Beginning of Year 12…
"Mum, Mummy?" Luke asks.
"Hmm?" Mummy asks.
"At school, Mr Chandra called Emma and me into his office, cos he thinks we should take our A-levels in June."
"Well, you two just started in the sixth form."
"I know," I agree. "But, we're clever, aren't we? That's why he thinks we can go to any university in the world. The Shadow Architect had to step in and correct him there, saying that any university will open its doors to us. Any university in the universe."
"What was the Shadow Architect doing there, anyway?" Mum asks. "You're off the hook?"
"The last of the 456 escaped, so she was telling us to keep our eyes open."
"Right."
"Anyway, they both think that we can take our A-levels in June, go to university a year early. Mum? Mummy?"
"And you think that now is the right time to be telling us this?" Mummy asks, exasperated. We are handcuffed to a cage with a Slitheen bomb in front of us. I can only pray that my children, Clyde, Rani and Maria are getting somewhere.
"Bomb activation initiated. Bomb activation initiated." The Slitheen we were trying to stop walks through.
"Goodbye, Smith-Whites! My ship is ready to go. I would offer you a lift, but you're all tied up." Rani, Maria and Clyde run into the room while Lucy stands in the doorway with Sky. Sky uses her powers to deactivate the bomb before K-9 can even get into the room. K-9 growls at the twins, who high-five each other. Jessica and Alistair are undoing our handcuffs.
"So, Mum, Mummy, university?" Luke asks.
"I think you two have to do what's right for you," Mum sighs.
"So, yes," Mummy agrees. "I think you two should go if it's the right thing for you to do."
From then on, the Doctor would take me on many open days as long as they wouldn't interrupt with my learning. He hasn't changed his face yet; he's still the Doctor that he was when we met Lucy. He would take me to all sorts of planets that had a university available, including those on Earth. All of my favourites but one are on Earth. The one on the Qetesh home planet, Zelos, is beautiful. I thought about going there, but it could feel like a betrayal to Mum. After all, her species exiled her when she was little, according to the Doctor.
"What happened?" I asked. "Why did they exile her?"
"She was a criminal, according to them," the Doctor explained. "At the age of twenty, which is a young child for Qetesh- about a five-year-old to a human- she killed children. That's why they exiled her in the end. They imprisoned her in a ship with only a games console for company, planning to use her powers against others, so they knew how alone she felt. The next thing I knew, she was on Earth, with your mother, ever since before she was born."
"Whoa."
"I know."
"So, if I go, Mum might see it as a betrayal."
"I don't know. But you might be able to find out what happened."
"But at the same time, I could betray Mum."
"Talk to her about it."
It's now nearly Christmas, and I need to get my options in. I haven't talked to Mum yet as I'm worried about what she would say if I decide that I want to go. Mummy and Luke are out. Jessica, Alistair, Sky and Lucy are with various friends, having a sleepover. "You okay?" Mum asks.
"There's something I need to talk to you about." We sit down on the sofa in the attic. "I found this university that I like, but I feel conflicted about it."
"Conflicted in what way, Emma? How far away is it?"
"It's on an alien planet."
"Are you worried about the distance it is away from us? The Doctor can always get you back in the case of an emergency."
"It's not that." I need to be careful about what I tell Mum next. I don't want her to get angry with me. "The university… it's on your home planet. I thought you wouldn't want me to go there."
"I don't," Mum agrees. "What happened to me there might be in the past for me, but it isn't for many of the Qetesh, particularly the adults. The children, they have forgiven me because of the good you have done, but the adults manipulate them, making them think that you will eventually turn out like I did when I was twenty. I don't want that to happen to you. If you go, the Qetesh will change you. You'll become a killer. Do you want that?"
"That's the last thing I want. So, now all of my favourite universities are on Earth. I'll try and restrict it to England." Mum smiles. "I didn't want you to think that I would betray you. That's why I decided to talk to you first."
"Well, I don't want you to get hurt. Believe me, when I was a child, I wanted to escape from my people."
"What happened?"
"When I was young, I was miserable. I dreamed of having a better life than my people planned for me. The only way I could achieve that was killing. I was imprisoned in space with only a games console for company. However, when I arrived on Earth in 1538, I finally felt happy. I escaped. I've been here ever since, watching humanity grow and develop. I'm glad I could contribute to such an exceptional species, even though there have been a few hiccups along the way."
"You mean all of the trouble we've caused?"
"Exactly. There is no need for war. The end never justifies the means in war." Mum pulls me into a hug. "All of that loss of life was meaningless. It only taught humanity the horrors it could cause. But, I was able to contribute positively, with you, Luke, Jessica, Alistair, Sky, Lucy. Yes, by coming here, I was able to build a new life for myself. I'm not proud of what I was before, but I'm happier now than I ever would have been there."
On results day, I feel very nervous. Mr Chandra calls us over. He's holding two brown envelopes. He hands Luke's to him first, before giving mine to me. Luke opens his first. "Four A stars!" Luke grins.
"Well done, Luke!" I hug him before opening mine.
Resistant Materials…... A*
Creative Writing….. A*
Physics… A
History… A*
"Three A stars, and an A," I smile. Luke looks at my results, laughing with me. "So, we're both off to university!" We both go out to our parents, Rani, Clyde, Maria, Jessica, Alistair, Sky and Lucy.
"Mum? Mummy?" Luke asks. "Four A stars." Mummy pulls Luke into a hug.
"Three A stars and an A," I say. My children hug me, saying that it's impressive for my age. Clyde says that he never doubted us.
"I'm going to Oxford!" Luke grins. "What about you, Emma?" My phone begins ringing. It's a number I don't recognise.
"Excuse me." I move away to take the call. "Hello?"
"Hello? Is that Emma Smith-White?"
"Yes, who's calling?"
"This is Dean Jones from Qetesh Academy."
"Right, hello. I think there's been a mix-up."
"Oh, no, no mix-up. We're offering you a place. I think you should take it."
"I'm not interested."
"What do you know of Nicole Jones?"
"Who?"
"My daughter. You know her as Ruby White."
"My mum?"
"Yes. You can be better than her."
"Listen, I told you, I'm not interested, and I'm most certainly not going!" I hang up, but they call back. I reject the call, but they keep calling. I block the number before heading back.
"What was that about?" Clyde asks. My phone starts ringing again. Glancing down at the screen, I realised that the Dean got through to me again- even though I blocked the number. I growl in annoyance before explaining what happened. I reject the call, but she keeps calling back.
"You want to get that?" Rani asks. I reject the call again. Dean Jones calls back still. I answer the call.
"Emma, at least consider it."
"I have considered it, and I don't want to go." I hang up, holding my breath to see if she'd call. My phone remains silent. I put it away. Instantly, my phone rings again- this time from the Shadow Architect. I answer the call.
"Emma, I am glad you decided to reject going to Qetesh Academy. They would set you more steps back than you are at the moment."
"Well, it looks like that I'm now going to a university on Earth."
"You don't have to go to university at this stage, or if you want to go to a university in space, I found a few that you might like."
"I don't think people who live on Earth will recognise their qualifications."
"They will be. If you decide to go, you will start in January so you will have several months to prepare yourself."
"I'll think about it. What is the university called?"
"Hybrid Academy. You'll find many young people like you and Luke. I think you'll fit in there." The Shadow Architect hangs up, and I tell the group what happened and that I'll look into it.
FOUR DAYS UNTIL LUKE LEAVES…
Luke is packing up his room, taking his time. I help Jessica, Alistair, Sky and Lucy get ready to go to school. "It won't be the same without you, Mummy," Sky tells me.
"I know, Sky," I agree. "We have a few months until then. Well, I think that's you four ready." I give them their bags. "Have a nice day."
"You too," my children agree before they hurry out of the door to catch up with Rani. Slowly, I head up to the attic. It seems strange not having the children running about the house when there isn't an alien invasion that nearly blows us up.
Luke wanted to do his A-levels a year early so he could get into Oxford. I don't know what I want to do. Now, I don't think that university's right for me- not yet, anyway.
When I enter the attic, Luke is already there. Mummy is getting Mr Smith to analyse something, hoping to find its origins. Mum is doing some work on the computer. "Oh, Emma, I was about to call you," Mummy smiles. "I thought we would have… scrambled eggs."
"I guess I should watch," Luke agrees. "This time next week, I'll be making my own breakfast."
"Alien object of Alphamatraxan origin," Mr Smith announces as Mum turns the computer off.
"I just saw Rani."
"Oh, the first day back at school, isn't it?" Mum asks. "It must seem so strange that you two aren't with them."
"Yeah," Luke and I chorus.
"Soon you won't have to put up with us doing the twin vibe," I joke.
"We'll probably get it from Jessica, Alistair, Sky and Lucy," Mummy agrees.
"Mum, Mummy, have I made the right choice?" Luke asks.
"God, I thought that was just me!" I exclaim. Luke grins.
"Of course you have," Mummy tells us. "Remember your first day at Park Vale? You both were terrified. That turned out all right."
"We were attacked by Slitheen," Luke and I say.
"Yeah, well, apart from that."
"They switched off the sun."
"Yes, and apart from that. Listen, Luke, Emma, you're allowed to be nervous. You're only human."
"Half human."
"Well, close enough." Mummy walks back down to Mr Smith.
"Are you sure about scrambled eggs?" Mum asks, cheekily. "Don't you remember that you're banned from cooking in the kitchen?"
"I'm sure I can manage; thank you." Mummy and Luke head downstairs.
"I bet there's going to be a fire," I predict. A few minutes later, the fire alarm goes off.
"You thought right," Mum laughs as we head downstairs to put the fire out with the fire extinguisher.
After the disaster of a breakfast, Mummy was able to blag some boxes away from Gita so Luke can continue packing. She said that Gita wanted to help, and we are all glad that Mummy was able to convince her not to. While I like Gita and everything, she's rather talkative, so everything takes far longer than it needs to take. I am in my room, deciding what to do if I don't want to go to Hybrid Academy. I don't particularly want to do it yet. I call the Shadow Architect and say that I will consider Hybrid Academy, but I don't want to go there this year. "I might take a year out," I explain. "If I want to do it after that, then I'll do it." She agrees, telling me to keep my options open.
I go up to Mr Smith, asking him about Hybrid Academy. "Hybrid Academy doesn't exist," Mr Smith tells me, concerned. "If the Shadow Architect is telling you something else, I would break all contact with her."
"Thank you, Mr Smith."
"I'll have to relay this information to your parents."
"I'll go to university next year." Mum walks in, smiling. When she sees my face, she stops.
"What's the matter?" I tell her about Hybrid Academy and ask Mr Smith to find out what it is. Mr Smith says that the Shadow Proclamation set it up to get rid of troublesome hybrids. Mum pulls me into her arms.
"But Emma's not troublesome," she whispers.
"Unfortunately, the Shadow Proclamation see her that way." My phone begins to ring- it's the Shadow Architect. I answer it.
"Have you thought any further?" She asks.
"I know what Hybrid Academy is. It doesn't exist. You send all troublesome hybrids there. But what happens after that? Do you kill them?" She doesn't answer. "Well, that answers my question. I bet you don't want this little secret getting out, do you?" Again, the Shadow Architect doesn't answer. "I can blow this sky-high; I can tell the universe."
"No."
"Then you'd better do what I say. Speak to you soon." I hang up.
"You're blackmailing the Shadow Architect?" Mum asks. "That's a dangerous game, Emma." I nod, but I don't want to think about it.
"Come on, Mum. What's the worst they could do?"
"How about locking you up again? Or worse, murdering you? I know you don't want to go to whatever Hybrid Academy is, but you need to tread carefully with the Shadow Architect." I nod, not taking anything in.
Mummy and Luke walk in, and we tell them what happened. "Emma, why are you doing this?" Mummy asks. "Is it because the Shadow Architect locked you up?"
"No, it's because I know if I don't destroy whatever Hybrid Academy is, then more alien hybrids could die or go missing and never return. They might have loving families who wouldn't bear it if they died. We can't let the Shadow Proclamation do this." Luke smiles.
"Always the protective one, it's got to be that motherly instinct."
"I think it is."
That night, Luke runs into my room, terrified. I flick the light on, worried. "Luke? Oh, whatever's the matter?"
"I had a nightmare. Mum and Mummy were telling K-9 how having me back in their lives was the biggest mistake of their lives."
"Now, that can't be true. Mum and Mummy love you very much; you're their son!"
"Could the nightmares be starting because I'm afraid to go to Oxford? I keep on thinking that if I go, something bad will happen."
"When did that start?"
"When I got my results."
"But you seemed so excited, so happy. Why?"
"I can't bear leaving you. That's what it is. We're twins, Emma. We shouldn't have to part like this. I know it will happen someday, but it's too soon. You'll say that we've done it once before, but I can't bear to lose you again." Tears build up in Luke's eyes. "During those months while you were with the Shadow Proclamation, I contemplated suicide. When you came back, my world lit up. You are the light in my universe."
"And you're the light in mine, Luke." Luke takes my hand. "Let's make a promise, that no matter where we go, no matter what we do, we always remember each other. If we can do that, it will be like we are with the other, no matter what happens. We need to think about what the other person might say and do in a situation."
THREE DAYS UNTIL LUKE LEAVES…
In the morning, Rani meets us in the hallway, asking Luke if our parents are freaking out much by the fact that he's going. At that point, Luke admits that he had another nightmare- about me, this time. I ask him what happened, at which he tells me that I was marrying someone else. I seemed happy, but I forgot all about Luke.
"Obviously!" Rani exclaims. "Maybe you're scared about Friday? You're growing up, so maybe that activated the dream switch?"
"I checked as soon as Luke told me about the second dream," Jessica says. "It does happen in a year."
"Can you give us a specific time or place?"
"All I know is that it happens in London, but no known date yet."
"Well, keep trying. Something might come up. Whatever you decide to do, Luke that will happen." Mummy retrieves her handbag from Mum before she takes Luke out. Rani, Jessica, Alistair, Sky and Lucy head off to school. I talk to Mum about what Luke saw, and Mum tells me not to worry about it.
That night, Luke is back in my room after another nightmare. "Are you in a relationship with anyone else other than the Doctor?"
"Don't be ridiculous!"
I wish I could help Luke, but I don't know how. I hug him, and he hugs me back. "Are you certain?"
"I promise," I smile. "I will not betray the Doctor nor my family."
TWO DAYS UNTIL LUKE LEAVES…
"Morning," Mummy calls when Luke enters the attic. Luke looks nervous as he tells them about the nightmares he's had as well as the Nightmare Man.
"He said that the ones concerning Emma would come true as they are about the future." Mum sighs.
"Did he say when it would take place?"
"This year, I think." Mr Smith scans Luke, but can't find any abnormalities. Mum and Mummy begin to grow concerned.
"Emma, maybe you play it safe for now."
"You know that won't happen."
Luke and I are at a party at Park Vale arranged by my children, Clyde, Rani and Maria to celebrate Luke going to Oxford. Part way through the party, Luke falls asleep, only to have another nightmare. He also has a nightmare that night. It was Rani who told me about it. Luke's nightmares concern me, why is he having them now?