Professor Layton and the Study of Tea

In the days before Professor Layton was actually Professor Layton, he was, as expected, just Hershel Layton. It was in this period that he began to cultivate his love of the gentlemanly pastime of tea. Now, his mentor, Andrew Schrader, was quite the gentleman himself. It was perhaps Andrew's kindly demeanour that led Hershel to decide to model himself after the true gentleman. Andrew could often be seen wandering around campus, top hat set at a jaunty angle on his head and long coat billowing in the autumn breeze. He would frequently invite random students to join him for tea, as was his passion and his hobby.

It was on such a fine fall day that Andrew spotted Hershel walking across the university courtyard, blowing on his hands to keep them from trembling. Andrew quickly hailed the young man down, offering him a hot cup of tea in a warm office. What could Hershel do but accept? He gratefully allowed the older man to lead him back into the building.

Now, it must be said that Hershel had not been the only person Andrew had flagged down that day. No, Andrew had found another shivering student wandering the pathways and brought him back for tea. It was because of this that when Andrew opened the door, it was not to an empty office. Rather, the office would not have been empty due to Andrew's rather extensive thing collection, but devoid of people. As the office was not devoid of people, it became clear that Hershel was not to be alone in the room with his professor.

Paul greeted Andrew sheepishly as they entered. Andrew smiled and began to boil water while Hershel sat across from Paul, still stiff from the cold.

"First year?" Paul asked at length. "I'm Paul, by the way."

"Hershel Layton. Yes, I am." Hershel nodded slightly. "And you?"

"Second."

They sat in silence as the kettle whistled from the other side of the room. Andrew appeared from under a pile of clutter, clutching several bags of dried herbs to his chest.

"I was afraid I'd never escape," he gasped, his laboured breathing causing his excellent moustache and beard to quake. "Now…this is what I was looking for." He laid the bags out on the coffee table, expecting his students to be amazed at the sight. Andrew was underwhelmed at the response.

"What are these?" Paul asked, pinching a bag between his fingers and holding it up to the light. "I've never seen tea like this before."

"That!" Andrew began dramatically. "Is not tea!"

"Then what is it?" Hershel asked, hastily adding, "Sir?"

Andrew frowned slightly. "These are the ingredients for tea. We will concoct a brew so wonderful the gods will weep."

"Have you managed that before?" Paul stroked his impressive goatee, regarding the bags with unveiled scepticism.

"No. Alas, it is my never ending journey to strive for the perfect tea." Andrew shook his head sadly. "Consequently, that is why I've asked you to come here today."

"To help you brew the perfect tea?" Hershel inquired.

"Heavens, no, my boy! I brought you here to drink the tea."

"Drink it?" Hershel repeated.

"Meaning you want us as test subjects?" Paul growled.

"Not test subjects, exactly," Andrew corrected. "The lab rats were test subjects. That didn't go over so well. Now I have volunteers."

Paul and Hershel exchanged meaningful glances, mostly of fear.

"Now, now…who wants to go first? I call this Belle Classic. Do you smell that aroma? Is it not enchanting?" The professor poured tea into a fancy porcelain cup, then offered it to Hershel. Hershel, not wanting to be impolite, accepted. He blew the rising steam away from his cup so that it curled into circles and melted into the air.

"Bottoms up," said Paul, flashing Hershel a look of resigned acceptance. Hershel raised his cup in response, feeling the same expression frozen on his face.

They drank.

"That was good," Paul said in surprise. "I thought you were going to poison us for sure."

"Goodness, boy. You think they'd let me do that after the last few?" Andrew waved his hand. "No, no. There are rules about that now."

The fear that had begun to secede now came crashing down on the student pair in full force.

"Now, for my next brew. This one doesn't really have a name yet, so I've been calling it Drain Cleaner, mostly from the smell—I haven't dared taste it yet. Who wants the first sip?"

[Asterisks]

Despite their initial experiences, Paul and Hershel continued to return to Andrew's office at least twice a week to conduct their experiments in the art of tea making. This led to violent illness once every few months, but for the most part remained a fairly relaxing pastime. Eventually, Andrew even allowed the students to test out their own brews. It wasn't long before they had all determined that tea should have steam and not smoke, but must also not have the same consistency as pudding. It was all a very complicated hobby, but an intriguing one all the same.

At some point, Paul abruptly developed an overly competitive spirit, which he pitted solely against a rather confused Hershel. This spirit came forth in the form of new recipes, all of which were meant to be the Divine Tea of Andrew's dreams, and all of which became known to be notoriously noxious.

Hershel, on the other hand, took his studies at a slower, more careful rate. Rather than combine ingredients willy-nilly, as Paul did, he would study the various properties of each and mix only those that suited one another. He managed to create a few good recipes, his favourite among them being Oasis Berry—it was a very effective tea to serve to his lady friend, as Hershel soon discovered. This seemed to make Paul even more competitive, though for the life of him, Hershel couldn't understand why.

However, all good things must come to an end. Paul graduated a year before Hershel, taking with him the legendary recipes for Paint Stripper and Varnish Remover. This was mostly a good thing, but they missed him all the same. Eventually, it was Hershel's turn to leave the school as well. Andrew prepared him a special tea set as a going away gift, to be used whenever he needed a good, strong cup of nostalgia. Hershel thanked him profusely, knowing that they would meet again someday soon.

[Asterisks]

"…that's great, professor. But what I don't understand is why you're telling me this." Luke looked up at his mentor, swinging his legs under the trolley seat.

"I'm telling you this, Luke, because you just made me drink 'Drain Cleaner'," the professor rasped back. "I told you not to mix those together."

"Oops. Sorry, professor. I'll make sure to do better next time," Luke replied sheepishly. "How about we try this combination?"

The professor forgave the boy, simultaneously making a mental note to himself declaring Luke the new Paul of tea.

"Tea's done—who wants the first sip?"