Chapter 3
Thankfully Clara didn't turn round or notice her following steadily behind. Too focused on finding the Doctor. Clara made a right into the next corridor and stopped; looking down the rest of the way and then to her left where you could see through the windows to the courtyard garden just outside. Lauren spotted the Doctor before Clara did, knowing already he'd be there working on a junction cabinet.
Lauren then swiftly moved forward and passed Clara making her way out into the courtyard knowing Clara will be stopped by a tall boy asking about football and leaving class early, and then by the Headmaster who wanted a word.
She breathed in deeply the fresh air, in and out of her lungs as she felt a surge of excitement from seeing the Doctor again. He was stooped over the cabinet, poking through it while conversing with Danny Pink and the man who was eleven's human lookalike, another teacher – Adrian was it?
Everything looking exactly like it did from the show, except she was here.
Lauren slowly moved forward enough to be of ear shot to hear their conversation but not close to draw any notice of herself. She carefully sat down on the picnic bench which sat in the middle of the plants so everything was in full view to her; watching the Doctor in front of her.
Clara emerged from the corridor and into the courtyard garden only then to be stopped again, this time by Courtney Woods. Clara quickly got rid of her but not before Courtney made a remark, "Ozzie loves the Squaddie."
"What was that?"
"Nothing," Courtney shrugged and walked off. Lauren smirked.
Lauren tilted her head slightly down hopeful to avoid Clara's eye as she walked directly by her taking a watering can from a boy to pretend to water the plants as an excuse to overhear the conversation.
Lauren listened to the Doctor's talk, remembering it as much from the episode, Adrian introducing Danny as a sergeant and his useful experiences while the Doctor claims to be fully qualified just as he creates sparks coming out of the junction. She silently giggled at that.
The sound of glass could be heard breaking somewhere behind them and Adrian leaves shouting at the boy who apparently caused it, leaving the Doctor with Danny. Which was never a good idea to begin with, but they didn't know that just quite yet Lauren thought.
The Doctor was having trouble understanding how a soldier could also be a maths teacher, "How does that work? What if the kids have questions?"
"About what?" Danny asked slightly confused.
"Maths." He answers as if it were obvious.
"I answer them. I'm a maths teacher." Danny confirmed.
"But he said you were a soldier."
Lauren rolled her eyes at that. She remembered not understanding why the Doctor turned into a bigot in this episode, he may not like soldiers but the Doctor was beginning to talk and behave like a bigot. I mean how long was the Doctor friends with the Brigadier? And all his time spent with Unit during his third self. Lauren was fairly annoyed and more so now seeing it played out in front of her.
Thankfully Clara eventually interrupted the conversation, "Er, excuse me. Mister Pink, I think class 9M4 are waiting."
"Yes, you better run along, Sergeant. That ball isn't going to kick itself, is it?" the Doctor pipped in, getting up to put the screwdriver in the toolkit bag.
Danny was still confused at the Doctor's behaviour, "I, I'm not a PE teacher, I'm a maths teacher."
"Nope, sorry. No, I can't retain that. I've tried. It's just not going in."
Lauren sighed while Danny left. Now Clara speaks to the Doctor trying to hint at the similarities between Danny and Orson Pink; the Doctor claimed not to remember.
Lauren watched as the Doctor quickly placed a small round shaped gizmo with green lights in the cabinet, locking it up before Clara could see what he was doing. However Clara got suspicious again and asked what he was up to as they began to walk back the way they came.
The Doctor was about to change the subject until he did something that did not happen in the episode as Lauren remembered. Instead of walking straight passed discussing Clara's boyfriend, the Doctor had suddenly stopped just slightly behind where she was sitting.
"What, what is it Doctor?" Clara said looking to him. Lauren frowned in confusion not understanding this change in dialogue. She could only see Clara's face which was turned sideways to look at the Doctor. She wondered what the Doctor was thinking.
The Doctor in question sniffed loudly and titled his head back to look at the sky before turning back to Clara. "It's nothing." And he began walking again; talking about if Clara's boyfriend was here before Adrian came back to talk to Clara.
Lauren watched relieved as they did and said everything from the episode the same again. The Doctor was stupidly believing the idea of Adrian being Clara's boyfriend because of his resemblance to his former eleventh self. The Doctor followed them as they talked with a smug smile on his face into the corridor.
Lauren also got up tossing her school bag on and quietly walked behind the Doctor, stopping just as she entered the corridor again; waiting until the Doctor would walk in the opposite direction.
Lauren shook her head fondly as she saw the Doctor whisper "Oh, Clara," and snigger to himself.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The Doctor wandered off to continue his work as Lauren kept a fair distances behind him. She knew the Doctor could easily tell if someone was following him, so she had to keep her wits about her. She watched him place more of the green light gizmos in the corridors while occasionally actually cleaning the school.
A part of Lauren just wanted to go up to the Doctor and speak to him, but what would she say? Please help I'm not meant to be in this universe, take me back in your TARDIS? He wouldn't believe her. It's not every day you travel between universes and if she tried to convince him by telling him everything she knew of him, he would freak out. Really freak out. What would the Doctor really think of a strange girl who knew almost everything about him, honestly? He would most likely think she was a human sensitive to timelines or something like that, and the Doctor believing she was that may not be such a good idea, he probably wouldn't like her for it. The Doctor would never in his life believe in another universe where he was a TV show. And this regeneration was a trickier than his last, that bit darker in personality, she loved this version of him really, but he could easily perceive her as a threat, something not to be trusted, a trap to get into the TARDIS.
But she had to do something. She must. She was brought here for a reason she had to be. Lauren knew she needed to speak to the Doctor, needed him to understand her in a way so he could help her… Or maybe she could help him. Convince him to take her with her, if there was no chance she could go home, she would beg to travel with him.
Lauren quickly ducked behind a corner as the Doctor turned and stared where seconds before she was standing. That was the third time he almost seen her, each time Lauren had to awkwardly duck behind something. A few passing students gave her strange looks.
She heard the Doctor shuffle on the spot and sniff loudly before the familiar sound of his sonic screwdriver could be heard. Was it her imagination or was the sound of his sonic getting closer to her?
Lauren gasped as she realized he was walking down towards her and he will find her, and she really couldn't think of anything she could say without melting under his gaze. Fortunately a teacher walked passed and she heard the sonic stop as the Doctor pocketed it away pretending to be normal.
Lauren in a split panic ran down the corridor as quietly as she imagined she was and made her way to the playground so the teacher couldn't make her go to class nor the Doctor couldn't catch her stalking him.
"That was a close one!" Lauren panted.
Lauren couldn't face the Doctor yet, she didn't know why but she was a tiny bit scared of properly meeting him. It's like always wanting to meet someone who was your hero and you imagine what it would be like to meet them, creating scenarios and reactions in your head then if the real thing happened you might not react the way you imagined you would, you suddenly get nervous.
"No, I must talk to him soon, before all the drama starts. Don't be a chicken Lauren," she whispered to herself, determined.
The school bell rang and students began leaving there classes and filling the corridor and the playground. Was it lunch time? No, maybe it was break, just everything felt like it was going slowly for her. Lauren slumped against a wall as she looked around trying to get her whereabouts. She wasn't halfway through the episode yet was she? No it was still early. She just had to think what would be the Doctor's next move.
Lauren saw the playground had a large chessboard mat on it with corresponding sized pieces, (she secretly wished her school could have had that) two boys where playing football on it. The football knocking over a rook, then she heard Clara scold the boys, "Hey, I said you could play chess, I did not say you could play football on the chessboard. Jack, Morgan, come on, help me out, clear it up."
"Ah," Lauren said, now if she remembered correctly the Doctor should have also made his way here in the playground as well, putting in another gizmo…
Sure enough Lauren turned to see the Doctor whistle 'we don't need no education' at Clara. She was staring at him just as he turned to her direction. She was going act natural until a football suddenly smacked her square in the face. This caused her to stumble and lose her balance. Lauren was vaguely aware of falling to the ground. It all happened so fast for her to fully understand what happened for a second.
The first thing she registered was the stinging pain on her face and her left palm which she tried to break the fall with. As she rolled off her front and to her side she felt something wet and sticky trail down the side of her cheek. Blood.
Her nose was bleeding. Yet all she could think about was everyone who seen her get hit and fall, no doubt it was a laugh to them.
As first days go this was turning out rubbish…
Lauren groaned as she felt a pair of strong hands wrap round her underarms picking her up off the ground. "I, I'm okay really…thank you," she grasped hold of the arms that kept her steady as she stood.
"No problem, I'm the caretaker and I'll take care of that nose spillage you've got."
Lauren jerked her head up at the sound of a familiar Scottish accent, a few droplets of blood dripping down her front, but she didn't realize because the pain seemed to hurt less as she stared up wide eyed at the Twelfth Doctor himself.
