A First Time For Everything
A MLAATR-Inspired Fanfic
By Shvique
Chapter 10—Conflicting Interests, Opposing Forces
The doors to the school cafeteria swung wide open and a stream of students poured through in a massive torrent, all heading straight for the bus line. Each student grabbed a tray, some plates, bowls, cutlery and the like as they entered the line, before proceeding to select various food items from the serving counter. Various pieces of fruit, dinner rolls, cups of the day's soup and small, plastic-wrapped plates of prepared salads were among the choices offered, in addition to servings of the main Special of the Day (although "Especially bad!" was the most frequently-heard description of it.) Last to be selected were the various soft-drinks, served in bottles and cans, after which each student then proceeded to the cashier to pay for their purchases.
Midway through this flood of students were Brad and his friend Norbert, their mouths hanging open ravenously. Jenny, meanwhile, lagged a few paces behind them out in the hallway, where she repeatedly looked around her and behind her, over her shoulder, and to her left and right.
"Man O man, I'm starving!" Norbert exclaimed. "Oh, I sure hope they have something half-decent on the menu today!"
"Or at least something we can get down without gagging too much!" Brad added. Both boys looked up at the menu and, upon seeing the announced Special of the Day, their faces immediately fell in disappointment.
"Oh, geez!" Brad exclaimed in disgust. "It's even worse than the sewer-trout we had yesterday! Immolated hockey-puck with chopped green gunk and mutant potatoes! Again!"
Norbert shook his head, equally nauseated. "Yeah, when they mowed the football field on Monday, I should've known then that the lawn-clippings would end up on the menu eventually."
The boys were then joined by Jenny, whose attention still seemed strangely distracted, her gaze now scanning the seating-area of the cafeteria.
With a final resigned sigh, Norbert shrugged and stepped into the bus-line, picking up a tray, plate and some utensils. "Well, no sense putting off the inevitable," he said, with about as much enthusiasm as he would when awaiting an upcoming wisdom-tooth extraction. "Might as well get it over with." Bracing himself, he began selecting the least-repulsive items from the serving-counter.
Brad turned to Jenny, now standing beside him. "Boy, I'll sure be glad when Summer gets here and school lets out," he said. "So that we can go back to eating real food for lunch again!"
Jenny flashed him a sympathetic smile, grateful that she didn't have to endure Tremorton High's notoriously-bad lunches along with the rest of the students. Instead, her lunchtime selections typically consisted of a bottle of Synthoil, a can of Cog-Aid, a few batteries, and occasionally, a small bottle of high-grade jet-fuel. And that was all.
She turned her attention back to the main seating area, scanning it as though searching for a specific target.
Huh! She thought. That's weird… I thought he'd be here by now... He's been here early every day for the past week or so… But now…
Like Norbert, Brad sighed and stepped into the bus line, grabbing two trays and handing one to Jenny, as he usually did. She took the tray from him and followed through the bus-line, selecting her usual selections, placing them on her tray as she went.
They reached the end of the line and approached the cashier, each paying for their purchases with their meal-cards as always. After completing the transaction, Brad turned and started to head for their usual table in the middle of the seating-area, expecting Jenny to accompany him as she usually did.
To his surprise however, she remained standing in place near the cashier.
"Hey, aren't you coming?" he said. "After all, the food—or in your case, the oil and batteries—isn't great, but it's better than nothing!"
"Um…tell you what," Jenny said, handing him her tray. "Take my stuff and go on ahead, okay? I'll join you there in a few minutes. There's something I need to do first." She turned and started to walk away.
"Oh. Okay." Brad struggled to juggle the two laden trays, then regarded his robotic friend quizzically. "Um…is everything okay?" he asked
"Yeah, sure. Why do you ask?"
"Well, 'cuz I've hardly seen you all day today, not since early this morning, and…" he trailed off. Truthfully, he had seen her several times throughout the morning, but as she'd seemed to be preoccupied with tagging after Sheldon everywhere he went, Brad thought it wise to be discrete and keep his distance.
"Everything's fine," Jenny assured him. "I just… I need to take care of something real quick, that's all. I'll see you in a minute." She turned away again and started walking quickly toward a secluded section of the seating-area.
"Okay…" Brad replied, then turned and headed for their table. "See you in a little bit."
Something about her manner made him feel a bit uneasy. And from the look on her face, it was clear that she'd made up her mind about something, that she'd decided upon a specific course of action, and was determined to carry it through, no matter what, and would allow nothing to stop her. And based upon her words and actions in recent weeks, Brad was sure that her plan, whatever it was, had something to do with Sheldon in some way.
But as to what it would specifically involve, Brad had no idea…
Jenny approached what was generally referred to by most of the students of Tremorton High as the "Geek Table," but referred to by the boys who sat there as simply "The Gamers' Table," or "The Gamers' Corner." Sheldon could often be found sitting with this small, informal gathering for his lunch in recent weeks, as it was one of the few environs in which he felt completely comfortable, at ease, and perfectly welcome by the others. But on this particular day however, he was strangely absent from the group.
As Jenny approached the table, the voices of the boys seated there grew louder, as they seemed to be embroiled in a rather heated discussion about something, just as they often were. Jenny had no idea what the argument was about this time or how it had gotten started, but having spent enough time around the boys, she was able to pick up the gist of the discussion fairly quickly once she came within earshot.
"Okay, fine, but that's the last time you bring a can of that slop to the table when you're shuffling the deck, you troll!" Phred grumbled to Gordo. "Thanks to you, I ended up having to go buy a whole new game map and deck of cards!"
"I didn't spill it!" Gordo protested. "I already told you that a million times! Somebody else must have knocked it over! I don't know why you always blame me for stuff like that!"
"Well, you're the only one who drinks that rotgut, so…figure it out!"
"That doesn't prove anything! Besides, it was probably Gerard who knocked it over—"
"Hey, don't go dragging me into this!" Gerard protested indignantly. "I wasn't even at the table when it happened. I was over by the candy machine, buying a—"
"So what else is new?" An unidentified voice muttered in interruption.
"Well whatever!" Phred continued, exasperated. "Either way, new rule! No drinks at the game-table from now on!"
"Well, what're we supposed to do? Die of thirst?" Gordo challenged. "Those gaming sessions are long!"
Phred sighed in exasperation. "Fine!" he exclaimed. "Set the drinks on the floor then! Wherever! Just not on the table!"
"Well, how come you never give Jenny static for bringing drinks to the table?" Gordo demanded, still unwilling to let the issue rest. "She brings cans of oil and even bottles of jet-fuel to the table, and you never give her any grief about it!"
"That's because she's not a total slob who spills it all over the place the way you do, you troll!"
"Say, if we're gonna be putting drinks on the floor from now on," Gerard asked, thinking ahead. "Then aren't they more likely to get knocked over? And spill all over the floor? And end up making a bigger mess? I mean, what kind of sense does that make?"
Quinton rolled his eyes and sighed. Eager to change the subject, he happened to catch sight of Jenny approaching their table, and he spoke up.
"Hey, Jenny, good to see you here!" he exclaimed, turning to her with a beaming smile. "Perfect timing!" The other boys likewise looked up and greeted her with friendly waves and warm smiles, their argument of only moments ago now completely forgotten.
"Hey, wanna join us for lunch today?" Gerard jokingly held out his tray, as though offering to share his sizable lunch with her.
"No, thanks," she smiled with a good-natured shake of her head, then turned semi-serious as she faced the rest of the boys. "Say, guys, I was just wondering," she said. "Have you guys seen Sheldon around? He seems to be running late or something. He's usually here by now."
"Oh, I'm sure he'll be along any minute," Quinton replied. "I saw him in World History just last period."
"Yeah, and I saw him out in the hallway only a few minutes ago," Flynn added.
"Oh, okay." Jenny replied, then paused. "Umm…and guys…?" she went on, in a slightly awkward tone. "You…you don't mind if I borrow him for lunch today… do you?"
"Um…no…" Quinton replied, taken a bit aback by the unusual request. "It's okay with me…and I'm sure it's okay with the rest of the guys. Right, guys?" He looked to the others.
"Sure, it's fine with me," was the general consensus of the other boys, expressed in one choice of words or another.
"Do you think he'd mind if I had his dinner roll?" Gerard asked his usual question, which, as usual, was ignored and went unanswered by the others.
"I mean, it's been a long time since he sat with me—I mean, with us, with me and Brad, I mean," Jenny quickly corrected herself. "And I thought…well, you know, it might be kind of nice if he joined us today."
"Um, yeah, well, I think we pretty much all agree," Quinton said with a shrug. "We got no objections. Right?" He turned to the other boys again, who all nodded again, accompanied by more affirmative grunts in between mouthfuls of food and soda. "Sure, why not?"
She flashed them all her best million-dollar smile. "Great!" she said, as she started to turn to leave. "See you guys later!"
"Say, Jenny," Flynn spoke up, after washing down a mouthful of the gag-inducing Special of the Day with a quick swallow of soda. "We were talking about maybe having another gaming-session today after school, over at Legendary Warriors." Quickly catching a sour look from Phred directed at Gordo, he added, "We even have a new game map and deck of cards we wanna try out. Wanna join us?"
Jenny immediately smiled at the invitation. "Gee, I'd sure love to, guys, but…" Her smile then faded, as her mind flashed a mental picture of her creator reminding her once again of the need for extra practice and training for the anticipated Mega-Improbability Event. "Well…I can't..." she said sadly. "I have to go right home after school today for another practice-session."
"Another one?" Gerard asked incredulously. "You just had a practice-session the other day."
"The last time we asked you." Gordo added.
"Yeah, I know, I know," Jenny admitted. "But see, my mom's really, really on my case these days. She's got me doing these ultra-intensive practice-sessions every day now, without letup, on account of the…" she trailed off. She was about to go off into yet-another long, detailed and tedious explanation of the Mega-Improbability Event, and all the boys looked to her expectantly. But at the last moment, she changed her mind and dropped the idea.
"Forget it," she said, with a dismissive wave of her hand. "It's a long, dumb, boring and stupid story, and you'd never believe it in a million years anyway. I don't even entirely believe it myself, and I'm the one who has to hear about it every day!" And the longer I wait for the dumb stupid thing, She thought. The less I believe it'll ever happen!
"So…anyhow," She concluded with a sad shake of her head. "I'm sorry, but I just can't make it today."
"Oh…okay…" Flynn replied, the obvious disappointment in his voice was shared by the other boys. "I…I mean, that is…we understand... Right, guys?"
"Yeah…sure…" said the first tepid response. "We understand…"
"Sure…"
"Right…"
"Mm…"
Other, similarly-subdued murmurs of acceptance sounded from around the table, accompanied by nodding heads and long faces.
"Besides," Jenny went on in a small, quiet voice. "I…I guess…Sheldon won't be joining you guys, either…will he…?" She paused, then quickly added, "I mean…you know, 'cuz he's grounded and everything…right?"
"Um…yeah, probably not, now that you mention it." answered Phred. "I think he is still grounded, so…yeah, he probably won't be there, either… Bummer, right?"
"Yeah…" Jenny said quietly, lowering her eyes.
A short, but awkward silence followed for a moment. "Anyhow, when you guys see him," she went on. "Please let him know I have something important I wanna talk to him about, and—Ooo, wait! There he is now!" Her face immediately lit up like a floor-lamp as she caught a glimpse of Sheldon stepping through the doorway. "See you guys later!" she said, and with an immediate upturn in her mood and quick turn on her heel, she departed, heading double-time for the cafeteria entrance.
"Gee…she turned us down again after we invited her…" said Gordo once the boys were alone.
"Just like she did a few days ago," added Gerard. "At Legendary Warriors. Remember?"
"And just like Sheldon said she would…" added Phred, voicing what they were all thinking by now.
"Yeah," muttered several quiet voices around the table, before lapsing into an uncomfortable silence, quite unlike the normally obstreperous lunchtime banter among the boys. The silence hung heavily over the table like a pall, as the boys chewed methodically at their meal without another word, swallowing mouthfuls in grim stoicism. Even Gerard's appetite was affected, and he now consumed his meal with slightly less enthusiasm than usual.
The silence was eventually broken by Gordo. "You don't…you don't suppose maybe he was right…about all that other stuff he said…do you…?" he asked, expressing the concern they all shared, but dared not speak aloud.
"You mean about…how she really only thinks of us as just a bunch of geeks and losers…?" asked Gerard.
"And that she's just been laughing at us…? Behind our backs…? All this time…?" added Phred.
They all looked at one another in silence, as they each privately weighed the ugly possibility. None of them wanted to consider it, but they couldn't entirely ignore it, either.
"No, no, that can't be right," Quinton finally said, dismissing the idea and trying to put a positive spin on the whole matter, as if to dispel all concerns about it. "That doesn't seem like Jenny at all; she's not the type."
"Yeah, and besides, let's not forget," Flynn added. "She is a superhero, after all. She probably has a lot of responsibilities and stuff, and probably has to be on the alert at all times, in case of emergencies. Like if maybe an army of amphibious nuclear-powered Dust-Bunnies from the planet Shtoyb-Pilke suddenly attacked Space Station Nerva again or something."
"Exactly!" Quinton said. "And so she's probably gotta do a lot of extra practice for that kind of stuff, to stay on top of her game,"
"Otherwise she might get rusty," added Gerard, trying to be helpful. At which point all the other boys turned and stared icily at him. "What?" he asked, momentarily puzzled; then added, "Well, you know what I mean!"
The boys lapsed into another brief silence, before Gordo again spoke up, offering still another unsolicited and disquieting observation.
"Even so…" he said quietly. "It did still kinda sound like a phony excuse… At least to me, it did."
"Why do you say that?" asked Quinton.
"I dunno," Gordo said, pausing to take a drink of soda. "Just the way she said it sounded a little like when a girl cancels a date at the last split-second in order to paint her toenails or waffle-iron her hair or something." He snorted. "I mean, that extra-practice stuff's been going on like every day now for the past couple of weeks; weekends, too."
"Well yeah, but like I said, she's a superhero, and even superheroes probably still need to practice!" Flynn insisted. "And probably practice a lot!"
"But how much practice can she really need?" countered Gordo, somewhat peevishly. "I mean, either she knows her job or she doesn't, right? And after this much time, she's gotta pretty much know what she's doing… right?" He looked around to the others. "And besides," he went on. "It's not as if there's even that much going on these days. It's been pretty quiet for weeks now."
"That's true, now that you mention it…" Phred nodded in a rare point of agreement. "It has been awhile since anything much really happened around here… I can't even remember this town being this quiet for this long."
Another uncomfortable silence descended, broken by Quinton, offering an alternative observation.
"But… you know…" he said. "She was pretty insistent on having lunch with Sheldon today. And it is interesting that…well, when she found out he wouldn't be joining us for a gaming-session today, she..." he paused, searching for just the right way to phrase it. "Well…she definitely sounded…kinda…well, disappointed. You know what I mean?"
Gordo shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "Maybe. I suppose. So?"
"So…did you notice how she perked right up the moment he walked in the door?"
"Yeah, so? What's your point?"
"Well, just that...I'm just thinking… Maybe she wasn't laughing at us behind our backs after all. Or think we're just geeks and losers. Maybe it's nothing like that at all. Maybe…maybe she's just…" He hesitated, hoping the other boys would pick up on his implicit message.
"Just what?!" Gerard asked bluntly, through mouthfuls of food. "Geez, man, get to the point! What're you driving at?"
"Well I'm just wondering. Maybe…you know, maybe she's only interested in hanging with us whenever Sheldon's around."
All the boys stared at him as though he'd suddenly sprouted a second head.
"You know, like maybe…" he elaborated tentatively. "Maybe…all this time… he's really all she's interested in…"
"Oh, come on!" Gerard was the first to respond, immediately shooting down the possibility.
"Don't be stupid!" was another response, followed by an explosive "You're nuts!" and other, similar comments from around the table.
"Well, I'm just saying!" Quinton insisted.
"Well, be sensible, will ya?" Gerard said. "If there was anything at all going on between those two, we'd have noticed it by now. They're just friends, that's all. So don't be trying to make it into something it's not!" He snorted dismissively, then added, "And anyways, what's it got to do with whether or not she's laughing at us behind our backs?"
"Well, figure it out," Quinton countered. "If she likes him—if she likes him—then it doesn't make sense that she'd be laughing at any of the rest of us…does it?" He looked to the others, one by one.
They all regarded him with puzzled stares, so he elaborated, "I mean, he's one of us…right?" he said.
"Right…" the boys tentatively agreed, unsure of where their friend's line of reasoning was headed.
"So if she laughs at any of us, then it'd be kind of like the same as laughing at him! And vice-versa! See?"
The boys all mulled it over, and one by one, they each nodded and conceded the point, Phred being the first to speak the general consensus aloud. "Yeah…I guess I see your point…" he admitted.
And there they let the issue rest for the time being. Even though none of the boys were quite willing to entirely accept Quinton's theory about Jenny's alleged interest in Sheldon, his mention of it nevertheless served to dissipate the short-lived tension at the table. Even Gerard's appetite returned to normal, and he resumed devouring the items on his plate at his usual breakneck pace.
And although none of the boys spoke of it again, they privately began to recall the highly unusual and quite unexpected sight they'd each witnessed numerous times all that morning, of Jenny following Sheldon all over the school from one end to the other. And the more they thought about Quinton's theory, the less far-fetched it seemed to be...
The first thing Jenny noticed about Sheldon as he stepped into the cafeteria was the huge, beaming smile on his face; practically the first genuine, sincere, from-the-heart smile she'd seen from him all day. Evidently, the sour mood he'd been in only a short time earlier had passed, and he now seemed in much better spirits.
Ah, good! She thought. Looks like he's back to being his old happy, cheerful self again! Maybe now I can at least talk to him without him being a total sourpuss about it!
As she stepped over to him, she re-affirmed her new promise to herself in a silent, private little pep-talk.
Okay, Jenny… she told herself. Just remember: No matter what he says or does, don't let it get to you. Don't get angry, don't get upset, don't go flying off the handle at him. You're gonna get on his good side again, no matter what it takes! Remember that! I don't know exactly what those stupid Crust Cousins said that really set him off this morning, or what he thinks about it now, but whatever it is, I'm not even gonna mention it. I'm just gonna steer clear of the whole subject… This has to be handled delicately…and I'm just the girl to do it!
She waited until he entered the bus line, then quickly stepped along beside him.
"Um…hi, Sheldon…" she said in a cautious but friendly manner.
His head whipped around to face her, as though startled, causing him to nearly drop the thick, heavy book he carried under his arm. Just as quickly, he lowered his eyes, and the smile that had been on his face instantly vanished.
Aw, jeez! He thought, his annoyance registering on his face. What the heck does she want from me now?
Then, as if resigning himself to the inevitable, he turned to face her again.
"Um…hi…Jenny…" " he replied, with a forced calm to his voice.
"Um…say, Sheldon?" Jenny asked, nervously clasping and unclasping her metal fingers.
He grimaced. "Yeah?"
"I was wondering…um…that is…"
Here it comes! He thought. I knew it! The favor! The stupid favor she wants to ask me to do for her!
"I was just wondering…" she hesitated. "If maybe…you'd like to…" she hesitated again. "Maybe…have lunch with me? I mean with me and Brad... Like…like you used to? It's been a long time since we…since we all had lunch together, so I thought…why not today?"
Sheldon blinked, both surprised and instantly confused. It was quite literally the last thing he expected to hear from her. Wait, what? He thought, puzzled. Lunch? With…her? And Brad?! Wait a minute, I thought… Wasn't she going to…? What about…?
Sheldon was utterly perplexed, as his mind groped about frantically for explanations. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out how Brad could possibly fit into Jenny's presumed plan to make a new boyfriend jealous.
Unless… he thought, as a startling new possibility occurred to him. Unless maybe…maybe Brad's her new boyfriend…? He is her best friend to begin with after all… Always has been… Everybody knows it… So…did they finally go from being 'friends' to being a couple…? Or what? I guess it's possible…maybe even inevitable, I suppose… But…if that's the case, then what the heck does she want me for?
In the midst of his confusion however, he remembered Bernice, still waiting patiently for him over at her usual table in the isolated corner.
In an instant, his mind was made up and he shook his head. "Um…no thanks, Jenny." he answered simply.
Jenny's face fell. "Why not?"
"Well, I just…" he hesitated. "I…have other plans, that's all."
"Like what?"
"Just…other plans."
She smiled and replied, "Oh, I know. You wanna sit with your gamer friends, right?" She turned to give a quick, friendly wave to Sheldon's friends at their table, and a few of them waved back. "Well, it's okay. I already talked to them and asked if I could 'borrow' you for today, and they said okay. So it's all right." She smiled even wider, hoping to elicit a similar response from him.
He shook his head again. "It's…not that," he said cryptically.
Now it was Jenny's turn to look confused. "It's not?"
"No." he said simply. "Sorry." He turned and proceeded through the line, selecting food items from the counter and placing them on his tray. He glanced back at her and added, "But thanks for asking anyway."
Jenny stared at him, as though unwilling—or unable—to accept or believe his refusal; as though it were a possibility she had never anticipated or even considered. "I…I don't understand," She asked, her voice rising slightly in pitch. "You really don't want to have lunch with me? Why not?"
"Oh well, um… Um…" he turned to face her. "Well, I mean it's very nice of you to ask, and I appreciate it, but…I'm sorry, I just can't. Like I said, I have other plans." He turned his attention back to the serving-counter.
"I know, you keep saying that, but you still haven't told me what these 'other plans' are," she said, her voice resuming its normal pitch.
Sheldon continued down the bus line without another word.
"Well?" Jenny asked. "What are these 'other plans' you keep talking about? I mean, are you planning to just sit by yourself in a corner someplace and sulk or what?" In spite of herself, the words had escaped her vocoder before she could stop them.
"Well, I uh…" Sheldon reached the end of the bus-line, pulled his meal-card out of his back-pocket and handed it to the cashier, who scanned it quickly and handed it back to him. Just as he was about to slide the card back into his pocket however, he lost his grip on the thick, heavy book under his arm, and it slipped from his grasp. In a split-second before it struck the floor however, Jenny shot out an extendo-arm at lightning-speed to catch it.
"Here," she said, handing it back to him.
"Thanks," he said, taking it from her and tucking it back under his arm, then turned and headed for the seating-area.
Jenny stepped along beside him. "Well?" She said. "You still haven't told me what these 'other plans' are."
He stopped and turned to face her. "Well, I…" he hesitated, then glanced over to Bernice, then turned his attention back to Jenny again. "Well, the truth is…" he said. "I…already asked Bernice if she'd have lunch with me today. And she said 'yes.' So…I'll be sitting with her today."
Jenny stared blankly at him, as though unable to comprehend, then said quickly, "Wait, wait, wait! Hold on a sec! You're having lunch with who?"
"Bernice. Bernice Topflemeier."
A quizzical look came to Jenny's face at the mention of the name which held virtually no meaning for her. "Well, who the heck is that?!" she demanded.
Sheldon pointed in a direction over Jenny's shoulder. "Her. Over there," he said, the faint trace of a smile passing over his face as the red-haired girl in the distance gave him a wave. "See? That's Bernice."
Jenny turned to look in the direction indicated, at the lonely table in the corner, seated at which was what appeared to be a lumpy potato adorned with a bright orange fright-wig, a pair of gigantic horn-rimmed glasses, and dressed in a shapeless cotton shift.
For a moment, Jenny merely stood, frozen, unable to move, unable to process what she'd just heard. And seen! Sheldon…refusing an invitation…to have lunch with her? And for…for that?! It couldn't be! It had to be some kind of joke! It had to be!
She shook her head and turned her attention back to Sheldon, a big relieved grin on her face. "Aw, come on!" she said with a forced laugh. "You're joking, right? Right? You're just joking around! Boy, you had me going there for a minute! Good one! For a moment, I almost thought you were serious!"
The faint smile that had briefly appeared on Sheldon's face vanished immediately. "No; no, I'm not joking," he said. "I am serious. I asked Bernice to have lunch with me today, she said yes, and so we're having lunch together. And that's that. End of story."
Jenny shook her head again, as though she'd been asked to solve an irrational mathematical problem. "But…but you can't be serious!" She said. "You just can't be! You can't seriously mean that you'd rather have lunch with…with her…" she made a sweeping motion with her hand toward the girl in question. "Than with me…?"
Sheldon regarded her with an indignant frown, as though insulted that his word should be questioned. "Yes, I am serious!" he said. "So…again, thanks for asking, but…I'm afraid the answer's 'no.'" He gingerly stepped past her and headed toward the corner-table where Bernice awaited him.
Jenny stood in place for a moment longer, shaking her head, as though to clear her mind of an equation that did not compute. Then she stepped over quickly to walk beside Sheldon. "Aw, come on!" she said in her sweetest, most-endearing tone, with a broad but forced smile on her face. "Can't you just tell her 'no' and come sit with us anyway? Huh? Huh? Please Sheldon, it's been so long since we all sat together! Please?"
"I'm sorry, Jenny, but I just can't." He kept walking.
"But—!" she persisted, following his pace, step-for-step.
"I can't!" he repeated, gently but firmly, hoping she'd finally take the hint.
"But…but you can't say 'no'!" Jenny cried, reaching out a hand to him. "You just can't!"
Finally, Sheldon stopped and turned to face her directly, looking her square in the eyes.
"Please, Sheldon; please come sit with us!" she pleaded. "Like you used to! Please?"
He stared at her, utterly baffled. Was he hearing correctly? Was Jenny…begging him? Just to have lunch with her and Brad? What was going on here?
Finally, he had no choice but to just flat-out ask, "Okay, Jenny… What's this all about? I mean really. What the heck is with you today?"
"What do you mean?"
"Come on. You know what I mean."
"No, I don't."
He sighed. "Well…look, for as long as I've known you, you barely even had the time of day for me. Now, all of a sudden, out of the clear blue sky, you're suddenly following me around everywhere, talking my ear off the whole time… You even nearly followed me into the boys' bathroom a couple of times! So I'm asking you straight out: Just what the heck is going on with you today?"
"I'm—I'm just trying to be friendly, that's all!" she replied. "Like you always wanted me to! Is that so terrible?"
"No, no, it's not," he said. "If that really is all there is to it. But I get the feeling that…" He hesitated, and turned away. "Nothing…never mind… Forget it," he said.
"What?"
"Nothing, nothing…" he shook his head.
"Come on, what is it…?" she asked.
He sighed and cocked his head as he looked at her. "Well, it's just that…I don't know, but I get the feeling that this is all just a big put-on," he said. "Like you're putting me on or something; that you're just faking this whole 'friendly' bit for some reason. I keep getting the feeling that you want to ask another favor of me, or worse, that you're setting me up for some kind of prank or practical joke or something."
Jenny's mouth dropped open. "Is that what you thought?" she asked, absolutely stunned. "You actually thought that…that I…?" she couldn't even finish the question.
"Well…yeah…!" He didn't even bother trying to conceal the peevish tone from his voice.
Is he kidding?! Jenny thought in disbelief, almost laughing out loud at the absurdity of it. It was so absurd in fact, that it almost came as a relief to her. He thinks that this is all just a put-on? Cripes, that's so stupid and far-fetched it's a joke! How can he believe such nonsense? And where'd he get such a lunkheaded idea in the first place?
She shook her head rapidly. "No, no, no, it's nothing like that!" she assured him. "This isn't a put-on and I'm not faking anything, I swear! And I'd never set you up for a stupid prank or practical joke! Ever! I mean, cripes, you oughta know me better than that!"
He still looked doubtful however, and she continued.
"And I'm not going to ask a favor of you, either!" she said. "I know it seems like I'm always asking favors of you, but…honest, I'm not! I'm just…trying to be friendlier to you, that's all. Just like I promised I would."
"And that's all?"
"That's all." She smiled reassuringly. "Really. I just want us to all be friends again. Just…just like we used to be." She paused, adopting the warmest, friendliest, most winning smile she could muster, while she awaited his response.
"So… What do you say?" she asked. "Wanna join us?"
Sheldon stared at her. He truly didn't know what to make of her. She seemed so sincere, so honest, so…genuine, that he was almost ready to accept her invitation right then and there.
Maybe…maybe I was wrong about her… he thought. Maybe she really doesn't want to use me as a pawn to make a boyfriend jealous or anything dumb like that after all… Maybe she really does just want to be friends again, just like she said… Maybe…maybe I could…
But then he remembered Bernice, sitting all alone at her table in the corner, still waiting patiently for him. He turned to look at her now, a hopeful, expectant look on her face…
He turned back to face Jenny again and shook his head. "Well…like I said," he began. "I do appreciate the invitation Jenny, but…I just can't accept. I'm sorry." His tone, while gentle, nevertheless remained adamant and firm. "I already asked Bernice to have lunch with me, and she accepted. And…well, I can't just bail out on her now and leave her hanging. It wouldn't be right, and it wouldn't be fair. So…again, thank you for asking anyway." He turned and resumed walking toward the corner table.
Jenny remained frozen to the spot for a moment longer, then followed him again.
Sheldon reached the table and sat down next to Bernice, pulling the book from under his arm and placing it on the table before her. She picked it up and held it in her chubby hands, looking over its cover, beaming as though it were a precious gift. "Ohhhhh this is this the book you were telling me about the other day, isn't it?" she said. "The weird sci-fi story?"
"Yeah.. Yeah, this is it…" he answered distractedly, as he caught sight of Jenny striding purposefully toward their table.
"Wow, it's thick!" Bernice said as she hefted the book in her hands. "And heavy, too!" She opened the book and rapidly flipped through the pages from front to back. "Wow, nearly eleven hundred pages! That's even longer than some of my Larry Cotter fanfics!" She spoke just a little too loudly, betraying the somewhat-exaggerated nature of her interest.
Jenny reached the table at just that moment, where she stopped and stood…and stared at the odd-looking pair seated there. She found herself utterly transfixed by the sight, still unable to accept it as real. Sheldon…sitting down not with Jenny, nor with his gaming-friends as usual…but rather with a strange, extremely odd-looking girl whom Jenny had never seen before. Jenny's eyes remained riveted on the oddly-matched couple, as her Positronic brain raced to try and make sense of the situation. On the most basic level of her programming, the resultant line kept repeating, as if stuck in a loop: Does not compute…does not compute… does not compute…
But it was real. It was true. As hard as it was to believe, Sheldon…had chosen the inconceivable: to have lunch with this strange-looking girl…rather than with Jenny!
Jenny continued to stare for so long that not only Sheldon, but also Bernice eventually took notice. Sheldon regarded Jenny with a puzzled, yet faintly wistful look that seemed a mix of bewilderment and disappointment, coupled with just a tinge of annoyance. Bernice, however, regarded Jenny with nothing less than a cold, withering glare; a 'What are you doing here?' sort of look.
Ignoring the looks, Jenny suddenly broke into a smile as a fresh idea came to her, one which she felt sure was the perfect solution to the situation.
"Say, you guys!" she said, a little too loudly, even rising above the noisy din of the lunchtime crowd. "I just had an idea! Why don't we all have lunch together? All four of us!" She reached out a hand to Sheldon. "Both you guys can come join me and Brad over at our table! Just four friends all having lunch together! It'll be fun! Come on, what do you say?"
Sheldon looked at her. It seemed like a good idea. And she seemed sincere, with no trace of guile or disingenuousness that he could discern. And with her warm, friendly smile and manner, her hand reaching out to him so invitingly…
Should we…? He thought, considering her offer. Maybe that's not such a bad idea… After all, if friendship really is all she wants, then maybe she'll be satisfied with a simple lunch for now and leave it at that… Maybe then she'll leave me alone for awhile...
He turned to Bernice with an inquiring 'Can we?' look on his face, and with a brief, furtive move, he began to rise to his feet.
But just as quickly, Bernice gripped his forearm with the force of a hydraulic vice, her polished fingernails digging into his flesh, and yanked him back down to a seated position. At the same time, she stared Jenny square in the eyes with a chilling gaze and said, "No, thank you, Jenny. We're quite comfortable here." The words, though polite, were uttered in a tone which indicated the exact opposite of courtesy.
"But—"
"No." Bernice shook her head, her icy stare matching the meat-locker frigidity of her tone. "Just…no. Thank you."
Jenny still refused to believe it. Or to give in. Or to budge.
In a sudden flash of defiant pique, she grabbed Sheldon's free hand and pulled firmly on it. "I said, he's having lunch with us!" she stared at Bernice with an intensity that stopped just short of full laser-activation levels.
"He's staying!" Bernice said, her grip remaining firmly locked on Sheldon's arm, and pulling just as hard in the opposite direction, forcing him to remain seated.
"He's coming!" Jenny growled as she pulled again.
"He's staying!" Bernice snarled, yanking in the opposite direction.
"He's coming!"
"Staying!"
"Coming!"
"Staying!"
"Coming!"
"OWWWWWWW!" Sheldon cried at that point, bringing the brief tug-of-war to an abrupt halt. "Jenny, stop it! You're hurting my hand! And, Bernice, it feels like you're about to pull my arm out of the socket!"
"Oh! Sorry!" both girls cried in unison.
Instantly, Jenny released Sheldon's hand, Bernice released her grip on his arm, and he sighed in relief. Both hands now free, Sheldon immediately began massaging the hand where Jenny had gripped it.
"Sheldon, I—I'm sorry!" Jenny cried, the pitch of her voice rising exponentially. "I didn't mean to…! Honest, I didn't! I hope I didn't hurt you! Are…are you okay? Please tell me you're okay! Please, please, please tell me you're okay!"
"I'm fine," he said, failing to conceal his irritation as he massaged his hand. "No bones broken, I don't think…" He wiggled his fingers, both to ensure that they still retained full function, and to restore normal circulation to them. "All the fingers are still there…" he frowned. "And they all still work, I think…"
"That's good, 'cuz I didn't want you to think I'd ever—"
"Look, I think you've said and done just about enough around here as it is!" Bernice cut in sharply.
"But—" Jenny said, her eyes still focused on Sheldon.
"Can't you take a hint?" Bernice asked. "Don't you get it? You're obviously not wanted here! So why don't you get a clue! And get lost!" She gave a swift sweeping motion with her chubby hand, as though she were chasing away a gnat.
But Jenny remained rooted to the floor, as though bolted down to it, until a crude, rough voice bellowed from behind her, "Hey, get outta the way, aluminum-butt!"Only then was she stirred into movement. She quickly turned to face Rodd Bokkafasi, the meanest and most obnoxious bully in Tremorton High, who now tried to roughly shove his way past her with a tray heaped high with food, mostly purloined from the trays of other students.
Jenny, however, did not shove easily, nor did she take too kindly to the futile attempt. Although her first impulse was to drive a steel fist through Rodd's obnoxious, sneering face, she just as quickly realized that this was neither the time nor the place to do so.
With a final, longing glance to Sheldon and Bernice—he with a look on his face that expressed equal parts regret and impatience, she with a look of pure poison—Jenny at last turned and slowly departed, heading back to the table where Brad awaited her.
She had only taken a couple of steps however, when a clipped, sharply-accented and distinctly-oleaginous voice oozed from beside her. "Well, as I live and breathe!" the voice said. "Had I not seen it with my own eyes, I should never have believed it in a thousand years! But the freak has finally been rejected even by the geek!"
Jenny turned to face the loathsome countenance of Britney Crust, with the inseparable and equally-detestable Tiffany Crust at her side, as always. Jenny's eyes narrowed, and she glowered fiercely at the pair. Ohhhhh, don't you two start up with me again! She thought. Not again! Not now!
As if right on cue, Tiffany Crust chimed in, adding to her cousin's remarks. "Yeah, I guess this makes it official, huh!" she said. "The rust-bucket has now officially hit bottom on the school social-scale! She reached the bottom rung on the social ladder and slipped right off! Now there's nowhere left for her to go, is there?"
"Indeed not," Britney replied snidely, her arms folded insolently in front. "I suppose there's nothing left for her now but to haul her away to the city scrap-metal dump and be done with it! If they'll even accept her there, that is."
"Yeah, you got that right!" Tiffany replied. "The only reason 'Iron Pants' wasn't sent there years ago is 'cuz they probably didn't want her, either!" With that, both girls erupted into peals of caustic laughter.
Jenny glowered at the two of them, her hands clenched into tightly-coiled fists. Still smarting from Sheldon's rejection of her and the subsequent tiff with Bernice however, Jenny now felt drained inside, momentarily defeated, as though she had no reserves left with which to fight. She felt, for all intents and purposes, beaten, if only temporarily. Moreover, the last time she'd tangled with these two, it only succeeded in somehow making things worse between herself and Sheldon. She dared not risk that happening again (although how much worse things could get, she didn't want to think about.)
"Just…stop…" she muttered quietly, eyeing the pair, one after the other. "Don't you two ever know when to just quit?"
"Actually, my dear," Brit said, stroking her chin thoughtfully with a kid-gloved finger. "If anyone around here doesn't know when to quit, I'd say it's you!" She turned to her smaller cousin beside her with a knowing smirk, and said, "Wouldn't you agree, Tiff?"
"Oh yeah!" The smaller girl nodded with a venomous grin as she eyed Jenny evilly. "The stupid bucket of bolts still hasn't gotten it through that thick chrome-dome of hers that she isn't wanted! Anywhere!" She snorted crudely. "Guess she really does have to have a building fall on her head! Literally!"
They burst into a fresh round of laughter, now joined by the other members of their 'posse,' along with other students watching and listening from the nearby vicinity, causing Jenny to cringe anew.
Sheldon also cringed, witnessing the painful scene unfolding before him. In spite of his earlier irritation with Jenny, the last thing he wanted was to see her get publicly mocked and ridiculed in front of everyone this way. Out of force of a habit that he still hadn't entirely broken yet, he began to rise to his feet, about to speak up in her defense.
"Now, wait a minute!—" he barely managed to utter before he was again stopped by a small, chubby hand firmly gripping his elbow, fingernails again digging in, this time uncomfortably-close to his funny-bone, causing him to wince.
"Oh, just let her go!" Bernice said loudly, speaking to Sheldon, but glaring at Jenny as she spoke. "She made her kettle of fish a long time ago! Now let her sleep in it!"
"But—" Sheldon said.
"Let her go!" Bernice commanded, firmly yanking him back down to his seat.
Sheldon winced again—those fingernails hurt!—and Bernice released her grip. Immediately, he began rubbing his elbow where she'd grabbed him. For such a small, doughy girl, he suddenly realized, she had a surprisingly strong grip when sufficiently motivated.
He eyed her quizzically. "'Sleep in her kettle of fish?'" he asked.
"Well, you know what I mean," she muttered in reply.
Sheldon looked up at Jenny one last time, still feeling a powerful desire to rush to her aid. On a subconscious, deeply-intuitive level, a part of him still felt as though he belonged at her side, particularly during a time of need.
Just as he was about to move again however, Jenny relaxed her fists, lowered her head and without another word, turned and began shuffling away back to her table. Gales of mocking laughter continued to echo behind her from both the Crust Cousins and from the many onlookers who'd seen and heard the entire exchange. She felt all eyes upon her as she passed through the aisles of tables, trying but failing to ignore the laughter. Her first impulse was to break down into open tears, but just as strongly as she felt the urge, she fought that much harder to resist it.
At last, she reached the table where Brad awaited her, and sat down next to him in a slump, trembling with repressed fury, frustration and deep humiliation. She stared gloomily at the tabletop, and Brad looked on sympathetically, allowing her the time and silence she needed to regain control of her emotions.
He had witnessed the entire exchange from his table, and although he was too far away to hear any of the words spoken, he could see well enough to make a good guess as to what had transpired.
After several moments had passed and Brad estimated that Jenny had settled down sufficiently, he gingerly slid her tray of batteries and lubricants over to her.
"Ouch," he said, striving for a compassionate tone. "That was…brutal…"
Jenny looked up at him as she picked up the can of Cog-Aid from her tray and popped its lid open. "You heard?" she asked.
"Not really," he said. "I only heard just a couple of words. Mostly I just saw…and I could kinda guess the rest…"
Jenny took a long drink of the Cog-Aid, then lowered the can, returning her gaze to the tabletop, clutching the can so tightly that she nearly crushed it. Brad merely observed in silence, taking an occasional bite from his meal, chewing it mechanically and barely noticing its taste—or rather, the lack thereof.
After seeming eons of silence had passed, Jenny finally spoke. "Brother…looks like I really botched that up good, huh?" she softly muttered.
"Well…I suppose maybe it could have been handled better," Brad replied. "Maybe… Maybe not." he shrugged. "I don't know. But at least you tried, right? You made the effort and you tried. At least you did that much." He paused, taking another bite and washing it down with a drink of soda. "As for how it turned out afterward…" he went on. "Well…try not to think about it. There's only one way to deal with a public humiliation like that, and that is to just ignore it completely and pretend it never happened."
She turned and looked at him. "Are you sure?" she asked.
He shrugged with what was intended to be a reassuring smile. "Well, it always worked for me," he admitted. "And anyway, it's bound to work better than the alternative, right?"
She turned her attention back to her can of Cog-Aid, shrugged and took a drink. "Yeah…" she replied sullenly. "I guess…"
Brad continued chewing away at the flavorless, rubbery mass that was his lunch, and after a few more minutes had elapsed, he noticed that Jenny still hadn't touched her batteries or her bottle of Synthoil.
He playfully nudged her arm. "Come on, Jen," he said, in a light tone, trying to cheer her up. "Better eat up; your lunch is getting cold."
But Jenny didn't respond. Instead, she turned and looked at the table in the distant corner, slowly shaking her head.
"I just don't understand," she said. "I don't get it… How could Sheldon possibly choose to sit with her rather than me?"
Brad looked at his robotic friend and smirked. "You know, Jen," he said. "If you keep this up, people are liable to think you're jealous or something."
Jenny's head whipped around to face him. "What?!" she cried. "No! No, I'm not jealous! You think I'm jealous?! Well, I'm not! You're crazy! What makes you say such a stupid, crazy thing?!"
"Well…'cuz you're acting like it, that's why."
"I am not!"
"Yeah…y'are…"
"I'm not!" she said sharply.
"Okay…" Brad replied, conceding the point, not wanting to argue about it.
A brief silence followed for another moment, before Jenny muttered again, very softly, "I'm not, you know!"
"I said, 'Okay.'" Brad replied, matching her soft tone.
Another brief silence followed; then, "I'm not jealous!" Jenny hissed with quiet intensity.
Brad sighed. "Well if you're not, then you're doing just about the best imitation of it I've ever seen!" he said, struggling to remain both patient and supportive at the same time. "And if you're not jealous, then why's it bother you so much? I mean, what difference does it make to you if Sheldon makes a new friend and wants to sit with her? After all, he mostly sits with his gaming-friends these days now anyway, and that doesn't bother you, so…what difference does this make?"
"What difference does it make?! What difference does it make?!" Jenny cried, her voice intensifying and rising in pitch with each repetition.
She glared at him so severely that Brad immediately regretted his choice of words.
"Well, I just mean," he said hastily, trying to backtrack and deflect the focus away from himself. "Well…let's face it, Jen. Sheldon wasn't going to wait around for you forever. Sooner or later, he was bound to meet someone else. Right? Well, now he apparently has, so…what's the harm? I mean, how does it affect you? After all, when he pretended to be dating Pteresa, to try to make you jealous, that didn't bother you. It didn't bother you at all, in fact. As I recall, you acted like you couldn't care less. In fact, you even acted like you were glad to be rid of him!"
Jenny said nothing, but her glare intensified, and she emitted a low-pitched, rumbling noise, like the sound of large metal gears harshly grinding against each other.
"So…" Brad went on, ignoring the chilling sound. "Now that he seems to have met somebody new and made friends with her, then…again, I don't see what the big deal is. I mean, it's not as if he's taking anything away from you or that you're missing out on anything."
The metallic grinding noise ceased, and Jenny sighed. "I just think that…that…" she stammered a reply, as though groping for just the right words. "That girl…is totally wrong for Sheldon."
"Well…that's not really your call…is it?" Brad replied gently.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Just that… Well, I mean that's really Sheldon's decision, isn't it? It's not yours."
She stared blankly at him, as though he were suddenly speaking in a strange alien language she couldn't understand.
She shook her head. "No… No…" she said, dismissing the thought. "I don't accept that. I can't accept it. I just can't accept that Sheldon could possibly prefer her," with that, Jenny gestured furiously toward the corner table with her hand. "Over me!"
Brad rolled his eyes and sighed loudly in exasperation. "Oh, for the love of—"
"I mean, look at her! Just look at her!" Jenny exclaimed, now gesturing toward the corner with both hands. "Now look at me! Now look at her…now look at me! I mean, come on now! This is Sheldon we're talking about! Sheldon, remember? How can you possibly believe that Sheldon could possibly prefer a girl like…like that…" Jenny gave another dismissive wave of her hand. "…over me! I mean, everybody knows Sheldon really likes me! Everybody knows it! That's how it's supposed to be!"
"Well—"
"I mean, come on now!" Jenny went on, her volume increasing along with her exasperation. "What could that…" another disgusted wave of her hand. "Possibly have that would appeal to Sheldon? I mean, be serious, will ya?"
"Well…" Against his better judgment, Brad tried again. "Maybe…maybe that girl has some hidden qualities that Sheldon finds appealing; something that's not apparent to the naked eye and has nothing to do with outward appearances."
"Like what?" Jenny challenged, her arms folded and her glare intensifying.
Almost immediately, Brad regretted suggesting the possibility.
"Go on, tell me," Jenny renewed her challenge. "What qualities could that girl possibly have that I don't?"
"Well…I—I don't know," Brad struggled to think; it was awkward for him to be placed on the spot this way. "Like maybe…oh, I don't know, maybe she's just a plain, simple, sweet girl with a nice personality. You know; gentle and kind."
Jenny's eyes narrowed suspiciously. Is that Melody you're talking about? She wondered with a lingering trace of bitterness. 'Cuz that sure as heck doesn't describe this girl!
"Or maybe he finds her interesting to talk to," Brad continued, ignoring Jenny's dirty looks. "Or maybe she's real smart, like he is. You know; a real Brainiac or something. Or maybe she likes some of the same geeky stuff that he does. Or something, I don't know what. But whatever it is, he obviously seems to like it."
Jenny glowered at him. "Believe it or not," she said in a low, rumbling tone. "That's not helping."
"Well, do you want an honest answer, or do you only want to hear what you want to hear?"
"Ohhhhhhh, you just don't understand!" she grumbled, turning away from him.
He sighed. "Well look at it this way, Jen," he said, deciding to try a different approach. "Maybe it's better this way. For everybody. For you, for Sheldon, for everybody. If he met somebody he likes and feels comfortable with, then…maybe he won't be constantly hanging around you all the time, always getting underfoot and getting in your way and everything."
The low-pitched grinding noise from Jenny resumed, only now growing even more ominous in tone…
"Maybe Sheldon and this girl will be happy together," Brad went on, still oblivious to the sound. "Like I said, maybe they have a lot of things in common, and have a lot to talk about. Maybe they kinda just…'click' together. You know what I mean? Kinda like you and me!"
He offered her a reassuring, encouraging smile, as he hoped she would view the situation from a fresh perspective, and take comfort from it.
She regarded him in cold, frowning silence and said nothing. However, it was clear that she was at least considering his point of view, carefully weighing it in her mind.
But then she shook her head again, even more furiously than before, dismissing the idea once and for all. "No…no…no…" she said. "I still can't accept that. I just can't accept that a girl like that" she flashed a fresh, resentful glance across the room. "Could possibly have anything to offer that Sheldon could possibly like! So…no, no, no, there is definitely something wrong here! Something is seriously wrong with this picture! Something that—and don't roll your eyes at me like that!"
"Well Jen, will you listen to yourself?" Brad cried, his patience finally reaching the breaking point. "Will you listen to what you're saying? Do you realize how ridiculous you sound?"
"I'm not being ridiculous!" she grumbled as she turned away, picking up her can of Cog-Aid and began slurping furiously at it.
Brad stared at his robotic friend. This behavior was so unlike her that he found himself quite baffled by it, utterly unable to explain it. He had rarely seen her act like this before over anyone, and certainly never in quite this fashion or to this degree.
"Jenny, I don't know what's gotten into you these days," he said. "A few weeks ago, you couldn't care less about Sheldon. Then suddenly you're both angry at each other. Then a few days later, you made up and are friends again—supposedly, anyway. And now, because he apparently made a new friend and wants to sit with her today, you suddenly come all unglued about it, and act like it's the end of the world! I mean, what's with you? I haven't seen you get like this since that time when Melody and I—"
"Ohhh, I don't want to talk about that!" Jenny snapped, cutting him off. "That was totally different from this! I told you before, I only acted like that because I thought Melody was a threat! A threat to you, and a threat to the whole town! This is totally different from that!"
Brad again fell silent, utterly perplexed at Jenny's behavior. It seemed utterly inconceivable to him that she should be acting this way over Sheldon of all people. He remembered her claims that she 'felt differently' about him now than she had in the past, but even so…it was extremely difficult for Brad to comprehend.
Unless… A chilling new possibility occurred to him, causing him to shudder. Unless there's something really sleazy going on here…!
Jenny noticed his sudden change in demeanor and his equally-sudden pallor. "Now what's with you?" she asked. "You look like Mr. Bustoff hit you with a trigonometry test that you thought was supposed to be for next week!"
"Well, um…Jenny…" he began hesitantly. "There's…there's something I need to ask you. I really don't want to ask it, 'cuz it's a kind of a touchy subject, but…well, as your best friend, I just gotta ask it. So don't get mad at me, okay? Okay? Promise me you won't tear my head off."
"Oh, cripes!" Jenny exclaimed, folding her arms and facing the ceiling in annoyance. "Okay, fine!" She turned to face him. "What is it?"
"Well…do you remember that time when that Todd Sweeney kid abducted you and took control of your mind and reprogrammed you and everything? And you—"
Even before Brad finished asking the question, Jenny faced the ceiling again, rolling her eyes and releasing a loud, exasperated sigh. "Cripes, this again!" she exclaimed. "Crikey, I'm never going to hear the end of that, am I?" She turned to face him again with maximum irritation. "Okay, fine! So what about it? What more do you wanna know about it? And how many times do I have to explain that to everybody?! That wasn't a particularly fond memory for me, you know! I don't really like to be constantly reminded of it over and over again! So for the fifty-billionth time, I wasn't responsible for anything I did during that whole thing, okay? Cripes, I don't even remember anything I did! So anything I did do, I'm—"
"Wait, wait, wait," Brad said, waving his hands, as if in surrender. "I'm not talking about what you did or anything like that. Just hear me out, okay? What I'm saying is this: Do you also remember the time when Sheldon stole your plans?"
Jenny winced; clearly, it was another memory she didn't particularly want to be reminded of. Nor did she like the direction the conversation seemed to be taking. She stared coldly at him and asked, "Yeah, so? Where are you going with this? What are you trying to say?"
Brad hesitated; he was reluctant to get to his point, but…well, there was no way to avoid it, either. He'd gone this far and he couldn't back out now. "Well, you remember he did that because he wanted to see if maybe there was a way he could…" he hesitated again, embarrassed to speak the words aloud, as they felt so decidedly weird. "You know…reprogram you to…" He swallowed. "Well…to like him…? And I'm just wondering… And don't get mad at me!" he hastily added. "But I'm just wondering…is it possible that maybe Sheldon…did something like what that Sweeney kid did...?" He made an oblique series of gestures with his hands, indicating all of Jenny from head to toe. "You know…somehow took control of your mind and re-programmed you to act like this…?"
It took a moment for Jenny to grasp the full meaning of Brad's question, and when she did, her mouth dropped opened, absolutely appalled. "So let me get this straight," she said. "You think that Sheldon somehow kidnapped me or something? And then reprogrammed me to act jealous of him or something? Is that it? Is that what you're trying to say?" She spoke quietly, in a low, menacing tone that seemed to resonate through the cafeteria like rolling thunder, and giving him a look that made him cringe.
"Well…yeah," he said meekly. "Something like that, anyways."
"You really believe that?" she asked. "You really believe that Sheldon would ever, ever do such a sleazy, slimy, underhanded thing?! To me?! To me?!" She slapped her hand against her steel chest with each repetition for emphasis.
"He wanted to do something like that once before!" Brad pointed out. "Remember?"
"He did not!" Jenny cried. "He never tried to kidnap me!"
"No, but he did sneak into your house that time! And he stole your plans right from under your mom's nose, so—"
"Yeah, and I wasn't happy about it, either!" Jenny interrupted. "And we had a…" she hesitated, then continued, rephrasing her thought more euphemistically. "A talk about it afterward, and he said he was sorry, and I forgave him, and that's the end of it! End of story!"
"But—"
"That's it!" she snapped. "End of story! Besides, do you really think I'd be stupid enough to be abducted and taken advantage of like that again? For a second time?! By anyone? Do you really think I could be that stupid and careless?!"
"Well, no, no!" he replied defensively. "Not exactly, anyway. I'm…I'm just asking, that's all. I'm just asking…if it's possible."
"Well, no!" she snapped. "It's not possible! And frankly, I think you ought to be ashamed of yourself for even suspecting such a thing! Such a terrible thing!—of somebody so sweet…so kind… so caring and compassionate…as Sheldon…" As she spoke the words, her tone and expression softened and her gaze slowly drifted back to the direction of the corner table.
Brad stared at his robotic friend in utter perplexity. He literally couldn't believe his ears. Was this Jenny…describing Sheldon in such terms? It couldn't be!
Somebody pinch me! He thought. I'm having one of those crazy dreams, where everything's all upside-down and distorted, like in a funhouse mirror! Jenny…acting like she's all lovesick and jealous…over Sheldon?! Sheldon of all people?! What the heck is happening here? What world am I living in? Nothing makes sense anymore!
"I can't believe I'm hearing this," he muttered softly, shaking his head. "Man, if I wasn't here to see and hear this whole scene play out right in front of me, I'd never believe it in a million years!"
"Well, I don't care what you think!" Jenny replied petulantly. "And despite what you think, I'm not jealous! And even if I were, it certainly wouldn't be over somebody like…like that!" Another dismissive gesture with her hand toward the corner-table. "I mean, do you seriously believe I could possibly feel threatened by that lumpy, myopic, roly-poly creature? Please!"
She turned back to glare at the corner-table with its two occupants, scowling at it fiercely as she finished the remains of her lunch in ominous silence, munching angrily on the batteries, and guzzling down the cans of Cog-Aid and Synthoil in record time. Brad merely observed her, also in silence, his concerns growing by the minute.
"Well…" she said, finishing off the last of the Synthoil and setting the can on the table with a bit more force than necessary. "I think I'll just go back over there and have a little talk with that girl!" she wiped her mouth with a paper napkin, and threw it down furiously. "And get a few things straightened out with her." She began to rise to her feet, but Brad reached out a hand to her.
"Um…I…I wouldn't do that if I were you…" he said, with a shake of his head.
"Why not?" she turned to face him.
"I just…I wouldn't…" he repeated. "I really don't think it would be a good idea."
"Yeah, but why not?" she repeated, with a bit more of a challenging tone.
"Well, 'cuz…" He paused. "Well, I mean, you just had an ugly scene with the both of them a few minutes ago and it obviously didn't go well, right? So…maybe you ought to just…you know…cut your losses and quit while you're ahead. You know what I mean?"
She stared intently at him for a long time, as though she couldn't quite grasp his meaning.
Eventually however, her expression softened and she sat back down again. "Yeah…yeah, maybe you're right," she said.
Finally! Brad thought, relieved. She's finally come to her senses! Maybe now she'll listen to reason!
"This isn't the time or place to have it out with her," Jenny went on. "Instead, I'll talk to her later, after lunch. Maybe out in the hallway or something, when Sheldon's not around. After all, there's no reason to drag him into the middle of this! He's liable to get hurt, and I don't want that. So…no, this is just between me…and her…! Alone!" Her features hardened menacingly and slowly, her hands formed into tightly-clenched fists
Oh, no! Brad though thought. He'd seen this look come over Jenny before and immediately, he knew what she was thinking. "Um…that's not what I meant!" he said quickly. "I meant you oughta just walk away from this whole thing entirely, and just leave it alone. Just stay out of it. Completely!"
"But—"
"Jen…trust me on this. If you try to tangle with her again..." He shuddered, recalling Jenny's encounter with Melody some weeks earlier. "Then…it's liable to boomerang on you and turn out really ugly… Maybe even worse than what happened just now."
"But I thought you were on my side!" Jenny cried, aghast and feeling instantly betrayed.
"Jenny, I am on your side! I'm always on your side! You know that! Heck, I even offered to talk to Sheldon on your behalf several days ago, and let him know how you feel, and you shot me down! Remember? I'm still willing to talk to him for you if you want, but—"
"No!" she snapped. "Absolutely not! Do you understand?"
Brad sighed. "Okay, fine! Whatever!" he exclaimed. "But the point is, I am your friend, and I am on your side!"
"Well then how can you tell me to walk away from…from that?" she made a wide, furious, sweeping motion toward the corner-table.
Brad sighed. "Because if you really want my honest opinion, I think that's the best thing to do; the only thing to do, in fact. Because the more you interfere with Sheldon and his new friend, the more likely it is to backfire on you and only end up making you look bad as a result."
Jenny stared at him, wounded, as though he'd struck her across the face, her lower lip quivering.
He couldn't bear the look. "Look Jen," he added gently. "Sheldon's obviously made his choice. And he seems happy with his new friend. So why mess it up for him? And besides, it's really none of our business anyway. So why not just leave them alone and stay out of it?"
She lowered her gaze to the tabletop, silently frowning at it for several long moments as she mulled over his words. Finally, very quietly and still without facing him, she said, "That goes both ways, you know."
"What does?"
"Staying out of it," she said. "Maybe this is one thing that you need to stay out of and leave alone. And let me handle it my way."
Now it was Brad's turn to react as though he'd been wounded. He bristled immediately at the quiet but sharp rebuff and his jaw tightened. After a moment, he replied, very softly, "All right, Jen. All right." He raised his hands, as if in surrender. "If that's the way you want it…then…I'll stay out of it."
And there they remained in absolute silence for the next several minutes, save for the occasional sounds of Brad trying to gag down the remainder of his unpalatable lunch, punctuated by the sound of Jenny's steel fingertips drumming anxiously on the table surface. Her eyes, now contracted to tiny, angry, glowing red pinpoints, remained riveted upon the table in the distant corner.
As the minutes ticked agonizingly by, Brad intuitively sensed that he still hadn't heard the last of it. An inevitable question formed in his mind, and although he'd have given anything to avoid it, he nevertheless couldn't help but ask, "You're not gonna let this go…are you?"
Jenny turned to face him with a frown. "No. No, I'm not," she said firmly. "And nothing you say is gonna change my mind, either!"
Brad sighed. I give up! He thought. He'd been through this sort of thing with Jenny before, so he had a pretty fair idea of what to expect. Nevertheless, he still felt compelled to ask the equally-inevitable follow-up question, "So what're you gonna do, Jen?"
She replied, matter-of-factly, "Just like I said. I'm gonna have it out with that…that girl after lunch, and get a few things straightened out with her." She glanced up at the clock; only a few minutes remained before the bell was due to ring.
"You're not gonna…"
"No, I'm not gonna!" she replied, shooting him a dirty look. "I'm just gonna talk to her, that's all! Just talk. And let her know that if she thinks she's got any kind of a chance at all with Sheldon, if she thinks she's gonna just move right in and push me aside, then she's got another think coming!"
Brad shuddered. Ooooo, I've got a bad feeling about this…! he thought. Instantly, his mind reeled at the seemingly-infinite number of possibilities of likely outcomes, all equally ugly and unpleasant. He only hoped that whatever ultimately resulted, it wouldn't prove to be too disastrous for everyone concerned.
He struggled to gag down the last remaining morsels from his plate, his hand trembling so badly that he nearly dropped his fork into the congealed mass of ersatz gravy…
From the table in the isolated corner, Sheldon continued to gaze sadly in Jenny's direction for countless minutes, as he absentmindedly nibbled at the fruit-cup before him. Although he had no choice but to turn down her lunch invitation, he still felt guilty about it, and he felt terrible about the aftermath which followed. Although he no longer had romantic feelings for her, and despite his earlier irritation and impatience with her, he'd have done anything to spare her the public humiliation she'd just endured. He knew only too well what that experience felt like, as he'd gone through it enough times himself in his life. Just thinking about how she must have felt to be laughed at by everyone that way made him feel sick inside, causing him a sharp pain in roughly the spot where he had once taken a punch to the solar plexus by a bully when he was younger. He'd pretty much lost his appetite, and it was only with the greatest difficulty and effort that was he able to finish his lunch at all.
Bernice meanwhile, continued to stare virtual daggers at Jenny (not an easy task when one is gazing through very-thick corrective lenses at a target located across a very-large room.) Not generally one to be spiteful or hold ill will toward anyone, Bernice nevertheless found herself consumed by an intense, growing resentment of Jenny, bordering on outright loathing. Boy, she's got her nerve! Bernice thought, quietly fuming. Just who the heck does she think she is, anyway? She thinks she can just walk right up and drag the guy off whenever she pleases? And after walking all over him for years, treating him like dirt all this time? She really expects him to still be there waiting for her whenever she wants him? Unbelievable!
But with Jenny now safely seated across the room and well out of reach, not likely to cause them any further disturbance, Bernice eventually turned her attention back to Sheldon. Immediately, she noticed that his attention still seemed to be uncomfortably distracted.
"So, um…" she said, trying to shift his attention back to his more-immediate surroundings. "This…this is The Demetrios Vortex, huh?"
"Hmmm?" Sheldon mumbled absentmindedly as he turned dazedly back to face her. He'd completely forgotten about the book in fact. "Oh…yeah… Yeah, this is it. It's…a really interesting story…" he spoke in a dull, flat near-monotone, with none of the usual enthusiasm that he would normally display when discussing a favorite topic of his.
She picked up the book again and held it before her. "Andrei Kobelkov…" she read aloud, then examined the back cover. "Hmm… Never heard of him, to be honest."
"Yeah, well…he's…he's got a really interesting style, and like I said before, this one's a pretty interesting story, with a lot of really neat ideas and concepts. It's really unique and pretty challenging," he struggled to muster his usual level of excitement for a subject he normally couldn't be kept quiet on. "It really keeps you guessing right up to the last few pages."
"Mmm… One thousand, eight hundred and seventy-two pages…" she intoned flatly as she fanned the pages once more before setting the book back down. "Well…if I don't get around to reading it," she concluded with a light, playful smile. "I can always use it as a doorstop!"
Sheldon responded with a very-forced smile, as though more out of politeness than anything else, and replied, "Well, I hope you can find a better use for it than that."
End Chapter 10