Own very little

Penny has her audition and calls home to check in

Sheila quickly hung up her phone leaving Penny staring at the blank screen on her phone. She didn't really have any time to worry about what she was interrupting or who she was interrupting because she really needed to get to the audition. Penny rushed down to the street and hailed a cab. The subway was going to take too long and she wanted to give herself the best chance she could.

Penny arrived at the theater in time for the last group of the first of four auditions. There were four groups in each session, so she was happy that she made the effort to get there early. The group she was in looked like it was with a few girls she knew from other auditions so she even felt a little more comfortable. Penny picked up the sheet music and another sheet with some lines. She went over to the side to try to memorize as best she could.

As it turned out, there was going to be some choreography with the scene and the group all stood. The choreographer explained the steps that were going to be needed. Penny hadn't done anything like this since she had to learn a new routine for cheerleading so many years ago. Thankfully for her, she always seemed to catch on quicker than the other girls.

After a few run-throughs, the girls did the routine. The choreographer chose three girls and thanked them for coming. He was polite, but they were clearly off a step or two. Penny was a little more relaxed seemingly passing the first of the trials. She immediately thought back to when Leonard explained how Leonard actually had to pass three sets of hurdles in order for Sheldon to let him be his roommate. She giggled to herself. After a short rest, the director came out and wanted the girls to read the lines they had been given. Penny's turn came third in line. She had a little extra time to reread her lines and thought she had them down pretty good.

The director explained the scene setup and then let the girls recite their lines. The director then picked two girls and again they were thanked for coming. Penny did a small fist pump and thought to herself, "Yes!"

The director and one of the producers came over to the last group of four girls and explained that they were only in the first group of auditions.. They explained how there were going to be three more groups over the next two days and they would be notified if they would need to come back for a second round. Each of them thanked the director, choreographer and the producer, giving them their contact information and then leaving to go home.

Penny was so excited that she had made it into a group that might have a chance to be in the show she could hardly breathe. She literally skipped all the way home to her apartment. She opened her door and plopped down on her couch. Penny immediately called home to Pasadena. She was so excited and she wanted to tell Leonard how it went. She wanted him to be proud of her and couldn't wait to hear the excitement in his voice when she told him.

Penny pressed the speed dial number one and the phone started to ring. When she heard the phone get answered she immediately blurted out, "Oh my god Leonard, it went so good…. There were lines to read and we had to do a dance routine…" All the time she had this amazing smile on her face.

Just then, she heard on the other side, in a proper English accent, "That's sounds just wonderful darling. Leonard stepped out to fetch a bite to eat and forgot to take his phone along".

Penny was surprised by Pence's voice answering Leonard's phone. "Oh… um… OK… well, just tell him I called and he can call me back when you aren't busy". She then hung up her phone and stared into her empty apartment. "Fudge!"

Leonard stepped into the room with the usual bag of food, walking over to the kitchen to start unpacking. Sheldon came out of his bedroom and stood by asking the usual questions.

"Did you get the chicken diced rather than shredded?"

Yes

"Even though it specifically says shredded?"

Yes

"Did you get the hot mustard?"

Yes

"Low sodium soy sauce?"

Yes

"Brown rice, not white?"

Yes

"Thank you"

Pence just looked on in amazement at the ritual. She was not particularly fond of Chinese food but had been lectured by Sheldon on the schedule for dinners if she insisted on staying in the apartment. Leonard just shrugged in response to her stare.

Leonard opened a second bag and removed an order of fried fish and fries which he had picked up from Lucky Baldwin's, a nearby Irish pub. He was rather pleased with himself being that the fish was batter fried like the ones he had when he was over in England. Pence smiled at the effort and placed a small kiss on his cheek as a thank you.

Leonard blushed slightly as he cleared his throat, looking over to Sheldon who had noticed the exchange and had a disapproving look on his face. Leonard quickly brought a plate of food over to his chair as Pence followed him and sat at the end of the couch away from Sheldon who was, as always, in his spot.

After a polite conversation over dinner Sheldon excused himself indicating that he was turning in for the night. He then gave Leonard a stare that Leonard had learned over the years that indicated he was in some way being either judged, or chastised. It was a look that Leonard had endured many times throughout his childhood from his mother.

Leonard finished picking up the dishes with Pence's help and bid Sheldon the requisite good night. He then turned to Pence and smiled. "I…. I guess that I should be going".

Pence smiled you really don't have to darling, but if you think you must, we can continue our work in the morning…. There was something Dr. Hawking wanted to discuss…Oh..., with all the pomp at the delivering of dinner..., I forgot to tell you… Penny called to tell you something about reading lines. You forgot your phone when you were out getting the take away… so I picked it up and answered... She indicated that you could give her a ring when we weren't busy."

Leonard almost dropped his eye teeth. "Oh my god… OK… well… this was nice… um… I'll see you in the morning then…. Um… bye… for now…" Leonard then rushed over to the door and left the apartment and made his way over to 4B.