I don't own any of the Sherlock characters, they belong to BBC. I'm just here with a piece of my imagination :)
(see the end of this chapter for more details!)
Sherlock paced about his living room in a frenzy, sending papers flying in all directions much to the alarm of his landlady and former line-dancer Mrs Hudson.
"Sherlock! What are you doing?" admonished the landlady of 221B Baker Street, who hurriedly backed off as the consultant detective yelled in triumph.
"Ahah! My gun! I've been wondering where it's been for the last two minutes!" With that, Sherlock promptly released the safety catch and fired three shots in succession at the now-decimated yellow smiley face on the wall, succeeding in making Mrs Hudson jump.
"Sherlock dear, please put away that absurd thing! You're messing up the wallpaper, again!"
With that, Sherlock tossed the gun into the kitchen sink and dug amongst the pile of papers obscuring the floor; and retrieved a violin. He promptly began to play an ear-splitting tune that was unsavoury, apparently, to all ears but his own. With that, Mrs Hudson threw her hands up and left the room with a muttered "Good gracious!"
"Mrs Hudson!" Sherlock suddenly ceased playing. "Tea please!"
"Not your housekeeper!" Mrs Hudson shouted back.
Sherlock tossed down the violin and continued his rampage around the apartment. "Where are the cases? The robberies? The murders? Anything!" The lack of activity had drove Sherlock to the brink. "John's in California, Lestrade's in Australia and, ohhh!" Jumping to his feet as another idea assaulted his mind, Sherlock scrabbled for his phone under the piles of paperwork and grabbed it, speed dialing a number quickly as possible.
It was Anthea who answered the phone. "Hello Anthea. Is my brother there? Yes, Mycroft. My brother. I'm Sherlock. Yes, that one. I don't care if he's exhausted from another of his vile diplomatic meetings. Put me on the phone with him!"
At last the phone was answered.
"Yes, brother mine?" Sherlock had to admit, Mycroft did sound absolutely exhausted.
"Do you have a case? Anything? Anything at all? I need something, Mycroft! Something!" Sherlock was almost pleading.
"No, nothing at all. I have an idea for you. Try taking that IQ test. It'll make you feel better." was all Mycroft responded with.
"Boring. Completed it like, what, seventeen times already."
"Well, try the EQ test. Its emotional intelligence. You should find that one interesting. And a little harder than the IQ test." Mycroft's voice sounded almost amused at the prospect.
Sherlock snorted. "EQ? Why would they name it EQ? If it's an emotional intelligence quiz, they should at least name it EIQ. If this lot can't even get their acronyms right, I have no hope at all for the quality of this emotional intelligence quiz."
"This is what happens when you are in a world inhabited by goldfish, Sherlock," drawled Mycroft.
"If that's the best you can give me, I'll give it a try," huffed Sherlock, trying to decide whether to be annoyed or ecstatic at this idea of an EQ test.
"Do email me your results, dear brother. I'll be in touch."
Hmm, odd, though Sherlock. Why would Mycroft bother with my results? Shrugging the notion off, Sherlock tossed his phone into some distant corner and pulled out his laptop.
Typing "EQ test" into the search bar, Sherlock settled down for what he hoped was to be a long, satisfying afternoon. His illusions were crushed however, and the statement, "10 Questions and your EQ will be determined!". Sherlock rolled his eyes. It would take him less than a minute to figure it all out, as he had with the IQ test.
He pressed Start the Test. Question 1 rolled around. Sherlock stared at it.
Question 1
You see someone in distress. What would you do in order to help them?
a) ask them what is wrong. If they say nothing, walk away.
b) ask them what is wrong. Even if they say nothing, stay with them to comfort them and talk them through it.
c) Deduce what you can about the person and using your assumptions, attempt to help them.
d) Ignore them completely, it isn't your problem.
Sherlock was having a hard time deciding between c) and d). A and B were out of the question, of course. the only logical steps would be either C or D. C would be easy for him, he knew that. But drawing on his own personal experience of comforting people and attempting to help them, it would seem D was the only viable option to him.
Confidently selecting D, Sherlock frowned at the time it had taken him. 6 minutes on one question? Mycroft would be disappointed. He was pretty sure even John could beat the time. Shaking his head, Sherlock moved onto Question 2, confident that he would ace this test.
Hey everyone. How was that?
Also, since there are 10 questions in the test, it will be one question per chapter. Don't worry, this doesn't mean each chapter will be super short. There'll be lots of other fluff to accompany it. I hope you enjoy this first chapter. It might be a little slow-going at first-this is a first draft; but I think the overall idea is good. :)
Also updates might be a little slower- I'm working on A Harsh War as well.
Feel free to favourite and review.
Update: I've added an extra section into Sherlock's convo with Mycroft. Thank you to Qoheleth for suggesting this tweak.
/thesingingbluebell/
