The first time Sheldon dreamt of the girl with the shiny brown hair he was eleven years old and just about to start college. He had been growing increasingly nervous and fretful all day and it had taken a whole batch of his Meemaw's chocolate chunk cookies to get him to calm down. His mother Mary had made him go to bed earlier than usual and brought him up a glass of warm milk. "Now then Snickerdoodle, you make sure you drink down every last drop of that milk. I added some extra sprinkles of moon dust in it so that you will have nothing but sweet dreams."
"Oh Mama…I'm not a baby, I don't believe in fairy tales like Missy does anymore." Sheldon gave his mother an exasperated look and she leant over the side of the bed to smooth his hair back from his pale forehead.
"When did you get so grown up on me, Shellybean? It seems like only yesterday I was walking you into Kindergarten and now you're studying stuff that I can't even pronounce…" Mary caressed the side of her son's face and pressed a soft kiss against his cheek. "Settle down now and make sure you get a good night's sleep; don't forget that we need to leave extra early in the morning so that we can drop Missy off at middle school before we head over to the college."
"Thank you for coming in with me Mama, I feel a whole lot better knowing that you'll be sitting right next to me the whole time." Sheldon gave his mother a half smile and she tapped the end of his nose playfully.
"It was either me or your Meemaw, and I think the two of you would have far too much fun when you should be learnin'. I'll come with you for a few weeks and then we'll see if you feel up to going it alone." Mary plumped her son's pillow into shape as he rolled over onto his back and slid his arms under the comforter.
"Tighter please." He requested and Mary pulled the covers higher around Sheldon's shoulders and smoothed them completely flat with the palm of her hand.
"Better?" She asked, and Sheldon wriggled slightly lower before nodding; she picked up the empty glass from the nightstand and switched off the lamp, plunging the room into darkness. "Do you want the nightlight left on for a little while?"
"No, I'm okay you can leave it off." Sheldon replied in a quiet voice and Mary hesitated at the doorway; hearing the hesitation in his young tone.
"How about if I leave the door slightly ajar just until Missy and George come up to bed?"
"Okay…I'm going to sleep now." Sheldon nodded slightly and then scrunched his eyes up tight as he willed himself to sleep, Mary smiled faintly and slipped out of the room; pulling the door nearly all the way closed until just a faint sliver of light shone through the narrow crack.
"Goodnight baby, pleasant dreams."
"Night Mama." Sheldon whispered into the darkness and was finally alone with his thoughts. Tomorrow he would be the very first person in his family to attend college and it was a big deal in the Cooper household. It had been a nightmare two years attending the same High School as his elder brother, George; and all Sheldon had wanted to do was study hard so that he could finish as soon as possible.
"Hello…are you a grown up person?" A young girl tugged on the hem of Sheldon's t-shirt and he looked around him with a puzzled frown. It seemed as though he were standing in the middle of a deserted zoo with just the animals for company…and a petite brunette with wire rimmed spectacles.
"I asked you a question…are you real?"
"Real? Of course I'm real, that's an awfully strange question to ask isn't it…What makes you think I'm not real?" Sheldon looked down at the girl who was twirling a lock of her hair between her fingers.
"I'm usually all by myself when I dream and now you're here."
"Ah…so this is a dream then? That makes sense, Mama would never let me come to the zoo without her or Meemaw."
"What's a Meemaw?" The girl asked curiously, tipping her head back slightly so that she could look up into the boy's face. A soft smile spread across his angular features as he thought about his Meemaw.
"My grandmother, she's always been called that."
"Oh, mine likes to be called Grandma; she lives all the way over in San Diego…I think this might be San Diego zoo; I remember coming here to see the monkeys once when I was visiting."
"There must have been something in the milk Mama gave me, I can almost smell the animals from here." Sheldon gazed around him, as the girl tugged the hem of his shirt again.
"So, are you a grown up or not?"
"Not…I'm just tall for my age."
"Oh…I was hoping to speak to a grown up, mother says that I'm too big to snuggle in with her and Daddy anymore and I got frightened in my room. It's scary with all of the lights out and sometimes I have nightmares." The girl shuddered a little and the boy moved a little closer to her side.
"Mama left the hall light on for me tonight, I get a little scared of the dark sometimes too."
"Really? But you're soooo big!"
"I'm only eleven, how old are you?"
"Ten." The girl said and then scuffed the dirt with the toe of her sneaker. "Well…I'm nearly ten; but I'm going to college next year…I'm going to be a scientist so that I can play with monkeys all day."
"I'm starting college tomorrow…it's a little scary so Mama is going to sit with me until I don't feel scared anymore."
"You're lucky…when I go to college I have to go far, far away…somewhere called Masso…Massa; oh shoot, I can't remember the name of the place; I must be getting sleepy." The girl rubbed her eyes and leant a little against the boy's side.
"Massachusetts?" Sheldon said and felt the girl nod against his arm. "Do you want to sit down for a little while and watch the monkeys play?"
"Okay." The girl slipped her small hand into Sheldon's and let him lead her over to a small wooden bench outside of the monkey enclosure. Real Sheldon would have shied away at her touch, but dream Sheldon didn't seem to mind the tiny fingers wrapped around his hand at all. They watched the monkey's play for a while and then he felt a warm weight slumping against his shoulder and glanced down to see the girl resting her head on him. "Can we meet here again sometime?" She asked quietly and Sheldon gave a little hum under his breath.
"I don't know how we even got here today, I was asleep in my room and then woke up here."
"Where do you live? Maybe I can come and see you in 'awake' time."
"Galveston, Texas."
"Oh…" The girl sighed disappointedly. "That's too far away, I live in California."
"What's your name? Maybe we could write to one another instead?"
"My Daddy calls me Angel…but that's not my real name." The girl opened her mouth to tell the boy her name but found herself all alone on the bench once more. "Oh…I guess he woke up."
"Sheldon! Wake up honey…we're gonna be late if you don't get moving!" Mary bustled around Sheldon's bedroom, pulling back the curtains to let the warm Texan sunshine pour into the room. "Get yourself in the shower, breakfast will be on the table in ten minutes so you'd better make it snappy." She glanced over to where her son had his face turned into his pillow and saw the soft smile on his peaceful face. I guess the milk did the trick, looks like he had sweet dreams after all, she thought, loathe to wake him from his slumber but knew that he would hate to be late on his first day. Mary leant over to shake Sheldon gently awake, and he mumbled something like 'Angel' as he began to open his eyes. My sweet boy's finally seen the light! Mary clasped her hands together and sent a brief prayer toward Heaven, and Sheldon finally woke fully.
"Mama? Why're you prayin' over my bed like that? You know I don't believe in all that hogwash and folderol."
"But Shelly you were dreamin' of the angels…I felt sure that it was a sign that you were beginnin' to believe." Mary sat on the edge of her son's bed and brushed his fringe back from his brow, and Sheldon frowned as he shook his head.
"No I wasn't…I dreamt I was at the zoo; there was a girl there and her name was Angel…I wanted to see the koalas but we stayed at the monkey enclosure." Sheldon pouted at the memory and Mary chuckled a little as she rubbed his lean shoulder comfortingly.
"There, there Shellybean…it was just a dream, maybe we'll go and see the koalas in a few weeks once you've settled into college; would you like that?"
"Okay, Mama. I need to visit the bathroom now, could you wait for me downstairs?" Sheldon twitched on the bed, his bladder feeling like it was fit to burst but he hated anyone being within hearing distance when he visited the bathroom. Mary smiled in understanding and rose from the bed.
"Smiley face pancakes?"
"Yummy!" Sheldon waited until she had closed the bedroom door before racing into his small bathroom and whipping down his pyjama pants. "Pee for Houston, pee for Austin, pee for the state my heart got lost in…and shake twice for Texas." He kept his eyes averted and only touched himself where completely necessary as he completed his morning ablutions; going straight to the sink after flushing to scrub his hands with antibacterial soap despite the fact that he showered immediately afterwards.
"Shelly? Mama says breakfast is ready!" A high pitched voice coming from the hallway had Sheldon scrambling into his pants and pulling his Captain America t-shirt over his head in double time.
"You can't come in here! I'm not dressed yet!" His anxious reply sent his twin sister into a fit of giggles as she started calling to their elder brother George.
"Georgie…Sheldon's got his pee-pee out!"
"Missy!" Sheldon's scarlet face appeared around the edge of his bedroom door as he yanked it open to glare at his sister. "Shut up!"
"You shut up!"
"I told you first!"
"Hey…settle down you two." George ambled out of his bedroom, casually dressed in his usual school outfit of stonewashed denims and a football shirt. "You ready for your big adventure, squirt?" He scooped Sheldon up under his arm and rubbed his knuckles over his brother's head; making Sheldon squeal.
"Put me down George! You'll wrinkle my shirt and I'll have to get changed again." Sheldon jabbed his bony elbow into George's rib and his brother set him down on his feet.
"Gonna have to man up now that you're a college boy, Shelly…I'm counting on you to keep an eye out for some of those Texan hotties for when I go up next year."
"George, Uncle Stumpy said that you were thick as soup and you didn't stand a snowball's chance in Hell…I didn't understand the rest of it but I don't think it was too good…" Missy tossed back her shoulder length hair and placed a hand on her hip. "Does that mean that you're gonna have to repeat another year at High school?"
"Melissa Cooper! You ought not to listen in doorways, what have I told you about repeating things adults say in private conversations?" Mary glared up from the bottom of the staircase and Missy looked down at her feet, fingers twisting in the hem of her flouncy t-shirt.
"Sorry George…"
"That's better, now all three of you come on down and eat." Mary waited until George drew level, before placing a tender hand against his jaw. "George isn't dumb…he just wanted to concentrate on his football; isn't that right George?"
"Uh…yeah, gonna pull my GPA up this year and go off to college with my lil' brother…two Cooper men on campus, those girls won't know what's hit them!" George straightened up his shoulders and stood a little prouder, Sheldon mirroring his pose; and Mary's eyes dampened a little when she saw that her youngest son was only a few inches smaller than George's five feet nine, it seemed like only yesterday when she was cradling her Shellybean in her arms.
"I could tutor you…if you wanted." Sheldon quietly offered in a nervous voice, and George glanced down to see his brother edging slightly away. He'd been known to have a bit of a temper on him when roused, and it made George feel a little guilty that Sheldon would feel scared of offering him help.
"I might just take you up on that Shelly…if you ain't too busy with all of your own work." George replied with a faint smile, and Sheldon grinned as he nodded his head enthusiastically.
"Oh, I'll have plenty of time; I've already read most of my syllabus and worked out when to hand in my assignments."
"Of course you have." George reached over to give his brother another noogie, but relaxed his hand at the last second to drop it on Sheldon's shoulder instead. He gave it a light squeeze and then nudged Sheldon gently toward the table. "Go on, college man…eat your breakfast before it gets cold; when you get home tonight I'll show you my list of classes and you can tell me what I need to brush up on." Sheldon ran off to sit at the table and Mary reached over to rub her hand along George's arm.
"That was a nice thing you did for Sheldon there, honey. I know he's been dying to offer you help for ages."
"I know…I was too proud to accept help before, I mean he's my little brother for cripes sake! Sorry, Mama." George immediately apologised for blaspheming in front of his mother and Mary let it slide on this occasion. "I don't even care if the guys rag me for it, I wanna do well and make something of myself…just like I know Sheldon's gonna do."
"I'm proud of you, darlin'…Just know that I'll still love you even if you end up working the cash register at Home Depot…" Mary placed a gentle kiss against George's jaw and frowned a little as she saw Missy stuffing balled up tissues in her training bra when she thought no one was looking.
"Or in Missy's case probably Hooters…" George murmured as Mary wandered off to gently steer her daughter in the direction of her bedroom for a little mother/daughter chat before school. George caught Sheldon's snort of derision from the breakfast table and they smirked a little in shared amusement before Sheldon finished his breakfast and said that he was going to perform one final check of his college bag before Mary got back.
George watched him wander off and grinned to himself…he was proud of his little brother, it must have taken a lot of guts for Sheldon to decide that he was ready for college, and he wouldn't be surprised if he decided that he didn't want or need Mary accompanying him every day. George glanced down at his watch and swore a little under his breath as he grabbed the last slice of toast from the rack and ran for the door.
"Ma…I'm heading off now. Shelly, good luck with your first day and don't forget to check out the ladies for me!" George yelled up the staircase and just caught Sheldon's dismayed look as he peered out of his bedroom. "You da man, Shelly…give 'em Hell!"
"Language, George!" Mary called from within Missy's bedroom and George chuckled a little as he opened the front door, calling out a brief apology as he left. "That boy…" Mary smiled faintly as she glanced over at Sheldon. "Ready sweetheart?"
"Ready Mama." Sheldon gripped the strap of his Batman messenger bag so tightly that his knuckles turned white under the pressure and Mary stepped forward to take him into her arms.
"Don't be scared, snickerdoodle…"
"I'm not scared…just a little nervous or excited, I can't quite pinpoint the exact emotion. Perhaps I should try Kolinahr in the car?"
"Anything you say baby." Mary didn't quite understand half of the things that Sheldon came out with sometimes, but if it made him feel better than she was all for it. "Missy! You've got about three seconds to get your butt in the car or we're leavin' without you!"
"Coming Mama…" Missy skipped out of her bedroom and picked up her pink backpack from the stairs and the three of them headed off to start the new school year.