Chapter Nine

Peek-a-boo!

As it turned out, what the Doctor led me to was what looked to be some sort of broom closet. I knew that it was one of the few places I hadn't looked since it was only for the janitorial staff to use. As a student, I didn't have access to it. I looked over to the Doctor who was grinning as he opened the door like he was revealing something awe-inspiring. A mop had been propped against the door and fell, almost as if it was attacking the Doctor, who had gone on the assumption that it wasn't a mop, but a hostile alien who was trying to attack him.

"That's a mop, Doctor," I stated in a deadpan, "and you found the janitorial staff's supply closet. Wow, I'm impressed! Really, color me impressed. Now I know where to go if I need a mop."

"No. Nononono. There were readings coming from this place," he stated as he started to rummage through the supply closet.

"We'll get into huge trouble if you keep it up," I stated.

"Hello. What do we have here?" I heard him say in an intrigued voice.

I poked my head into the closet, seeing a barely hidden hatch opening. I smiled at him as I entered the closet, noticing that he was walking so that he wouldn't stick out too much.

"I recognize the architecture," I stated, knowing that the interior reminded me of my last adventure with the Doctor.

"Definitely the same race," he stated, not glancing at me, "but why would they be here?"

"There's all sorts of illnesses in any large enough crowd. A college campus is a breeding ground for viruses, giving them plenty of an opportunity to mutate," I stated quickly.

"Shush. I'm thinking," he stated, getting a sigh from me before starting to think aloud, "last time we encountered them, they were trying to not just use humans as experiments, but to research something. What was it? Oh! I remember. Contagions. Air borne viruses. But why a college? And how does this tie in with the suicide rate?"

I gave him a sidelong glance before shaking my head. He was being dense again, which was something his previous version wasn't. Well, not this blatantly if he was. He'd catch up after a while.

"I got it! There's a large amount of humans here. The contagions would be able to spread and mutate quickly," he stated.

"Nice of you to finally catch up," I muttered with a frown, "I just hope that they're not up to their own tricks again."

"I think we should leave," he stated before pulling me along, not quickly but not taking his sweet time.

Next thing I knew, we were waiting for the elevator. I glanced at him, confused and feeling that it had happened quite suddenly. Why did he choose to get us both out of there for little to no reason?

"What was that for?" I asked with a frown.

"I didn't like it. The last thing I want is to see you become a killer again," he stated with a frown.

"So you're all set in your ways about me, huh?" she asked with a frown.

"I just don't want to see you be like that again," he replied gently, "you might never snap out of it."

"I don't think so," I said suddenly with a light tone.

"What makes you so sure?"

"Because of a very good reason. You know how to snap me out of it. And if you need to be snapped out of it, I could just as well do the same," I stated with a smirk.

"Unless we both are needing to be snapped out of it at the same time."

"You need to acknowledge that people can change. That I can."

"Oh, I have no doubt that you can change, but not that completely. And how long had it been for you since that day? A year or two?"

"Almost five, actually," I stated with a frown.

"Okay, fine. I'll give you one chance. One," he stated.

"But that chance won't be tomorrow," I stated lightly.

"Why's that?" he asked.

"I'll be in the hospital most of a day," I stated, getting a look from him.

"What? Why?"

"Human issue. It's not life-threatening. I'll just be on the mend for a little while," I stated.

"What human issue?" he asked as I started to lead us towards the library.

"You do know that there are a few organs known to be...how should I put it... there are some organs that won't affect us if they're removed. They tend to be the more problematic ones, prone to damage and other issues."

"Time Lords also have some organs like that," he stated with a nod.

"Well, one quit working, so I'm going in to get it removed before complications can arise," I stated gently.

"So you will be okay, right?" he asked.

"One of the top ten most common surgeries in the country. The only bit of it that has been known to kill patients all stem from the anesthetic. Since it's probably a similar one used for my wisdom teeth extraction, I should be perfectly fine, if not really...interesting."

"Interesting?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I acted drunk," I stated, "and I was still under the influence for five hours afterwards. Puking, asking to talk to people I dislike... yeah. I'm a mellow drunk, apparently. Kinda hard for me to tell since I blacked out for most of it, mostly around the times...yeah. To this day, I don't know what I wanted to tell the woman who gave me part of her genetics."

"That's your own mother you're talking about," he stated with a frown.

"Sometimes, I wonder," I stated with a frown, "she's everything I never want to be. I'll see you when I see ya, Doctor."

With that, I headed towards the bus stop instead of the library, walking around the building. I wanted to go back to my apartment. Half because the school day was over, half because I wanted to make myself scarce. Sides, I had a lot to do the next day. But of course, he seemed to have more to say about it.

"Isn't that a mean thing to say about the lady who gave you life?" he asked.

"She threw me away like I was yesterday's newspaper. As far as I'm concerned, she didn't do me any favors by bringing me into this world," I stated, turning around to look at the Doctor, "Because I'll tell you something about this world you prolly haven't had the chance to see since you don't exactly stick around. This world isn't a great beacon of anything. Everyone who walks around only care about money and social standing. And if they so much as realizes that you don't match their concept of normal, they'll either ignore you or flat out become violent. And I was born to never, ever reach the widely-held standard of normal. I don't know what you see in humanity and I think that if you see humanity as more than just a blundering group of hypocritical idiots who are just a notch above herd animals, then you really need to take some time and see humanity's true face."

He raised his eyebrows at me during my tirade, almost like he wanted me to let out my pent-up emotions on the matter. Silence dragged on after I let out the tirade, his expression almost unreadable before he broke into a grin. It was almost the kind of smile an elderly adult would give to an overly idealistic child whose ideals were the opposite of what they really were.

"Then maybe I should show you what I see humanity is," he stated before adding, "come along, Olmstead."

He strolled down the concrete path he had been following me on, taking the lead as he grasped my wrist. I knew that he was a time traveler and that he had all the time in the world to tackle our current situation with the aliens in the college. He seemed to think that this was more important. Which made me question his priorities. Didn't saving lives mean more than just making me change my opinion on every other idiot on the little rock called Earth?

"But I thought dealing with the situation here was important," I stated, easily keeping up with the Doctor now that he didn't have as large of a stride.

"It is important," he stated, "but we don't have to experience it all linearly."

"Why do I get the idea that you never do," I muttered.

"What's the fun in experiencing everything in order?" he asked, almost sounding incredulous.