Robert stood in the wings with the other coaches during the initial table round of the competition. They began with eight participants answering timed questions around a table for points. Only three would progress to the final level. The announcer stepped onto the stage. He was wearing beige trousers and a black blazer.
"It is time to announce the results of the second round of the Chemistry Challenge. In third place with a score of 31 points, May Riddles."
A young woman in a light-colored suit walked forward. She was a quiet, pale-haired girl whom Robert remembered seeing in the back of classes, but whose voice he couldn't remember hearing before today. He was going to have to keep an eye out for her, because there weren't that many girls that went into advanced chemistry, but she seemed like the type who could go all the way to the top. She stood aside. Now they would see who was really winning.
"In second, with a score of 42 points we have ...Giles Lombard."
Wonderful that means...
"And in first place with an impressive score of 56 points, we have Sherlock Holmes."
The three finalists stood on the stage as applause erupted around them. Robert moved closer to the curtain as the other contestants filed off and were met by their coaches who consoled them with a pat on the back or a kind word. One coach hit a young man on the back of the head with his rolled up program. Robert turned back to the stage.
"Ladies and Gentlemen. One of these three contestants will be named the Chemistry Challenge Champion."
There was a light spattering of applause. "The final part of the competition will be an elimination round. Each participant will be asked a question in turn. If they answer correctly, they will remain in the competition. If they give an incorrect answer, or if they fail to answer their question in the time allotted, then they will be given a strike. If a contestant who has a strike against him or her fails to answer their question correctly a second time, then they will be eliminated from the competition. Contestants, do you understand the rules?"
The three of them nodded. They were standing on the stage side by side. A microphone in front of each of them. May Riddles stood on the left of the stage. She absentmindedly tapped her toes together. Her large black books stuck out below her thin beige skirt making her look a bit like a pencil.
Beside her, Sherlock was almost a full head shorter in a new black blazer and a blue tie that he kept pulling at as if it were choking him.
Giles Lombard looked dashing in a navy blazer with a yellow tie. His white teeth sparkled as he glanced aside at the other contestants as if surprised that such people were allowed in his company.
A panel of three judges sat on one side of the stage. One shuffled cards with questions on them. Another had his hand on a large digital clock. The announcer picked up a stack of cards and stepped forward reading to each of them in turn. "Ms Riddles would you please state the chemical formula of glucose."
"C six H twelve O six"
"Correct. Mr Holmes what is the electron configuration of Barium?"
1s2, 2s2, 2p6, 3s2, 3p6, 4s2, 3d10, 4p6, 5s2, 4d10, 5p6, 6s2.
"Correct. Mr Lombard according to Hund's rule, where are the electrons in the 3d shell of Vanadium?"
Vanadium is...paramagnetic. There are five unpaired electrons one in each of the five d shells."
"Correct. Ms Riddles, in the reaction where metallic zinc and the hydrogen ion combine to form the zinc ion plus hydrogen gas, which element is the oxidizing agent?"
"Um, the zinc."
"I'm sorry that is incorrect. The H+ ion is reduced and thus it is the oxidizing agent. One mark against you Ms Riddle. If you receive another mark, you will be eliminated from the competition.
"Mr Holmes, balance the equation where Hydrogen Peroxide breaks apart into water and oxygen gas."
"Easy. Two H2O2 becomes two H2O plus one O2."
"Correct. Mr Lombard, define the Aufbau principle."
"The Aufbau principle states that atoms are built up by the addition of electrons and that no two fermions can have the same set of quantum numbers."
"Correct. Ms Riddle the definition of pH, please."
"The logarithm, no! The negative logarithm of the hydrogen ion concentration."
"Correct. Mr Holmes, What is the atomic mass of oxygen."
"To how many significant figures?"
"Five."
"That would be fifteen point nine nine nine"
"Correct. Mr Lombard, the atomic number of Californium if you please."
"98."
"Correct. Miss Riddles, please tell us the different classification of quarks."
The girl looked down and tapped her toes together before saying, "Can you repeat the question?"
"The classification of quarks."
"Is this chemistry?"
"It is a property of matter, so yes, this falls within the realm of chemistry. Your answer, Miss Riddles... You have fifteen seconds."
The clock rolled down, but May simply bit her lip without saying anything. The buzzer rang.
"I'm sorry your time has run out. You have been eliminated from this competition."
There was a huge sigh from the audience as she stepped back and walked off of the stage. Sherlock walked up to the microphone then.
"Mr Holmes ...
"Up, Down, Strange, Charmed, Top, and Bottom. Those are the types of quarks."
"Thank you Mr Holmes, but that isn't your question."
At that point the microphone shrieked causing some of the people in the front audience to cover their ears. The announcer's microphone hummed with feedback. Someone rushed onto the stage to check the amplifier, and the announcer turned off the mike projecting in his own un-amplified voice. "Due to technical difficulties, there will be a short recess before we present the final questions!"
Sherlock looked up and then down as he nervously rocked on his heels. Robert was watching him from the wings. He peeked past the curtains to look out at the crowd and saw Mycroft Holmes sitting three rows back near the aisle. Most of the students were using the pause to chat with their classmates, and perhaps to exchange bets on who would win. Robert wondered if he should try to use the break to rush out and talk to Sherlock when he heard a wolf whistle in the audience.
He looked up and watched as a beautiful blond woman entered the back of the auditorium. It was none other than Iris herself strolling down the aisle. She was dressed as if she were going to a party in a very short black dress with a tight red tailored jacket and stiletto heels. She marched down the aisle as if she owned the auditorium and the town as well. Eyes followed her progress as she stopped right in front of the stage. A man stood and gave her his seat so that she was sitting directly in front of Sherlock Holmes. His mouth fell open at the sight of her. She smiled. Her tiny black dress rode up her legs when she sat to expose her creamy white thighs. Sherlock rocked forward and almost fell off of the stage. Robert glanced at Lombard and saw that he was grinning wildly.
The announcer, who had been bending over the judges table, stood and turned to the audience. "Ladies and Gentlemen, we are ready to begin," he said, waiting as the people resumed their seats and quieted down. "Mr Holmes, would you please tell us the possible oxidation states for Manganese."
Sherlock looked dazed. Iris was batting her eyelashes at him. She mouthed his name and smiled.
"Mr Holmes?"
"Yes?"
"The oxidations states of Manganese."
" Uh ,,, Manganese. +2, +3, +4, and +6."
There was a long pause as they considered his answer, and then the bell rang.
"I'm sorry Mr Holmes, that was incorrect. The oxidation states for Manganese are +2, +3, +4, +6, and +7 you have one mark against you."
Sherlock jerked up and turned to look at Robert. He was upset, "I knew that, I knew that!" he said. Lombard was fighting to keep a grin off of his face.
"Mr Lombard. Please give us the formula for rust."
He took a breath. "Rust is a combination of iron oxides. Mostly Iron three oxide (Fe2O3), hydrated, and Iron three oxide - Hydroxide (Fe O (OH))."
"That is correct. Mr Holmes. Here is your question. I remind you that if you do not get this question correct then you will be eliminated from this competition."
"I'm ready."
"State the ideal gas law."
Robert smiled. Sherlock had just said it backstage before they had come out. He listened, but Sherlock wasn't saying anything. He was simply staring wide-mouthed out into the audience. Robert leaned past the curtain and looked.
The first thing that he noticed was that Mycroft Holmes had risen to his feet and was looking at something in the front row. Robert saw her then. Iris had unbuttoned her jacket to reveal that the top of her dress was made of sheer black mesh, and she was not wearing a bra. Her nipples were clearly visible through the fabric. She leaned forward, opening her jacket, and they jutted out even further.
"Sherlock!" Robert whispered knowing that this alone might disqualify him. "Sherlock, remember the vacuum!" he said, but Sherlock wasn't listening. His eyes were locked on to Iris's breasts. She raised her hand and touched one of them, and his jaw dropped even further. Then the bell rang.
"I'm sorry Mr Holmes, but your time is up. Are you able to answer the question Mr Lombard?"
"Yes, he said proudly, The ideal gas law is PV=nRT "
"Correct. Mr Giles Lombard has won the Chemistry Challenge!"
There was a roar as the crowd rose to their feet. Some with joy, some with disappointment, and then everyone was clapping. Sherlock's face was a mask of horror. He looked over at Mycroft. A still figure scowling in a sea of moving people. Then Sherlock turned to Robert, and his face was full of sadness and disappointment. Robert wanted to go to him and hug him, but that would might make him look like a child, so he just nodded and began to clap with the rest of the audience.
Lombard turned to Sherlock and shook his hand before moving away to accept the award. The spotlight followed Lombard as he raised the trophy for the photographers, leaving Sherlock standing dejected and alone on the darkened stage. Robert walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder leading him away.
Sherlock pulled away from him and kept walking, off of the stage and down the hall until he reached the bathroom. Robert followed him in. Sherlock raged around the room, pounding the walls. "I knew the answer. I knew it. I could have won! I could have won!" Then he began to cry.
"It's not your fault."
"Of course it's my fault? Did you see me? I stood gaping like an idiot, and the time ran out. I knew the answer. I absolutely knew the answer to that question."
"I know."
"I just... when I saw her, it was as if my mind just ...shut off."
"It's not your fault."
"Then whose fault was it?"
"Sherlock, you can't possibly believe that Iris showing up where she did, when she did, was a coincidence. Someone was saving a seat for her in the front row, directly in front of you. And that dress. Who wears such a dress to a chemistry competition?"
"You are saying that she did it on purpose? Why, because I stopped helping her in the lab?"
"I don't think that she was the one behind it. I think it's more likely that someone..."
"You mean Lombard? Lombard paid her to ...to...distract me so that I would lose?"
"That's what it looked like to me."
"That's despicable!"
"Yes. Yes, it is."
"But how did they know? How did he know that it would work?"
"Sherlock, you're twelve. There are some things that everyone goes through. Puberty makes a young man very sensitive to sexual images."
"That's stupid! It's terrible! I hate it! She manipulated me. He manipulated me. They took advantage of my age, my...weaknesses."
"Yes, I'm sorry."
"But, if It had been you in the competition. If you had been standing on the stage, you wouldn't have been distracted by her. Would you?"
Robert simply smiled. He couldn't explain it. He couldn't describe how years and maturity calmed a man. He would have recognized what was happening and looked away. Sherlock couldn't look away. He didn't have the control, not yet.
"You were calling to me. I heard you. You reminded me of the vacuum. If I could have imagined that instead, I could have blotted her out of my mind. I would have won, easily."
"Yes, they tricked you Sherlock. You can't blame yourself."
"Can't I? I was the one at fault. I was the one who was weak. I wanted her, and my wanting her gave her power over me. It was because I was motivated by a desire for sex. Sex! It ruins everything! If I didn't feel the way that I do about her, then I could have won."
He slapped his chest. "It's my body that's the problem. All of these changes. I didn't have such problems before. My mind was in charge. Now, it's as if my mind is a slave to my body, but it mustn't be, it shouldn't be. If I can just get rid of these ... baser emotions. It would be so much better. I wish... that somehow, I could become a pure brain."
"Sherlock, Sherlock, You're upset. Try not to go to extremes."
"No. This is truth! If I had better control over my mind and body then this wouldn't have happened. I need to think about this. I'm going home now."
Sherlock strode out of the bathroom to find Mycroft waiting at the end of the hallway. He looked closely at Sherlock noticing his red eyes and tear-streaked face, and handed him a handkerchief. "Wash your face for God's sake!" he said and then he walked away.
Sherlock wiped his face, and then followed behind him.
