DIARY OF A HALF HUMAN TIME LORD

Chapter Four

The next morning, Jonathon awoke and felt something warm and furry under his chin. He smiled when he realized that sometime during the night, Boots had come back up to his chin and curled up in a ball where she was now sleeping peacefully.

"Shame to wake you, little mate," he said aloud. "But I gotta get up, eat some breakfast and go be a productive member of society."

He gently grabbed her and picked her up. Boots meowed as he sat up and he held her to his chest and kissed the top of her head.

"I'm sorry, Boots, I would love to lie here all day with your warm fur under my chin but I have responsibilities now. But you can have the run of the flat while I'm gone."

He carried her into the kitchen and got a bit of food for her. While she was eating, he looked through his fridge and got out some eggs, bacon and milk. He wasn't a spectacular cook but he knew enough to get by and a half hour later, he was sitting at his small kitchen table eating his breakfast while Boots played with a tiny yellow foam ball. When he finished, he washed his dishes and put them in the strainer before going to the bathroom to get ready.

At a quarter to eleven, Jonathon arrived at the pizza shop. He walked up to the lady behind the counter and told her who he was.

"Have a seat and Edward will be with you in a moment," she said.

Jonathon thanked her and sat down a nearby table. While he sat there, he noticed the metal door that led to the back opening and two women and two men peeking out at him. They laughed and stuck their heads back inside a moment before Edward came out. He was in his mid-twenties with short dark hair, a goatee and green eyes. He was tall and lanky and was wearing black trousers, a red shirt with Jack's Pizza stitched onto the left side and a red hat with Jack's Pizza on it. He was carrying a large manila folder filled with paperwork and an ink pen. He sat down across from Jonathon and put the folder and ink pen in front of him.

"Welcome, Jonathon, just need you to fill all this out and we'll start you out with Suzanne. She'll be training you today. I also need to get you a uniform. You'll have a hat and shirt like this one and you need to wear black trousers and black shoes starting tomorrow so do you have those?"

Jonathon nodded.

"Alright then, go ahead and fill these out and let me know when you're finished."

Jonathon nodded, picked up the pen and started to fill out the paperwork. He took out his wallet and pulled out his identification, using it while he worked. While he was doing that, he noticed someone sitting down in front of him and he looked up to see a young woman smiling at him. She was medium-height, thin with pale skin and a bright pink bandanna tied around her head. Her hat was on top of it which made the colors clash. Her bright hazel eyes sparkled as she gave him a big smile.

"Hi, I'm Suzanne; Edward said you'd be training with me today."

"That's right. I'm Jonathon."

"Nice to meet ya," she said, shaking his hand.

She noticed his eyes were drawn to the bandanna.

"I know it doesn't go with the outfit," she said. "I have breast cancer and I just went through chemo and lost most of my hair. I had the rest shaved off so I wear this bandanna to cover my huge, bald head."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Are you going to be alright?" he asked, concerned.

"Dunno, I still don't know if I've gone into remission. Here's hoping though," she said. "Anyway, thought I'd come out and introduce myself before you go back there. Just so you know, there's Richard, Claudia and George. George is gay and he's already told us he fancies you but he's a sweetheart. Miranda is working the cash register and Frank is our delivery guy. That's everyone besides Edward the manager. Nice to have you here with us."

"Good to be here."

Suzanne shook his hand and hurried back to work while Jonathon finished up his paperwork.

After filling out all the paperwork, Edward took him into the back and paired him up with Suzanne. Jonathon put the hat on his head which made Suzanne giggle.

"Looks odd with your red shirt and blue trousers," she said to him. "Right, how to make pizzas…now we have an order for a large pepperoni so you just watch me while I show you how to make one."

Jonathon stood beside Suzanne and watched closely while she spread out the dough and spread tomato sauce on it. While he was doing that, he felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see the rest of the kitchen crew behind him.

"Hi there," a black man said with a slightly effeminate voice. "I'm George, nice to meet you."

"You too," Jonathan said, shaking his hand.

"Forgive me for saying this but you are well fit. You have a girlfriend hidden somewhere?"

Jonathon thought about that for a moment and then shook his head.

"Oh, what a shame, pretty thing like you," George teased. "That means I can have a go then."

Jonathon chuckled when he winked at him and gestured to the others behind him.

"This is Richard and Claudia. Frank's not back yet and you've met Miranda and Edward.

He shook hands with Richard and Claudia. Richard was in his late forties with ginger hair, green eyes and a chubby face. Claudia was in her late teens with long black hair, brown eyes and a heart shaped face with a dimpled chin. She wore granny glasses and her left eyebrow was pierced.

"Nice to meet you, Jonathon," she said. "We better get back to work. We just wanted to say hello."

"Nice to meet you all. I'm glad to be working here," Jonathon said.

"So are we," George said. "It gets pretty busy in here so just givin' ya a bit of a warnin' but everyone's one big, happy family so I think you'll fit in."

"Good, I hope so."

"Gotta go now, Pretty Boy. Don't let Suzanne boss ya around, she's a right bitch sometimes!" George said.

"Fuck you, George," Suzanne said, grinning.

George chuckled and punched her shoulder playfully before he and everyone else went back to work.

"So, where are you from?" Suzanne said as she grabbed the pepperoni.

"Hyde Park Estates," Jonathon said.

"Oh, I know where that is, it's not too far from here," Suzanne said, spreading the pepperoni around on top of the cheese. "I live about five miles away from here in Royal Oaks. I have a small flat but it's mine. I lived with me mum for the longest time before I could afford to move out. So, no significant others?"

"I have a kitten," Jonathon said.

She giggled.

"Man with a kitten, I like that. So now that we've finished, we go and put this in the oven, yeah?"

Jonathon nodded and followed her while she carried the finished pizza to the oven.

"So, you have any family?"

"Not really," Jonathon said. "I'm basically on my own."

"Except for the kitten," Suzanne said.

"Yeah, except for Boots, I'm all by myself."

"Boots, I like that, it's cute. I figured being a man you'd name it Killer or something like that."

"Nah, it's too sweet for a name like that."

He followed Suzanne back to the counter and she looked at the next order.

"Two meat lovers, right, follow me and I'll show you where all the ingredients are kept," she said.

"Jonathon?" Rose said while she knocked on his door. "Are you in there? I have your money."

She waited a moment and when he didn't answer, she took his key out of her purse.

"Jonathon, I'm coming in. Don't be angry at me, I just want to talk and give you your money," she said.

She unlocked his door and opened it. She looked around but didn't see him anywhere. Sighing, she came inside and closed the door.

"Jonathon?" she yelled as she went over and laid the envelope containing the money on the table beside the sofa. "Jonathon, are you here? Please talk to me."

She made her way back to the bedroom and gasped when she ran into Boots.

"Well hello, puss cat, you must be new here," she said, bending down to pick her up. "Aw, you're so cute."

She held Boots close to her while she petted her head.

"You're a cutie, you are. Where's your owner at?" she said softly.

She walked through the flat with Boots but couldn't find him. She sighed and looked down at Boots who was purring quietly with her eyes closed.

"Wish you could tell him I was here," she said to Boots. "I wish he'd understand that I do love him and I want to love him apart from the Doctor. I hate that he thinks he has to isolate himself like this."

She stared down at Boots for a moment before carrying her into the living room.

"I'm glad he has you though. Please keep him happy for me, yeah?" she said to her as she set her down on the sofa. "He needs friends now more than ever and if he won't accept me then be his friend in my place."

She stroked her back and Boots let out a meow and lifted her butt up slightly when she reached the back of her body. Rose grinned at that and rubbed under her chin before she straightened up.

"Wish I could stay but I gotta go to work. Take care of the place for me though."

She sighed and felt tears coming to her eyes.

"Oh Jonathon, I wish you would just call me and let me talk to you so we can get this whole mess sorted out," she said, shaking her head.

She stroked Boots one more time before she walked to the door. She looked around for a moment before she went out, shut the door and locked it behind her.

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