When John stepped into the classroom, all twenty eyes fixed onto him and Sherlock.

"You two gentlemen are ten minutes late. Care to explain?"

John shuffled. He didn't really want to tell the teacher that he got lost and fell on his arse.

"We had to speak with our counselor. We had been placed in the wrong classes," Sherlock lied smoothly.

The teacher narrowed his eyes and studied Sherlock for a moment. After some pondering, he nodded slowly. "Alright. The next time you are late to my class, you'll receive a detention. Since it's the first day of school, I'll let it slide."

He pointed to the only two empty seats in the class.

Sherlock took the one in the back, leaving John to sit next to a pretty brunette.

"I've already taken attendance. What is your name young man?" The teacher looked at John.

"John Watson."

And from the back of the room came a drawl. "Sherlock Holmes."

Upon hearing the name, John saw the brunette sitting next to him twitch slightly.

"My name is Mr. Wallace. This is Honors Chemistry, but I want to start the school year off with something different."

Mr. Wallace walked over to the smart board and wrote in large curving letters: Forensics Science

"While this isn't directly relevant to chemistry, I think it would be a good activity to cover this week. Since it is everyone's first year here at Newberry, I want the first week to be fun and to be an opportunity to work with a fellow classmate and get to know them better."

"Now." He grabbed the stack of papers near his desk. "First fill out this sheet, to test your basic knowledge on forensics. Then you will choose a partner in this class."

Once he passed them out, John stared at his paper with furrowed brows.

1. Ted Bundy was an American serial killer who was convicted on the basis of which type of forensic evidence?

a) DNA fingerprinting
b) Ballistics
c) Latent fingerprinting
d) Bite marks

2. In October 1974 part of a male torso was found floating in the River Thames in England. Several parts, including the head and hands, were missing so police could not use the usual methods of fingerprints, facial features and dental records to identify the corpse. How was it eventually identified?

a) Presence of gallstones
b) All the choices are correct
c) Blood type
d) Skeletal characteristics demonstrated on x-ray

3. The time of death can be calculated by various means. One is rigor mortis, Latin for 'the stiffness of death'. Another indication is livor mortis or lividity. What does this term refer to?

a) Cloudiness in the eyes
b) Relaxation of muscles susbequent to rigor mortis
c) Degree of digestion of stomach contents
d) Gravitational pooling of blood

4. Lord Louis Mountbatten, a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, was blown to pieces in 1979 when an IRA bomb exploded on his yacht. How did police link the murderer, Thomas McMahon, to the crime scene?

a) Matching paint samples
b) All the choices are correct
c) Matching sand samples
d) Trace evidence of nitroglycerine

5. In 1835, Henry Goddard was asked to investigate a burglary in Southampton, England. The butler said a shot had been fired as he struggled with the burglars. Goddard retrieved the bullet and disproved the butler's version of events by using which technique?

a) Bullet comparison
b) Studying the broken glass
c) Studying the bullet's trajectory
d) Blood spatter analysis

6. In Knoxville, Tennessee, there is a research facility, popularly known as 'the Body Farm', where research is conducted into the nature of human decomposition and the factors which affect the rate at which it occurs. Who was responsible for the creation of this facility?

a) Gil Grissom
b) Ernest T Bass
c) William Bass
d) William (Bill) Clinton

7. It is the function of a coroner to conduct inquiries into all deaths which are not natural or expected. However, originally the job of coroner was to perform which of the following functions?

a) Safeguarding the monarch's property
b) Tax collector
c) All the choices are correct
d) Trying felony cases

8. What is studied in forensic palynology?

a) Fossilised micro-organisms
b) Soils
c) Pollens and spores
d) Dust

9. If you know what to look for, you can tell a male from a female skull. Which of the following statements is FALSE?

a) The male skull is usually larger
b) The male skull has a more prominent brow ridge
c) The male skull has a heavier jaw
d) The male skull has a more rounded chin

He didn't know anything about the past crime cases.

The ones that were medical he understood easily.

After some guessing, John finished his sheet.

He looked at the girl next to him and felt a stab of curiosity. Why had she twitched when she heard Sherlock's name.

The boy seemed so mysterious and John had a sudden itch to get to know him.

Once she finished her sheet, he turned towards her and smiled.

"What's your name?" His voice was low, as to not alert the teacher he was talking.

"Molly Hooper." She smiled at him.

"I'm John, but you already knew that."

"Yeah. I heard Mr. Wallace is pretty hard on late-comers," she said.

"Are you a first year?"

Molly nodded. "Everyone in this class is."

John wondered why Sherlock was in this class. He should be at least a second year, since he was in advanced orchestra.

"Do you know anything about Sherlock Holmes?" He finally asked.

Something brightened in her eyes. "Of course. He's practically famous in this school. He only started officially attending this year, but he's been sort of recruited for orchestra here for three years already."

Ah. That explains it.

Then something shifted on her face. "But I've heard he is notorious for being difficult. Not a people person at all."

Mr. Wallace cleared his throat. "Please turn them in at the end of class; I'll be reviewing them later and I'll plan your classwork this week based on them."

"Now, you guys will pair up and start the project that's due the end of this week. You can choose any case that involved modern day forensics and make a presentation that covers the biological aspects and a case study of the crime."

"I'll give you five minutes to find a partner."

John was going to ask Molly when a girl came over and paired up with her instead. John turned and scanned the room for anyone who was still free.

"You want to be a doctor."

He turned and saw Sherlock two feet away and looking at John intently.

"Yes."

"You know a lot about human biology?" Sherlock asked.

"Yes, almost too much."

"Then it's only logical that we be partners. I've made it a personal interest to study past criminal cases. Between my vast knowledge of well, everything" John arched a skeptical eyebrow at that, "and your obsession with becoming a doctor, we would easily have the best project in this class."

"Okay," John said.

"Great." Sherlock dropped his bag sat next to John. He got out a blue notebook. "I've already made a list of potential cases we can look at."

John quickly looked over them. One seemed familiar.

"The third one, isn't that an unsolved case?"

Sherlock nodded. "These are call cold cases. They seemed pretty simple, I figure it would take us a couple hours to crack them. We can move on to the project from there."

John blinked. His mouth opened. Then closed. "You realize that these are cases that Scotland Yard has poured over for years. We can't possibly solve these with just old police records in several hours."

He smirked. "I am far more intelligent then the Neanderthals at the station. I've already cracked over thirty police cases."

If it was possible, John's eyes widened even further. "They hired a fifteen year old?!"

Sherlock shook his head. "I've already tried that. Apparently I'm not old enough. I just look up articles and on the cases and I call in anonymous tips. I'm never wrong."

John stared at him "Well, if what you're saying is true—"

"—it is," Sherlock interrupted.

John let out a small laugh. "Then you are amazing."

The other boy seemed to jerk. "Amazing?"

John blushed slightly. "Yes. Absolutely amazing. I can't imagine someone able to do all that with just news broadcasts and internet articles."

Sherlock smiled. It almost seemed shy.

By the end of eighth period, John could hardly believe that it was a mere nine hours ago when he kissed his mom goodbye, dropped his bags off in the theatre, and proceeded to get lost in the hallways.

Unbelievably, Sherlock ended up being in all the same classes as John, except for PE. John had no idea where Sherlock disappeared off to.

Now, eight classes and three projects plus two homework assignments later, John is herded back to the theatre along with the rest of the first years.

A woman John assumed is the headmaster stepped onto the stage. She grabbed the microphone. "We hope that you all had a good first day here at Newberry Academy. If you need help getting adjusted, please just stop by my office or your counselor. We are here from five to nine."

"The luggage's that you all dropped off this morning in the theatre with a name tag and student number has been moved to the appropriate dorm room. If you do not see your bags in the room, please come to the main office and we will locate it. When you are ready to go to your room, please come to main office and check in. We will give you your room number and the name of the person you will be sharing with."

"Security will be posted on both sides of the dorms to ensure that boys do not enter the girls dormitory and vice versa."

"Please remember that curfew is nine and you are allowed to go anywhere on this campus. If you wish to go off campus anytime during the week, you must receive a special slip from me giving you permission to do so. Breakfast is held in the mess hall and it starts at six and ends at seven. Your first period promptly starts at 7:30"

"Thank you, that is all. You are dismissed."

Mike glanced down at his phone. "It's almost eight, I should go talk to Melinda."

John nodded. In the few short hours since he met Mike, he's told him about Melinda, his girlfriend and how they were fighting.

John had to go check his room assignments. He hoped that he liked his roommate; he would have to share a room with him for the next four years.

He made his way to the office. He checked in and looked at his listing.

He read over the two names again.

Dread and euphoria washed over John as he double checked that he read it correctly.

Then a familiar voice rumbled behind him, "Looks like we'll be spending a lot of time together, John Watson."