Excerpt: The Day Hello Kitty Met Dr. Who - a working title, maybe Finding Elise

Okay, here's the first couple of pages:

Chapter 1 The Shower Disappears

Elise sat on her floor looking through her Kokopelli bag that she had gotten from her grandmother. It was shower night and she needed make sure she had everything she needed. Because you never know when a tornado might take you out of the bathroom or aliens might abduct you, or even a herd of elephants could run through your house and whisk you off to Africa. So she went through her bag every night and every morning.

She had a Hello Kitty journal that she wrote in when the mood struck, and the laser light pen that she used to write everything. She took out her sonic screwdriver light, because Dr. Who was so cool, and checked to make sure it worked. Her cousin had given her a penknife for her birthday that was the coolest weapon she had ever owned. Her father had said that she should carry actual tools if she was going to carry all the rest of her useless junk, so she had a small tool kit. There was a bouncy ball, a yoyo, and a paperclip chain in there. At the bottom of the bag were two pair of clean underwear and an extra pair of socks, because you just never know. She took her pajamas and tucked them into her bag and stepped into the bathroom.

“Don’t let it run all night,” her mother called through the closed door.

“I won’t,” Elise called back, turning on the water.

She loved taking showers, the way the water flowed over her head like rain. Sometimes she would stand under the water so long thinking up stories that she’d forget to get clean. Then she had to come out or risk the wrath of her parents. After stripping out of her clothes, she stepped under the stream and closed her eyes.

Immediately, she was on the TARDIS. The Doctor smiled at her and beckoned her over. A quick glance down told her she was no longer naked, and with a light blush, she trotted over to him. It didn’t matter that he was old enough to be her father. She liked to correct people that he was actually old enough to be George Washington’s father, but her mother just smiled indulgently.

“But the actor you like is old enough to be your father, dear.”

Elise would squeal and hit her playfully.

“Elise,” the Doctor looked at her and pointed to the console. “We are in need of your particular size this time.” He stepped back as she approached. “There is a short in the time circuits and only your hands will fit through the framework to fix it.”

Elise frowned at the opening in the grate at the base of the console. “What about Kitty?”

The Doctor put a hand on his hip and looked like he swallowed a bug. “Yeah, we need someone with hands.”

In the bathtub, Elise turned in the water and knelt on the floor of the tub, examining the drain. “I don’t know, Doctor,” she called back. “I think this is interference from another sonic device, and mine doesn’t really work. So I would say you have someone on your tail in the vortex.”

The Doctor bent to her level and frowned. “It’s time to get out of the shower.”

She looked up at him, confused. He had spoken with her mother’s voice. A knocking sounded from the TARDIS doors. “Honey,” he said with her mother’s voice again, “it’s time to get clean and get out.”

The TARDIS was gone and the drain plug was practically twisted out of the tub. Elise scowled at the door. How could her stories that seem to only take a few minutes really last so long? She turned the drain back into place and quickly stood. Taking the soap, she ran it over her body and turned under the water to rinse. Her shampoo was two in one with conditioner and she quickly lathered up her hair and rinsed. In the end she felt like a drowned rat, but she was a clean drowned rat. To reward herself for getting clean so fast, she stood under the stream and closed her eyes.

She did not let the TARDIS materialize in her head. After all it was a school night and she needed to get out. A loud bang sounded, startling her out of her thoughts. “I’m coming!” she yelled and turned to shut off the water. Neither of her parents had ever banged on the door that loud before. She took her towel as she stepped out of the tub and dried off. It hadn’t felt like it had been too long, but it hadn’t been dark yet when she got in the shower and now the block window in the shower was very dark.

Opening the door a crack, Elise called out, “Sorry, I didn’t know it was getting so late.” But as she turned her head to look for her mother or father, she noticed the house was dark.

“Mom?” Elise looked around the door. There was no answer. The darkness was absolute, darker than anything she’d seen in the house before.

Ducking back into the bathroom, she shook the towel off and slipped into her pajamas. She gathered her clothes and tucked them into her bag. Her bedroom was only a few steps down the hall and she held out her hands as she tried to feel her doorway. Her bare feet were not walking on carpet as she stepped out of the bathroom. A stick snapped under her heel and she felt the fluttering of her heart as panic started to hit.

Reaching in her bag, she pulled out her sonic screwdriver light. It wined as she pressed the button. Blue light shone on the wall to the bathroom, but as she looked along it, the wall just ended. It was where her bedroom should have been. The other direction was the same. Her parents’ bedroom was also gone. Around the corner, she saw the pipes from the shower sticking out of the back of the wall. The blue light of her toy shone on the grass and sticks at her feet. She wondered if she were still in the shower, imagining all of this. Walking back to the bathroom door, she went in and turned on the water to the shower. After a brief sputtering, the water stopped.

“What is going on?” she asked aloud. There was no answer. After what seemed like forever, she picked up her towel, curled up on the bathroom floor and went to sleep.