Can I Park My TARDIS Here?

Chapter 1

I watched my roommate, who was absently munching on popcorn as she bounced along to the theme song of our favorite show. "You know what would be fantastic?" Emily asked around a mouthful of popcorn.

I grinned at the ninth Doctor's catchphrase. "What?"

"If all of this were actually true, it would be so cool."

I rolled my eyes. "Don't be silly. Daleks didn't steal the Earth and add it to their giant planet engine, did they?"

"I thought Big Bang II changed the timeline," she replied.

"Whatever. The Doctor doesn't actually exist. If he did, he'd have stopped this show from airing years back." 

She tossed a piece of popcorn at me and paused the TV. "What if he's the one giving the writers all the information?" She said, smiling wider. "What if he's nearing the end of his last life, and he wants to use the show to say goodbye to all his previous companions?"

I leaned back into the couch. "Don't be dumb. He's said goodbye, I'm sure. And in any case, why would he have started back in the '60s, when the effects were crap?"

"His companions go all the way back to the '60s. Duh." She paused to munch on another handful of popcorn.

"Come on, Em, use your head. He wouldn't blow up Donna's head just to say goodbye to her and Wilf."

She sighed and relented. "Yeah, that would be unfortunate."

"Besides, it's just a television show." I reached over and snatched a couple of pieces of popcorn from her bowl.

"Hey!" she swatted at me as she reached for the remote. "Now shut up and let me watch this. It's the finale of season six, and I'm not going to let you ruin it for me."

"Fine . . . The Doctor's a frickin' genius!" I cried, jumping up and dodging a hail of popcorn kernels. Emily was laughing, though, so I figured I was forgiven. "I finished the series already," I told her as I scooped up my jacket. "You watch it; I'm going to take a walk."

"Walk? Now?" She looked pointedly out the window. It was getting dark.

"There are lampposts," I said. "And I need the exercise anyway. See you!"

"Bye!" she said, "Watch out for Cybermen!"

I grinned, my hand on the doorknob. "I can handle Cybermen—it's the Vashta Nerada I'm worried about."

I walked toward campus—a ten-minute walk at a brisk pace. I greeted the blinking streetlamp with a "Hello to you, too" as it blinked on long enough for me to pass under it.

It was a strange thing to do—personify a streetlamp—but it was better than letting my imagination take control. If I had, I would be terrified out of my mind at the thought of any evil fictional creature or character coming after me. So the streetlamp had to be friendly.

I glanced around the parked cars before dashing around them, not wanting to get smushed into the pavement, but also not really caring to walk through damp grass. When I reached the place where the sidewalk began again, I didn't have to worry about either.

I made it to the men's housing across the street from campus, before I started at the sight of something . . . blue. My heart thudded slowly back to its normal pace as I realized what I'd glimpsed was nothing but a dumpster. I laughed at myself for thinking I'd seen . . .

Well, I reached the Manwaring Center unscathed, but it was nearing seven, so there wasn't much I could do. The university bookstore had closed more than an hour before I showed up, and the convenience store was only going to be open for about 15 more minutes. After deciding I didn't need a quarter-pound of fudge, I bought a notebook and left.

I wasn't even halfway back when some random guy caught up with me and started speaking in hushed tones. "Don't look now, but you have two shadows."

I rolled my eyes at the fake accent and glanced down. Sure enough, I did. One was being cast by the full moon, the other by a lamppost I'd just walked past. I stopped walking and turned to him. "I don't know who you are, but if Emily or any of my other friends sent you, get lost."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Well, I'm the Doctor. And I don't know an Emily or anyone else. Aren't you worried about your second shadow?"

I glared at him for a bit before pointing at the sky. "Full moon tonight," I said. Then I glanced at his clothes. Definitely eleventh Doctor. "And it's kind of early to be dressed up for Halloween."

He looked up, then looked down, then back at me. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"Shut up—you know what's wrong." I started walking again.

He drew level with me. "No... I'm pretty sure I don't."

"Do you even know who the Doctor is?" I asked.

"An eleven-hundred-and-four-year-old Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey—that's me."

I laughed. "Alright, the Doctor you're dressed up as—how many times has he regenerated?"

"Ten," he replied quickly. "Now I've got a question: how on Earth do you know who I am?"

I raised an eyebrow. "I have no clue who you are, Random Stranger. All I know is that you're dressed up as one of the most famous characters that have ever graced my television screen with their presence."

"Wait, wait, wait," he said, stopping me again. "Television? I'm on television? Since when? And why have I not heard about this until now?"

"Hm... I think you're taking this role-play thing a little too far," I said, walking again.

"No, you can't go yet."

I kept walking, but called behind me: "If you're really truly interested in pretending to be the Doctor, you should wait until Halloween. Or at least find some drama students willing to play along."