Okay, here's chapter 4. It's a bit longer, I believe. Sorry about that. Hope it's not too boring! The professor is a talker. How annoying.

And with that, I'm off!

Irritating the masses,

Kelsey

CHAPTER 4: OLD TRICK, NEW DOG

"Well, apart from the puzzles, I'm sure that class will be a joy, considering that hunk of man we have as our teacher." Millie attempted a soft purr, much to the other girls' amusement.

"Millie, don't you think it's time you stop preying on older men's looks and actually go for a person that is more…age-appropriate?" Laura asked, chewing a corned beef sandwich. "You know what they say about women like you…" Millie frowned and dismissed the comment with a wave of her dress as she sat down in the lawn across from her classmate.

"It's more than what you can say for yourself. At least I exhibit drive! That is, one of a physical nature. Don't tell me you only fancy books? You only wish to stroke book spines?" She giggled stiffly, triggering a chorus of similar laughter from the rest of the bunch. "But Laura, I'm quite serious. You never are seen about in shops, at parties, in the town center… One might think you're only able to understand text and not human interaction."

Laura shook her head, rolling her eyes. "Okay, Millie, I think we've all taken your point and committed it to memory for the thousandth time. As much as we've heard about your infatuations with the professors here on campus."

Look of disgust, 'tsk' of distaste. That was the typical comeback from Millie. She finally gave up and bid Laura goodbye, heading towards the garden's gate with her posse. Laura pushed her crusts between her teeth and ruminated silently. Millie's words never really got to her, since she knew they weren't true, but…

"It would be nice to have someone understand, at least, once in a while," Laura whispered to herself, shaking her head quickly. Why did those girls bother with her anyway? The least they could do would be to ignore her, but she supposed they only wanted to get satisfaction out of picking on her. She stood up and walked around the campus. It was her habit to wait until most of the other girls had left the premises, and then walk around inside the buildings by herself, in the quiet, listening to her footsteps echo off the tile floors. But today, she felt that homework was calling her lovingly from her house, so after treating herself to an outdoors trek, she headed home.

A dozen days into the semester, Millie was planning a start of school tea party, "…slash brunch!" she would love quipping after she mentioned "tea party", in order to sound more refined, as she would explain.

"Let's see, tea, of course, and sandwiches for sure. Perhaps cakes?"

"That's what you serve at tea parties, Millie," Laura reassured her.

"But this is brunch, Laura, as well. Slash brunch! So I'll need some more ideas. I'm inviting all of my professors, including Herrrrshel, ha ha!" Her gaggle of girls took the cue and mimicked her laugh. "Do you think he drinks Earl Gray, or something stronger?"

"Sweeter," Clara chimed. "He smiles so often, he's probably fighting off a sugar high every moment of class." More giggles.

"Looks like a strong tea drinker, perhaps a bit of a spicy brew, and maybe sour as well. Dash of sugar, no more, no less. But, I'm not a big tea drinker so I'm not so sure…" Laura said modestly. She chided herself inwardly for talking after receiving a glare from Clara.

"What makes you the resident expert on tea drinking?!" she snapped. "Let Millie worry about the arrangements and you just show up to make the party look like a success!'

"Look like?! It will be a success!" Millie retorted sharply, slightly hurt. "Don't start assuming things. I'm having the best food, you guys are coming and talking about normal things"—quick glance at Laura—"and as long as Layton shows, I'm satisfied."

The girls sounded off with a flood of complaints and ideas all in one instant, leaving Laura in the midst of a pointless battle. She slid out of the argument between a Cindy and an Abigail and walked to the campus library, somewhere the others rarely went.

Professor Layton had given them a puzzle a day, ranging in difficulty from one day to the next. Surprisingly, Laura had been able to solve every one, but she was the only person who knew of this. The Professor asked for them to turn the puzzles in to him to be checked, but Laura assumed he merely chose some that were solved interestingly enough to share with the class, and discarded the rest. After all, she hadn't heard any comments made about hers, and he seemed to pick out random girls' answers and analyze them instead. That, or the professor's assistant homework grader gave them a once-over and picked the answers of her favorite friends, since the same girls' work tended to be the examples given in the class.

'Favoritism…'

The previous day's puzzle had been noticeably more difficult than all others, and Laura made her way to the library to see if she could find a puzzle history book. Some of the ones she had solved were ones that were famous, and were solved the world over, so perhaps this one was the same? She turned the corner of a long line of bookshelves and bumped into someone undeniably taller. She instantly felt stupid, especially since she smacked her head into the shelf's corner in addition to knocking the person's books to the floor.

"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have turned so sharply," she said, wincing and bending down to pick up the fallen books. She stood back up and looked at the person she had inconvenienced. She gasped softly. "Headmaster! I'm very sorry."

"It's quite alright, Laura," the Headmaster laughed, taking back his tower of books. "I'm only apt to assume you were lost in thought? Professor Layton here says you are doing rather well in his course! I can only assume, once more, if you will, that you enjoy it?"

Laura now noticed the archaeology professor standing behind the larger headmaster. "Oh, well, it's…only been about a week and half or so? You may find me slipping, I'm not so good with history, really…"

"Not merely in coursework, my dear, but his puzzles! Seems you have an uncanny knack for logic and reasoning!" Laura's brow furrowed, confused. "You know, those puzzles are handpicked and some even crafted by this fine man here! He's famous, you know, not just for his brains, but for his puzzles as well," he said with a wink.

Laura saw Layton's face go red, and his smile turn into embarrassment. "Hardly the truth, Headmaster, you flatter me too much."

"Anyway, Miss Laura, I should be going now. Off to my studies for my own sake. Keep up with your own!" He turned towards Layton, and began mumbling something inaudible but Laura heard 'scholarship' and 'award' before turning away. She wondered what professors talked about anyway.

She headed down the long row of tomes and dusty articles, searching for books on puzzles, and eventually made her way down two other shelves with no luck before almost bumping into someone again.

"Goodness, I'm having rotten luck, I…" she started, looking up to face Professor Layton.

"Seems you're a magnet today, Laura!" he chuckled, holding his stack of books fast to his side.

"Heh, perhaps…"

"What are you looking for? Need any help?"

"Er, well…" She didn't know whether or not she was actually allowed to search for help with the puzzles, now that she thought about it. "It's just that puzzle from yesterday. I'm having some trouble and—"

"Would you like some assistance?"

"Well, I was searching for books that may help, but I'm not sure if that's allowed…"

"Of course it is!" he said, straightening his hat and flashing a smile. "We all need help once in a while, or maybe more often, as those such as myself need. But for that puzzle, I'm sure you won't find any hints here. Come, I'll help you in my office."

"O-okay," Laura said, surprised, but slightly relieved.

It was awkward, following her professor. The resounding clicks of her shoes off of the floor tiles seemed louder, her breathing seemed more audible, and her lack of conversation put her off more so than when she was around the girls. She felt she should be saying something intelligent or clever, lest he consider her sub-class in brains, but neither said anything until reaching the office. "It's hardly suitable as a study, but it should serve us for our purpose." He smiled and turned the knob.

One large window was positioned on the wall opposite the door, a sturdy cherry wood desk sitting in front of it. Books lined the shelves built into the walls on both sides of the study, a giant globe sitting heavily amidst the lot of them on a larger shelf. Books on history, archaeology, ancient civilization, excavations, London, and…puzzles. Almost two-thirds of the books seemed to include the word puzzle in the title written on the spine, but Laura wasn't sure if the books were purely about puzzles themselves.

"It should do." Layton smiled warmly at Laura's amazement and walked around her, stepping inside the room. She didn't notice herself staring, and then realized she was still gawking in the frame of the doorway. The Professor motioned to an arm chair in front of his desk. He sat down lightly in the large wooden chair behind the desk. It had ornate pictures carved into its back. Laura followed suit, landing in an overly soft, blue seat. It was only then she noticed the mountain of mess on the desk, and…all over the floor. Books, books, and more books.

"This is quite the collection," she ventured to say. "The books, I mean."

"I have ten times more at home! But I couldn't come here without some sort of decorating, so I brought a…a tenth, I suppose this is." He chuckled. The place smelled of tea and baked bread. He walked to a kettle on a portable burner and poured himself a cup of something dark brown, yet golden when the sun hit it. "Care for some tea, Laura?" She shook her head.

"No thank you. I don't much care for hot drinks anyway, I'm sorry…" She looked at her feet and smiled nervously, ashamed for denying her superior. Her parents warned her of her independent and forthright attitude. 'He probably can tell my defiance and that's why he doesn't take note of my puzzles!'

"That is fine, my dear. Women seem to fancy sweeter things, don't they?" He sat down again.

"No, it's not that," she said, shaking her head. "I actually don't care for sweets, but I'm naturally warm, so I don't think I like adding to it with warm beverages. I prefer my water iced, even. It smells lovely though!" she offered honestly. He smiled again.

"A fair argument. But, tell me, have you tried Gingersnap Tea?" he asked, genuine curiosity in his voice.

"I…can't say I have…"

"Lovely concoction my mother used to make. I go to a little shop about 35 minutes from town every other week just to get the right ingredients. I must say, it's my favorite, as far as sweeter drinks go. But on most occasions"—he emptied his glass in two gulps—"I favor the stronger sort. Slightly peppery, you may say spicy, even. Dash of sugar, but too much masks sourness, which is always a delightful aftertaste." He poured himself another cup, sipping it happily.

Laura stared silently, mentally running through the list of tea traits she had attributed to the professor earlier with the girls. "Really? That sounds quite lovely, actually…"

"Excellent stuff, my dear." He downed his glass again.

"If you could get me the recipe, I'd love to try it. Although, sour is more my thing."

"I have just the recipe for that sort of preference as well. I'm quite the…tea connoisseur, you could say." He chuckled as he opened a drawer and removed a pen and a pad of paper. "Now, what was it…" He scribbled some words and numbers hurriedly. "Here, try this one, and tell me your opinion. I guarantee it to change your mind on hot drinks." He handed her the paper. "And this one…is tried and true for those with more feisty preferences. Sour, slightly spicy, and it's quite good at room temperature, so it's more of your style." He wrote a bit more on another sheet and pushed it across the table to Laura.

"So…you need all these ingredients…" She read over the ginger recipe, slightly miffed.

" I'll gather some up and bring them to class, no worries." He shut the desk drawer softly and rose from his seat, eyes pouring over the titles of the books on their shelves. "Now, where was that book…"

Laura sat quietly, hands in her lap, blinking against the bright sun. She didn't want to take too much of the professor's time, but he seemed to go off on tangents on his own freewill. She cleared her throat. "I hope I'm not bothering you, Professor. If you're too busy…"

"Nonsense!" He waved his hand, as if shooing away the prospect of him being too harried to help. "This is my purpose of being here. If I didn't want to help teach, I wouldn't be standing here, studying all these books over…" he grabbed a book from the shelf, "…and besides, I can't turn away a good puzzle. Every puzzle has an answer, after all!" He handed her the book. "For future puzzles. It's also a good read on its own. I'm sure you'll enjoy. Now then, that puzzle from yesterday…"

"Oh! Yes, let me get my paper." Laura reached into her dress pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. The Professor smiled.

"You're the first student here to inquire for assistance on a puzzle!"

"O..oh? Everyone has been understanding these perfectly?" She suddenly felt dumb.

"Of course not! They just turn them in 'as is'."

"Meaning…"

"Meaning, clearly, that there are several who don't put in enough effort, and, clearly, they really don't care much for my puzzles, and in the end, I get to grade half-solved assignments. Or, half-defeated, I'm not so sure which way to look at it." Laura laughed softly. "I suppose it isn't a common thing, to have a puzzle obsession," he sighed.

"Sorry."

"Oh, it's not your fault, dear, I'm just rambling."

"Well, I meant for my ridiculous puzzle solving. I'm sure I do it in a very roundabout way, I'm not really good at it." She smiled awkwardly, nervous about how she'd fared on her assignments.

"Well, on that note," he pointed at her vaguely, "as you heard, the Headmaster alluded to your prowess in the class. Of course, what I mean is more than just scoring well on my quizzes. It's my puzzles that I'm referring to. You are doing very well, even if it's not the most important part."

" I'm sure I've been performing subpar," Laura assured him. "I really do have a lot to learn about this puzzle business, I've only really solved those ones in little books that people gives as party favors or in little gift baskets."

"Miss Laura, in all honesty, your sense of logic far exceeds many of the most seasoned puzzle solvers. I make it sound like a profession, but puzzle solving really is an art of its own, one that you develop skills for, picking up tricks along the way. Maybe you've gathered that."

Laura nodded, admittedly only picking that up a day ago.

"And it is hard to come by those who truly appreciate those skills and tricks, or just the flat, most basic definition of logic, those who have a wonder of the ability to 'sense the common sense'. I have many colleagues even that may learn a thing or two about your reasoning abilities…" He pulled a folder from his desk drawer. "Ah, here we go. All your previous puzzles and their solutions."

Laura noticed several red pen markings all over the pages. "Um…"

"Ignore the red. Those aren't corrections, merely me analyzing. They're yours to keep."

Laura took the papers and gave them a once-over before returning to the reason she was here. "Oh yes, I… It's almost 2 o'clock."

The Professor snorted, wide-eyed. "Unbelievable! Good Heavens, I apologize, seems I've gone off on far too many subjects. I have this problem with my fellow faculty members." He laughed softly. "I have a meeting at 2:30, but would you be free afterwards, Miss Laura?"

"Well, I think I actually might have the answer now," she said, gathering her papers and placing them into her bag. "I should be getting back home to practice…something—yes, practice something before my parents question my whereabouts."

"I apologize again, Miss Laura, but that will have to do for now. We will go over that puzzle in class since…well, if you are in here for help, most of the other ladies surely will want some help as well."

"Thank you, Professor. See you tomorrow."

"Have a good day."

Laura swiftly left the room, sighing in relief.

'A talker, that one…'

END.