I heard the door to the TARDIS shut and scrambled out of my room. My hair was still soaking wet from the shower and I hadn't got round to putting any make-up on. I'd pulled on my oldest pair of jeans and had layered up with jumpers and a coat. I went down to the control room, where the Doctor was fiddling with things. He was firing the TARDIS up to leave.
"Are we not staying?" I asked.
He looked over at me. "You didn't seem very enthusiastic." His head went back down as he studied the screen in front of him.
"No, I…" I shrugged. "I was just getting dressed. We can go and explore now if you like."
He shook his head without looking up. "No, it's fine." His voice was dangerously light and he was speaking in short sentences. I'd upset him. He pressed a few more buttons and was about to saunter off into the bowels of the TARDIS.
I put my hands in my pockets and hunched my shoulders. "Where are we going now?"
He shrugged without turning around. "Who knows?"
He walked off, leaving me standing there. I looked at the screen, wondering if there were any clues there over where we were headed, but he'd turned it off. Or she had. Sometimes I was convinced that the TARDIS had something in for me; maybe she was jealous about sharing the Doctor with anyone. I knew how she felt.
I trailed back to my room as I felt the TARDIS begin to move. I kicked off the old pair of trainers I'd put on and they landed in a heap in one corner of the room. My hair was still damp, but I couldn't be bothered with it. I twisted it back into two plaits and surveyed the destruction in my room. I should really tidy it. But maybe I'd just try my shoes on again before.
I slipped my feet into them and admired them. They were high, probably too high, red peep-toe courts. My toenails needed painting before they'd look any good, and I'd probably need some practice walking in them. But I'd fallen in love with them the moment I'd laid eyes on them. I still didn't really have an outfit to go with them, and I didn't have an occasion to wear them to. Still, I felt they were definitely worth what I'd paid. I loved the way they made me feel, as I practiced walking up and down my room. And was it my imagination or did my calves look smaller in them? I hitched my jeans up to investigate further. Just as the TARDIS landed. I wobbled precariously in my shoes before falling over.
After picking myself up and replacing my shoes carefully in their tissue-lined box, I went in search of the Doctor, to see where we were this time.