Part 8 (1/2)

The Doctor could see the heat rising from it as she held it tight in her hands, close under her chin. Occasionally she sneaked furtive sips from the hot liquid.

The children ran past and round her, without comment or worry. It was interesting, the Doctor thought, the patterns they made with their games. There was a symmetry to it. As though each was following the other, taking his or her cue from another child who in turn...and so on. Snakes eating their own tails, he thought ruefully.

The teacher caught his eye and smiled. No problem with strangers, the Doctor decided. She probably already knew exactly who he was - or rather, who he said he was. Probably the rest of the children did too. Not one had glanced across at him, remarked him, noticed his clothing. He was a bit disappointed, actually.

And partly because of this, he pushed the gate open and strode across the playground towards the teacher. The main part of the playground was compacted earth. There was a gra.s.sed area off to the side that stretched round behind the school building. It looked like it opened out and became a playing field further round - the Doctor could see goal posts.

The children continued their game, running past and round him like shallow water flowing over a stone. He smiled and nodded at them. They grinned and laughed back. And for a few paces life was wonderful.

The teacher released her s.h.i.+vering grip on the mug with one hand for long enough to shake the Doctor's hand. It was coffee, he could smell it now.

'Miss Devlin,' she said. She had a cold. 'You must be the Doctor.'

'Ah, you've heard of me.' The Doctor beamed hugely.

'News travels fast.'

She nodded, her eyes on the racing children as they screamed by. She was quite short, wrapped in a huge coat, mousy-brown hair wisping out from beneath a headscarf. She had a collection of bangles on her left wrist and they jangled as she moved her hand. Or s.h.i.+vered.

'Are you their teacher?' the Doctor asked. 'Their only teacher?'

'With so few of them, it's easy enough despite the age difference. Better a cla.s.s of eleven happy enthusiastic youngsters than thirty or more little devils all refusing to learn the same thing.'

The Doctor nodded. 'I suppose so. And are they?'

'Little devils?'

'Enthusiastic.'

'Oh yes.' She smiled thinly, to show it had actually been a joke. He smiled back to show that he knew.

'I've been watching them,' the Doctor said. 'So much energy to burn off.'

'You're telling me. They're worse when it's windy.

Quieter in the fog.' She shrugged towards her coffee. 'Funny how the weather affects them.'

They watched the children for a while. They were playing a form of tig. For a moment they were all still, frozen in place as the game paused. Then, 'Budge,' shouted one boy. And they were off again.

'I've been watching the patterns they make. When they run.'

She nodded. 'I noticed that too. Just these last few weeks.

Perhaps since the weather turned colder.' She sipped at the drink again, barely letting it touch her pale lips as she slurped at it. 'They've been playing better together recently. All ages, all mucking in. The older ones used to stand around, talk.' She made to drink some more, but paused before the mug was even close to her mouth. 'It's time I called them in for lunch, if I can calm them down a bit.'

'Already?'

'It's cold.'

'It is,' the Doctor agreed. 'I like children,' he said wistfully. A sudden thought occurred to him. 'Mind if I show them something? A trick. To calm them down.'

She shrugged again. He took this as a 'yes' and strode out into the middle of the playground. The children seemed to sense that he was here for their benefit and crowded round him. He rummaged in his pockets, wondering now he was committed what he was actually going to do. Yo-yo? Sweets?

Ah - cards.

The children watched, respectfully and surprisingly quietly as he pulled the deck of cards from his pocket and shuffled them.

'Show us a trick,' a girl called. She was maybe ten, with large front teeth and a ponytail of dark brown hair.

'Yes, a trick,' others chorused.

'All right, I'll show you a trick. Choose a card.'

'Ace of hearts,' a boy shouted immediately from the back.

'I meant from the pack,' the Doctor said. 'But all right.'

He cut the cards with one hand and flipped the top half over to reveal the ace of hearts. There was a smattering of applause.

He gave it a moment, then shuffled the cards. He made a play of riffling them together, slotting them into place, cutting them. 'Now,' he asked, 'where's the ace of hearts got to?'

'In the middle,' someone called.

'In your pocket,' an older boy said with determination.

The Doctor smiled. He held out the pack, face down.

'What's the top card?' he asked the ponytail girl.

She lifted it carefully. 'It's the ace of hearts.'

More applause.

'Show me how to do it?' the girl asked nervously.

'It's a trick.'

'Oh, please!'

'All right. What's your name?'

'Emma.'