?" Rory, blushing and more than a little pleased, found this quite acceptable.
"Now that's more like it!" Lev put his arms around his friends. "Let's celebrate like there aren't classes for a week!"
"Well…" Rory pointed at Amy. "We have classes tomorrow."
"Just one night. All I'm asking!" He pouted, and Rory sighed.
"Alright, Lev. It's your night." His face lit up. As bossy as he could be, Lev wouldn't want to spend a moment he didn't have to without his friends.
Martha Jones dialed a number on her refurbished phone and pressed it against her cheek. "The Assignments were administered today," she reported. "It looks like Abandon only has one contender. Is this what you were expecting?"
As usual, the voice on the other end gave no reply.