"Alright ladies and gentlemen!" The Doctor announced, coming down the middle of the passenger car, holding a hole puncher up, clicking it repeatedly. "Prepare your tickets, please! Tickets!" The man came to a stop next to Mike's seat and turned to face him. "Ticket please, Mister Wheeler." He politely requested, bowing slightly.
Mike drew up a blank. "You just asked me to come along! You said it was a present-"
The Doctor shook his head, cutting Mike off. "Have you tried your pocket?" He suggested with a smile.
Mike rolled his eyes. "Don't be ridiculous, there's no tick-" His fingers brushed up against a piece of paper in his left pocket, which he was absolutely sure was empty, and he pulled it out.
Mike stared down in befuddlement at the golden piece of paper, an image of the train stamped on one side, the words 'POLAR EXPRESS ROUND TRIP' on the other. A faint shimmering, like bells ringing in the distance, came from it, even as he handed it over to the Doctor.
"Thank you." The Doctor took the ticket, beginning to punch holes up and down the paper, tiny scraps of gold paper flying everywhere, Mike waving some away before they could land in his eyes.
The Doctor blew on the ticket one last time to get rid of any scraps still clinging on and handed it back to Mike. "Here you go." He presented it back to him, turning away, "Oi! Hands off my microphone!" He said to a kid at the front of the car, going to deal with the problem.
Mike held the up the punched ticket to the light, and his eyes narrowed. "B-E…"
"That guy sure does like to show off with his ticket punching!" The glasses-wearing boy complained, walking up to Mike, practically shoving his ticket in his face. "L-E! What the heck does that mean?"
"Next stop," The Doctor suddenly announced, speaking into the microphone at the front of the carriage. "11344, Edbrooke Avenue, Grand Rapids, Michigan."
The kid huffed, as he went back to his seat, and Mike's eyebrows knit together in confusion. "Michigan? How did we…?" He wondered aloud, as the train began to brake, the Doctor preparing to step out.
"It's a clever train." Clara spoke up. "The tracks are way shorter on the inside."
"…Huh." Mike blinked, as the train came to a full-stop. He stood up, pulling down one of the windows, leaning out, watching the Doctor speak with the latest passenger.
He was a little boy, no more than 9 or 10 at the very most, looking up at the Doctor warily.
"Well…" The Doctor spoke to the child. "You coming?" The kid said something in response. "Why, to the North Pole, of course! This is the Polar Express…"
"Huh…" The glasses-kid leaned out the window next to Mike's. "Another pick-up? The Conductor said you were supposed to be the last one." He turned to Mike.
The little boy outside took a step back from the Doctor.
"Well, suit yourself." The Doctor directed to the boy, stepping back onto the steps. He waved the lantern, and the locomotive sounded the whistle, the train shuddering a second later as it proceeded back on track.
The glasses boy waved flippantly, closing the window, as Mike continued looking out. His eyes locked on the kid, and for a moment, he looked back, Mike waving awkwardly in response.
The kid's eyes locked on one of the handlebars on the outside of the carriage, and he took off into a sprint.
"He's going to try to get on!" Mike called to the others. "Come on!" He waved for him to move. "Hurry up!"
The train began to outpace the boy, and he tripped on something, faceplanting in the cold snow.
Mike pushed himself away from the window. "How do we stop this thing!?"
"I don't know how!" Clara admitted.
"There's an emergency brake!" Glasses-kid pointed to a red cord on the wall.
Mike took no time, running over, jumping onto the seat, and pulling down on the cord with all his strength.
Everyone inside was sent to the floor, as metal screeched, the titanic machine coming to a stop.
"Oh…" Mike rubbed his head, standing up.
The kid from before climbed onto the train, looking into the passenger car nervously. Mike gave him what he hoped was a kind wave, and he turned away, moving into the back of the observation car.
"Stop everything!" The Doctor yelled, running into the passenger car like a chicken with its head cut off, "I'm here, I'm here, who's hurt!?"
"Nobody's hurt…" A kid stuttered.
"Oh, thank God." The Doctor sighed in relief. "I was not looking forward to having to explain to the parents…" His eyebrows, furrowed. "So… Why was the brake pulled?"
"It was him!" Some snot-nosed brat at the very front pointed to Mike.
The Doctor's eyes locked on Mike, and they narrowed. "You?" He began angrily walking through the car. "In case you didn't know that cord is for emergencies only!" He pointed to the cord. "And in case you weren't aware," He noticed the open window, and marched over to it, leaning out, "Tonight is Christmas Eve!" He raised his voice, waving to the locomotive. El responded with two quick whistle puffs, and the Doctor leaned back in, closing the window. "And In case you forgot," He turned back to Mike, walking over to him, "My daughter decided to do this for you, and you decide to repay her by sabotaging it!?"
"But, I-" Mike stuttered.
"He was only stopping it so that kid could get on!" Clara pointed to the observation car.
The Doctor narrowed his eyes, looking in that direction. "Hm, I see…" He turned to Mike. "Is that what happened?"
Mike nodded.
"Well then," The Doctor straightened his bow tie. "I'm sorry. But we are on a very tight schedule, and-" He pulled out his fob watch, eyes widening as he looked at it, shoving it back into his pocket, voice raising as he rushed back to the front of the car. "And I've never been late before, and I'm certainly not going to be late tonight! So, everyone, take your seats, please!" He commanded, everybody rushing to do just that. The Doctor smiled, bowing slightly. "Thank you."
The train shuddered as it proceeded ahead, and the Doctor pulled the microphone off the wall. "Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please. Are there any Polar Express passengers in need of refreshments?"
A cacophony of 'me' and raised hands from everyone in the room was the response.
The Doctor chuckled. "That's what I thought."
The Doctor sidestepped, pulling the door open, allowing eight identical waiters in black vests and bow ties, to come running in from the car ahead, tap dancing all the while. They hit the back of some of the seats, allowing them to rotate around to face the other side, and they removed their aprons, placing them down in thin air, becoming tables for the children and lone teenager to dine on.
And then, just when Mike thought it couldn't get any weirder, that's when the singing started.
"Hot! Hot!" The waiters sung.
"Ooh, we got it!" The Doctor sung into the microphone, looking like he was having the time of his life.
"Hot! Hot!" The waiters snapped.
"Hey, we got it!" The Doctor danced, everybody looking on in awe.
"Hot! Hot!" A cart carrying two chefs, each one holding a large stack of plates and bowls came speeding in.
"Say, we got it!" The Doctor continued.
The waiters all jumped in unison. "Hot chocolate!"
"Hot! Hot!" The waiters all produced trays from seemingly nowhere.
"Oh, we got it!" The chefs began to throw out the plates and cups, all landing perfectly nice and neat on each tray.
"Hot! Hot!"
"So, we got it!"
"Hot! Hot!"
"Yo, we got it!" The waiters all fell to the ground in splits, before jumping back up all at once, the glassware on the trays perfectly okay.
"Hot chocolate!"
"Here, we've only got one rule:" The Doctor began, the waiters tapping their feet on the floor. "Never ever let it cool! Keep it cookin' in the pot, Then you've got-" The Doctor hit the high note, stepping out of the way.
"Hot choc-o-lat!" The chefs came careening back in, this time, on a cart with a large cooker on top.
With shots from the tap at the top, giant globs of hot chocolate went flying through the air, landing in the prepared cups that the waiters held, the waiters passing them out to the tables.
"Okay…" Mike mumbled to himself with a smile. "This is cool."
"Hot! Hot!"
"Ooh, we got it!"
"Hot! Hot!"
"Hey, we got it!"
"Hot! Hot!"
"Say, we got it!"
"Hot chocolate!"
"Hot! Hot!"
"Oh, we got it!"
"Hot! Hot!"
"So, we got it!"
"Hot! Hot!"
"Yo, we got it!"
Mike looked on, smiling, as he took in the hot chocolate, just the thing he needed to warm up in the frigid winter night.
"Here, we only got one rule:"
"Here, we only got one rule:" The waiters and chefs chorused, as they all jumped onto the rolling cart.
"Never ever let it cool!"
"Never ever let it cool!" The waiters jumped off the cart, balancing on the back of each seat. "Keep it cookin in the pot," They sung, pouring more hot chocolate from kettles into the empty mugs.
The Doctor took a breath, sliding down the middle of the aisle. "Soon, ya got hot choc-o-lat!" The waiters jumped down, spinning, as the Doctor began moonwalking backwards. "Hot! Hot!"
"Hey, we got it!" The waiters jumped up onto the tables, tap dancing, as the young humans pulled the mugs and whatnot out of the way.
"Hot! Hot!"
"Whoa, we got it!"
"Hot! Hot!"
"Yeah, we got it!"
"Hot! Hot!"
"Whoa, we got it!"
"Hot! Hot!"
"Hey, we got it!"
"Hot! Hot!"
"Whoa, we got it!"
"Hot! Hot!"
"Yeah, we got it!" The waiters all suddenly pulled away the tablecloths, standing on thin air for a moment, before jumping down, passing the kettle cart off to the chefs, before fastening the aprons back, taking the empty mugs away from the passengers, returning the seats back to the proper positions, and leaving the car with the chefs, the Doctor following after placing the microphone back on the hook.
"That was wild…" Mike commented, leaning back in his seat. He glanced over to Clara, the girl holding a mug of hot chocolate that she'd evidently hidden during the song-and-dance number, walking towards the back of the car. "Where're you headed with that?" He inquired.
"Him." Clara nodded in the direction of the observation car.
Mike frowned. "Are we allowed to leave our seats?"
"I'll be fine." Clara responded.
"She's right." Glasses popped up from behind his seat. "It's a violation of railroad safety regulations for a kid to cross moving cars without a grown-up."
"I'll be fine." Clara responded, going to move.
"Are you sure about that?" Mike questioned, the girl stopping.
Boots thudded against the carpet, a fob watch chain clinking, as the Doctor approached, Clara whipping around to face him.
"The young fella in the back…" The Doctor began, looking to Clara. "Did he get any refreshments?"
Clara shook her head.
"Well, what are we waiting for!" The Doctor threw up his hands. "Let's get it to him!" He gently guided her, moving out the car. "Careful, now, careful."
Mike looked, as the two jumped into the rearmost car, before turning back around. His eyes caught on the gold piece of paper unattended in the seat. "Hey, did the Conductor punch everybody else's tickets?"
"Yeah." Glasses answered. "Why?"
"Clara left hers here." Mike got up, grabbing the ticket. "Looks like it hasn't been punched." He commented, moving towards the back.
"Hey, what're you doing?" Glasses asked. "You could just wait!" He called, voice falling on deaf ears as Mike left the car.
The freezing air blew against Mike's skin, the door of the train car clinking behind him, as he held on. Below, he could see the tracks speeding by below, and the mechanism locking the cars together. Mike held out a hand to grab onto the other car, and pull himself across, when the ticket was blown right out of his hand.
"Oh, hell…" Mike cursed. "No good deed goes unpunished."
