The new semester opens with a bang that shocks the four Houses of QED University, an exclusive school for promising students of the science of deduction and art of detection.
The Holmesian Harriet Harrison never thought that the day would come when...
Oops! Ang larawang ito ay hindi sumusunod sa aming mga alituntunin sa nilalaman. Upang magpatuloy sa pag-publish, subukan itong alisin o mag-upload ng bago.
MORRIE
IF SOMEONE wanted to waste their time leisurely in the university, there's a place that's highly recommended for them: Hudson's Hub. Most students, in their free time, go here to unwind and relax after racking their brains during classes. The hub was considered to be a shopping center and food court. If they wanted to sip tea or coffee, they could go to a number of cafes here. During Friday and Saturday nights, the liquor stores are open for those who prefer booze.
Going to this sort of place was not part of my routine. Admittedly, I was not a fan of epicurean pleasures though I still appreciate them sometimes. But today is an exemption. Kailangan naming — what's the word again — "tumambay" sa isang cafe para sa class activity.
The Diogenes Cafe is probably the most popular shop in the hub, not only because of its superb coffee but also due to its strange rule. The cafe opens at nine in the morning and closes at nine in the evening. No one's allowed to speak from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. The only way of communication allowed during those times was through codes. If caught talking, the bill would be doubled.
Now the cafe has become a battleground for our class. Professor Dred challenged us to track him down in the shop while he's in disguise. The question wasn't only about who among the customers was our instructor, but which among the four groups in our class would be the first one to catch him.
Andre, Jacquelyn and I sat around a circular, wooden table as we started devising our plan. Since it was only half past nine, we couldn't speakly freely and we needed to communicate through Morse code.
My eyes roamed around the cafe for a moment. There were thirty customers inside, some were from our class. The Holmesians positioned themselves in separate tables as they try to cover more ground. There was only one Watsonian present two tables away from ours while no Adlerians could be seen loitering around.
The hunting game began and every team was rolling out their own strategies.
The customers in the cafe could be classified into two: those who sip tea and those who drink coffee. One could also group them by which hand they use to hold the cup.
The moment the clock struck ten o'clock, buzzes exploded in the cafe with nearly everyone muttering words of thanks for lifting of the "no talking policy." Now we could plan on how we would capture our disguised professor.
"May twenty plus na legit customers dito. Paano natin malalaman kung sino sa kanila si Sir Dred?" Andre asked as he threw sideward glances at almost everyone in the cafe.
"We can refer to the list of habits and quirks provided by Sir Dred," Jacquelyn read what was written on a piece of paper in silence. A man wearing orange apron — a barista, I presume — walked past our table and served a slice of cake to a nearby customer. "According here, Sir Dred prefers tea, particularly earl grey, over coffee and he does not like sweet stuff. We can use that information to cross out the customers who are drinking coffee and eating cake?"
