46 – The reunion with the teacher was the worst (1)
As soon as September begins every year, a new semester inevitably starts, leading to various rumours spreading amongst the numerous colleges affiliated with Oxford University.
Bored seniors discontented about the start of yet another dreary year, freshmen filled with excitement about beginning their university life, and the professors sighing as they have to mold these young and immature individuals into future leaders of Britain all created noise here and there.
The prestigious Christ Church College, the largest in Oxford University, boasting a long history and established by Henry VIII, was no exception.
Professors and seniors were busy showcasing the college’s illustrious history and Oxford’s largest dining hall to the freshmen, while the freshmen were busy adapting to the college life themselves.
Above all, most of the 600 incoming students, many of whom were from the same boarding schools naturally formed factions and began networking from the first day of enrollment.
It was a completely expected move. Most of those who enroll at Oxford were either from the upper class or wealthy middle class, or exceptionally talented individuals even without such background.
Occasionally, socialists inciting strikes or causing unrest across Britain would interfere and while the world did have divisions, these societal connections were basically formed in the teenage years.
Many politicians at present, including the current Prime Minister Gladstone, and Stanley Smith-Stanley, a former Prime Minister who had to resign due to an unfortunate scandal, all had Christ Church as their alma mater.
The Prince of Wales, Edward, was also a proud alumnus and in the year 1872, a new admission made the faculty of Christ Church nervous once again.
The youngest son of Queen Victoria, Prince Leopold, was today’s high-profile admission. Given it was no secret that he suffered from hemophilia, the university had extra reasons to worry.
Unlike these worldly creatures, young men still ignorant of the world’s ways, and flush with youthfulness and vitality had eyes only for girls, more so than members of the royal family.
Much like many universities, the University of Oxford did not officially admit women as graduates. However, there was a bit of a loophole, which meant that Oxford was by no means a male-dominated institution.
A number of women were admitted each year to various colleges across the university as ordinary freshmen, funded by scholarships in Her Majesty’s name.
They were virtually the same as any other students, and the mere detail of not being awarded a degree set them apart only partially.
Unless they came from Eton School with a preference for a different sort of company, these naive scholars inevitably took an interest in these female students.
Furthermore, thanks to a striking beauty among the new female students at Christ Church College this year, everyone couldn’t help but gossip.
Newly enrolled Sherlock Holmes was bound to catch everyone’s attention, be it good or bad.
As expected, it was her beauty that drew the attention of the entire university. She was so captivating that it wasn’t an exaggeration to say students from numerous colleges in Oxford made excuses to see her.
A few educated ones even noted the potentially sinister meaning behind the grey eyes of beautiful and decadent Sherlock Holmes glowing with a crimson tint where they should be black.
Her ancestry apparently included a fairy and the rumor spread that she was an entrancing beauty following strongly in her fairy blood, to which everyone who knew her face merely nodded in agreement.
The phrase ‘a fairy out of legend stepped into reality’ was a befitting depiction of Holmes, whose charm was truly captivating.
Her beauty was eerily transcendent, almost too excessive that it could be frightening.
She might not care about her hair as much as other ladies do, her disheveled, roughly cut shoulder-length hair actually suited her very well.
Even her towering height, sometimes even towering over some freshmen, further enhanced her charm.
Holmes, apparently standing at a lean 5’7″ or approximately 170 cm tall in anyone’s estimation, was a true beauty.
However, just a week into the semester, people started buzzing about Holmes’s eccentricities as much as they did about her beauty.
Naturally, this was immediately noticeable to anyone who laid eyes on her.
Unlike the other new female students at Oxford, she dressed like the male students. While her habit of wearing trousers and shoes drew a few stern looks from rather conservative professors, no one dared to challenge her.
Some even speculated if there was someone higher up backing her up on this.
The times were advancing, and by now England was far from the backward medieval times, so there were no laws or clauses prohibiting a woman from wearing trousers, but everyone knew this wasn’t ordinary.
The prevalence of moral and societal outrage at women who reluctantly wore trousers to ride bicycles was a testament to the times.
Usually, women wore men’s clothes either for theater roles, under special circumstances for activities such as cycling or horse riding, or for male impersonation, which was strictly confined.
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Still, no one could readily think that Holmes was wearing suits solely for male impersonation. She didn’t even cut her hair short, and by all means, she didn’t try to hide her feminine curves beneath her suit.
Anyone who saw Holmes would know she was revelling in the audacity of a beautiful woman wearing a suit.
People would later realize that she was simply more comfortable in men’s suits than dresses.
As can be inferred from this, Sherlock Holmes was undoubtedly eccentric.
However, it was clear she held the power to stick to her eccentric ways.
Her skirmish with a few hot-tempered seniors (who decided to pick on her) just three days into her enrolment spread over entire Oxford in a matter of hours.
The tale of Holmes thrashing three muscular adults hands down was indeed a sensational one.
Of course, there was no disciplinary action surrounding Holmes regarding this incident.
Even though folklore suggested she had fairy blood and could potentially be stronger than healthy adults, the fact that three men were beaten up by a lady was, shame enough to kick out the trio from their homes, hence nobody made an incident out of it.
The trio faced humiliation- being knocked out by a lady meant they had to apply for a leave of absence not even a month into their academic journey and this incident haunted them for the rest of their lives.
Holmes, strolling and puffing away at her pipe against the eyeful of conservative and elderly professors seemed fitting.
The rumors that she indulged in hallucinogens like laudanum, morphine, cocaine, etc. spread around even via her female roommate, providing a fitting narrative to the decadent aura around Sherlock Holmes.
Rumors started flying around about this beautiful eccentric, but no one could really fathom if they were true or dare convey them to Holmes.
Most feared even engaging in conversation with her, stepping transcendentally beyond the realm of normality. Many felt anxious around her.
She kept a subtle distance from others, almost as if she existed in a different world. While everyone else was already mingling and seeking new alliances in a new semester, Holmes remained alone.
‘Nothing but fools.’
Naturally, Holmes, who had hardly made any true friends in 18 years, was able to reach a conclusion just three days after entering university.
Was it because his expectations were too high? Or, was it because he had fantasized that the place where that man was would be different?
Holmes already regretted coming to university. After all, there were only idiots and idiots who didn’t know they were idiots here.
Of course, he was an exception. No, he had to be an exception.
With her heart pounding as if she was about to meet her first love again, Sherlock Holmes moved her footsteps to attend the first lecture of ‘Introductory Mathematics’ by Professor James Moriarty, which she had already applied for, on the seventh day after entering Oxford.
To the classroom where he was waiting for her, no, he had to wait for her.
