fandomhigh | Adventuring Survival Tactics, April 20. Period 4

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adventuring survival tactics

Adventuring Survival Tactics, April 20. Period 4

The classroom was back to the boring uniform classroom with plain walls and desks and shelves. The Doctor's desk was devoid of any sign of his holo-projector. The classroom was merely that, again, a classroom. The Doctor himself was at his teacher's desk, sitting back in the chair, his feet propped up.

"For those of you worried about a final, well, it'll be really easy. Boring old essay test. For those of you thinking we'll be having another instance of my sneaky holographic practical exam, sorry, no. Going to take it easy on you, what with summer being so soon. Now, the topic for today, well... it's a matter that will sadly hit close to home, especially what with graduation coming up, and some other incidents lately that I've heard of."

He took a deep breath and stood up.

"People go in and out of your lives. It's inevitable. You can't have everyone around forever. People grow up, move on, die, fall behind, everything. And the most important thing to remember is this: You have to let it happen. Everything has its time. And if you truly love someone, truly respect them, you respect their choices, their decisions. It sounds ridiculous, sounds stupid, but... you have to let go."

Another deep breath.

"Susan Foreman, Barbara Wright, Ian Chesterton, Vicki Pallister, Steven Taylo, Katarina, Sara Kingdom, Dodo Chaplet, Ben Jackson, Polly Wright, Jamie McCrimmon, Victoria Waterfield, Zoe Heriot, Liz Shaw, Jo Grant, Sarah Jane Smith, Harry Sullivan, Leela, K-9, Romanadvoratrelundar, Adric, Nyssa of Traken, Tegan Jovanka, Vislor Turlough, Erimem, Kamelion, Perpugilliam Brown, Frobisher, Evelyn Smythe, Melanie Bush, Dorothy McShane, Thomas Hector Schofield, Chris Cwej, Roz Forrester, Bernice Summerfield, Dr. Grace Holloway, Samantha Jones, Fitz Kreiner, Charlotte Pollard, C'rizz, Rose Tyler, Jane Canary."

He left Jack off the list for obvious reasons.

"You know what that list is? That's a list of just some of the people that have meant a lot to me, over the years. The people I've travelled with, laughed with, sat down and had a meal with. People I've loved, people I got furious at, people who were an integral part of my life. I've watched them fall in love and settle down, go back to their daily lives because they couldn't stay up with me, crash into the Earth to cause the dust cloud that would make the dinosaurs go extinct. In two weeks time, a good lot of you will be graduating, and the rest of you will be having friends that do so. Now is the parting of ways. You'll see each other again, if life dictates it. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs, and prove to each other that they are not mistaken in theirs."

He smiled. "No sense in keeping you around, really. Class dismissed until next week's final. Any questions, come see me after."

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Questions? Anything?

He's there, cleaning things out from his desk.

"Was there a point to that list, sir?" Luke asked, eyes very, very serious. "We all have lists. Many of us would care not to be reminded of them."

The Doctor looked up from his desk. "Because it should help many students put things into proper perspective," he said. "Some, like yourself I gather, already have that perspective."

"A good portion of us said goodbye to our hypothetical children on Tuesday," Luke said. "I'm pretty sure we have a perspective on loss."

"And frankly, sir," Dean put in, "I'm not sure if loss is something that should be done by the numbers. Just because someone might not have a whole list of people they can reel off doesn't make it easier to deal with. It probably makes it harder in some ways because you've got less you can afford to lose."

Gwynn was listening to this silently. Until she had come here, she probably would have agreed completely with what the Doctor had said. However, being here with these people had taught her a lot about hanging on.

"Some of us haven't had the chance to ever get used to having to say so many goodbyes," she finally ventured. "It makes it that much harder when they do go... and much less likely that the next time it happens we can just sit back and accept it."

The Doctor looked between the small group that had gathered around his desk. "May I point out that we're talking about the scattering of individual people into the world after high school?" the Doctor said. "You're all very young, and I'm sure this all seems like the end of the world. Friends you think you'll never see again, hypothetical children off to whatever dimensions they came from. Now here's the funny thing... Unless I'm mistaken, these are all natural things. Those children are back at their homes, with the real parents who birthed them and raised them and all the things you didn't have to deal with. And as for your friends, graduating off... what would you do, stunt their growth? Fandom has prepared you for many things, and I would think that facing down trolls or running for your lives from evil demon heart-snatchers would make you realize that moving on to the next part of each other's lives, that's nowhere near as scary. You've got colleges to look forward too, training programs, life. High School and your high school friends, they're always with you, in here." The Doctor tapped at his forehead. "And for Rassilon's sake, I know the graduates get some sort of multi-dimension communications device, so they're really only a bloody e-mail or phone call away, right? So... less you can afford to lose? Have you really become that completely interdependent? Now if you're thinking I said you should just let people die, if you can stop it, you're twisting my words against me. I'm talking here about people moving on, people dying despite your best efforts, people's lives taking their proper course. Nothing lasts forever. Even this planet we stand on will one day be nothing but dust. If you want to live in sorrow and pain, that's your own lookout. But if you want to tell me that my way is so horrible, that your pain is so precious, come back to me when your planet, every single person of your race has not only been killed, but wiped clean from the slate of time, so that even though I can travel anywhere in time and space, I can't ever see them again. How's that for perspective?"

Gwynn flinched visibly, because that hadn't been what she was saying at all. She was trying to understand all of this. When he said what he said about those he had lost, she flinched again and dropped her head.

"I am sorry for your loss and I apologize for making it seem like I was questioning you. I wasn't. I was looking for something I could understand."

Too many things changing and going on the last few days made it hard for Gwynn to know how to handle this situation. Perhaps just backing out and leaving the class for right now was the best course of action.

"Familiar," Luke snapped, eyes blazing, "but I'm not going to get into a fight about who's list of dead and disappeared is longer or more valuable. The comfort of memories isn't that comforting, and we all know it." His fists clenched at his side. "This year I've lost three sets of guardians, entire squadrons of friends and seen the aftermath of a planet's destruction. You'll forgive me if I don't care to be told how it's all going to be for my own good some day. There's having perspective and there's forcing others to deal with something they're not ready to face yet. You did the latter."

He spun on his heel and stalked out of the classroom.

The Doctor rolled his eyes and paid Luke's words no attention.

"If anyone else thinks the thousand year old man is so horrible and unknowledgable to make your poor defenseless kids deal with your problems, feel free to be as much of a drama queen."

"Some of us aren't going to ever let go," Sokka muttered, more to himself than to anyone else. "We're going to get revenge."

"Revenge is a vicious cycle," the Doctor said, just addressing no one in particular. Hey, the ears weren't just for show. "And in the end, it helps no one."

Sokka looked right at the Doctor and raised his eyebrows.

"Trust me. When we take this guy down, the entire world will be better. Unless Zuko takes his place."

"And having been so ruthless and vengeful to take him down, will you prove yourself better than whoever this horrible person is?" the Doctor asked.

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Jack waited for everyone else to leave before approaching the Doctor, hands in his pockets, looking uncharacteristically hesitant. "That was, umm, I liked that. Well not liked exactly, but..." He shrugged, not having the words, and a quick smile flashed across his face. "It sort of helped."

The Doctor smiled a bit. "I'm glad that it helped someone," he said.

Jack nodded. "It did," he said. "People have to make their own choices, even if they hurt." He was quiet for a minute, then smiled. "And I did have a good reason for missing class last week."

"That's my Jack," he said, mostly to himself. "Running off with the mayor's daughter or somesuch?"

"Hey!" But he grinned and sat on the corner of the desk. "Not this time anyway, and wait, the mayor has a daughter?" Jack blinked and refocused on the point. "No, my thin-- Cedric got fear demoned. I didn't want to leave him on his own. I figured you'd understand."

The Doctor nodded. "I assume Mister Diggory is still right as rain?"

"He's okay now, yeah. But it's been a rough couple of weeks for him." Schooling his features into wide-eyed hopefulness, he asked, "So, do I have to do a make up assignment or anything?"

"Two hundred words on why taking care of your friends is a lot more important than a silly class?" the Doctor said.

"Awww." Jack made a sad face. "Okay, I can do that. I've already done the practical, I may as well hit the theory." He smirked. "Though I'm much better at practical. It'll be on your desk next week."

"Good," the Doctor said. "I look forward to it."

He hopped off the desk and gave a little salute, touching two fingers to his forehead. "Thanks, Doctor. There might even be a banana with it," he said, chuckling a little as he started to leave. "It seems more fitting than an apple. See you next week."

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