Chapter Text
Clara sighed as she looked up at the new block of flats that was to become her home. She thought she might finally be excited, getting a new home and all, but the dread that came with transferring to a new teaching post remained at the back of her mind. Of course, in many ways she enjoyed teaching - there wasn’t really anything else she wanted to do, at least for a career. But the fact remained that at her last job she had been under-appreciated, undervalued and often actively berated for things that weren’t her fault. Not to mention, teaching teenagers was often its own kind of torture, especially when their egos seemed to surpass Mount Everest and they felt no hesitation at trying to humiliate her. But she’d always expected that - god knows when she was a teenager she hadn’t respected her teachers.
No, what Clara really wanted this time over was companionship. At twenty-eight years old, she’d barely had any serious relationships, though naturally there had been many wasteful and unserious ones.
Well, maybe that wasn’t entirely true.
There had been one person Clara was truly hopeful about, someone she almost felt proper love for. But it had all crashed and burned in the end. She didn’t feel the same way about Clara. And so, feeling humiliated and frustrated, Clara decided she needed some change to actually heal the wound.
Clara didn’t admit to it fully, but that mess certainly did factor into her yearning to change schools.
Regardless, it had been hard even to connect with any of the other teachers in a platonic way (other than her.) Most of them had been so judgemental and snobby it felt like she couldn’t do anything right. Even if she did, they’d never really accept her anyway. No, this time it wouldn’t be the same, not at Coal Hill. She’d make sure of that, come hell or high water.
‘Step one to making this work - befriend your neighbours as if your life depends on it,’ Clara muttered under her breath, inhaling and exhaling. One of her previous neighbours, Gladys, had hated her with a burning passion, and it meant that she had always left her building with a sour look on her face. Making friends wasn't the only goal - it was crucial not to create enemies either.
The moving company had already taken care of the big things, so she only had a few bags to take up the lift. Flat 311 was hers, but she kept repeating it to herself to make sure she didn’t get it wrong - after all, she was feeling very tightly strung, and didn’t think it would be impossible for her to make a stupid mistake.
‘311, 311…’
Clara took another deep breath as she stood in front of her new door, ready to embark on her new life with a new school and new neighbours. Something more, too, maybe.
Opening the door, she took a cursory look around to check that everything was in place. It was, and she finally sighed, flopping down on the sofa that had often felt like her one true friend during her previous job.
‘This had better work,’ she said to herself again. The flat was much smaller than her previous place. Though even her old home had been cramped - living on a teacher’s salary in London hardly paved the way for a life of luxury. Still, Clara knew what she was paying for the place was essentially extortionate.
Feeling cramped and trapped inside her own head, Clara got up from her sofa with energy and resolved to meet her neighbours right away. It would distract her, surely. Time for an adventure.
No one came when Clara knocked on the door of flat 310. But when she knocked on 312, someone did.
‘Hey! I’m your new neighbour in 311 - Clara Oswald,’ she said, holding out her hand.
The man facing her smiled slightly, but almost evasively, and shook her hand in response. His eyes, however, were intensely trained on hers.
‘Welcome Clara. My name’s John Smith. It’s nice to meet you.’