Shareen vs the Universe
Shareen's Life
Thanks to TheDeadEatBagels and geeklilly for favouriting and following this story
The alarm clock blared in the bedroom of Shareen's flat, waking the young woman from her slumber. She shut the alarm off, dragged herself out of bed and set about her usual morning routine. When she switched the telly on, the news channels were talking all about the so-called alien hoax. "Huh." Shareen grunted, rolling her eyes at the blatant cover-up by the establishment. She of course had been right in the middle of the Slitheen's plan to trigger worldwide Armageddon and knew the truth but she knew that no one would believe her if she told anyone. Growing wary of listening to the media trying to sweep everything under the rug, Shareen changed the channel and watched the music channels until it was time to leave for work.
Ever since the destruction of Henriks the year before, Shareen had been working a 15hr a week job at the markets near the Powell Estate, helping Howard Collinson with his fruit stand. The last two days' events were the talk of the marketplace today, with traders and customers all discussing their thoughts on the events. "I don't care what the news says, that was a real spaceship." Howard was saying, "That thing smashed Big Ben clean open. There's no way that was faked."
"You should've been around in the 70's." one his customers, Mrs Croot, replied, "There was that time when dinosaurs came and crashed about the city."
"Dinosaurs?" Howard raised a brow
"Of course, the papers covered it all up." Mrs Croot continued, "They said it was just a film being made, but I never believed it."
Shareen had been listening to this conversation intently. Two days ago, she would've dismissed Mrs Croot's story as the silly tales of an old woman, but now she couldn't help but wonder if there was maybe some truth to it. She decided that maybe she could ask Mickey to dig around online and see if there was anything about dinosaurs on the loose in the 1970's.
The day passed without incident and after the markets closed for the evening, Shareen helped Howard load his stock into his van for safekeeping. "Are you alright, Shareen?" Howard asked her, "You've been quiet all day. What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Shareen answered, "Just... ya know, spaceships and all that."
"Ah. Well, it's over now." Howard shrugged, "E.T's gone home." he laughed, "Oh, I heard that Rose girl turned up safe and sound. Bet you're happy."
"Yeah." Shareen acknowledged, "Turned out she's been travelling with some Northern geezer for the past year."
"Huh, alright for some." Howard commented, "You youngsters, ya go waltzing off and leave us to make ends meat."
"Oi! I don't waltzing off!" Shareen retorted indignantly, though she had to admit, Howard did have a point about Rose.
"Yeah, I know ya don't." Howard reassured her, "I was just pullin' ya leg. See ya tomorrow, 'Reen."
"Yeah, I'll be there." Shareen replied, and she went off home while Howard climbed into his van and went his own way.
~8~
A 15hr job didn't quite pay all the bills that resulted from owning a flat, so Shareen did a spot of busking on her days off to help make a little bit extra ends meat. Transport for London had licensed buskers to perform at transport hubs, so Shareen had applied for a licence and she was assigned to perform at Waterloo station and Canary Wharf Tube station. Thursday was Shareen's day off and on that day, she was assigned to perform at Canary Wharf.
Currently, Shareen was performing a cover of Fairground Attraction's Perfect. "Young hearts are foolish." she sang as she played guitar, "They make such mistakes. They're much too eager to give their love away. Well, I have been foolish too many times. Now I'm determined I'm gonna get it right. It's got to be perfect. It's got to be worth it, yeah. Too many people take second best. But I won't take anything less. It's got to be, yeah, perfect." She then played the final chords and finished the song.
Applause came from somewhere and Shareen looked round to see a young black woman standing nearby, having been watching the performance. "You're good." the woman said
"Oh, thanks." Shareen acknowledged, "Glad ya liked it."
"Tell ya what, you should go on X Factor." the woman suggested
"Nah, all that's a fix." Shareen replied, "They only want pretty boys and pretty girls. Singing's an afterthought on those programmes."
"Ya know, that's not a song that our generation tends to know." the woman continued, "Nice to see someone who's actually got taste."
"Yeah, well, I'm a retro girl." Shareen shrugged, then held out a hand. "Shareen Costello."
"Adeola Oshodi." the woman acknowledged, shaking Shareen's hand, "Fancy a coffee? My treat."
"Oh, er, ta. I'll pay ya back." Shareen said
"Nah, have this on me." Adeola told her, "Too many people walk on past and don't give you lot the time of day. Back in a tick." And she dashed off towards a nearby Costa, returning a few minutes later with a coffee. "There ya go. Get that down there." she said as she put the coffee down next to Shareen, "And you can have this an' all." She slipped a £10 note into Shareen's guitar case.
"Ooh, someone's being generous." Shareen commented. Most people tended to just drop maybe a couple of quid in her case, a fiver if she was lucky.
"Got paid today." Adeola replied, "Thought I'd share the wealth." She then checked her watch. "Ooh, sorry, gotta dash. Break finishes in five minutes. Nice talking to ya, Shareen."
"You too, Adeola." Shareen acknowledged, "See ya around some time." Adeola then headed off out of the station, while Shareen began her next song, a cover of AC/DC's Highway to Hell. "Livin' easy, lovin' free. Season ticket on a one-way ride. Askin' nothing, leave me be. Takin' everything in my stride. Don't need reason, don't need rhyme. Ain't nothin' that I'd rather do. Going down, by the time. My friends are gonna be there too. I'm on the highway to hell..."
~8~
Saturday soon came around, and Shareen was preparing for the regular football match she played every Saturday. She'd just dressed in her football kit and was gathering up her water bottle and spare shirt just in case. Once ready, she left her flat and made her way to the playground near the Powell Estate where the match was to take place. On the way, she met Mickey, who was dressed in his kit too. "Ah, all ready then, 'Reen?" he asked
"Ready as I'll ever be, Micks." Shareen replied, "Um, you heard from Rose?"
"No." Mickey sighed, "She hasn't called all week. What about you? Has she called you?"
"Nope. Probably too busy fightin' bog monsters with Richard Ashcroft." Shareen replied
"Richard Ashcroft?" Mickey raised a brow
"You know, the lead singer from The Verve." Shareen explained, "The way that Doctor dresses, it reminds me of how Ashcroft's dressed in Bittersweet Symphony."
"Good one, 'Reen. Yeah, he does dress like that." Mickey laughed, "'Course the name I'd use to describe the Doctor is 'Big Ears' or 'Dumbo'."
"Haha! Oh, those are good ones, Micks." Shareen chortled, "Yeah, I've seen those ears of his. Mind you, remember that bloke who used to run the paper shop? The nose on him!"
"Oh, 'Nosey Parker'." Mickey laughed, "Yeah. 'Ain't you kids got anyfink better do than skulkin' 'bout my shop?'" he impersonated, and both he and Shareen laughed at the memories.
They soon reached the playground and the rest of their team soon arrived. The team was made up of several young men and women from the area and they proudly called themselves the 'Bad Wolves'. Team captain was Rob Delaney. "Alright, Wolves. Let's give 'em hell!" he encouraged the team, and did an impression of a wolf's howl. The team did wolves' howls of their own and took up their positions on the pitch, with Mickey as goalkeeper and Shareen as a midfielder.
The Bad Wolves won the match 3-1 and afterwards, they descended on the local pub, the Spinning Wheel, to celebrate their victory with a well-earned pint.
~8~
Sunday was another day off for Shareen and she generally spent it chilling out in her flat. With weekend TV being rather dire, Shareen played her PlayStation 2 for most of the day and today she was playing her favourite video game, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. She'd just successfully completed a fun casino heist mission when her phone rang and she checked the caller ID screen to see that Rose was the person calling her. "Hey, stranger. where've you been?" Shareen asked as she answered the call.
"Oh, here, there an' everywhere." Rose answered, "Just been to this planet called 'Woman Wept.' Honestly, 'Reen, it's amazin'! You sure ya don't wanna come with us? You'd love it!"
"Like I said, Rose, another time." Shareen answered, "Surviving Downing Street blowin' up was enough excitement for me. Thanks for the offer, though. I might come with ya one day."
"How's things back home?" Rose asked
"Oh, the same old." Shareen answered, "Mickey and me had a match yesterday. We won. It's Sunday here, so we're all just chillin' out."
"Hmm, no chilling out here." Rose said, "It's all go in the TARDIS. Ooh, sorry, gotta go. The Doctor's comin' now. He said he was gonna take me to see this glass pyramid thing. Talk to ya soon."
"Yeah, watch ya back, Rose." Shareen reciprocated, "I'll tell Jackie an' Mickey you called. See ya soon!" She then ended the call and went back to her game, content to live her daily life.
Author's notes: And here's a short original chapter to show what Shareen's life on the slow path is like. Not my best work by any stretch, but I've thrown in some Easter eggs for the savvy reader to look out for. We'll see Shareen meet the Doctor again next chapter, so I expect that it will be more extensive. Anyway, see ya then!