The school bell rang loudly, as Cara and the rest of the children hurried up the steps. Pushing open the door to her fath the Doctor's classroom, Cara slid into her seat pulling out her books and pens.
It was fun going to school again.
The door swung open as the Doctor walked in plonking his bag down on the teacher's desk. Facing the class, the Doctor caught her eye, sending her a small wink (making her grin), before addressing the class.
"Good morning, class. Are we sitting comfortably?"
"So. Physics." The Doctor said, scrawling the word 'physics' in capital letters on the whiteboard underlining it. "Physics. Eh?" the Doctor continued, tossing the marker onto his desk. "Physics. Phyyyyyyyysics. Physics! Physics. Physics, physics, physics, physics, physics, physics, physics." he said, leaning back as he did so.
Cara bit her lip, much the rest of the class who were looking at their new teacher rather interested. "I hope one of you is getting all this down." The Doctor mumbled.
Care raising an eyebrow at him. 'Why?'
"Um, okay, let's see what you know. Two identical strips of nylon are charged with static electricity and hung from a string so they can swing freely. What would happen if they were brought near each other?"
'Repel each other. They have the same charge.' Cara thought, but keeping her mouth shut.
Her brain worked much faster and more effectively than the normal human brain, and while she was nowhere near the Doctor's level (who was really?) or even the 'average Time Tot level. Due to her being as the Doctor put it 'an equivalent of a two year old' she still was smarter than most humans. It was best to keep quiet when she could. In anycase, they all thought she was the 'physics teachers kid' so it was a given that she would know these things.
"Yes, uh, what's your name?" the Doctor asked, when a boy two seats away from her raised his hand.
"Milo."
"Milo! Off you go."
"They'd repel each other because they have the same charge." Milo answered. "Correctamundo!" the Doctor cried, continuing his pacing. "A word I have never used before and hopefully never will again."
Cara smirked.
"Question two, I coil up a thin piece of micro wire and place it in a glass of water. Then I turn on the electricity and measure to see if the water's temperature is affected. My question is this: how do I measure the electrical power going into the coil?" the Doctor asked, Cara and Milo's hand shot up.
This one was a tad harder.
"Cara." The Doctor said, pulling his hands into his pockets. "You'd measure the current and PDs in an ampmeter and a voltmeter." she said.
The Doctor nodded, smiling at her. "Very good." he said, glancing at Cara. 'I'm going to try something.'
"Right then, Milo and Cara tell me this; true or false: the greater the dampening of the system, the quicker it loses energy to its surroundings." The Doctor asked.
"False."
"False."
The two said instantly, Cara glancing at Milo from the corner of her eye. 'That was fast.' Cara thought.
"What is a non-coding DNA?" the Doctor asked, folding his arms leaning back. "DNA that doesn't code for a protein." the two said in unison.
"Sixty-five-thousand-nine-hundred-and-eighty-three times five?" the Doctor asked now going rapid fire. "Three-hundred-and-twenty-nine-thousand-nine-hundred-and-fifteen." Milo said instantly, Cara still processing the information.
The class rustled some whispering in the back, shooting looks, some impressed, and others disturbed. Cara suddenly felt rather lost. It was odd, usual she was the one who knew some things, or at least had some sort of light understanding.
"How do you travel faster than light?"
"By opening a quantum tunnel with an FTL factor of 36.7 recurring." The Doctor nodding, his mouth dropping open slightly. Cara shut her mouth, suddenly realising she had been staring at him in surprise, guppy fish.
'What the hell?'
'Language.'
Taking a seat with a few other children she had befriending in her short time (a nice boy named Kenny, a long-haired pretty girl named Melissa, a blonde haired girl called Jane and another boy named Luke.)
They were currently talking about the new teacher AKA Mr John Smith AKA The Doctor AKA her fa, no. Her 'undercover fake father.' Cara reminded herself sternly.
"So he's really your dad?" Melissa asked, leaning forwards. Cara nodded, taking a bite from one of the chips. They tasted a bit strange, but they weren't bad.
"Yep." she said, suddenly spotting the Doctor take a seat on the table behind there. 'Reeaally Doc? Again?' she teased, leaning back slightly shooting him an amused look.
The Doctor shrugged, taking a bit of his chip, making a face. 'I don't like it.'
Cara took a bite, seeming to take the taste under deep analysis. 'There not bad.'
"Cara." Melissa said impatiently, making Cara snap out of it, returning to the conversation. "Yeah, sorry." she said, seeing Rose join the Doctor. "What were you saying?" she asked, doing her best to focus on Melissa.
"I said, he seems a bit young to be your real dad." Melissa said suspiciously. "He's older than he looks." Cara replied, tucking some hair behind her ear. If she focused she could just—
"It's very well behaved, this place. I thought there'd be happy-slapping hoodies.-"
"My dad had me when he was 24 and he looks older than yours." Melissa started, making Cara lose her focus. "Umm." she spluttered, trying to think of a decently good story.
"Does your dad teach you physics and stuff?" Kenny interrupted, making Cara internally sigh with relief. "Yes, I learn a lot with him."
"Happy-slapping hoodies with ASBOs. Happy-slapping hoodies with ASBOs and ringtones. Yeah? Yeah?" The Doctor said to Rose. "Oh, yeah! Don't tell me I don't fit in." he said, happily looking over and Cara who was now in an engaged conversation with children at her table.
"Least Cara's having fun. Think she's doing okay? No, I'm sure she's fine…Maybe." The Doctor smiled to himself watching as Cara laughed. Rose following his gaze making a light miff. "Yeah, yeah." Rose said stiffly, just as another dinner lady approached them.
"You are not permitted to leave your station during a sitting." she said sternly. Rose stood up. "I was just talking to this teacher."
"Hello."
"He doesn't like the chips." Rose said, the dinner lady looked (well, death glared) at the Doctor. "The menu has been specifically designed by the headmaster to improve concentration and performance." she said stiffly seeming rather insulted by it. "Now, get back to work." she snapped at Rose, walking back to the kitchen.
"See? This is me." Rose said, turning around gesturing to her uniform. "Dinner lady."
"I'll have the crumble."
"I'm so gonna kill you." Rose said, following the woman, just as another teacher (Mr Wagner?) approached Cara and her friend's table. The Doctor perked up, his grin vanishing as he began listening closely.
"Cara. You'll be joining my class for the next period. Milo's failed me...so it's time we moved you up to the top class." Mr Wagner said, making her nod slowly, her eyes completely fixated on him. "Kenny? Not eating the chips?"
"Not allowed too." Kenny said sadly. Mr Wagner gave a light nod, ignoring Kenny, turning to the rest of them. "Luke, extra class. Now." he said, walking away, Cara, Melissa, Luke, Jane and a few other children following after him.
The Doctor watched them leave, shutting his eyes for a second; resisting the urge to run after Cara the second she disappeared from his site. Looking up, he watched Mr Finch who was staring down at all of the children from the balcony above.
Mr Finch looked down catching the Doctor's eye, before returning his attention to the children. The Doctor shoved in a few more chips, stabbing his fork into a pile of them.
'Cara. Cara, can you hear me?' he tried, waiting patiently for an answer.
He didn't get one.
Cara sat completely still, the picture in front of her screen taking her complete focus.
Nothing. Nothing was more important than this. Nothing. Only this. The most important thing in the world. Maybe even the universe.
"I'd like you all to put your headphones on now, please."
Cara pulled her headphones on, her fingers brushing against the keys of the computer. She was ready.
'Cara. Cara, can you hear me?
Cara paused, the name inching in the back of her mind; suddenly very aware she was. She was in a computer lab. Who was this, who was talking…name…name…
"Now, children...the things you will see..."
'…D-'
The screen lit up, with the cube and the codes. Cara's hands flying to the keyboard, typing at an unnatural speed. She had to solve it. She had to solve it.
She had to solve it.
She had to solve it.
She had to solve it.
She had to solve it.
She had to solve it.
She would solve it.
"And how's my daughter doing, Mr Parsons?" the Doctor asked, nibbling on a biscuit.
"Oh, she's a wonderful child Mr Smith. Brilliant, just brilliant. Never had a keener mind for History. Did you know she gave me the exact architectural influence and significance of the Pantheon and the area of the Gardens of Babylon in, setats? It was as if she was right there herself."
"She did?" The Doctor said slowly, nodding not knowing when Cara learned how to calculate setats. "Huh, well she always had a love for old things." The Doctor said, it was true, Cara loved old things, old Victorian clocks, old alien technology.
"And yesterday, I had a twelve-year-old girl give me the exact height of the Walls of Troy...in cubits." Mr Parsons continued. "And, it's ever since the new headmaster arrived?" the Doctor asked, trying to contact Cara once again.
Nothing.
It was like a static fuzz was blocking there telepathic connection. Instantly the werewolf and Queen Victoria ran into his mind, the Doctor swallowed his biscuit trying to give his full attention to Mr Parsons.
There were two explanations: Something or someone was jumping onto their telepathic signal and disrupting it. Unlikely but still possible. Or that, Cara was somehow unconsciously blocking him or something in her environment was causing her to be unconsciously blocking him.
"Finch arrived three months ago. Next day, half the staff got flu. Finch replaced them with that lot." Mr Parsons said gesturing to the group of smartly dressed teachers all huddled together. "Except for the teacher you replaced, and that was just plain weird, her winning the lottery like that."
"How's that weird?" the Doctor asked.
"She never played. Said the ticket was posted through her door at midnight."
"Hmm! The world is very strange." the Doctor said, popping another biscuit into his mouth.
"Excuse me, colleagues, a moment of your time." Mr Finch called out, making them all turn. The Doctor's eyes widened, as he stood up. 'It can't be…'
"May I introduce Miss Sarah Jane Smith. Miss Smith is a journalist, who's writing a profile about me for the Sunday Times." Mr Finch said, Sarah Jane smiling as she looked at all of them.
The Doctor could only stare in awe at the woman in front of him. The corners of his mouth beginning to twitch as they turned into a smile.
"I thought it might be useful for her to get 'a view from the trenches', so to speak. Don't spare my blushes." Mr Finch finished, turning around leaving the room. Sarah Jane turned and as if by fate caught the Doctor's eye.
"Hello!"
"Oh, I should think so!" The Doctor said smiling, unable to look away from her. Sarah Jane Smith. "And, you are...?" Sarah Jane asked. The Doctor blinked. "Hmm? Uh, Smith. John Smith."
"John Smith?" Sarah Jane repeated. "I used to have a friend who sometimes went by that name."
"Well, it's a very common name." The Doctor replied, unable to keep the grin off his face. 'Oh, Cara's going to love you.'
"He was a very uncommon man." Sarah Jane said holding out her hand. "Nice to meet you!"
"Nice to meet you! Yes! Very nice! More than nice, brilliant!" the Doctor said, taking her hand, shaking it happily. "Um... so, um, have you worked here long?" she asked, glancing around the room, before back at the Doctor.
"No! Um, it's only my second day." The Doctor answered. "Oh, you're new, then? So, what do you think of the school? I mean, this new curriculum?" she probed. "So many children getting ill, doesn't that strike you as odd?"
"You don't sound like someone just doing a profile." The Doctor said grinning widely. "Well, no harm in a little investigation while I'm here." Sarah Jane said wryly.
"No. Good for you." The Doctor said, as Sarah Jane walked away to talk to the other teachers. "Good for you. Oh, good for you, Sarah Jane Smith." he said proudly to himself, just as the bell rang.
Walking into the corridor, as the students piled out of their respective classrooms. The Doctor walked among them, with a faraway look and a smile on his face. "Sarah Jane Smith." he mumbled to himself, smiling widely.
Suddenly he caught site of a familiar mop of dark brown hair, walking out of a classroom. Striding over ignoring the odd stares of the other students, he gently took Cara's arm falling in step with her.
"Where were you?" he said instantly, quiet enough not to be overheard, by anyone other than them. "Umm, in class…why?" Cara asked, looking up at him in surprise.
The Doctor paused, wondering for a split second if he was being paranoid. Cara raised an eyebrow, the green in her hazel coloured eyes shining in the afternoon light.
"You okay, Doc?" she asked, looking up at him worriedly. The Doctor blinked, nodding his head slowly. "Yeah, yeah, I'm alright. Come on, we better get to class."
Hiya!
Just a little heads up, due to life (ugh) Updates will be a little later than their usual once a week.
Anyways thoughts?
I'm so glad you all enjoyed that TARDIS bonding scene (one of my faves to write so far) Did you all like this one, very Doctor centric...Anyways...
Thank you all for reading, reviewing, faving and following!
As usual please review, like, fav, follow, PM, ect. :)
Till next time...