Michelle

.*.*.*.

Chapter 1

Sheldon, Leonard, Howard, and Raj were all taking their normal lunch at CalTech, the conversation flowing with their normal geeky topics.

"...I just seem not to comprehend as to why you would do something like that!" Sheldon exclaimed, shaking his head.

"I had to!" Howard argued, "It's not like I wanted to!"

"Still, a true fan would never sell their limited edition The Search for Spock tape from 1984!" Leonard said, "You stooped too low, my friend!"

"Well Leonard," Sheldon said, "keep in mind he does not have his doctorate, so it must be an engineer thing."

Howard frowned. "You heard that guy! I owed him money and he wasn't playing around! I had to do something! I cried the whole night after our departure if that makes it better!"

"You disgust me, Howard Wolowitz, disgust." Sheldon said, "I'm not even sure I can look at you anymore." He turned his head. "Oh my..."

"What?" Raj asked.

"Yeah Sheldon, what do you see?" Leonard asked.

"Either I'm suffering from schizophrenia, or there's an attractive young woman heading toward our table."

"You must be schizophrenic." Howard concluded.

"No, really guys!" Leonard said looking with Sheldon, "He's right! She's waving at us and she's headed this way!"

Leonard, Raj, and Howard exchanged glances before beginning to fix themselves in all ways possible.

"Um...Excuse me?" the woman said, coming up to their table. She was a chocolate brunette, with square bangs that covered her eyebrows and contrasted with her bright green eyes. She had soft brown highlights in her hair and was sporting a nervous smile. She was wearing a white shirt with thick, black stripes and neon red skinny jeans, perfectly accenting her long legs and wide hips. She also had black suspenders and a black fedora, matching her black converse.

"What can we help you with?" Leonard asked, smiling broadly at her.

"Um...Well..." She bit her lip before speaking again, "I was wondering...which one of you is Dr. Sheldon Cooper?"

The three all exchanged glances again, before raising their hands.

The only one who didn't raise a hand was Sheldon.

The girl was overwhelmed a bit. She looked to Sheldon and smiled again, nervously. "You must be him."

"What? What gave you that assumption?" Raj asked.

"Yeah! I'm Sheldon and all these guys know it!" Leonard said.

"Quit faking!" Howard said, "I'm Sheldon!"

"Quit, you engineer!" Raj ordered.

"Oh, shush." Sheldon said, rolling his eyes. "I know you all are dying to be me, but you don't have to lie." He turned to her, "What is it you need me for? Most girls of your type tend to stray away from me for some odd reason."

She giggled. "How could you know my type when you don't even know me yet?"

"Well..." he was actually flustered for the first time in his life, "I guess I really can't know. I just kind of-"

"Assumed?" she asked, grinning. "It's okay. Most people don't know that I'm smart at first look."

Leonard laughed. "Sheldon here isn't like most people." He could read the expression on Sheldon's face and see that being put in the category 'most people' bothered him.

"Oh trust me," she said, "My friends confirmed that. I know a bit about him."

"You have friends?" Howard asked, "Are they like you?"

"Yeah...I guess."

"Point them to me." Howard said, grinning.

"Maybe later. I don't want to waste your lunch time-"

"It wouldn't be a waste!" Raj said, "Trust me!"

"Let her speak!" Leonard said.

"I was going to ask Sheldon if he could help me...I'm in a tight spot."

"You don't wanna ask Sheldon for help," Leonard asked, "He'll further confuse you."

"Well, I can't know until I try. I'm a little...desperate and I need someone for help. Everyone else is busy...so I thought I'd try asking you. If you say no...I don't know what I'll do!" she said.

"What's your predicament?" Sheldon asked.

"I'm studying to become a Theoretical Physicist, but I'm having trouble in school. I'm far from stupid, and the material is fascinating, but the instructor! He has a stick up his behind the size of Texas!" She sighed, "But I'm not going to give up my career hope because of him...so...will you...tutor me?"

"A student in need? How could I refuse?" Sheldon said.

"I tried to warn her." Leonard muttered.

"Really? Thank you so much!" She said, grinning.

"Before you skip off in all your happiness," Sheldon said, "May I ask your name?"

"Oh! My mistake!" She laughed a bit. "Michelle. Michelle Huntre."

"Michelle, I might as well introduce you to my acquaintances," He motioned to them, "Dr. Leonard Hofstadter, Dr. Raj Koothrappali, and Howard Wolowitz. Notice how I didn't say Doctor for Howard, he lacks his doctoral degree."

Michelle smiled. "That doesn't make you any less of a person, Howard. I don't have my doctorate yet, either."

"At least your studying for it!" Sheldon said. "he's an engineer."

Michelle laughed. "That's not a bad job. 7 out of 10 of America's best jobs are in engineering, you know."

Leonard stared at her. "Did you just outsmart Sheldon? Is that possible?"

"No, as a matter of fact she did not." Sheldon said, "I knew that fact, but I was speaking rather as to how I feel about engineering. It is not a bad job, but it does not compare to having a doctoral degree."

Michelle nodded. "I think I came to the right person for tutoring. When can I meet you Sheldon?" She asked, a tilt of her head.

"You can come by our apartment tomorrow. Leonard, give her the address."

"Why me? You know it."

"Because if she turns out to be a murderer or robber it would be your fault for giving her the address. Now give her the address, Leonard."

Michelle laughed a little. "You won't have to worry about me robbing you. I have plenty."

Leonard rolled his eyes at Sheldon and wrote the address on a piece of paper.

"Thanks! Here's my number." She handed him a piece of paper with her digits on it.

"What do I need this for?" Sheldon asked.

"We have to communicate somehow, right?" She waved to them. "Bye Sheldon. Nice meeting you other guys."

"Bye." They said in sync as she left, placing the paper in her yellow tote bag with the words I heart Science. Though instead of a heart, it was an atom with the top colored in red to look like a heart.

When Sheldon turned to his friends, he saw them all with shocked expressions. "What?" He asked.

"You got her number..." Raj said, disbelief in his voice.

"She gave me her number for communication purposes." Sheldon said, "I don't see why that's such a big deal."

"Not only that!" Howard said, "She was flirting with you!"

"I never thought I'd be saying this about any girl, but: I think she likes you, Sheldon." Leonard said.

"Did you see her? What an angel." Howard said, "How dare she go for Sheldon?"

"Dream on, Howard." Raj said, "Her first choice is Sheldon. Then me."

"Please." Howard said, "What do you have that I don't?"

"A doctorate." Sheldon reminded, "And she was not flirting with me! I don't know what gave you that assumption. She's just a really nice girl who was looking for help that I could provide. That's all there is to it."