Apologies that it's taken me so long to update this story but I've been very busy with uni for the past few months. Thank you for your patience and support and I hope you'll enjoy chapter 7! :)
Missy was annoyed - no, the word 'cross' was better at describing her on one particularly beautiful and sunny day. The first-semester exam was coming up and she had spent the past week finishing the topics which needed to be covered so that they could crack on with revision. What ruined her day and triggered her foul mood was when she was bombarded with dozens of emails from John's students, the one she was put in charge of temporarily.
She had told them that only a sheet of paper was allowed into the exam. One sheet. Notes can be written on both sides. The problem with students is that they can be very creative and so, the emails.
'Hi Missy, are we allowed to print our notes?'
'Hello Missy, I hope you are well. Can I write past paper solutions on the sheet of paper? Regards, Tom'
'Can I draw diagrams on the single sheet of paper? Also, when will we get our coursework mark back? Thanks.'
'Hi Missy, are we allowed to print our notes? What size should the font and size be if it's allowed?'
'Can I print one of the slides and write notes on it?'
'The past paper says any paper based material is allowed in the exam. Could I maybe bring in one of the past solutions? - Jane'
'How many questions do we have to answer?'
She was on the verge of losing her sanity, or at least what's left of it. Why did John ever allow the students bringing in notes anyway? If it were up to her, she would have been merciless to those pathetic sausages but technically, the exam is still John's responsibility as he was still the module coordinator and so, later in the evening, Missy called her dear brother in hopes of having the notes issue cleared up. She was having none of it with his students.
To her surprise, her call was left unanswered twice.
"That's strange. What are you up to, John Smith?" Missy grumbled.
Unknown to her, John had actually put his phone on silent. It was his first day volunteering as a tutor at the school so he made sure that nothing was in his way.
"Since it's your first day, I think it's wise to mention that the class you will be teaching has a certain student who's a bit of a troublemaker. Don't let her get to you – it's what she does best."
The Doctor arched a brow, feeling a little less confident now that Clara had mentioned a disruptive student. "Should I be concerned?"
Clara shook her head and smiled. "It's nothing serious with Laura Hooper but she can be witty."
John chuckled. He has been dealing with a witty sister his whole life. He was sure he could handle it. "I'm sure we'll get acquainted quickly."
They stopped in front of a door. "Right, good luck with Laura!" Clara said and winked at him before walking away.
As soon as the Doctor stepped into the classroom, the pupils scrambled to their seats and became as silent as a dormouse. John could already feel the awkwardness and he was sure the students could too.
"Hello, I'm the Doctor."
"I thought this was double Maths," retorted a student. She had a smirk on her face as she crossed her arms.
"This is indeed Maths and I'm, well, your tutor."
"I'm sorry, but are you our Maths tutor or some doctor from the NHS?"
John frowned at the student's question but he wasn't giving up easily. "I'm your tutor and yes, I'm called the Doctor and no, I'm not working for the NHS. I'm guessing you're Laura Hooper."
"That's me," Laura grunted.
"Ok. I suppose we can start over. Hello, I'm the Doctor. I will be your Maths tutor every Tuesday and Thursday until you sit for GCSEs which is several months away."
The Doctor set his messenger bag on the desk and began taking out his laptop and a stack of paper.
"I do think that the best way to cover all the materials is by going through the past papers and I've gone through the trouble of printing last year's for you," he explained, passing out the questions to the students sat in the front desks.
It was at that moment Laura raised her hand.
"Yes, Laura."
"Do you fancy Miss Oswald?"
John felt as if his heart had stopped beating but luckily, it didn't. However, he was taken back by the question and was silent for a few moments before he slowly said, "I beg your pardon?"
"Miss Oswald. You. Her. Are you two in love with each other something?"
"No."
He knew that no matter how much he would deny, the students, especially Laura would not believe him. He cleared his throat. "Could we please get back to the past paper? We're wasting time."
"If you say so, sir," Laura answered with a smug look.
Despite the bumpy start, John's first day of teaching went a lot better than he had initially expected. For the most part, the students did their work and that was something.
What surprised him after the tutoring was the five missed calls from Missy and a text message.
'You had better be dead or admitted to a hospital if you're not answering my calls. Your students are driving me mad. Idiot.'
John furrowed his brows as he read the message. Why was he blessed with an insane sister?
"So how did it go?" a familiar voice snapped him out of is thoughts.
He looked up from his phone and flashed Clara a boyish grin. "Went better than expected despite Laura causing a bit of a disruption at first."
She arched a brow and said, "Oh, did she say something along the lines of 'I'm sorry, I thought this was insert subject'?"
"She definitely said that," the Doctor replied and a few other things that he thought was best kept to himself.
"Don't let her get to you and she'll eventually come around. Laura does that with all new teachers or so I'm told."
They walked passed the school gate, heading in the direction of their homes.
"Listen, I was thinking that maybe we could get coffee or something, you know, as a way of saying thanks. I think I'm starting to enjoy teaching again," John suggested, hoping Clara would accept his offer.
Clara pondered for a moment. If she was completely honest, she didn't feel like socialising that much, especially when Danny's death anniversary was approaching but for some strange reason, she felt happier and less lonely whenever she was with the Doctor. She couldn't say no to the puppy look he was giving, intentional or not.
"I'd love that."
"Great! Is it alright if I call my sister first? She left five missed calls."
Clara giggled. "I'm sorry, how old are you? 12?"
"I think she thinks I'm 12," John retorted as he waited for Missy to answer his call.
"Looks like he's not dead after all. Here I am thinking my dear brother was being held hostage by killer robots or being chased by shapeshifting monsters."
"Hi Missy. Is there a reason why you called me five times?"
"Of course there is! Your students. Deal with them. I've been receiving dozens of emails asking a bunch of ridiculous questions. What have you been up to, by the way? You always answer your phone. Find a puppy?"
John cleared his throat and said, "I've just been busy." Revealing the fact that he's now tutoring at a local school was not an option. That would only prove Missy was right to send him off and sabbatical and he hates it when she's right. "And forward the emails to me. I'll post a response on the module page so everyone can see it."
"If you say so. I think I have about 11- 12 emails."
"Just forward all."
"And that was the last one!" Missy exclaimed, "I was going to forward all of them anyway."
"Of course you were. Is that all?"
"What's the rush? It's not like you're with a woman."
John nearly tripped before he quickly glanced at Clara. "Nothing. I just don't see anything else to talk about."
"There's plenty to talk about – the weather, the coursework that I've finished marking, Amy and Rory's plans to go to Edinburgh during summer, Bowtie's recent paper, the new chicken shop that just opened."
"Missy," the Doctor growled.
"I'm just pulling your leg, John. Where's your sense of humour? I won't distract you any longer. I theorise that you managed to get a puppy. It's why you sound so different, less like a teenager going through puberty and more like your old self. Ta-ta."
"Sorry about that," John murmured as he put his smartphone away. "My sister has a habit of being obnoxious."
"You two seem really close and she definitely knows how to wind you up," Clara said jokingly.
"Well, she's my only sibling so it's been like this for as long as I remember."
The two finally reached the café and John asked her what she wanted to order.
"I'll just have tea. Earl Grey," she said before looking for an empty table. One was spotted in a quiet corner of the café and Clara thought it was just the perfect place for them to get to know each other.
