When the Doctor and Alex arrived that Wednesday afternoon, Ginger was sitting center stage with her long black-and-white stockinged legs lazily danging over the edge. She was eating a singular green apple that she held loosely in one hand and reminded Alex of a particularly ill-tempered ragdoll. She was wearing a black dress underneath her customary leather jacket on this particular day. What the Doctor and Alex didn't know was that just seconds before they'd entered the room, Ginger had deliberately positioned herself in this dramatic fashion to look as noncommittal and lazy as possible.
"Lovely day out there," the Doctor remarked by way of greeting. "I must remember to come down to Camden more often."
Ginger ignored him and turned to Alex instead. "You hungry, kid? Got another apple if you want it."
"Yeah, I could eat," she shrugged, trying to look bored by the suggestion even though she was positively famished.
"I could use a snack too," the Doctor said, as Ginger tossed Alex the extra apple. Ginger didn't have particularly good aim, but Alex managed to catch it anyway.
Ginger bit her lip in a sarcastic display of remorse. "Yeah, sorry, I only had two apples."
"I could go for anything, really," the Doctor pressed. "Bit of a long trip up here from Ealing."
Alex pulled a face. "No it wasn't-"
The Doctor hushed her with a wave of his hand. "Traffic was brutal."
"Figured you wouldn't want one of these," Ginger said, evidently leading up to the punchline she'd been thinking up for the past few days. "An apple a day is supposed to ward you off, isn't it?"
"Funny, but I actually inspired that phrase," the Doctor said, ruffling his hair. "Welsh women aren't my biggest fans."
"Well aren't you a regular Casanova," Ginger said, dryly.
"An apple a day doesn't keep me away, honest," the Doctor appealed one more time.
"It does if you throw it hard enough," Ginger said, tossing him her unfinished apple.
Once again, her aim wasn't great, but he managed to catch it. "Funny," he said, taking a bite. "That's what the Welsh women said too."
...
"These machines are very delicate," Ginger said. "So I think we'll have to build up some trust before I can let you touch them, is that fair? No eating and drinking anywhere near them - they're expensive."
"Alright, alright, no touching," Alex said, thinking that she was a bit more uptight than the Doctor.
"This is my Soundcraft LX7II," Ginger gestured to one machine. "It's a few years old, yes, but it gets the job done."
"Surprised you don't use Q-Lab," the Doctor cut in.
"That's a Mac program," Ginger reminded him. "I don't typically use Apple products because they charge exorbitant prices. And I like using old fashioned machinery like the Soundcraft. Something about using old-fashioned sliders feels organic - I was trained to run tech long before Q-tech was even dreamt of."
"Lot of buttons, isn't it?" Alex asked.
"Could seem overwhelming, I guess," Ginger shrugged. "But I was younger than you when I learned, so you should be fine. This machine is my baby, so we'll build trust before we start using it, if you don't mind. Instead let's have a look at this guy...The ETC Express 24/48."
"What's it do?" Alex asked.
"It's responsible for all the lighting," Ginger explained.
"Beautiful piece of machinery," the Doctor marveled. "What's it got - 30 channels?"
"48, actually," Ginger said, surprised.
"How many DMX outputs?"
"Over a thousand, I forget the exact number."
"It's gotta be several hundred cues here?"
"That number I do know - goes up to 600."
Alex looked between the two of them. "Anyone ever tell you two that you're nerds?"
"I'm sure if we ever forgot then you'd be sure to remind us, Alex," the Doctor said.
Ginger and Alex managed to make some progress despite how obviously obstructionist the Doctor was behaving on this particular day. Though Alex didn't get to really handle anything herself, she was grasping concepts relatively quickly. After all, it really isn't that difficult to learn how to do tech if you really have an interest in it.
The Doctor found himself frequently bored with the proceedings. He wasn't a big fan of sitting still in linear time and it made him feel like crawling out of his skin. Any time the attention was away from him for what he felt was an extended period of time he'd suggest a funny internet video to distract them for a time or lead Ginger off on one of their nonsensical tangents that Alex was now beginning to feel pretty used to. A few times it seemed as though the Doctor couldn't help himself from showing off how much he knew about operating the sound systems. Either way, he was a bit of an impediment.
After around an hour, he decided he would have to end it there for the night.
"Well I don't know about you ladies, but I'm starving," he announced, clapping his hands together. "Thanks ever so much for the apple, but it wasn't that filling. How about the three of us go out and get some food?"
"I'm game," Alex said, still hungry herself.
"Oh I don't know about that," Ginger said. She wasn't really someone who was good at socializing unless there was something to be focused on. "You two go on without me. Alex, you've made great progress today-"
"Nonsense, we're all going out," the Doctor said, as if that settled matters.
Ginger's mind was racing through possible excuses since she wasn't used to being asked to hang out. "I really need to be saving money right now."
"Don't worry about it, I've got the money to cover us," he replied amiably.
She tried to come up with another excuse, but couldn't. "Fine," she sighed, giving in at last. "But you're buying me a milkshake."
...
The three of them walked round a corner in search of a neat little diner the Doctor knew of when Ginger stopped short.
"What?" the Doctor asked, feigning innocence.
"It's just..." Ginger stared straight ahead. "I could've sworn I've never seen that telephone box before."
"Well actually-" Alex began.
"It's such an odd color," Ginger mused. "Must be an art installation."
She simply strode away as if she hadn't seen it, missing the amused glances being exchanged between the Doctor and Alex.
...
They found the diner and settled into a corner booth.
"Bit of a hot night to be wearing that leather jacket, isn't it?" the Doctor asked pointedly, as Ginger took her first sip of her chocolate milkshake. "Must be burning up."
Ginger could sense this was a trick question meant to make her open up about how this was hot for a British night but wasn't hot compared to wherever in America she was from. She instead answered: "I'm cold blooded. Like a frog."
"A frog?" the Doctor raised his eyebrows. "Most people's go-to with cold blood is a snake."
"Yeah well, I think frogs are cute," she replied. "Weird little dopey things. Used to play catch-and-release with 'em when I was a kid."
"You live here in Camden, Ginger?" he asked, not allowing her to steer the conversation.
She was caught by surprise, as not many people noticed when she'd divert the conversation away from things she didn't want to talk about. "Yeah," she answered, sipping her milkshake but not breaking eye contact.
"Why'd you move to Camden, Ginger?"
"Liked the climate. Both weather-wise and people-wise. It's a place with a bit of an artsy punk history, isn't it? I naturally drift towards that. Shame about all the recent gentrification, though."
"Have you been in London long enough to know what it was like before gentrification?"
She knew he was trying to call her bluff but was still determined to not give anything away. "Only been in London a few years. Was in Edinburgh before."
Alex had been watching all this go down with the most confusion. She'd been getting used to the Doctor and Ginger going off on some rant that she didn't understand and forgetting she was there, but there was some kind of unspoken communication happening here that she knew she was missing. There was a bit of tension and she wasn't sure she liked it.
"I'm sure Doc could tell us all about what Camden was like before, couldn't ya?" she asked, with a placating smile. "Bet you know all about that."
The Doctor and Ginger both blinked in unison, the tension breaking as they came back to themselves.
Well at least it's not just me, she thought. It's not that I become invisible, it's that when the two of them get going the rest of reality just fades out of existence.
"Yeah I sure could, kiddo," the Doctor said, grinning as he ruffled Alex's hair in that way that she only hated in front of company but pretended to hate no matter what.
"So are we gonna to schedule another time to do this or what?" Alex asked, smoothing down her hair. "Maybe next time Doc won't be acting like a hyperactive toddler. I just need to schedule it around school since classes start up again next week and I'll be starting a-levels soon."
"Sure I guess so, if you feel you can take that on," Ginger said, noncommittally.
"What courses did you decide to take, Alex?" the Doctor asked.
She shrugged. "Easy stuff mostly. Some psychology, some history. I'm not really the best at school to be honest. I always seem to fall behind. But I'm really gonna try this year to make it work."
"You got any plans for what to do after this year?" Ginger asked.
Alex shrugged again. "I dunno. Haven't really worked that out. There's so much out there that I'd like to do but not necessarily anything I feel confident pickin' for the rest of my life. Or even anything I know 100% I'm capable of. Never really been much good at anythin'."
"That's not true," the Doctor said. "You were pretty good today, considering all the distractions."
Alex shifted uncomfortably, as if she doubted it.
"Do you do any extracurriculars?" Ginger asked.
For a third time, Alex shrugged. "Not really."
"You ever try out for plays?" Ginger pressed. "They're having some auditions next week at my theatre for the fall production. Could give you something to do after school."
Alex's facial expression became incredulous. "I don't know about that."
"I think it's a great idea!" the Doctor exclaimed. Then he saw her face. "But you...evidently don't?"
She hesitated before sighing. "I mean, I just don't do public speakin'," she explained. "Its not that I have nothin' to say, jus' that I sound a bit...Well, I don't have the right accent for things. Nobody takes me seriously 'cuz I sound rough. You'd have to do a whole My Fair Lady on me."
Ginger rolled her eyes, exasperated. "That's ridiculous. It's your voice and you get to do what you want with it. Never change it just because someone else has an opinion about it. You shape it to communicate who you are and use it to tell everyone else to go to hell. Sure, if you want to be an actor you might have to learn other accents, but there's no reason you should have to change it just to speak up in public."
The Doctor piped up. "She's right-"
"Oh shut up, you," Ginger cut him off before turning back to Alex. "He's English, he doesn't get a say."
"Am not!" he protested. "Englishmen are always so...bloody hell. Sodding, blimey, shagging, knickers, bollocks! Oh, God! I'm English!"
Ginger rolled her eyes, unable to prevent herself from completing the Buffy reference. "Welcome to the Nancy Tribe." She shook it off. "Anyway, point is he doesn't get a say."
"I'm English too, though," Alex frowned. "Doesn't that prove your point wrong if you're trying to say I'm allowed to speak but he's not?"
She waved this off. "Nah, because he sounds like how the English want you to think 'respectable' sounds. His people are the kind that would make us feel bad for the way we talk. You know why that is? Pure classism is why that is. Where are you from? Little further north?"
"Yeah but I spent some time in Birmingham too."
"Yeah, see, people like him would be sitting here telling you that you're all chavs and layabouts round there. Anywhere that has a history of crime and poverty. They say that the accents are ugly only because they're trying to make you ashamed of not being them. And don't ever give in and become them. The only unforgivable thing in this world is assimilating and becoming posh. Wouldn't be punk at all. You've got the accent of resistance, which makes punk rock your birthright."
Alex thought this all over. "Still don't feel like auditioning for a play, though."
"Well that's alright, we need more female theatre techs in this world," Ginger said. "Too many bloody actresses. You know, we're going through a-"
-"Female tech shortage, we know," Alex and the Doctor finished for her in unison. She said this a lot.
"Alright," Ginger said, after a moment's pause. "If you want to schedule more tech practice, why not on Tuesday?"
"Sounds alright to me," the Doctor said.
Alex was getting out her wallet. "Yeah, 's good with me too."
Ginger narrowed her eyes quizzically. "You're not paying?" she asked Alex.
"Yeah, I always do," the girl replied.
Ginger looked at the Doctor. "She always pays?"
The Doctor shrugged in an innocent way. "I never carry money."
"So you're gonna make a little girl pay for your meal?" Ginger replied.
"I'm not a little-" Alex began.
"Are you going to pay?" he asked Ginger, cutting Alex off mid-sentence.
Ginger floundered. "Well, I hadn't planned on it," she said, uncomfortably. "The deal was that you pay. I can't generally afford to eat out."
"It's really fine," Alex said. "I'll pay, it wasn't much anyhow."
...
"Could we walk you home?" the Doctor asked as they left the diner. The night had nearly fallen and the last light of dusk was taking most of the day's heat with it.
"I'm good, thank you," Ginger said, briskly. "I prefer walking alone. I'll see you both on Tuesday." She turned and began walking back the way she came.
"We're going in this direction too," the Doctor said, as he and Alex sped up to match her stride. "You live near the theatre?"
"Yeah, something like that," Ginger said, vaguely.
"How on Earth can you afford rent prices 'round here?" the Doctor asked.
Before she could think up an answer, there was a loud crash from a nearby alley. They stopped short, barely having time to register what was happening as all the lights in Camden went out.
...
"What was that thing?" Ginger asked, as they raced down yet another alley. "Another alien?" The Doctor thought he detected the faintest note of curiosity and not enough fear despite the running.
"Couldn't get a good look!" he shouted back. "It was coming right at us in the dark!"
"Come on, we can hide inside the theatre til we're sure it's safe!" Ginger suggested, rounding a corner.
"Don't be silly, the TARDIS is closer!" the Doctor said.
"The what?" Ginger shouted, in confusion.
He and Alex slid to a stop just short of the blue police box Ginger had seen earlier. "Come on," the Doctor said, putting a hand on the door. "Hop in!"
Ginger was skeptical. "Is this some kind of joke?" she asked, hands on her hips. "We don't have time."
His face split into a wide grin. "Speak for yourself! That's something we've got plenty of, as it turns out."
"Get in there?" she replied incredulously. "It's so tiny!"
"Appearances are deceivin', blah blah blah, we know the sale's pitch, Doc," Alex said, coming up behind Ginger and giving her a shove. "Let's get a move on!"
The Doctor opened the door and Ginger allowed herself to be pushed inside. Her jaw dropped.
"It's..." she said, struggling for words.
"Yeah?" the Doctor prodded, amused.
"This is like some House of Leaves type stuff," she concluded.
This took him by surprise. "Was expecting you to reach for Hermione's hand bag and not a horror novel, but I suppose I see your point."
"Welcome to the TARDIS, Ginger," Alex said. "Yep, your eyes ain't deceivin' ya. It's really bigger on the inside."
"TARDIS?" Ginger breathed.
"Stands for Time And Relative Dimensions In Space," the Doctor said, proudly. "My time machine and space ship. And to think, you didn't believe me."
"Wait a second," Ginger said, fishing her iPod out of her pocket. "When you gave me this, you told me to call it TARDIS."
Alex groaned and rolled her eyes. "Ugh, he would. Thinks he's funny. Because it's a little blue box that's bigger on the inside."
"It is funny, though," he replied, as if stung.
"Okay, this is a fun party trick," Ginger said. "But I still don't believe it actually flies."
...
The TARDIS materialized on the roof of the theatre and the three of them clambered out.
"No way," Ginger said, spinning around to look at the city. "This is far out."
"Far out?" Alex scoffed, rolling her eyes.
"We've still got to figure out what that thing was back there in the alley," the Doctor said. "But afterwards, do you want to go to maybe another planet? Or a distant time?"
"I mean yeah totally!" Ginger said, with the closest thing to positivity she'd displayed so far. "I have to get immunized first, though, right?"
"What?" the Doctor replied, thrown off.
"I mean, for alien viruses and stuff," she said, as if this were routine.
"I mean not generally," he said, wondering where this was coming from.
"What do you mean not generally?" she replied, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes. "I obviously have to get vaccinated. Are you telling me you don't vaccinate the people you travel with? That you didn't vaccinate Alex?"
"No-"
"That is so bloody irresponsible!" Ginger shouted, her temper flaring up again. "You mean to tell me you just fly around everywhere with vulnerable people? What if you go to the middle ages and get plague? Or the 1700s for smallpox? What about Spanish flu? Hell, even a few years ago your friends could get bloody swine flu and you're telling me you're not being safe? Ridiculous! Don't tell me you're one of those bloody antivaxxers!"
"I never really thought of it like that," he said, apologetically. "I'm immune to most human diseases so-"
"Well that's bloody great for you, but the rest of us are vulnerable to fucking polio!"
"Guys, we don't have time for this!" Alex cut in. "We've got to solve a mystery."
...
The thing in the alley turned out to be a mutated alien parasite that feeds off electricity.
...
"What do you mean you don't do plague or smallpox vaccines?" Ginger asked the pharmacist.
"They're not really in fashion at the moment," the Doctor said, cutting in next to her.
"Much like your shoes," Ginger grumbled, pretending not to be startled by his sudden appearance.
"Look, they're not going to immunize you here," the Doctor said. "Traveling with me is going to be a bit of a leap of faith."
"I don't do that so well when there are risks," she replied.
"I understand that," he replied. "Listen, I'm not immune simply by being less than human. There's a universal vaccine that works for most major human historical plagues. It doesn't work on everything because there are strains, but that's how vaccines work. There are no 100% guarantees. I have one more dose if you want it."
"Okay," Ginger said, satisfied by this outcome. "But I'm not leaving with you immediately. I have things to do."