"The Mistaken M. Jones"
12. Evening Out
March 2012 – Lima, Ohio
More often than not, if she could help it, she would jump back to a darkened room. She generally found it easier than to jump into a well lit room. This time around, she had left from a broom closet at McKinley and she had returned there as well. Only when she opened the door, it was seconds before she realized she had made a terrible mistake. The halls were deserted, and when she found a clock to look at, she knew why: she'd returned much later than intended. The school day was done… and she was going to be late.
She made it back to her apartment as fast as she could, quickly dropping her bag with the robe and the vortex manipulator and the rest of her travelling tools on to her bed before stripping off and jumping in the shower. She had just shut off the water when she heard the knock at her door, and she cursed under her breath. She must have left a trail of water all the way across her floor, only managing to throw a robe on before she could open the door.
Walter stood there, and she was so surprised at her own gladness, not to mention the way he looked, that she forgot for a moment what she must have looked like, until she saw the way he tried not to stare.
"Walter, hey, I… I'm so sorry, I got home late, I haven't…"
"Don't worry about it, I can just wait out here and…"
"No, please, come in," she insisted, so he did. "I just need a few minutes to get ready and then we're all set," she promised, taking the advantage of his averting his eyes to quickly scoop up her discarded clothes, and to nudge her bag to the ground between the foot of the bed and the wall. It was not the most ideal hiding place, but for the time being it would have to do. "Wait here," she told him, grabbing the clothes she'd laid out the night before, grabbing a few other things, and returning into the steamy bathroom. For a minute or so, neither of them spoke, but then Walter's voice reached through the door.
"So, light reader?" he asked, and she chuckled.
"My, uh… my sister works in publishing, she… gets good deals," she pieced the lie together and was glad he couldn't see the frown on her face. She was dressed now, and her hair would take too long to dry, so she was working to untangle it before tying it into a bun, until she heard the unmistakable sound of several books tumbling to the ground.
"Sorry!" Walter called from the other room.
"Don't worry about it!" she replied. In her head, she could see which pile must have toppled. She'd been meaning to rearrange it, having seen in waver so perilously she half expected it to bury her in her…
A horrible thought slashed through her mind, and her hair fell back around her face as she let it go and peered through the door, wondering if any of those books might have fallen in less obvious places… like between her bed and the wall, for instance. And right there, when she opened the door, she found him, Walter, crouching to fish into the small space… and then there was a small clunk, as the strap slipped from the top of the bag, at Walter's feet.
"Really, it's no bother, I'll put everything back later," she told him, hoping somehow it would keep him from doing exactly what he was about to do, which was to pick up the vortex manipulator.
"What's this?" he asked, curious as he stood back up.
"It's… a watch," she said the first thing she could think of, inwardly kicking herself for not hiding it better than this. She should have just made him wait in the hall, but she'd been too anxious and now this was what she got.
"Is it?" he turned it about, not looking convinced. She knew it must have been a very intriguing object for anyone to see, and the first time she'd held it and looked at it, she had felt that curiosity, too. But Walter didn't belong to that world, and if she didn't find a way to get it away from him…
"Sort of a… uh… pager, too," she was fishing for something to say without looking so nervous and desperate. Walter looked at her.
"A pager?" he laughed. "Do they still make those?" he asked, while she reached to take it from him.
"Well it's here, so they must do," she nodded.
Her haste would undo her. She'd made to grab it, but Walter was still holding it, and she had no idea who had done what, but the next thing she knew, the manipulator was live, and they froze to the spot, as they were taken from her apartment…
… and they reappeared on a dusty side street, the same one she'd been in not an hour before, when she'd transported herself back to McKinley, hours too late.
In shock, Walter had finally let go of the strap, and he looked ready to stumble out of shock, so she kept hold of his arm.
"Hey, you're alright," she told him. He was looking around.
"What just… Where are we?" If anyone found them, they would have so many more problems. So she strapped the vortex manipulator back on to her arm, which she hooked around his, and she tapped at the panel as fast as she could.
"Hold on tight," she told him, and then they were being pulled away again.
They reappeared in her apartment, and as soon as he saw this, he let go of her sat hard in the nearest chair he found. Gemma's heart was ramming hard against her chest. This was bad, this was not supposed to happen… What would the Doctor say? Maybe they could make him forget…
"What… What was that?" he asked, still spooked. He was looking up at her, and she didn't know what to make of his face. "Who are you?"
TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)