A Strange Man in a Strange Box

1. A Strange Man Enters

It was a dark and stormy night. The rain lashed down heavily on the outside of the glass door. And Y/n regretted not bringing her umbrella with her to work.

She stood and stared out through the glass of the shop door. It had started raining an hour ago, and didn't look like it was going to stop any time soon. Y/n sighed, and resigned herself to the fact that she was going to get wet when she had to leave.

The shop was due to close in fifteen minutes. Then it would be time for her to walk back to the small flat where she lived with her mother.

They sometimes sold umbrellas in the vintage clothes shop where she worked. But currently they have sold out. Everyone else had been sensible enough to come into the shop to buy them throughout the day. But unfortunately, that now meant there were none left for her to use.

Y/n sighed again, then slowly turned to walk back behind the counter again. She had only taken two steps, when the door suddenly burst open behind her. She yelped in surprise at the sudden noise, then turned back around to see who was there.

A young looking black guy came walking in through the door, with a slightly disoriented expression on his face. He was wearing a blue pinstripe suit that appeared to be a few sizes too big. On top of that, he had a large overcoat that stretched down to his ankles. And on his feet, a pair of white Converse shoes.

Y/n looked at him closely. He did appear kind of strange. Especially with what he was wearing. It almost seemed like he was wearing someone else's clothes, if that was possible?

"Hello. Good, err..." He paused, then turned around to look back out the door. "Evening?"

"Yeah," said Y/n, slightly unsure. "Good evening. Can I help you with anything?"

"Yes, of course," he said. "I need a new outfit. This one simply won't do."

"Well we've got loads of different clothes to choose from," said Y/n, and she vaguely waved her hand over in the direction of the racks of men's clothing. "Just let me know if you need any help."

The guy started walking towards the first rack. As he did, he went past the changing room, and the large floor length mirror that was beside it. He stopped and looked at his reflection with an expression that almost seemed like he was surprised at what he saw.

"Oh. That's different," he said. "But still looking fab-u-lous."

Then he paused with another confused expression. "Wait, fab-u-lous? Is that how I talk now?" he asked himself.

What a strange man, thought Y/n, as she watched him attacking the racks of clothing with gusto.

"No... no.... no... Ahhh, yes," he said, as he pulled a pair of skinny grey trousers from the rail.

Seemingly pleased with his choice, he tossed the trousers over his shoulder and moved over to the rail with all the shirts. He quickly flicked through them, occasionally mumbling to himself, until he pulled out a pale pink dress shirt.

"Yes, that's the one," he said, as he admired his choice.

"I just need something else to finish the outfit..." he said, as he gazed around the shop for inspiration.

"How about a waistcoat?" said Y/n from behind the counter.

The man raised his eyebrows inquisitively. "Maybe..." he said.

Y/n walked around the side of the counter and headed over to one of the racks full of suits. She pushed a few of them to the side, and uncovered a selection of waistcoats. There were a few different options, but something drew her hand towards one at the back. It was a black velvet waistcoat that was lined with a deep purple silk.

"Ooohh, yes," he said, as he took it from Y/n's hand.

With the waistcoat in hand, he spun around and walked over to the changing room. He paused only to grab a pair of black leather loafers from a shelf. Then he stepped into the changing room, closing the door behind him.

As the shop went quiet again, Y/n looked up at the clock. There was just another three minutes until the shop was supposed to be closing. Though she got the feeling that it could take a while longer than that before she would be finished. Instead she busied herself straightening out everything, and running a duster over the shelves.

It was in fact another six minutes before the door of the changing room opened again, and the young guy came out with a flourish. He came to a stop in front of the mirror and admired his handiwork. The clothes fitted perfectly, and almost seemed to match his personality.

"Yes, much better," he said, as he turned to face Y/n. "Thank you for your assistance."

"That's okay," said Y/n, with a shrug.

"I'm the Doctor," he said. "What's your name?"

"My name is Y/n," she said.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you," said the Doctor.

"Yeah," said Y/n, in a noncommittal way. "Are you wearing those clothes out? I'll ring them up for you."

Y/n started to enter the prices into the till. "Were you paying with cash or card?" she asked.

"Ah, yes. I have something for that," said the Doctor, and he began searching through his pockets.

After a moment, he pulled out a small wallet with a blank piece of paper inside, and held it up in front of Y/n. "That should explain everything," he said.

Y/n glared at him and gave a frustrated sigh. "That's just a blank piece of paper," she said. "You owe me £54 for the clothes."

"What? Is it?" said the Doctor, with confusion. "It's psychic paper, it's not supposed to be blank."

"It's what?" said Y/n, now equally confused.

"It should show you exactly what you need to see in order to give me what I want," the Doctor explained, and stroked his chin thoughtfully. "For it not to work, you are either incredibly intelligent, or incredibly dumb."

Y/n thought about what he had said for a moment. "Are you calling me stupid?" she said.

"No no no," said the Doctor, rather flamboyantly. "I mean there must be something rather interesting about you."

"Oh, okay," said Y/n. "Well anyway, I still need £54 for the clothes."

"The money is unimportant," said the Doctor.

"It may be unimportant to you, but it's my job," said Y/n. "I can't be giving away clothes for free or I'll be fired again."

The Doctor stared at her for a moment, with a wild twinkle in his eyes, which slowly grew into a wide grin. "How about if I give you a job?" he said. "You could come with me as my assistant."

"Like a P.A? I'm no good at typing," said Y/n.

"Don't worry, there's no typing evolved. Or maybe there will be, who knows," said the Doctor, with a shrug.

"Why, what is it you do?" Y/n asked.

"Oh, a bit of this, a bit of that," said the Doctor, with an air of mystery. "I travel around, and help people as I go."

Y/n gave it some careful thought. "And this job is well paid?" she asked.

"Ah, well. Not in actual money," said the Doctor. "It's paid in experience."

"So like an internship?" she asked.

"Umm, yes, sure, whatever," said the Doctor, and he waved his hand dismissively. "An internship as my travelling companion."

Y/n looked carefully at the Doctor while she considered his offer. "Hmmm. I think I'll pass," she said, eventually.

The Doctor looked disappointed, but then a little grin appeared in the corner of his mouth. "I know something that will change your mind," he said.

"What's that?" asked Y/n.

"Come with me, and you'll find out," said the Doctor, and he held out his hand towards Y/n.