Sheldon was given his license via mail on September 1st. he had to beat his fear of rejection to ask Penelope out on a date. He was able to overcome his phobia of germs in order to kiss his official girlfriend, Penelope. He compared her kisses' effects to electrical impulses between neurons in the brain- electrifying.

"Sheldon, what is your goal after you prove String Theory? What will you do with the rest of your life?" Jasper gave Sheldon a new reason to enter into a relationship. "You don't want to be a lonely old man."

So on August 14th, Sheldon made the jump from friend to boyfriend at the beach during sunset.

The university (CalTech) was welcoming its old and new students as the semester began. Sheldon was preparing for his own lectures. Penny was ready for her culinary schedule thanks to the summer classes she took with Sheldon.

Penny was able to see movies, California's attractions, and swim before her 6 pm culinary classes with Sheldon.

Sheldon promised to help her with her business courses should she need the assistance.

Penny and Sheldon took turns car- pooling every other week. Penny had also purchased a newer car at a police auction then donated her old one to charity. She now drove a black 2012 Avenger.

Penny had 3 of her 5 business courses with Dr. George Wainright. She had her business courses on Mondays and Wednesdays. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the culinary courses took place.

Sheldon treated Penny to a fancy dinner once a month. He was ever a gentleman, pulling out chairs, opening doors, and kissing her hand.

He met Penny's Californian friends and discovered they had at least one trait in common with him. John Carter was an Avengers' fan, Lisa Denozo was a scientist, and James Thede was a German. They formed a loose gang, not group. They had a bonfire at the beach on the Friday of the month. They shared stories, laughter and harmless fun. The gang played laser tag, paintball, and went to a Vocal Trash concert.

On September 3rd, Melissa Jean Cooper decided to surprise her twin brother with a visit.

Melissa entered her brother's after a lecture and he saying enter with a mushroom and onion pizza.

"Missy! What are you doing here?" Sheldon exclaimed. He pulled her into a welcoming hug.

"I needed to get away from Mama and her constant praying over my sinful ways. I am tired of the guys who were raised to have manners, but never put them to use. I would also like to meet this lady love of yours."

"You are in luck; the condo next to mine is still vacant. The gang is meeting tonight for a tree planting, Penelope will be there." Sheldon had a blue and white Hawaiian shirt that matched his eyes.

The twins climbed outside the office's window which had a Shepard's hook with a hummingbird and cardinal feeders. They ate under a blue sky. Melissa Jean and Sheldon Lee shared the medium pizza. They both had a Dr. Pepper in their right hands. They talked about Jasper, Sheldon's progress socially, and Meemaw's condition.

Melissa continued to observe Sheldon. She noticed he was more confident, but not as arrogant at the same time. He had even hugged her upon her arrival.

"I drove this week so we need to wait until Penelope gets out of last lecture," Sheldon warned her.

"Why don't you call her Penny?"

"A penny exchanges many hands and they are common. Penelope is like the Greek queen of legend." Sheldon blushed as he explained his reasoning.

"What's her full name, Shelly?" Melissa leaned her chin on her palm.

"Penelope Regina Queen," Sheldon replied before taking a bite of pizza.

"Her name is familiar," whispered Melissa. She was quiet for the rest of lunch as she mauled over the familiarity of Penny's name.

Once lunch was done, they split after agreeing to meet at 4:10 pm.

Sheldon went back to his white boards while Melissa cruised campus and read the university course catalog.

She entered the expansive library to use computers to do research on the university's success rates and course sizes. She was about to leave the library at 2:15 when an old and almost forgotten friend entered.

The friend was the first of say anything, "MJ, what are you doing in California?" The female warmly embraced Melissa.

"I'm moving here," Melissa's eyes lit up like she won first prize. "Penny! No wonder, the name was so familiar." She looked very feminine in a pink rose floral skirt and pink blouse. When she blinked, Penny could see light pink eye shadow on her lids. Pink topaz studs were in her ears.

"What are you going on about, MJ?" Penny raised her left eyebrow in inquiry.

"You are dating my brother!" Melissa shouted with joy.

"So your Shelly is my Sheldon, huh." Penny saw Melissa looking over her attire which consisted of a green and purple plaid skirt (ended an inch above her knees) with green heels. A green tank top was covered by a purple cardigan and a purple bow held her hair in a half ponytail.

"You sure still know how to dress," Melissa also saw an emerald and amethyst bracelet on her right wrist. "Why are you in California?"

"I have a full scholarship to CalTech. I'm taking business and culinary courses in the first 4 days of the work week. You should try going back to school, yourself."

"What could I possibly study?"

"You always had a stunning sense of fashion so try that with business. Let's see if Dr. Wainright will let you sit in my next class at 2:35." Penny linked her arm through Melissa's to escort her to Dr. Wainright's office to ask him for permission.

The two women chose to seat in the middle of the lecture hall. Penny let Melissa look through her textbook and notes so she could understand the topic. The lecture was fascinating and kept the students' attention. Dr. Wainright had a wicked sense of humor and used plenty of examples.

The women exited the hall, talking about Melissa's designs and signing up for courses. As they exited the building, Sheldon was waiting outside. He was awfully surprised to see his sister chatting with Penelope like old friends.

"Melissa," Sheldon called out, "Penelope."

The women headed in his direction, laughing. Penny kissed Sheldon's lips when she reached his side, which he returned. He allowed both women to link their arms through his as he lead to the way to the staff parking lot. "Please explain."

"We know each other from our Junior Rodeo days," the women said in unison.

Sheldon, being the gentleman, opened the passenger side doors to let his girlfriend and sister in before getting in, himself.

Melissa informed the only male in the car of her decision to attend CalTech, requesting his assistance in filling out the paperwork. She told him about taking Penny's business course so they could do a study group. "I plan on using your girlfriend as my model when I make my designs into reality."

They drove past Lutheran, Baptist, and Catholic churches along with Mosques and Synagogues. They passed shops and homes on the way out of Pasadena. They were going outside of Pasadena city limits, to the closest part of the forest that was burned from the wildfire.

Lisa was already there with 6 shovels and all different kinds of trees. She had evergreens, oaks, maples, walnuts, ash, and birch. John and James were in old and paint stained shirts and shorts. They wore steel- toed work boots.

"Gang, this is my twin sister, Melissa Jean Cooper," Sheldon introduced his sister to the gang.

Hardy hellos and welcome to California were spread around like butter on bread. They shook hands or in John's case, a kiss on each cheek. The gang got to work with the men digging holes, evenly spaced apart. The women were in charge of put the trees in the holes then filling in the holes.

"Why are you planting trees?"

James gulped down some water before answering, "It is our way of giving back to the world. Once every three months, we do a volunteer service. Next time, we plan on helping Habitat for Humanity in building homes. There is also the possibility of volunteering at the local ARL to socialize animals and walk the dogs." His grey shirt and face was smudged with dirt.

"Penny helps with the horses and farm animals at the ARL," John commented in his green ripped shirt.

The gang finished the planting in 2 hours then went to Perkins to replenish their empty and thirsty stomachs. They snatched at the chance to get to know Melissa better. They decided to call her MJ like Penny did, saying it was more befitting her. Melissa shared stories from her past.

Melissa went with Sheldon to drop Penny off at her condo.