"Wait a minute, aren't your name also on the list. Shouldn't I start by interrogating you first?"
"Save the best for last." Arbaz said smugly.
Kifayat scolded, "Narcissist. Let me see your handwriting first."
"What if I don't let you see it?"
"Senior you have to be cooperative with the investigation." Kifayat and Arbaz started bantering and eventually Arbaz gave in.
"Okay, but I don't have any pen or paper with me now."
"I have it. Here write now." Kifayat gave Arbaz her notebook.
"What do you want me to write?"
"Anything."
Then Arbaz wrote something. Kifayat took the paper and was stunned. She looked at Arbaz with some disappointment.
"Senior you handwriting..... I didn't expect it to be so ugly."
Arbaz laughed seeing Kifayat's expression.
"Are you going to eliminate me from the suspect list now?"
Kifayat looked at Arbaz for a long moment, "Yeah. I should."
Arbaz's smile faltered. He quickly composed himself and said, "You know you should not rely on handwriting test to find someone. Suppose that person has a ugly handwriting like me, so he asked another person who have a good handwriting to write the letters for him."
"Hmm, that could happen too. Now Let's begin our hunting."
They met the first person on the list in the library. Arbaz pointed at the man sitting in a corner and whispered, "He is Raiyan from the department of English literature. He is quite famous in our university for his unique personality."
"Unique personality?"
"He thinks himself as the reincarnation of William Shakespeare."
"No wonder he is wearing such strange clothes. I thought he was in some cosplay group. But what should I do?"
"Go talk to him. "
"Seriously?" Arbaz nodded.
"Eh.. okay." Kifayat hesitantly went to the table where Raiyan was sitting. She politely asked, "Excuse me, can I sit here?"
Raiyan didn't look up. He was still engrossed in the novel he was reading and occasionally writing something. Hesitantly Kifayat sat down. Seeing Raiyan completely ignoring her existence, Kifayat felt awkward to start any conversation. Suddenly Arbaz came behind Raiyan and kicked his leg. The pain made Raiyan to look up from his book.
Arbaz quickly apologized and said, "My bad."
Before Raiyan could say something Kifayat hurriedly said, "hello, can I see what you're writing?"
Raiyan was surprised seeing a beautiful girl is talking to him. He was delighted and asked, "Are you my admirer?"
"Huh??no..I mean yes. Can I see it?"
Raiyan's face lit up like he had just won Nobel prize. He dramatically clutched his heart. "Oh my God, what great fortune graces on this humble bard today. "
Kifayat was startled by the sudden enthusiasm.
"So, tell me my lady which of my creation touched your soul? Is it my sonnet on solitude strawberry? Or the most recent poem, 'love is like Wifi-- strong one moment, gone in the next'."
Kifayat blinked, "Uh.. yes. All of them were awesome. Now can I get your autograph." She quickly gave her notebook to him.
Raiyan beamed with joy, "Autograph, that's too little. I can give you my photograph signed, framed even scented..."
BANG.
A suddenn thud made all the people in the Library glance over in their direction. Arbaz slammed his fist on the table, his expression was darker than the ink bottle.
He said with clenched teeth, "She asked for an autograph, just sign it."
Raiyan gulped, "Yes, right. Just signature is okay." Raiyan quickly scribbled his name with a lot curls and loops. Maybe he was trying to write his name with extra artisticly.
Kifayat thanked him and stood up to leave. Raiyan also sat up to follow Kifayat. "Wait, my lady, can you tell me your name. I can tell you about my next creation in advance.."
Before he could continue his blabbering, Arbaz gave him a murderous glare.
Raiyan instinctively sensed the danger and took a step back. "Maybe I should just go back to continue my writing."
After coming out of the library, Kifayat turned to ask Arbaz, "Are all the people in the list are like this?"
Arbaz was already reconsidering his decision of pranking Kifayat. "Maybe we should just skip them. I will find another way."
Kifayat refuted, "No way, since we started, let's see the end of it."
Thus they came to meet the second person in a cafeteria. Arbaz said, "Let me talk this time."
"No way, I'll go."
Kifayat went to meet the next person of the list. His name was Nasif, from the architecture department. Nasif was sitting alone, there was a half finished card board model in front him. He was looking at it intensely.
"Nasif?" Kifayat tentatively called.
Hearing someone called, Nasif looked up at the person. "Do you know me?"
"Well no, Can I ask you something?"
"Yes."
"Do you enjoy writing letter to someone you personally don't know but you feel emotionally connected with that person on platonic way?"
"Huh??"
Pfft~Arbaz who was pretending to drink coffee nearby splattered his drink.
Seeing Nasif's reaction Kifayat knew he wasn't the one. "It's okay, forget the question, can you write something here?"
"What should I write?"
"Anything." Kifayat gave her pen. But Nasif didn't take it. "I only write with 0.5 mm lead, anything else comprises architectural integrity." Saying this, he pulled out his scales and pencils to write. He first drew some lines then wrote a few words.
"Thanks," Kifayat was leaving after taking her notebook back. Nasif stopped her, "Excuse me."
Kifayat paused a little,"Yes?"
Nasif pointed at her with a little distressed expression,
"Your hair is not quite symmetrical, one side looks puffier than other and the strap of your bag looks twisted... can you fix it?"
Kifayat looked at her reflection in the glass window, she thought everything seems quite normal to me. She thought to herself, does this guy have OCD about symmetrical things?
With a polite and slightly forced smile, Kifayat perfunctorily patted her hair and adjusted her bag strap. Then she hurriedly escape before he started telling her to align her shoelaces too.
Arbaz who was standing a few meters away looked like he had bitten into a lemon. Kifayat didn't pay attention to his expression, directly went to the exit. Arbaz obediently followe her like a little boy who made a mistake.
As they walked through the campus, Arbaz pointed at a guy who was leaning against a tree, that man is Xaraf, from business department. We are batch mates. Do you want to know what he is famous for?
"No, I can just directly ask him." Kifayat took a deep breath, rehearsing her lines in mind she walked forward. As she reached halfway she saw a girl running towards him. The man immediately opened his arm to catch the girl. Kifayat directly took 180° turn and marched towards Arbaz, "He is out of questions. Why didn't you tell me he has a girlfriend? What if I were to ask him this question and his girlfriend misunderstood?"
"I was about to tell you he was famous for pursuing his girlfriend, you didn't want to hear." Kifayat squinted her eyes at Arbaz who was clearly smiling.
Then met some more people. Kifayat disqualified them directly. After spending all the day with Arbaz doing some ridiculous quest. Later at night she was complaining all of these ridiculous incidents to her friends.
Cyra and Dina was laughing so hard looking at the list and hearing those stories. Cyra. Said, "He even wrote down some girls name. Hahahaha."
"Right, besides have you ever seen a detective who writes his own name in the suspect list?"
Dina asked, "Kifayat do you really think the senior is trying to help you?"
Kifayat denied, "Of course not. I'll see what he is up to." Kifayat said flipping through the list. One name caught her eyes.
"This ...why does it feels familiar?" Then she remembered the name.
Kifayat smirked, "Hey Guys, I have got a plan." Looking at Kifayat's smile Cyra knew someone is going to be in trouble.