For some reason, Calvin was expecting the boys to come to dinner that night. She had a hunch that Sherlock would be eager to pick her brain for more clues as to why she called herself Calvin.
She prepared extra dinner that night. She made lemon chicken with sides of mash potatoes and asparagus. Making an effort on her appearance, she curled her hair that day and wore a white button-down top and faded jean shorts. Casual, but she knew she looked good.
Not that she cared if either of them noticed, of course.
Sherlock's distinct knock sounded at the door right on when Calvin predicted it. She wiped her hands on a dish towel and went to answer the door.
"Hello, boys. I was expecting you." she said pleasantly, stepping aside to allow them entry.
"You've done your hair differently." Sherlock commented, stepping into the flat with disinterest. He took some time to stare around her apartment, looking for any distinguishing clues. He picked up a few pictures of Calvin and her friends.
"No photos of family." Sherlock continued, and then moved on to inspect the paintings that were hanging and those leaning against the walls, which hadn't been put up yet.
"I'm sorry." John said quickly as Sherlock perused Calvin's flat with a critical eye. She chuckled, shrugging.
"I expected nothing less. It's fine. Care to sit and wait for him?" she offered, motioning to her kitchen table where the food had already been set out. John sat across from her and she offered him lemonade or water.
"Abstract, no professional training." Sherlock called from the living room, referring to the paintings he was inspecting around her home.
"I hardly think art requires formal training." Calvin answered, smiling in the general direction of Sherlock's voice. He merely 'hump'd' in response, his footsteps still moving around the apartment slowly, inspecting every inch of her life on display.
"Ph.D in Psychology." Sherlock concluded with, glancing at the framed degree on her wall as he entered the kitchen from the living room. Calvin smiled, cocking her head as he sat down next to John at the table.
"I did mention that I was a psychology professor, didn't I?" she asked, taking the lid off of dinner. "Please, help yourself. There's plenty."
Sherlock eyed the food, but did not take any. "I don't eat when I'm on a case." he said cryptically, leaning back in his chair. "Slows my thinking."
Calvin raised an eyebrow. "I do remember you complaining about how bored you were last night, Mr. Holmes, because you did not have a case." she countered, nibbling off the end of a piece of asparagus as John filled his plate. She noticed how Sherlock glanced over at him briefly, as if checking that he was, indeed, eating.
'Interesting.' Calvin thought.
Sherlock cleared his throat. "John and I aquired one this morning." he informed her, locking eyes with her.
"Oh?" Calvin said, still smiling in the way that oh-so irritated Sherlock. "Congratulations. I hope it quelled your trigger-finger for a while, Mr. Holmes."
'How pleasantly... unpleasant she is.' Sherlock thought to himself, finally putting her manner into a satisfying descriptive set of words. She teased him, and words that could be taken as insults were not said as so. He still was not completely sure whether she meant to ridicule him or not.
The table was silent for a moment. "So. Did you find anything particularly revealing during your inspection of my flat, Detective Holmes?" Calvin asked, teasing.
"You are not close with any of your family. All of your pictures are with your friends." Sherlock told her.
"Very good. What else?" Calvin urged, excited to hear exactly how she came off to a person like Sherlock.
"I also know your real name." Sherlock said triumphantly, pointing his chin towards the degree hanging on the wall.
Calvin glanced over at the framed degree. "Oh, yes. I suppose you do." she said, still smiling as she leaned forward to balance her chin on her folded hands. "And I would congratulate you if that was what you were so interested in finding. Alas, it is not. You want to know why I go by the name 'Calvin', not what my legal name is. If you'd wanted to know my name you could have looked it up. The Internet is a powerful resource, after all."
John glanced over curiously, interested in what Calvin's real name was. But he glanced at the amused Calvin, then at the unamused Sherlock, and decided that it was best that he gave Calvin her privacy with that aspect of her life.
Though he was curious.
Calvin grinned wider. "Go on, deduce me. Why do I call myself Calvin?" she goaded, knowing that she was only succeeding in angering him. Sherlock was silent, unable to answer. He didn't like this woman. She was much too smug for his liking. He was the one who was smug, able to read anybody's life like a book. Now she was deliberately hiding something from him. Something as simple and ordinary as a name. He, of course, knew her real name now, but that meant nothing to him. He wanted to know why she didn't use that name.
The silence continued, Sherlock and Calvin's eyes locked. The former's were stormy and intimidating to a lesser person, but Calvin held his gaze evenly as her blue eyes sparkled with amusement and mirth.
Only John jumped when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He wretched it out and found a text from Lestrade waiting for him.
"They've found another body." he said to Sherlock, who was still holding Calvin's gaze. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife.
"Very well." Sherlock said, blinking and standing up abruptly. He left without another word.
"Uh, thank you for dinner, Calvin. It was delicious." John said earnestly, striding after his friend. Calvin leaned back in her chair, and waved.
"My pleasure, John. Thank you for coming." she said, voice taking on a completely different tone when speaking to the doctor.
"So, what's her name?" John couldn't help himself from asking Sherlock as they entered the cab they'd hailed.
"Doesn't matter." Sherlock dismissed, then told the cabbie their destination.
"You seem flustered." John commented with a smirk of his own. Sherlock rolled his eyes at him.
"Oh please, John." he snorted, crossing his arms. "It's a fluke. I've been sleeping too much lately, ruins my thinking. I'll find the answer as soon as we're done with this case."
"Ever think that it's somebody's personal business what they call themselves?" John asked. "Besides, why does it matter so much?"
"It doesn't matter! She doesn't matter. She's just a stupid girl that likes this brief game of cat and mouse too much for her own good!" Sherlock exploded, rounding on his friend. John put his hands up and leaned back.
"Alright, alright, calm down, will you? For the love of God's she's gotten to you, hasn't she?" John said almost smugly. Sherlock huffed and turned back to stare straight ahead.
"She'll make a mistake sooner or later. I'll find the flaw, and then I'll understand why."
"I thought you said it doesn't matter." John pointed out.
OoOoOoOoOo
Monday came and there still wasn't an explanation why Calvin didn't use her real name. Yet, the Earth kept turning despite that fact, and it was the first day of work for Calvin. She ran into John on her way to the university.
"Good morning, Calvin." he said, following her out the door. They were both headed out for the day.
"Morning, John. How are you?" she asked raising her hand to hail a cab.
"Can't complain... although Sherlock's been driving me insane. Care to share a cab?"
"Sure we're you heading?" Calvin asked, climbing into the cab that came to stop by the curb after John. He was going to the store, which was on the way to work for Calvin. She glanced up at the window of 221B and saw Sherlock watching the cab as it drove away. She smiled up at him and he disappeared.
"Why is he driving you insane, John?" she finally asked, turning around to smile at him.
"This case. It's run cold and he's, well, he's blaming it on you. And he won't bloody shut up about it." John told her. Calvin grinned wider.
"What have I got to do with it?"
"Something about keeping him occupied with your intolerable need for attention, I don't know."
"My need for attention?" Calvin laughed, though it wasn't spiteful. "I don't remember asking him to take such an interest in my name, though I'm not complaining. His way of thinking is just so... interesting."
"He has this need to know everything..." John explained, shrugging. "But, yeah, he's unable to finish this case and it's driving him insane."
"Ah. Well, call me if you need any help, John. I think this is your stop." Calvin said as the cab slowed down. John got out his wallet to pay the cabbie for half the trip, but Calvin stopped him.
"I've got it. I'll see you later, John." she said as he protested, closing the door and alowing the cabbie to drive away towards her work. She met her class of fifty-seven and assigned them an 'intro to the class' quick one-page paper on what it means to be 'psychotic' or a 'psychopath'. She asked the class to introduce themselves, as she usually did, and they seemed startled by how familiar she was being with them.
"You may call me Calvin if you'd like, but only if you continue to respect me as your professor whilst doing so. I want you to be comfortable with me, but I also want you all to recognize that you are here to learn, not to ask me my dress size or my sexual preference. We clear?" she told them, drawing from past experience as a teacher and the inappropriate questions she had been asked. The kids mumbled their agreement.
"Good! Any questions besides the two aforementioned?" a young man raised his hand and Calvin called on him by name, which was Michael.
"Yeah, uh, you mentioned that 'Calvin' isn't your real name... so why do you use it?" he asked. "I mean, your real one is on the transcripts."
Calvin smiled. "That, dear, is a question that a certain man would pay a lot of money for the answer to." she said, eyes mischievious. "But, as it seems, that falls under the category of 'inappropriately personal' so I can't answer that. But just as you asked me to call you 'Mike' instead of 'Michael', I ask you to call me Calvin." The class seemed to accept that.
The rest of the class went by as normal, questions of her history as a professor and where she went to school came up.
"I want that little essay by Thursday, guys. We'll discuss your views on what it means to be a 'psycho'. Have a good few days. I will be in my office tomorrow for anything you guys need, as I will be for the rest of the semester."
The class filed out, and Calvin packed up her bag for the day. She hailed another cab and started the ride back home... when she noticed a bundle of police cars and a load of 'DO NOT CROSS' tape marking off an area in the street. She saw a familiar head of dark hair and smiled to herself.
"Stop right here, thanks." she said, handing the driver a note before stepping out of the cab towards the police barrier.
OoOoOoOoOo
Yay third chapter!
I really like writing this so far. It's getting me back in my groove of writing.
Gah, I'm really hungry. Somebody should make me food.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter thoroughly, as I did, and I hope that you continue reading me cause I love you and never want to lose you.
Okay I think the hunger is getting to me. Sorry, guys.
Alrighty! Don't forget to read, review, PM, WHATEVER YOU WANNA DO. I'll be here. And I will love any of that. A lot. Especially reviews, I love reviews to let me know how I'm doing.
Love you all!
Jess