September 2006
I am waiting for Mr Finch, the new headmaster at Deffry Vale Comprehensive, to open his blue office door and let me in. All the office doors have the Deffry Vale crest on it, and the classroom doors, at least the ones I saw, have the names of classes on them. I am waiting for my new timetable. Why is he not opening the door?
As I wait, I open my new book. It is a biography on Jane Seymour. Even after all these years, I never lost interest in Henry VIII's wives. I never thought that Jane's life would be entertaining, but this biography is proving me wrong. What I initially thought about the queen was only scratching the surface. As I am getting into it, Mr Finch opens the door. I notice that he has dark brown hair with grey streaks and blue eyes. 'Emma. Sorry, am I disrupting something?'
'No, sir,' I say as I put my book away. 'Sorry, sir.'
'Nothing to apologise about, Emma. What were you reading?' He leads me into his office.
'I was reading about Jane Seymour, Henry VIII's third wife. The biography is proving that her life is more interesting than most historians think.' Mr Finch gestures me to sit down, and I sit on the chair opposite his desk.
'At least you are a student. Some people like to mess about, but that is not the case with Deffry Vale. We pride ourselves in taking the highest responsibility with our students' work and getting the highest grades.'
'Yes, since you became headmaster, grades improved drastically, that's why my mums wanted me to transfer.' Mr Finch smiles.
'Here is your timetable, and I included a map of the school to help you find your way.'
'Thank you, sir.' I stand up to leave. 'Have a nice day, sir.'
'You too, Emma.' I leave his office before glancing down at my timetable. I have history first, and I use my map to navigate through the vast school.
When I reach the classroom, I find I am the first student there, or I'm the last, and the lesson ended. The teacher smiles when I walk into class. 'Emma, you're early. Take a seat. We're learning about the six wives of Henry VIII.'
'That's great; I love learning about the six wives. I started researching about them when I was little.' The teacher smiles as she begins sorting out a book for me. 'I want you to write your name, year and teacher on here, okay?' I nod, and she points to an empty seat where I will sit for however long I'll be here.
The other students begin filing in, and she starts teaching the lesson. 'For your homework, I want you to complete a project on Henry VIII's wives. It can be in any format you like, a poster, a presentation, even a song if you think you can manage it.' I'm not musically talented, but I think I have an idea for a song. If I had many friends, I could ask some of them to help. As such, I am the new student with no friends, and will probably get labelled as a weirdo or a freak. I won't let that happen again.
'Does it have to be all of them, or can we focus on one of them?' A student asks.
'If you have a preferred wife, you can work on her. Otherwise, I would prefer you to work on all of them, Kenny.' I pull another book out of my bag, about Katherine of Aragon this time. I skip to the end to find out what I wanted when I find something that none of the other biographies talked about.
Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn married on the 18th May 1536. Few people attended, but those that did included Mary and Elizabeth, their daughters, and Emma Smith-White, their maid-of-honour. Emma would later become Queen of England and resurrect both women, Jane Seymour and Katheryn Howard.
Married? How is that possible? And why am I mentioned? It must be a coincidence, surely? Wait, I can resurrect people? The bell rings for lunch, and we go to the cafeteria. I will continue my research once I finished. If my name is in that biography, the other biographies on Anne Boleyn, Katherine of Aragon and Jane Seymour must mention it somewhere. I collect a tray, and the dinner ladies are serving chips, fish, beans, and crumble. I'm sure people will get bored of chips if the headmaster keeps serving them at meals. I sit on my own, close to a teacher, as I haven't made any friends yet. He has brown hair that sticks up all over the place, brown eyes and is wearing a brown striped suit with a tie.
A dinner lady walks over to the teacher. 'Two days,' she moans.
'Sorry, could you just... there's a bit of gravy.' I'm close to laughing. The dinner lady is complaining about how long she's been there, and the teacher is pointing out that she isn't doing her job correctly. 'No, no, just there.'
'Two days, we've been here.'
'Blame your boyfriend; he's the one who put us onto this. He was right, a boy in my class this morning, got knowledge way beyond planet Earth.'
'It must be something that the school is doing,' I mumble. 'Grades suddenly shot up when Finch arrived, so is it the curriculum, the menu, what is it?' Mum and Mummy told me to keep an eye on everything; there is no coincidence that I'm at Deffry Vale.
'You eating those chips?' The dinner lady asks the teacher.
'Yeah, they're a bit... different.' I push my tray away, only having eaten one chip. I don't feel so good; it must be the chips as I tried everything else first to make sure it was safe.
'There is something on the chips that is making me ill, but what is it?' I ask myself. The teacher turns to me.
'Sorry, what's your name?'
'Emma Smith-White.' I hold my hand out to him.
'Mr Smith,' he shakes it. 'What were you talking about before?'
'The school must be doing something to make the students have a superb knowledge of things they shouldn't. It must be something to do with the chips as I'm not feeling so good now, I ate one. I tried everything else first, making sure that I was taking my time, and I was fine.' Mr Smith sits back, studying me. 'If it is something on the chips that make the school gain record grades, then what could it be?'
'I don't have the answers to that, Emma.'
'You're not permitted to leave your station during a sitting,' a dinner lady says to the one talking to Mr Smith.
'I was just talking to this teacher,' she says. 'He doesn't like the chips.'
'The menu has been specifically designed by the headmaster to improve concentration and performance. Now get back to work.' The dinner lady moves away, complaining about her job. Mr Smith turns back to me.
'Emma, can I give you a suggestion?'
'Go ahead,' I say when a teacher approaches me.
'Emma,' he says. 'You'll join my class for the next period. Milo's failed me, so we're moving you up to the top set early. Finish your lunch, then come to my classroom.' He tells me what room he is in and I write it on my timetable.
When I get to the classroom, everyone is sitting at computers with their headphones in. 'Hello, Emma. Take a seat.' I sit at an empty computer and find a strange alien code on there. It seems like I can translate it, but whether it's because I'm a human-Qetesh hybrid who had a high IQ since I was a baby or because of the oil on the chips, I don't know. But what is it for? I put the headphones on. But I don't type anything. I'm meant to investigate the school, not help them potentially take over the planet. I'll tell my parents about it later. I raise my hand, asking to go to the toilet as I didn't have time at lunch. The teacher agrees but says that this should be the last time. I take my bag with me and encounter Mr Finch and Mummy in the corridor.
'Excuse me, Mr Finch, as good as this tour is, I think my daughter needs to speak with me.'
'Go ahead, Miss Smith.' Mr Finch nods, and Mummy walks over to me.
'Anything?'
'In maths, everyone was typing an alien code. I don't know what it is, but the staff, or at least the maths teachers, could be aliens.'
'Right, I'll update Ruby when I see her. What about schoolwork?'
'I love history, we have to do a project on Henry VIII's wives, but I found something strange in my Katherine of Aragon biography. It mentioned my name and that I passed secret messages between her and Anne Boleyn. It also said that I would serve Jane Seymour, was at Katherine and Anne's wedding and would later become Queen of England!'
'What? I'll need to look into that, make sure you are reading the right thing.'
'I'll check my other biographies, but it mentioned my name several times. That can't be a coincidence.' Mummy lets me go and continues the tour with Mr Finch.
I don't return to maths but hide in the toilets. I check my other biographies, and so much has changed. I need to check it out on the internet, and that is what I'll do. I skip English to go to the computer room to research what I need. There is a Catherine Parr, but she was never married to Henry VIII. She married three times but never married into royalty. Then, I search for Henry VIII's wives. I find Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Katheryn Howard and Emma Smith-White.
It can't be a coincidence that I share the same name as a queen of England. The door opens. 'What are you doing in here?' Mr Finch asks.
'I needed to research something for my history project.'
'I see, but don't you have a lesson?'
'Oh. Right, of course.' I grab my bag. 'I researched what I needed anyway.'
Tonight, Mummy is going to break into the school. 'Can I come?' I ask.
'No, you can't. Ruby, can you please look after Emma?'
'I thought we agreed that we wouldn't hide anything from each other. Sarah, what's going on?'
'It's just my job, nothing more.' Mum doesn't look convinced by Mummy's explanation, and I can understand why.
'Fine, just this once. If it's anything alien, let us know.' Mummy agrees, and Mum and I stay at home.
I go to my room and smile. We only just moved in, so there is a lot that I have to unpack. Cardboard boxes cover my room, but my furniture is set up. Now, I have an adult's bed opposite my window and a bookshelf beside that. Before we moved in, we painted the walls in my room; one of them is sapphire blue, and the others are baby blue. I smile at the photograph I already have out; it is one of my parents and me before Mum and Mummy had to go on the run.
Opening one of the boxes, I begin taking out some of my other books. These are the biographies I don't read regularly but still enjoy. I place them higher up on my bookshelf, then return to the box. The next objects I pick up are my old exercise books from my youth—at least my French, Spanish and German books. They are the only ones I kept when I started secondary school. I want to pick up on lessons again, but I don't know who to ask. I put them next to the biographies I love reading. I still look through each of them, and I thankfully included pronunciation with each of them, so I know how to speak each language.
Soon, Mum checks on me and tells me it is time for bed. She tucks me in and reads me a story. I don't need this; it is something Mum and Mummy want to do. They missed out on me growing up, and they don't want to miss more. I close my eyes and hope that Mummy will come home soon.
In the morning, Mum wakes me up for school. 'It was aliens. The headmaster is an alien. Fancy helping out?'
'Si!' I grin. Mum leaves the room with a smile on her face, and I throw my clothes on. I run downstairs, grabbing a slice of toast when I reach the kitchen. Mr Smith, the dinner lady he was talking to yesterday, and another person are there. The dinner lady has shoulder-length blonde hair, sparkling blue eyes and is wearing a blue hoodie and jeans. The man is wearing a grey t-shirt, a denim jacket and jeans.
'Morning, Emma,' Mummy says. 'This is the Doctor, Rose and Mickey. They will be helping us out, so we said we'd give them a lift to the school.'
'Cool, I'll walk to school,' I say. 'It will be faster than going in the car if there's already five people and a robot dog.'
'Alright, we'll meet you there,' Mum says. I grab my bag and set off to school. I get there earlier than my parents.
A silver car drives up, and Mum, Mummy, Rose and Mickey get out. I look in the passenger seat and realise that the Doctor is stuck. He is banging on the window, hoping that someone will let him out. Mummy goes back to help him, and the Doctor figures out the child lock on the door. 'Sorry about that,' he says. 'Rose, Sarah, Ruby, you go to the maths room. Crack open those computers. I need to see the hardware inside. Here, you might need this.' The Doctor passes something to Mummy, but Rose had reached out to take it. 'Mickey, surveillance. I want you outside. Emma, go to class as normal.'
'Just stand outside?' Mickey asks.
'Why can't I do something interesting for once?' I ask. Mummy passes Mickey the keys to her car so he can keep K-9 company. I make sure I have my biographies in my rucksack before heading into history.
As I am working on my project, Mr Finch asks to see me in his office. It might not be a good idea to follow him, but what choice do I have? The other aliens, at least, I think they're aliens, are in his office as well. Most of them are teachers, but some of them are dinner ladies. 'Brothers, we must initiate the final phase. Get the children inside and seal the school. Our time has come, my brothers. Today we shall become gods.' The other aliens leave. Mr Finch sits me down. 'You seem to be something different.'
'I have no idea what you are talking about.'
'You are part Qetesh.'
'Nein.'
'I knew you were the moment we met. What is your favourite subject?'
'History. We're learning about the six wives of Henry VIII.'
'Why would you want to learn history when you can shape the future? Think about joining us, eh? You can help shape the universe.' Mr Finch leaves as I think about it.
I leave the office to find my parents, but I can't find them. I open the door. 'You wanted the programme, there it is.' Mummy says. I enter the room and stare at the screen.
'That's the same programme Wagner showed us.'
'What?'
'And I think Mr Finch is onto me. He knows that I'm part Qetesh, and he wants me to help shape the future. I guess the programme is a link to his plan.'
'No, that is his plan. I recognise it from my childhood; it's the Skasis Paradigm.' Mum says.
'The what?' Mummy asks.
'The god maker. The universal theory. Crack that equation, and you have the building blocks of the universe. Time and space and matter, yours to control.'
'And the kids are like a giant computer?' Rose asks. Something taps me on the shoulder. I turn, and Mr Finch pulls me into the darkness, out of the classroom.
'What the hell are you doing?' I growl. Mr Finch steps back, terror on his face.
'I was right. You are part Qetesh.'
'Stop the children from cracking the Skasis Paradigm and leave Earth in peace.'
'Why would we do that? Emma, you can change yourself, never get your hunger, stop yourself from killing others. Your mum and dad, they can live forever.'
'You clearly don't know me very well,' I punch him in the face. 'I have two mothers. I told you that.' I open the door to another computer room and run inside. Students are sitting at their desks, working on the paradigm. 'Right, we have to get out of here.' Of course, the children don't hear me. Then I realise to set them free; I must unplug the computers. I follow the wire to a plug and pull it out. Sparks fly from the machines as they turn off. 'We have to go,' I say. 'Go to the other computer rooms, get the students out, use anything necessary.' The students hurry out of the room and go to the other computer rooms. I go back into the room where my parents are. 'Your plan won't work, Finch. I'm getting the students out of the school.'
'And they listen to you? After you punched me in the face?'
'I didn't tell them about that.' I grab a chair and throw it at Finch. The Doctor, Rose, Mum and Mummy run out of the room with me. We run down the stairs where we run into Mickey and another student as the Krillitanes chase us.
'Are they my teachers?' The student asks.
'Yeah, sorry.' I say. 'Mum, Mummy, I'll need some help.' Mum and Mummy help me into the cafeteria as I reach into my body and pull out my stomach.
'Emma, no,' Mummy says. 'Once you take the first step, you can't go back.'
'I'd rather take that risk and keep us safe.' The Krillitanes follow us.
'Sarah, duck under the table,' Mum says. 'We'll protect you.' Mummy hides under the table. Mum pulls her stomach out of her pocket. She turns to me. 'You okay?'
'Yeah. I'll be fine.'
'We need the Doctor alive,' Mr Finch says. 'As for the others, you can feast.' I stand in front of Mummy as a Krillitane dive towards us. I throw my stomach at it, and it latches on. The Krillitane screeches, as does Mr Finch. I feel more powerful than before. My stomach drops the body and returns to me. More Krillitanes begin diving at us, and a red beam of light hits one of them.
'K-9!' Mummy cries.
'Suggest you engage in running mode, Mistress,' the metal dog says.
'Good boy,' We run out of the room as K-9 continues firing at the Krillitanes, and we find ourselves in a physics classroom.
'It's the oil,' the Doctor realises. 'The Krillitanes changed their physiology so much they can't handle it. Rose, how much of it is in the kitchen?'
'Barrels of it.'
'Then that's where we need to be. Mickey?'
'What now, hold the coats?'
'Get the children unplugged and out of the school.' The door begins to gain scratch marks as it defends us from the Krillitanes.
'I've already got it covered,' I say. 'Right then, bats. How do we fight them?' The student elbows the glass for the fire bell. The Krillitanes stop attacking the door. We run past them and towards the kitchens. Like Rose said, the Krillitanes stock barrels of oil in the kitchen and the Doctor uses something to try and get them open. 'What is that?'
'Sonic screwdriver. The barrels have been deadlock sealed. Finch must have done it; I can't open them.'
'The vats will not withstand a direct hit from my laser, but my batteries are failing,' K-9 says. The Doctor tells us to use the back door, and we vacate the building. Mickey goes to check that the students are out, as does Rose. Mum, Mummy and I wait for the Doctor and K-9 by the back door.
The Doctor runs out, sonicing the door locked. K-9 hasn't followed him out. 'Where's K-9?' Mummy asks.
'We need to run,' the Doctor says.
'Where is he? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!' The Doctor pulls us away, and we begin running away from the kitchens. As soon as we get to safety, the school explodes. Papers start falling onto the students. They start cheering, but I can't bring myself to join them. Mum and Mummy just lost their dog.
'I'm sorry,' the Doctor says.
'It's all right,' Mummy says. 'He was just a daft metal dog. Fine, really.' Mummy is crying. Mum and I pull her into a hug as she cries.
A few hours and a change of clothes later, we meet the Doctor at a local park. A blue police box is standing there, and the Doctor opens the door. 'Cuppa tea?' He asks. Mummy nods, and we enter the police box.
'That's impossible,' I breath. There are circles on the walls and the ceiling curves around. There is a console in the middle with a blue light, and all sorts of buttons and levers decorating it. Brown pillars hold up the ceiling, and they almost look organic.
'Not impossible,' the Doctor says.
'But it's bigger on the inside!' The console beeps in greeting. 'And it's alive! How is that possible?'
'Don't ask me; I nicked it.'
'You nicked a police box?'
'It's a TARDIS!' Mummy begins talking to Rose, and I have to smile about how well they are getting along.
'You said that you were part Qetesh,' the Doctor says as he begins fiddling with a couple of bits on the console.
'Yes, that's right.'
'Did Ruby tell you about her home planet?'
'No.'
'Maybe I can take you there during the summer holidays; you can get to know the other half of your species, live with them for a week or so, something like that. There is a summer camp for human-Qetesh hybrids; we can get you signed up for that.'
'Sounds great,' I grin.
'I think that's a great time,' Mummy agrees, 'but you'll have to arrange the transportation, Doctor.'
'I will don't worry. Listen, we're about to head off, but you three can come with us.'
'We already lived this life,' Mum says. 'Besides, we have a daughter and a much bigger adventure ahead.'
'Ruby's right,' Mummy nods. 'It's about time we stopped waiting for you and found a life of our own.'
'Can I come?' Mickey asks. 'Oh, not with you, but with you,' Mickey gestures to the Doctor. 'I am not the tin dog, and I want to see what's out there.'
'Oh come on, Doctor,' I say. 'Sarah Jane Smith and Mickey Smith. You need a Smith on board.'
'Okay, then. I could do with a laugh.' Mickey looks overjoyed, but Rose doesn't look impressed. Mickey asks if it's all right with Rose, but she still doesn't seem overjoyed by the prospect.
'Well, we'd better go,' Mummy says. We take Rose to one side.
'What do I do?' She nods back to the Doctor. 'Do I stay with him?'
'Yes. Rose, some things are worth getting your heart broken for. Find us if you need to, one day. Find us.' The three of us leave the TARDIS, and the Doctor follows.
'It's daft,' Mum says. 'But we never thanked you for that time. And like we said, we wouldn't have missed it for the world.'
'Something to tell the grandkids.'
'I think it'll be someone else's grandkids now.'
'Don't bet on it,' I say. 'Anything could happen. I could adopt someone.' Mummy turns back to the Doctor.
'Goodbye, Doctor.'
'Oh, it's not goodbye.'
'You say it, please. This time. Say it.'
'Goodbye. My Sarah Jane and Ruby.' The Doctor hugs them both. 'I expect you will both get into some trouble later down the line, so, Sarah, this is for you,' the Doctor hands her a lipstick.
'What-'
'It's sonic. Oh, and I have a watch for you that detects alien life.'
'Thank you.' The Doctor turns to Mum. 'I got you this from your home planet. He's called Mr White, and you better use him well, okay?' He passes Mum what looks like a white games console. Then, the Doctor turns to me. 'I wasn't able to get you much, Emma, but I'll think you'll like it. Hang on,' the Doctor hurries into the TARDIS. When he returns, he is carrying a Tudor dress made from black velvet and a matching French hood. 'I heard you like the Tudors, and I thought of you when I saw it. This was the dress Katheryn Howard wore on her last day.'
'Whoa, this is awesome. Wait, last day? Don't you know what happened to her?'
'No, you asked me not to look into it too much, or I'll feel disappointed..' The Doctor puts the dress and the French hood in a bag for me. 'I know you can't wear this to most places, but I thought you'd like it.'
'Thank you, Doctor.'
'Now, I would love to stay and chat, but you know me. I've got stuff to do.' We nod, and the Doctor enters his TARDIS.
'Come on,' Mummy says, and we begin walking away as the TARDIS takes off. We all look back, watching it fade away. In its place is-
'K-9!' Mummy cries.
'Mistress,' K-9 says.
'But you were blown up,' Mum says.
'The Master rebuilt me, Mistress. My systems are much improved with new Omni-flexible hyperlink facilities.'
'He replaced you with a brand-new model?'
'Affirmative.'
'Yeah, he does that,' Mummy agrees. 'Come on, you lot. Home. We've got work to do.'
'Affirmative.' We all begin to walk out of the park.
'Emma, do not think that you can spend the rest of the school term at home,' Mummy says. Bother!
