C R E AT I V E W R I T I N G 3 9
the deteCtiVe Part 3 by dr WOng kah keng Previously on “The Detective” (Scientific Malaysian Issue II), Justin was embroiled in a direct competition in research. This is the continuation of the story.
Photo by Andrea Vergani/Flickr
“You know I’m such a fool for you You got me wrapped around your finger Do you have to let it linger Do you have to, do you have to Do you have to let it linger” Melody of the 90s ballad waved in the air of the Pret a Manger sandwich chain just a few metres away from the Malaysian embassy at Trafalgar Square. Justin was holding a tray with a Swedish meatball hot wrap and a bottle of elderflower drink while trying to decide which table to settle into. Round table with two seats facing the entrance but close to the corner, Justin thought, like an amateur holding a compass and putting feng shui principles into practice. The date was 31st of October, Halloween day. Rather than roaming around in the laboratory all day and night like a ghost, Justin decided on impulse to dump the intensity of the Terry-
Stephen saga that had gotten the better of him for the past three weeks, hopped on a train to king’s Cross St. Pancras from Whiteforest, and spent a day of sightseeing in central London. He needed time off, a day-break, with the freedom to explore, unplanned and following instinct, be anonymous and conversation-less, mischievously hoping that he would not run into someone he knew and engaged in banal what-are-you-doing-here natter. His Android-powered smartphone was turned off on purpose, so without access to the Internet, he was fully disconnected from the entire human race digitally while immersed into a sea of strangers. Strangers were whom he met at the Natural History and V&A Museums, purposefully avoiding the adjacent Science Museum in conjunction with his self-declared science-free-day celebration, a day free of any thoughts about science. He craved for arts instead, letting his right brain to predominate the day and ventured into the Tate, Saatchi and finally the National Portrait Gallery. ISSUE 3 / 2012
