Sherlock laid motionless on the couch, ignoring Mrs. Hudson's calls.

"Sherlock, I know you can hear me. Come down here right now!" Sherlock's landlady called out from below. Sherlock grunted and pounded down the stairs, pouting all the way.

"If I yelled any more, I might have lost my voice. Won't you listen next time?" Mrs. Hudson scolded the messy-haired detective. He grunted and accepted the coffee she offered him. "You have some mail."

Sherlock's eyes brightened. "From him?"

Mrs. Hudson shrugged. "Well, I don't know. I'm not supposed to open people's mail."

"Didn't stop you with the bodies…" Sherlock mumbled. "Where is it?"

Mrs. Hudson handed her tenant six thick envelopes. "Right here."

Sherlock observed them, whispering to himself what he saw. "There's six of them. It's from the Phantom..."

"Well open it up, then." Mrs. Hudson interrupted his ramblings impatiently. Sherlock ripped open the top envelope and pulled out a stack of papers inside.

"What is it?" Mrs. Hudson asked eagerly. She took the next few and opened them. Sherlock rolled his eyes and trudged back up the stairs, heading for his familiar couch.

"Sherlock!" Mrs. Hudson followed. "These are Mensa International applications! All six envelopes!"

"And?"

"They know about you. They want you to apply!"

"No, Mrs. Hudson. This is a joke. From my Christmas Phantom." Sherlock collapsed back into the couch.

Mrs. Hudson was set aback, but set the applications on the coffee table beside him. "It seemed more like a compliment than a joke." She returned downstairs.

Sherlock turned to face the back of the couch and hide his flush cheeks.


Mensa International, according to wikipedia, is the largest and oldest high IQ society in the world. It is a non-profit organization open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardized, supervised IQ or other approved intelligence test.

Basically, the Phantom just implied that Sherlock should apply to the Genius Society. :)

Thanks to Rachel for suggesting this when I was looking for ideas for the gifts a few weeks ago. :3