by Sam Hearn
hungry.
As the three of us made our way out of the
classroom, Martha turned to me with a cheeky
grin on her face.
“Biscuits eh? Baskerville’s
gonna like you, that’s for
sure. Ha ha!”
17
GOBSMACKED.
What can you say about
that then? Talk about
GOBSMACKED.
I have absolutely no idea
what just happened, but it was
pretty amazing. I mean, how
could he possibly have known any of that stuff?
Martha just shrugged and said,
Don’t worry about it, John.
He’s always like that. You’ll
get used to it.
I suppose I will! Martha seems to like him a lot
anyway. Still, it was a bit strange – although
not the strangest thing to happen on my first
day. Meeting Sherlock might have been weird,
but at least it was fun – which is more than I
can say for bumping into
out in the hall…
JAMES MORIARTY
Smarmy grin
Evil eyebrows
bad attitude
Well, well. Look who
it is. Found a new pet
have you, Sherlock?
Cleverer than you,
Martha. But that’s
not so hard.
There’s a good
doggy. Here, boy!
Yeah, I know, I thought he was talking to Baskerville
too! No such luck. He doesn’t seem too nice, this guy.
His friends didn’t look much nicer either.
Ugh! Shut up,
James. Just
ignore him, John.
He thinks he’s so
clever.
Catch you
later, kiddies.
Sherlock.
19
What’s elementary?
Smarty pants!
“What was that all about?” I asked.
“James Moriarty,” replied Sherlock as
James and his cronies sloped off. “Don’t worry
about him. I think he likes you though, Martha.”
Martha gave Sherlock a nudge. “Yuck. No
thanks! I wish he’d go back to that fancy-pants
junior school in America or wherever it was that
he transferred from.”
“I take it he’s not a friend then,” I said.
“It’s elementary, Martha,” said Sherlock.
Martha looked as confused as I felt.
They call it “elementary
school” in America.
Besides, he was at an
international school in
Switzerland. Near his family home
in Reichenbach Falls. You really
should pay more attention.
Right - lunch
time?
20
It turns out starting a new school wasn’t so bad
after all, even if meeting the head teacher was
a bit scary – and not exactly
everybody
was
friendly…
The rest of the day went by in a blur, with so
many new names and faces to take in.
I reckon I got on all right though. I’m looking
forward to the art classes. English too.
My class teacher,
Ms DeRossi,
seems really nice. She’s from Italy and
is new this year as well, so we have
that in common.
She teaches history, and
Martha
and
Sherlock
said we’ll be going on
a school trip to a
museum
for our
Victorian history project soon.
Maybe I’ll ask them about it later… Oh yeah!
I almost forgot.
Martha’s
invited me over to
her house after school with
Sherlock,
which
should be cool!
Looks like
Bart
was right: I think I’m going to
like it here.
3
Wow! Look at all this
stuff. This is so cool.
Clothes, chairs, books,
papers!
Look, I’ve found a
pipe. And a stinky
old slipper.
Yuck – it’s filled with
some nasty brown
stuff! Weird.
That’s tobacco,
John.
I’ve got hats! And
more books. Hmm …
very interesting.
Now that would
definitely look much
better on me!
There’s an old
violin over here.
And some test
tubes in a box.
Ooh, and a cape
– I’ve always
wanted one of
these!
23
Here, this is
more your style,
I think, Martha.
A bowler hat?
Yeah … actually
I could get
used to this.
Martha’s house is
amazinG
. She and her mum,
Mrs Hudson, live near the school at 221B Baker
Street.
It’s one of those old London houses with
railings outside and it’s got four floors! I’ve
never even been in a house like it before.
When Martha told her mum we were doing a
history project on the Victorians, she said we
should take a look in the old top-floor rooms
upstairs. She wasn’t wrong! It’s like nobody has
decorated them for about a hundred years.
Each one has still got its own little fireplace
and really creaky old floorboards. The rooms
are pretty small though, especially as they’re
filled with all this old stuff in boxes. Apparently
the people who lived in this house even had
servants and maids. Can you believe that? Life
used to be very different!
“How do
you do?”
Ha ha!
“I can’t believe how much stuff there is,” I said
as I looked around me. It was like being in a
small and dusty museum. “It’s amazing.”
“Yeah,” agreed Martha. “I didn’t know it was even
up here. Mum says that there have been lodgers
here since the Victorian times, so hopefully there
will be some stuff here for our project.”
“That’d be brilliant!” I said.
We found all sorts of interesting things; some
useful things; some odd things; and some gross
things. Like bedpans – yuck! (Imagine having to
go to the toilet in a bowl and stick it back under
your bed all night long. No, thanks!) We carried on
rummaging around for ages – it was great fun.
“Look,” I said. “Another hat! It
looks a bit stupid. I can’t tell if
that’s the front or the back.”
I stared at the hat to see if anything
came to mind. “I don’t know…
Whoever wore it had a massive big
head, that’s the first thing I can tell.
A big head and cold ears. Ha ha!”
Sherlock swiped the hat from me and
started examining it.
A Victorian Detective
and a Problem
That’s called a deerstalker. And it’s
> a nice little problem for you. What
can you tell me about it?
Oh, come on, John, you’re
not really trying.
Let me see. Hmm… I’d say he was a man of distinction. A
man with a sharp mind and a strong character. I’d say he
had a considerable intellect too. A man who could easily
match the highest intelligence or the very lowest wit -
and, what’s more, he was a formidable problem-solver. Not
to mention a man of action, when needed. Yes, he was
most likely a brilliant detective. His name was ... Sherinford.
And by the looks of it, I’d say he smoked this pipe, wore
this cape and played the violin too!
Not really, John. It’s
obvious. You saw it all
yourself, but you just
weren’t looking properly.
Wow! Sherlock, you got
all that from just
looking at the hat?
That’s amazing!
27
Ha ha! It’s all right, Martha, I’m just having a bit of fun!
The name tag in the hat says “Sherinford”. The size of
the hat implies a man with a large brain. Discolouration
along the rim shows that he was a smoker, and the fact
that it’s slightly worn on one side implies that he had a
violin on his shoulder. And the material matches the cape,
showing that they would be worn together.
Oh my god.
You are such a big head!
“How did you
know he was a
detective?” I
asked.
Sherlock turned
his attention back to the pile he’d
just been investigating. “I was
reading through these old journals
and bits of paper whilst you two
were rummaging around over there.
There’s some illustrated stories
written about his cases. Pretty
impressive stuff from the look of it.”
28
*tut* Sherlock!
You’re still a big
head.
If the hat
fits what?
Well, you know what they
say, Martha? If the hat
fits…
Exactly, Martha.
Exactly!
“Speaking of big heads,
what’s the story with James
Moriarty?” I asked Sherlock.
I figured now was as good a
time as any to ask.
29
“What isn’t the story with Moriarty, I should
say, John! He is exactly what he seems to be:
annoying, selfish and always where you don’t
want him to be. A bit like a bad smell, lingering
around and getting up your nose. Do you know
what I mean?”
“Erm. Sort of, yeah,” I said, looking over at
Martha, who was rolling her eyes. “I thought
he was rude. And he certainly seemed to think
he was pretty clever.”
“He is clever, John,” said Sherlock, sounding a
bit muffled as he worked his
way under another dust
sheet. “And definitely
rude. Wherever
trouble is, James
is probably not far
away. You might even
call him my nemesis.
He’s a shadow in the
shade, the unseen
reflection in the
mirror, the twisted
words you never…”
Yep. I sort of switched off a bit here. I
just carried on smiling and let Sherlock
waffle. Martha said he does that all the time,
especially when it comes to Moriarty.
We carried on rummaging around upstairs for
ages after that, and then Mrs Hudson made
us some snacks. It was great fun. Probably
the best day I’ve had in a long time.
NOTICES
After-School Clubs
Baker Street Academy News Team Needs
YOU!
Are you a budding writer? Do you have an
investigative mind? Do you know which way
to point a camera? If the answer is YES to
any of these questions, why not get involved
with the Baker Street Academy news team?
First meeting on Tuesday lunchtime in the
music room.
Class 2 Visit to the B&A Museum
All students attending the Victorian history
trip to the B&A Museum must have their
signed permission slips returned by the end
of the month. Don’t forget to hand them in to
Ms DeRossi ASAP!
Maths! English! Languages! Science!
Sign up now for extra tuition on your chosen
subject.
34
So I think I’m settling in at Baker Street
Academy now. A few weeks have gone by and
I’m getting to know everybody a bit better. I
really like Martha and she and Sherlock hang
out a lot together, so I’m getting to know him
too. I don’t know how to describe him as I’ve
never met anybody quite like him! He’s definitely
a bit weird (and it’s not just me who thinks that).
For instance, he knows loads about:
- Science and chemistry – he knows more
than Mr Spice, who even lets him work on his
own experiments.
- Anatomy – it’s like he knows a skeleton
inside out!
- Geology – he knows all about soils and
types of rock and where particular plants
grow.
How to solve a problem like
Sherlock!
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
35
- Geography – Martha reckons he knows his
way around all of London, without ever
needing to think twice about where
something is!
But he doesn’t know anything about:
- Planets and space, even basic stuff like the
earth spinning around the sun or that we
might go to Mars one day.
- Popular culture – ask him
about the latest movies or
books and he just looks
blank.
I asked him about it one day
and he said, “The thing is,
John, my brain’s like Martha’s
attic: there’s only just enough room
to keep filling it with the best
things!”
36
He’s amazing at problem-solving too. He finished
the hardest maths test I’ve ever done in
under five minutes. (I could tell Moriarty was
annoyed – he’s really good too). He guessed
the combination on Darren’s locker without even
looking. And there was the time he worked out
where one of the Baker Boys’ missing phone
was. He said he’d solved it just by observing
how long it had taken for the bananas in the
canteen to start going brown…!? I wrote it all
down in my journal and called it “The Case of
the Speckled Banana”.
As you can probably tell, Sherlock can be a
bit funny-sounding at times too, although maybe
that’s not surprising when I look at some of the
things
he likes to read…
37
Sometimes if there are no problems to be solved
he gets really grumpy and says stuff like:
“Hmmf, John, I’m bored, bored,
I just can’t be bothered if there’s nothing to
get my brain going… Data. I need data! You can’t
bake a cake without breaking a few eggs…”
And sometimes when he is in the
middle of a problem he gets really
excited and words come out of
his mouth so fast, it sounds like
gibberish:
“I can’t help it, I’m afraid, John. I’m interested in things!
Things that other people aren’t looking for: small things,
big things, irrelevant things, trifles. Pancakes! It’s all in the
details. Once you start looking at something, even the
smallest, strangest and most ridiculous thing can often lead
you to the truth. John? John! Watson! Give me your iPad!”
bored!
38
Oh yeah, my iPad… My mum and dad gave it
to me as a present so that I could write my
stories on it and keep all my pictures together.
Sherlock didn’t give it back for a whole day.
He’s always doing things like that. It can be
a bit annoying! I suppose it’s all part of what
makes Sherlock Holmes who he is though, and
why Baker Street Academy is such an exciting
place to be.
Give me that iPad,
Watson!
Hey, are you going to try
and do something for the
school newspaper this year,
Martha?
Brilliant idea! What
about you, John?
You’re always writing
or scribbling things.
You mean, like
a comic? About
the school?
Yeah! I reckon we
should probably take
some pictures again.
We got some really
good ones last year.
Cheekiest
dog ever, you
mean. Haha!
Maybe I could do a school
blog? I was thinking about
writing some funny short
stories. I could even
illustrate them a bit.
Yeah, definitely! I
might even try and
get Baskerville in
there too. He’s the
coolest dog ever.
WOOF!
40
