HYAAH!

Sheldon shouted as he came out of his apartment with a waffle maker raised over his head, the cord attached to it swinging wildly. He had been about to make waffles for himself when he heard sounds coming from Penny's apartment. It was barely after 6 in the morning, so he paused and listened to the muffled clatter. When he heard the sounds of the door opening, he made up his mind. A burglar had gotten into the apartment and was running off with Penny's hard-earned money. He wouldn't let that thief escape! Grabbing the waffle maker, he had rushed out, ready to save Penny's possessions.

Only, there was no thief in sight. Penny stood there, startled. Her eyes took in the raised waffle maker and the swinging cord.

"What are you doing?"

He asked her accusingly.

"What am I – you're the one holding a waffle maker above his head!"

"I thought you were a burglar."

Sheldon said, leaving out all the details that would have helped Penny make sense of the statement.

Penny sighed and rubbed her eyes.

"It's way too early to be Sheldon-o-clock. I'm headed to the farmer's market. I suggest you go back to whatever weird things you do with that waffle maker"

"Hey! You should be thanking me for trying to save you from a burglar!"

He grumbled.

"I thought I was the burglar?"

"You – Oh nevermind!"

Penny giggled happily as she started to leave.

"Bye, Sheldon."

Penny sang loudly as she moved around her little kitchen. She knew it was off-key, but she loved singing. It was one of the best ways to express joy. And why wouldn't she be happy! The farmers market had been wonderful; a loud and joyful place. On an impulse, she had bought a bunch of chrysanthemums and arranged them artlessly on the small coffee table. She was keeping it simple; pizzas and garlic bread. Leonard was bringing some lactose free ice cream, and she hoped it tasted normal. And came in butterscotch flavor.

Penny sighed to herself, fiddling with one of the chrysanthemums. Lunch had started out great, but then Leonard had mentioned one of their colleagues and the discussion spiraled to coworkers and whatnot. Even Natasha could exchange banter about her own colleagues. What could Penny say? Some tired old story about misplacing an order? She felt out of place, like a teenager who insists on being seated at the adults table and spends the entire evening trying to make sense of what they're saying. She had long since accepted that the guys were much smarter than her, but now even their office stories felt sophisticated and grown up. Like they all had real jobs, and she was only playing pretend.

Natasha had noticed Penny's forlorn face. She knew her roommate was struggling to figure out her place in the world. But such struggles can't be solved magically just because you start waking up early. Penny, with all her good intentions and efforts, lacked direction. Natasha wondered whether it was her place to say anything. But later, after the guys had left and she and Penny were clearing up, she felt she had to speak up. The air was thick with Penny's grim mood and Natasha couldn't stand it anymore.

"Penny, have you considered going to college?"

Penny was startled at the direct question.

"Uh – yeah, I mean…I have…what's it to you? You think I'm not smart enough to hang out with all of you?"

She asked defensively.

Natasha gently touched her arm.

"That's what you think, isn't it?"

Penny bit her lip. Natasha continued.

"Penny, the guys are some of the smartest people we know. They're future Nobel winners. But their intelligence is not the norm. It doesn't mean you're dumb. It simply means you're average, just like most of the world. "

"I feel like shit when I don't understand what they're saying. Like the dumb blonde stereotype isn't just a stereotype."

"Most people don't have a clue as to what they're talking about. And why should we? Their profession consists of complex equations and theories. No reason for us to know about it."

Penny considered her words. It was true. What some scientist did in his lab had nothing to do with Penny's life.

"Penny, I know you think compared to these guys, you're dumb. But that doesn't mean you can't be good at anything."

"Yeah, you're right. I just don't know what I'm good at."

"Why don't you look through some courses? See what appeals to you, what comes naturally to you?"

"But I can never be as academic as them."

"There is no shame in not being as intelligent as someone else. The point is to do what we can, without comparing it to others."

Penny smiled at her.

"You give good pep talks."

"So, you're going to look at courses, right?"

"Oh god you're like a dog with a bone! Yes, I will look at them, as soon as we're done clearing up here!"

Thank you for reading!