Dancing Across Time (Book Two of The Bad Wolf Chronicles)

Chapter Four: School Reunion

The Doctor walked into his physics laboratory with a certain Jemma Simmons behind him, smiling at the kids. "Good morning, class! Are we sitting comfortably?" He grinned, beginning to write on the board. "So. Physics! Physics, eh? Physics. Physics. Physics! Physics. Physics, physics, physics, physics, physics, physics, physics!" He looked over his shoulder. "I hope one of you is getting all this down. OK! Let's see what you know!" He put down the chalk. "Two identical strips of nylon are charged with static electricity and hung from a string so they can swing freely. What would happen if they were brought near each other?" He looked at a young boy with spectacles, whose hand was in the air. "Yes! Er, what's your name?"

"Milo."

"Milo!" He grinned at the name. "Off you go, then!"

"They'd repel each other because they have the same charge."

The Doctor brightened. "Correctamundo!" He grimaced. "A word I have never used before, and hopefully never will again." Jemma coughed from where she sat at another desk, and he winked at her before beginning to pace. "Question two, Miss Simmons?"

"Yes, sir," she agreed, standing up. "So, I coil up a thin piece of microwire and place it in a glass of water. Then I turn on the electricity and measure to see if the water's temperature is affected. Here's the question: how do I measure the electrical power going into the coil?" The Doctor was surprised when only Milo's hand went up. Jemma looked around, surprised as well. "Someone else?" No one answered. "No? OK, then. Milo. Go for it."

"Measure the current and PDs in an ammeter and a voltmeter."

Jemma blinked. "Two for Milo."

The Doctor leaned forward. "Milo, tell me this. True or false. The greater the dampening of the system, the quicker it loses energy to its surroundings?"

"False," he replied instantly.

"What is non-coding DNA?" Jemma asked immediately afterwards.

"DNA that doesn't code for a protein," he shot back barely a second later.

"Sixty five thousand nine hundred and eighty three times five?"

"Three hundred and twenty nine thousand nine hundred and fifteen."

"How do you travel faster than light?" the Doctor asked. He can't get this.

"By opening a quantum tunnel with an FTL factor of thirty six point seven recurring."

The Doctor's jaw dropped, and he looked at Jemma in shock. "Told you," she mouthed.

***

After a few more classes, the Doctor and Jemma slid down the lunch line. The Doctor looked up when someone slapped mash onto his tray, and he met a pair of angry dark eyes. He looked over her shoulder to meet an equally dark pair of eyes. The Doctor and Jemma looked at each other and begin to snicker, walking away towards one of the empty tables. "We're so dead later," Jemma laughed.

"Worth it," the Doctor told her.

A few minutes later, a cloth dropped onto the table, and Jessie began scrubbing. "Two days," she grumbled.

"Sorry, could you just - " The Doctor pointed to a spot on the table, grinning. "There's a bit of gravy." Jessie glared at him and scrubbed harder. "No, no. Just . . . just there."

Jemma giggled, and Jessie growled. "Two days we've been here."

"Blame Saleen," the Doctor told her. "She's the one who put us into this. And she was right. Boy in class this morning, got a knowledge way beyond Earth."