Chapter 4

Omigosh!

Cradling the ice pack to her forehead, she closed her eyes to the hum of the rapidly turning fan. "Well, that was a rather eventful meeting," she stated blankly.

"Well... How was I supposed to know you were right there?" Claire sighed, slumped over her sturdy dining table.

At least Claire's little farm felt like home. Memos of her life hid away in everything; from an old tablecloth that once served in her childhood house to the old little dresser she used. Most of the furniture, though, had all been either bought or came with the house.

"You've changed a lot, Althea," Claire peeped.

Changed she had, and not for the better. "I know," she replied softly. What was Claire thinking about? Was she disappointed too? Probably not. Knowing her, she was probably excited just to see Althea again. Her heart sank. "I-I'm sorry!" she blurted, "I promise to be a better friend."

Claire sat, bewildered. "Oh shut up! You're a great friend!" she exclaimed.

"No I'm not!" Althea yelled, rolling over and shoving her face into the pillow. "I'm a terrible friend who never tries to contact anyone because she's too selfish to think about them!" she cried.

For a moment, only the birds twittering and chirping fell on their ears.

"Althea," Claire began, "just stop, okay? Whoever sent the letter obviously wanted you to come here for a reason. And you're not selfish! You just get a little caught up in things, is all." She huffed and crossed her arms woth a toss of her head.

She sighed, mentally nodding. "Yeah, okay, fine. I guess I shouldn't drag this out," she declared, sitting straight up. Bringing long, spindly fingers to her forehead, she felt the bump had sizably decreased. "By the way, how long was I out?" she inquired, "all I remember was seeing you, then my vision clouded up, sort of." She lifted the ice pack back up to the bump.

"Four days!"

Althea gave her a look.

"Sheesh, okay. A couple hours," Claire corrected herself.

She nodded, smiling contentedly and bringing her knees up to her chest. Claire's bed was quite comfortable. She suddenly sat bolt upright, flinging her hands downward as Claire watched the icepack sail across the room. "Wait! Where will I stay? What if the Inn's full? Oh goddess, no, no, no..." she moaned, burying her face in her hands. Count to ten. It'll be alright. Just count to ten...

Claire laughed girlishly, jumping to her feet and moseying across to her bedside. "You'll stay here, of course!" she exclaimed, "After all, I-" she stopped her sentence there, then continued. "I mean, you are my bestest friend, and no under-usage of technology to reach me can change that!" she yelled proudly, fists positioned on her hips in a heroic fashion.

Althea peeked from her fingers. "Really? You mean it?" she asked meekly.

"What'd you think? That I'd leave you outside like a hobo?" Claire questioned.

Althea's serious face spelled it all out.

"You really don't rely on anyone else, do you?" Claire pouted, crossing her arms haughtily. "Well, welcome to Mineral Town, where we all have a system depending on everyone else!" she cried.

"Dear goddess, I need to get out of here!" Althea yelled sarcastically. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and rested her elbows on her knees, cradling her head in her hands. "I'm not that bad. I rely on my travel agent to help me get places," she explained.

Claire nodded, opening her mouth to speak.

"Even though he's only right half the time," Althea continued.

Claire gave an amused laugh, "I take back what I said earlier, you haven't changed at all!" A wide grin split her face from ear to ear.

"Hm, well neither have you, dear," she hummed in reply. Her suitcase rested against the side of the light oakwood bed, its dark leather glowing dimly in the low light. She stretched for it, grasping the smooth handle and hauling it to her side. Wait... if she couldn't walk back by herself, and someone had to have carried her and the suitcase back... She didn't want to know.

As if reading her mind, Claire spoke up. "Oh yeah, Doctor had to carry you back here. I've gotta say, your suitcase was heavy! Whew!" Claire hollered. She folded her legs into a butterfly position and rocked back and forth.

Althea, flipping the latches undone (after she had unlocked the suitcase, of course), winced as she heard those words. "What, he- really?" she sighed.

"Yeah," Claire affirmed, then her eyes widened and she waved her hands. "Oh, hey! He looks a little intimidating, but he's a nice guy! He's just... Socially challenged," she laughed. "Not to mention handsome," she winked playfully.

Althea guffawed at her statement. "Yeah, but about as talkative as a rock. You even said so!" she protested. Her expression softened. "You're right about Trent being handsome, though. And so is Kai, but I think he's got something going on with Popouri," she said, twirling a light blonde lock. She grinned lightly. "Look at us! It's been three years and we're already talking about boys like schoolgirls," she laughed.

"Well, duh! All the young guys here are attractive! Well, except for the Gourmet," she grumbled, "He's pretty freaky." She puffed her cheeks out and pulled up her knees, reaching for a plastic white ball rolling casually along the wood flooring. "And then there's Gray, Cliff, and Won," she listed. Her expression turned puzzled, as if she were doing a math problem mentally. "Wait, who's Trent?" she suddenly asked.

"Uh... The Doctor," Althea replied as if it were the most obvious answer in the world.

Claire's grin returned, wider than ever. "Omigoshomigoshomigosh! I just realized the best thing ever!" she squealed, pounding her feet against the floor.

Althea furrowed her brow in annoyance. "I thought you stopped watching that, like, ten years ago," she mumbled.

Claire's face grew solemn. "Althea," she stated, "Doctor Who will never get old. Ever."

Althea smacked her palm to her forehead. It was going to be the most interesting trip she'd ever made, no doubt.

"Do you think he's got a sonic screwdriver? Ooh! Elli must be his sidekick, and it's perfect 'cause she's totally in love with him anyway. Even though he doesn't feel the same way. Poor guy probably doesn't even realize it. Oh, oh, I got it! That mirror he always wears is, like, sonic or something, yeah! Right, Althea?" Claire chattered excitedly, glancing at her bed.

Althea's eyes were closed, fast asleep, her dainty lashes flickering.

Well, this chapter isn't much, it just served to establish the relationship between Claire and Althea, and further develop Althea's character. I think this is my favorite chapter so far XD

If any of you readers are Doctor Who fans, yay! I've watched a bit of it myself, and thought it'd be a little funny and ironic to toss some of it into the mix. And no, Claire will not be able to look at Trent the same way ever again.

Arigato! :D