"The Cantankerous Crew" Act One: The Academy

Patrick

"So why are you at this place aside from being assigned a team with Erica and myself?" Patrick asked with his usual timidness, sitting on his own bed across from hers.

"My dad plans tests for me without my knowledge. These said tests usually include bounty hunters after my life, my father dropping me off into a desolate jungle or forest, and so on. What I just got out of happens to be another one of his tests, escaping assumed torture and certain death.

"How are you alive and what kind of father does that?" he mumbled.

"Speaking of dad, I have dinner plans with him. I must depart," Alex added as she closed her chest. She rose up and walked to the door, but stopped to ask, "Might we talk again later?"

He was lost in thought while staring at her, his mouth hanging open, but he cleared his head and gave a nod followed by what he hoped looked to be a nice smile.

On their shared desk at the back of the room, his phone buzzed. Patrick shuffled over and nabbed it. "Hello?" he asked without looking at the caller-ID.

"Sup, lil' man!" exclaimed a gravely voice. Patrick let out a quiet sigh.

"Hey, Devon . . ." was Patrick's pensive response.

"Me and Jude are gonna stop by with dinner. Ya want anything?"

"Um, nothing but money. There's no way for me to make any in this place."

"Alright, kid, sounds cool," Devon's voice rang-out.

Patrick heard Jude's gravelly voice in the background, "See you soon!"

Patrick hung-up the phone with a smile. Jude was definitely Devon's nicest partner yet. Jude dressed in dark clothing, but never appeared dispirited. The two of them fit together with unlimited perfection, Devon was gruff and loud, while Jude was spunky and patient.

Patrick's thoughts traveled back to the girl he had just met. "That sure is some dad to acquire. I wonder how bad days pan out. Death, probably."

A quiet knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. He opened it, revealing Erica. She gave a warm smile as Patrick moved aside.

"So you met her," Erica started. "How did it go?"

"I'm sure we can get along just fine, but I have a question," Patrick answered.

"Yes?"

"Do you know her dad?" inquired Patrick with a worried look on his face.

Erica furrowed her brow and replied with, "I thought you already knew." She paused a moment and relaxed her expression into that of bewilderment. "She's the daughter of Mr. Williams, the founder of this academy."

Patrick's eyes widened. "Well that puts a lot into perspective," Patrick wondered.

Lying on his bed, the teenager boy stared at the ceiling. He had just finished meeting with Jude and Devon. Patrick heard soft footsteps and the door creaked open. The small girl stepped through, hair first. She peeked at Patrick then, noticing he was awake, turned to her chest and dug through it.

Patrick sat up and gazed at her blankly. Her small form was almost hidden by the expanse of curly hair. Finally, her smiling face popped up. Her arm extended triumphantly into the air with a small rubber band between her fingers.

"I have been looking for you," she admonished the band with a stern look. She swirled her hair into a bun of sorts and kept it in place with the band.

"How did you make your hair do that?"

"I know, right!?" she exclaimed. "This is the only hair band I have ever come across to stay intact and comfortably hold all my hair in!"

Patrick chuckled at the sight of some bits of hair springing out. "Not all," he pointed out. Alex shrugged, but Patrick noticed blush starting to appear across her cheeks and nose. "How did that dinner go?"

"Just fine! We got wonton soup and chow mein then brought it over to a hidden section in the training grounds," Alex went on, finishing with a content sigh. "I just needed to stop in for this glorious band before I head off to class."

Patrick nodded, his smile noticeably falling. His expression suddenly changing again he queried, "What class?"

"Oh, I prefer the night courses. The teachers aren't grumpy and I have more time to do as I please the rest of the day."

"Huh . . ." Patrick's voice trailed off. Alex stood up and waved as she exited.

Patrick settled down at a chair in the mess hall. He was just about to bite into a sandwich when the expanse of the odd girl's hair caught his eye. She was chatting up one of the chefs. The man's hearty laugh echoed through adding to the commotion.

The boy was lost in thought as he stared blankly at the only thing he could see of the girl, her hair. It was curly, fluffy looking, brown only a shade off from black, and easily touched the floor. Physics seemed to have been lost what with the curls still being rather tight ringlets. As she walked, it swooshed behind her like a flowing cloak.

Patrick slid his fingers through his own hair. It flopped about as he ruffled it around a bit. He looked down at his steaming bowl of soup. "What kind of genetics give unhuman hair and a british accent," he pondered.

Alex appeared in the seat beside him with a concerned face. "Are you good in there?" she questioned with a small tap to his forehead.

Patrick felt his face heat up. "Y-yeah. I'm f-fine," he stuttered out.

"I'm not especially keen on believing that, Patrick. You were out of it for a good minute," Alex retorted accompanied by a chuckle.

Patrick looked down at his watch. "I guess she's right," he admitted to himself. "How were your classes last night?"

"Everything passed as it normally does," Alex cheerfully informed Patrick. He slapped on a smile in hopes of not showing where his mind was going. Alex's face returned to the concerned look, picking up on the insincerity of his smile. "Hiding your emotions is no good in a school of people trained to notice every move you make. What is the matter?"

Patrick looked down to his hands which he wrung with great vigor. Upon noticing this habit, he stuffed them into his pockets. Alex scooted closer to him not once breaking eye contact. He gave a huff then allowed his pent up rage to seep out.

"Class yesterday was absolutely dreadful," he began. He vented on about noisy classmates and a useless lesson. Finally released of most of his cares he let himself warm up to this strange girl but almost said too much. "And I really li-" His eyes widened in distress. "Nevermind."

Alex gave a quizzical look, but Patrick was relieved to see she wasn't going to pry. "Shouldn't you get going to class about now?" Alex questioned, already warmed up to his schedule. His eyes widened even more as he looked to his watch. Patrick jumped to his feet. Alex giggled and grabbed his arm. He lurched back at her touch to an even greater surprise of her other hand growing with a blue aura. "I don't quite understand it, but this should get you to class in no time. Do you have a strong stomach?"

Patrick nodded in wonder. She smiled and they walked to his class, hand in hand. "So this is why we are put together," Patrick said, piecing the latter events together. "You're a timelord?"

"I have no idea what that is," Alex responded.

"You... are a TARDIS?"

"What?" she exclaimed. 

"Um, never mind that," he added with excitement growing in his voice. "We have so much to talk about!"