THE GRAND TOUR OF OKLAHOMA

Chapter Four

"Air!" Rose gasped when they went in the glass double doors and the air conditioning hit her skin.

"Yes, that's what we're breathing," the Doctor said to her.

"No, cold air, what the hell is the deal with the weather, are you sure this is 2011?"

"Yes, Rose, this is 2011."

"Coulda fooled me," Rose said.

"And when did you become an expert on weather conditions and time travel, hmmm?" the Doctor said. "You've never been to 2011 before, I have, and I assure you this is 2011."

"Yeah, wanna keep it down now?" Rose said, pointing to an elderly male security guard across the room.

They were standing in a large well lit atrium. On either side of them were black benches similar to the ones at the bus stop along with horse racing memorabilia. The security guard was standing behind a podium by an escalator. Behind him was a narrow passageway. The Doctor and Rose said hello to the security guard as they passed by him looking for the casino. They rounded a bend and stopped when they saw a food court and restrooms. They looked around for the casino but couldn't find it.

"Maybe you go up the escalator," Rose said.

They doubled back to the escalator. They asked the security guard about the casino and confirmed it was upstairs. But as they were about to get on, he stopped them and pointed to their backpacks.

"Can I check those?" he said to them.

They took them off and he opened them up.

"You have food in here, you can take them in but you can't eat anything in the casino," he said to them.

"Actually, are there lockers around here where we can store those?" the Doctor said to him.

"No, but I'll tell you what, put them behind my podium and I'll keep an eye on them."

The Doctor and Rose thanked him. The guard stepped back and they put the packs in the storage compartment at the bottom of the podium. Then they went upstairs. At the top were two double doors that were open. Inside they could see the casino. They went inside and just inside the door was another podium with a thin black female security guard. She nodded hello as they passed by her. Rose wrinkled her nose at the smoky air while they looked around. They heard the ding, ding, ding of the games and faint music coming from speakers above them. Rose casually walked around with the Doctor following behind her. They came to a beverage station and the Doctor frowned when Rose grabbed a Styrofoam cup and got herself some Coke.

"Do you pay for that?" he asked.

"No, it's free, get some," she said, over her shoulder.

The Doctor smiled and got himself some Coke. They then walked around, sipping their drinks while they looked at the slot machines.

They paused when they went past one woman playing a slot machine and stood behind her, watching while the screen spun the pictures around. The Doctor frowned again when it stopped and he saw lines connecting things together while squares with pictures in them were highlighted. He noticed the woman's points increased while that happened.

"Did she win something?" he asked Rose.

"Yeah, mum plays these on occasion and I went with her sometimes. You can play a certain number of lines and depending on how many lines you play, it finds things that match and gives you points based on that."

"Oh, I was wondering why it was choosing random squares," the Doctor said.

"You've never gambled before?"

"Only with my life."

"Excuse me, would you go away?" the lady said, looking over her shoulder. "I don't like people watching me."

"Fine, sorry," Rose said.

She muttered "Bitch" under her breath while she and the Doctor walked on.

When they passed by an ATM, the Doctor stopped her.

"Cover me," he said to Rose.

Rose gave him a puzzled look but came in close to the Doctor. She watched while he pulled out his sonic screwdriver, aimed it at the ATM's screen and turned it on. Her eyes bulged when money started coming out and the Doctor quickly grabbed it while glancing around.

"Doctor!" Rose hissed.

"What? I'm not taking from anyone's account, just calm down. We'll need money on this hike anyway," he said.

"How much did you get?" Rose whispered while they walked away.

The Doctor quickly counted and found he had 200 dollars in fives and tens. He gave 100 of it to Rose and she looked around while she put it in her pocket. They sipped their drinks while they wandered around the slot machines. Then Rose stopped by one that had a goldfish motif to it. Above the screen was a little plastic window that looked in on a diorama of a movie goldfish next to a treasure chest that opened and closed. Behind it were the words Gold Fish 2. Rose watched a man playing one for a moment and then moved to the empty one next to him. The Doctor came up behind the chair as Rose sat down and put five dollars in.

"So, you see these buttons," she said to the Doctor. "These are the options for how many lines you wanna play. So I'm gonna try maximum with the bonus," she said, pushing the button and then you spin it."

She hit the spin button and the screen spun around while the Doctor leaned in and put his chin lightly on the top of her head. He frowned when the screen stopped and the lines began connecting random pictures. He brightened when Rose won 25 cents from that. She spun again and got nothing so she spun again and squealed when the lines connected things all over the screen and she won three dollars. The next spin she won two dollars and twenty five cents.

"Wow, you're good at this," the Doctor said.

"I've never won big but I like playing from time to time," Rose said.

Then the next spin, she won a bonus game and she sat back for a moment while several fishes swam around on the screen. Underneath them were ten treasure chests and at the top it told her to pick a chest and touch the screen. Rose's finger hovered over the screen for a moment and then she touched a chest. It popped open and produced a gold key. The directions told her to choose again and she looked at the Doctor.

"Do the next one," Rose said.

The Doctor thought and then touched one at the right side. Another key popped up. Rose chose a third one and got another key. She looked at the Doctor. He chose one in the middle and this time got a pearl. His eyes widened when they heard ding, ding, ding and both of them watched with glee when she won 15 dollars from the game. Rose squealed with delight and pumped her fist in the air.

"Lucky Rose, that's you," the Doctor said.

Rose spun again and got three pearls in a row and won 10 bonus spins. She sat back again as the three columns automatically spun for her. The Doctor's eyes bulged when she kept winning big and winning more spins. Rose's mouth dropped open as her money kept increasing and she looked at the Doctor with glee. The Doctor patted her shoulder and they kept watching while she won more spins and more money.

"Oh my God, what if I win big?" Rose said to the Doctor.

"Then we celebrate your lucky winning streak," the Doctor said.

Rose could hardly believe her eyes when the total went up over one hundred dollars and kept going.

"I...I've never won this much," she said. "I mean I've won maybe 30 quid tops but this...oh my God, you're lucky, Doctor."

"Me, you're the one who's winning."

"No, I mean you're my lucky charm. I've never won this much before," Rose said.

They both were in shock when the spins finally stopped and Rose stared in a stunned silence at the 227 dollar total at the bottom of the screen.

"Um...not pressing my luck anymore," she said, hitting the cash out button.

The voucher came out and Rose took it. She and the Doctor squealed at the cash amount and Rose looked around for the cashier. The Doctor followed her, proud of her winning streak while Rose walked to the cashier and handed the voucher to a lady behind the counter. The lady gave her 227 dollars and Rose thanked her. She tried to give some to the Doctor and he held up his hand.

"No, this is yours. You won it, you keep it," he said.

"Lunch? It's on me," Rose said.

"I won't object to that," the Doctor said.

They found the buffet but were turned off when it looked like a cafeteria. Rose looked at the Doctor.

"Let's go somewhere else, I don't like the look of this place."

"Yeah, me neither," the Doctor said.

They got another round of Cokes at the beverage station and walked around. They passed by the roulette table and came back to it, stopping to observe.

"Gonne try the roulette wheel?" the Doctor said to Rose.

"Nah, not pressing my luck, I'll just watch," Rose said.

They watched while people placed chips on different numbers on the felt table. At the end was the roulette wheel and the dealer spun it to keep it going and then put the black ball in the slot and spun it around. The ball spun around the outside of the wheel and the dealer waved her hand over the numbers to indicate betting was closed. The ball landed in number 23 and the dealer placed a white marker on top of several chips on that number and swept everything else towards her. One elderly lady gave the dealer 200 dollars and she gave her the equivalent back in chips. The lady placed them all over the board while the Doctor watched her. Then the wheel was spun and she lost 150 dollars. She placed the remaining 50 down on the next round and lost that. Then the Doctor watched while she asked for 100 dollars worth of chips from the dealer. By now, Rose was also watching her.

"She just spent more than you won in about ten minutes," the Doctor whispered to Rose.

"I know," Rose whispered back. "That's why I don't play the table games. I don't have that sort of money to waste."

They watched while she put 50 down and lost it. Rose shook her head and tugged on the Doctor's sleeve.

"Pension, you think?" she whispered.

"Let's hope it's not her rent money," the Doctor whispered back.

Rose nodded and they watched her play the other 50 and lose that. Then they moved on. They reached the back of the casino and saw where people could sit and watch the horse racing. A huge red curtain was covering the plate glass window since no race was happening but there was stadium seating with ten rows of plush leather chairs. Each row had a half wall in front of it where TVs were mounted that played other races. Rose went down the steps to the top row and went to the first chair while the Doctor followed. Rose sat down and gasped when the cushion sank low and the Doctor giggled at the shocked look on her face. He patted her shoulder when she eyed him and went to the next chair. He sat down slowly and sighed contentedly when he relaxed. The TV in front of them played the beginning of a race in Florida and the announcer was talking about the horses while the jockeys led them to the gate. Beside Rose was a small circular table with a lamp and a little information card that listed the different races on the TV and the times they were shown. Rose picked up the card and studied it while the Doctor sipped his Coke and listened to the broadcast.

"These races, here," the Doctor said, gesturing to the screen with his Coke. "You can bet on these as well?"

"I think so," Rose said. "Never played the horses though. You?"

"Been to horse races, never bet on them," the Doctor said before taking another sip.

"You mean you've been to the derby with the Queen?" Rose said.

"Not the Queen, King George III invited me to and I went and saw the match race between Seabiscuit and War Admiral."

"I saw that film," Rose said.

"I saw the real thing," the Doctor said smugly.

She slapped his arm with the card while the Doctor gave her a triumphant grin. Rose glanced at the TV screen.

"What's happening?" she asked.

"Tits And Ass is being loaded into the gate," he said.

"There is no horse called Tits And Ass," she said.

"Is so. They just showed him, a majestic black stallion called Tits And Ass."

"Pull the other one, Doctor."

"Seriously. Tits And Ass, they just showed him."

"Who's in the gate beside him? Vagina And Penis?" Rose said.

"Nah, he's in the next race."

Rose swatted his arm while the Doctor snickered.

"It's a beautiful day here in Orlando," the announcer said as jockey led his horse to the gate. "Up next is Mamma's Boy and right after him is Luck Of The Draw."

"Need one called Time Lord."

"Sorry?" the Doctor said.

"You know how these horses have long weird names. I wanna buy one and call it Time Lord and race it."

"Bit disrespectful, isn't it?"

"Who says?" Rose said.

"I say, Time Lord is who I am, you can't call a horse Time Lord."

"I can call a horse whatever I want and I'll call mine Time Lord."

"Fine, I'll purchase one and call it Rose's Mums A Harpy Hag and see if it wins anything."

He snickered and took a sip of his Coke, when Rose eyed him.

"I'll purchase one and call it Gallifreyan Git then," Rose said.

"I'll purchase one and call it Chubby Chav ASBO Hooligan Tart Manky Grotty…."

The Doctor ducked when Rose tried to swat at his head. He stuck out his tongue as he pulled an ice cube from his cup and threw it at her. Rose pulled an ice cube out of hers and threw it at him. They glanced around and calmed down before anyone saw them. The Doctor gave Rose's hair an affectionate tousle while they sipped their drinks and relaxed.

Back                         Home                              Doctor Who Main Page                          Next

Your Name or Alias:      Your E-mail (optional):

Please type your review below. Only positive reviews and constructive criticism will be posted.