A First Time For Everything
A MLAATR-Inspired Fanfic
By Shvique
Chapter 2—Initial Overtures
And…once again, the weekend was over all too soon, so far as the students of Tremorton High were concerned, and it was back to the same old grind of daily school life, with all the stresses, hassles, and countless hours of palpable boredom that went with it. In addition to which, there was also now a growing anxiety, fear and tension over the inevitable approach of Final Exams as well. Monday morning was therefore greeted by all with the excitement and enthusiasm of a visit to a dentist's office for a long-delayed wisdom-tooth extraction.
The only thing that made the school-week bearable—even enjoyable—for Jenny was, of course, the extra time it allowed her to spend with her friends, particularly on the walk to school in the morning, and the walk back home at the end of the day. Though it was by now a routine for her which rarely varied by a hair, Jenny nevertheless enjoyed these walks, particularly the conversations that went along with them. Jenny, Brad and Tuck would always set off in the mornings together, making a slight detour along the way to drop Tuck off at elementary school, before Jenny and Brad would then proceed to Tremorton High. They usually set a leisurely pace, never in any particular hurry, and usually engaged in conversation about one subject or another of great interest to them both.
They spoke of many things: mundane subjects, such as which classes and teachers they found more annoying and tiresome than others; the dreaded late-night cramming sessions they knew they'd have to endure once Final Exams drew near; and above all, how many more tedious weeks of school remained before the welcome Summer Vacation would officially begin.
Tuck mostly tuned out during these conversations, and his mind and attention tended to drift and focus elsewhere, enjoying small private games of his own imagination, such as walking an imaginary tightrope along a crack in a sidewalk, or performing an imaginary skydiving-stunt from the top of a fire hydrant. Now that he seemed at last to have outgrown the weird phobias to which he'd often fallen prey when he was younger, his games of make-believe had become much more imaginative and adventurous in nature. Brad assumed it was simply a part of the growing-up process, but he also wondered if perhaps some of it might be due to the positive influence that Jenny had upon their lives. Perhaps Jenny's demonstrated courage and bravery, even when facing seemingly impossible odds as she often did, had encouraged Tuck to face and overcome his own fears and phobias as well. It was a definite possibility. But either way, Brad figured, it was a good, healthy development in Tuck that had certainly made him much easier to live with, and—more importantly—to play with and have fun with.
And of course, Jenny and Brad also spoke of other, more pleasant and interesting subjects as well, such as who was currently dating whom, who had broken up with whom, and who was likely to be asked to the Junior Prom by whom, what plans they each had for the Summer once it finally arrived, and above all, how they each planned to keep their sanity intact during the remaining weeks of school. Not surprisingly, the discussions about the upcoming Summer Vacation tended to grab Tuck's attention, and he expressed the greatest interest and enthusiasm in them, contributing many ideas and suggestions of his own. Few of his ideas were, of course, very practical in nature, and Brad and Jenny had to patiently explain to him that a weekend campout on one of the moons of Jupiter was probably not likely to happen, however much he might want it.
Yet, in the midst of all of these conversations, just as had been the case over the weekend, Jenny seemed distracted, continually glancing to her left and right and even occasionally behind her, over her shoulder.
And just as he had over the weekend, Brad noticed it, and as before, he was reluctant at first to say anything about it. But in light of the events of the previous weeks, he couldn't escape the feeling that something was going on, and after a while, he finally felt the need to speak up.
"Okay, Jen, come on," he said. "'Fess up. What is up with you? Who—or what—do you keep looking for? And don't tell me it's 'nothing,' because I won't believe you."
Jenny's head whipped around, momentarily startled, as though a closely-guarded secret of hers had been discovered. She shook her head, and a curious look came into her eyes. "I'm not looking for—for anything." She hoped her mid-sentence correction wouldn't be noticed. "I'm just…" she struggled to think of a plausible answer; fortunately, her conversation with her creator the day before came to her mind. "I'm just…being alert. See, my mom told me she thinks that Tremorton might get hit with a major crisis or catastrophe of some kind in the next few days, and that I need to be on Yellow Alert for it."
"Oh. Is that all," Brad replied casually, almost nonchalantly, as though it were the most ordinary, commonplace announcement he'd ever heard. Major catastrophes—and Jenny rushing off to deal with them at a moment's notice—were so commonplace in Tremorton, that Brad—like most residents of the small town—had become almost used to them by now.
"Did she say what kind of catastrophe it's gonna be?" he asked.
"No," Jenny shook her head. "All she said was that, whatever it is, it's liable to be a real doozy, of such an unusual, even unpredictable nature, that I need to be ready to deal with anything at any time." She smiled. "So I'm just…keeping all my sensors tuned to maximum sensitivity, that's all."
"Oh. Okay," he nodded, accepting her answer. "Well…whatever it turns out to be, I hope it doesn't end up being too much of a hassle for you." He grinned, fully confident in Jenny's ability to handle any crisis.
Shortly thereafter, the pair arrived at their school, stepping through the front doors and down the hallways, through the milling crowd of students as they proceeded to their lockers. They turned one corner, and then another, when suddenly, there in the distance, Jenny spotted a familiar, diminutive figure in a maroon hoodie, standing at the open locker beside her own, as he rummaged around inside, pulling out an occasional book now and then, placing it under his arm with some others.
It was Sheldon.
Immediately, Jenny's face brightened and she broke into a huge smile, her overall spirits and body-language perking right up.
"Um…Brad?" she said, turning to face her friend. "I'll catch up with you a little later, okay?"
"Um—yeah, sure, Jen." He said, mildly surprised by her abrupt change in mood. "I need to get moving anyway. If I'm late for Mr. Flagenspahn's stupid English Comp class one more time, he's gonna hand me my head on a platter." He turned down a side hallway with a wave and a smile. "Well, see you later."
"See you," Jenny returned his wave, then turned and continued down the main hall, quickening her pace to her locker. In moments, she stood beside Sheldon.
"Hi, Sheldon!" she said, greeting her smaller friend with a bright, cheerful smile as she opened her locker and placed her backpack inside, then began rummaging through its contents, pulling out textbooks, notebooks and other items.
Sheldon turned suddenly to face her, startled, then immediately relaxed. "Oh! Um…hi…Jenny…" He spoke quietly and pleasantly, but with little enthusiasm. His overall demeanor was also pleasant, but surprisingly subdued and reserved, in marked contrast to what it had once been in former times, when he'd fairly gushed with overflowing admiration for her whenever she came near.
"I looked for you at the park on Saturday and Sunday, but you never showed," she said, her smile diminishing slightly into a faux pout. "I was hoping you might like to…you know, join us, and play some games with us, but you never showed up."
Sheldon pulled a book out of his locker, placed it under his arm along with the others, but said nothing, and never made eye-contact with her.
She continued. "I looked for you at Mezmer's too, but you never showed up there, either."
Sheldon turned and regarded her quizzically. What the heck's she talking about? he wondered. The park? Mezmer's? Then, after a moment's thought, he remembered: It was something she'd mentioned, almost in passing, just at the end of their long, emotionally-draining talk on Friday night.
"Oh…oh…yeah…right…that…" he said, as he struggled to recall the details of the conversation. "Sorry I couldn't make it, but…" He paused and shrugged. "Well…something came up, and I…just couldn't make it."
The faux-pout of Jenny's face increased slightly, approaching a genuine one, as she studied him in silence. Should I say anything about how his mom spoke to me yesterday? She wondered. I should…! After all, she was pretty rude to me! But…no, no, I better not… The last thing I want to do is to stir up any trouble between him and his mom. I already caused enough grief in his life as it is!
Instead, she merely said, quietly, "I waited for you for a whole hour."
He looked at her again, now even more puzzled. Huh? he wondered. Why would she care whether I showed up or not?
"Oh… Well…I'm sorry, Jenny," he said, turning back to face his locker. "But…like I said, something came up, and I just couldn't make it, that's all." He closed the locker-door, and started to turn to walk away, when Jenny spoke again.
"Nothing serious, I hope." she said, then lowered her voice to a quiet, confidential tone. "Was it… I mean, did it…have to do with…you know…what happened that day out at that compound? Or some of the other stuff we…you know…talked about…? On Friday night…?"
"No, no, it had nothing to do with…that." He shook his head, still not looking at her.
"Are you sure?"
Something in her tone of voice caught his attention, and slowly, he turned to face her again. He studied her face closely, but he couldn't quite read her emotion. It was strange, he couldn't exactly tell for sure, but…she almost seemed to be genuinely concerned about him. He'd never seen that in her before; most of the time, in fact, she acted as though she couldn't care less about him or what happened to him.
It was perhaps her sudden, unexpected interest in him that compelled Sheldon to speak openly, frankly and honestly to her. "Well…to tell you the truth, Jenny…" he said quietly. "I've been grounded."
Jenny's eyebrows shot up and her pupils contracted to tiny pinpoints. "You've been grounded?" she exclaimed. She couldn't believe her own audio-sensors. "You?! I don't believe it!"
"Yeah," he replied, nodding. "For two weeks."
"What the heck for?" she frowned, still having difficulty imagining such a thing.
"Well, 'cuz I…" he swallowed, nervously. "I—I cut school on Friday afternoon…and when my mom found out about it, she got really steamed." His tone was heavy with shame and contrition, as though he'd just confessed to an especially loathsome and egregious crime.
"Oh…" was Jenny feeble response, her gaze lowered. "Yeah…that's right…you were missing from school for part of that day. I…forgot about that…"
An awkward silence followed for a moment, as Sheldon glanced nervously about, as though to avoid looking at her.
"I'm responsible, aren't I?" she said quietly.
His jaw tightened. "No, no, this isn't—" he said.
"Yes, I am. It's all my fault." she continued, the pitch, timbre and cadence of her voice all increasing with her every word. "'Cuz I hurt you and scared you, and I chased you around all over the place, 'til I finally scared you out of school completely! It's all because of me that you—"
"Jenny, this has nothing to do with you, okay?" Sheldon interrupted, raising his voice. "It was my decision to cut school. I broke the rules, and—and so now I have to deal with the consequences. That's all there is to it." He gave a weak, feeble shrug. "See? Simple, really. So…no, it's not your fault."
Jenny merely stared at him, dismayed. Clearly, she didn't accept his explanation in the slightest.
"Well…if you say so," she said. "But…I still feel responsible. And I am sorry about you being grounded."
He shrugged and sighed. "Well…I…I appreciate that…" He paused. "But…it doesn't matter. I'm still grounded, either way." He glanced at his watch before Jenny could respond, and went on, "Anyhow…I gotta get to class." With that, he abruptly turned from her and with a final, halfhearted wave of his hand, he hurried off down the hall. "See you," he said, over his shoulder.
"Yeah…see you…" Jenny replied quietly. She felt strangely…let down inside. Not only because she felt sorry for Sheldon, and felt responsible for his being grounded, but also because she wanted to spend at least a little more time with him, to talk with him a bit more, to do more than exchange a few simple, empty words.
Well… she thought. It's still early in the day... Maybe we'll have more time to talk later on, in between classes, or at lunchtime, or just before one of our afternoon classes or…something…
She closed her locker, turned and headed off to her first morning class.
The truth was, Sheldon really didn't mind being grounded. Oh, it was painful for him to be reprimanded or disciplined for any reason; though he never would have admitted it to anyone, he took a certain amount of pride in being generally regarded as 'a well-behaved kid.' And it pained him to be the cause of such an unpleasant scene between himself and his mother. It had been a long time since he'd seen her so angry. In fact, she was downright livid when she'd found out he'd cut school. She was so angry that, in hindsight, he realized he was probably lucky to have gotten off relatively lightly, with only a two-week grounding, and nothing more.
But other than that, he really didn't mind the punishment too much, having to come directly home from school, with no detours or stops along the way, and then having to hang around the house over the weekends, as though he were under house-arrest. He didn't really have much of a social-life anyway, and so he wasn't really missing out on very much. True, he did miss spending time with his fellow gaming enthusiasts down at Legendary Warriors—they were just about his only real peer-group, after all.
And, of course, there was also the issue of his workshop-privileges being suspended. That was the only part of being grounded that really irked Sheldon. Because among other things, it also meant that his plan to begin dismantling Silver Shell had to be placed on-hold for the time being.
But being grounded did have some advantages too, the primary one being that it allowed him plenty of time to think, to fully assess and prioritize many things in his life, to examine and analyze his values, and decide which things were really the most important to him and why, and which of the life-paths before him he would likely ultimately choose when the time came.
And, of course, with the passage of time, the anger, bitterness and anxiety he'd felt over his experience with Jenny also began to recede, and in their absence, he gradually returned to his former good-natured spirits and upbeat disposition. He even began to feel the old stirrings of hopeful enthusiasm and even optimism, neither of which he'd felt in quite some time. The only difference now, of course, was that he reserved his enthusiasm for subjects other than Jenny Wakeman…
And, of course, he continued to formulate plans for approaching his mother about the subject of transferring to another school. So far, he hadn't even mentioned it yet. His mother had been so upset over his cutting school on Friday night, that he'd had to put off the subject for the time being. He knew that, given the mood she was in, any discussion of changing schools was out of the question. He therefore decided that the safest course of action would be to simply wait for a few days, and give her a chance to cool off; then he'd maybe take a chance on raising the subject with her. And, with continued good behavior and good grades on his part, then perhaps she just might be a bit more receptive and amenable to the idea.
So he would wait. And while he waited, he would continue to make plans, not only for transferring to another school, but also for the types of courses he might like to study there. He pondered what kind of curriculum that a more technically-oriented school might have to offer, what sorts of challenging subjects might be available, that he might interest him. Mastering such challenging material at such a prestigious technical school would no doubt stand as a noteworthy achievement in his academic record, one that could help propel him to even greater and more rewarding scholastic achievements in the future, a prospect which warmed his heart. He smiled at the prospect, imagining himself as one of the youngest recipients of a Doctorate of Science in history…
And, of course, his thoughts also drifted to other, non-academic subjects as well. Naturally, even inevitably, being the otherwise normal, healthy, 17-year-old male that he was, it wasn't long before his thoughts turned to the subject of girls…
The one thing which he had firmly decided in this regard was, of course, that he would no longer spend any more time trying to pursue Jenny. That had led to nothing but disaster for him, proving to be not only a futile waste of time, but also a definite threat to his physical safety as well. Even though she eventually apologized for her actions, Sheldon found it didn't really matter that much to him anymore, possibly because the apology was so late in coming. Perhaps she was truly sorry; perhaps not. It didn't matter. Because either way, Sheldon knew that he could never entirely trust Jenny again. She may not be a 'bad' girl per se—or even a 'bad robot'—but she was dangerous, of that Sheldon had no doubt, and he could never risk allowing her the opportunity to hurt him again.
And so he wouldn't; it was that simple.
He made the decision in the cold light of reason, without any lingering bitterness or rancor. He simply acknowledged the reality of the situation for what it was, decided accordingly…and had moved on.
Well… he thought, now that it's all over as far as Jenny is concerned, maybe…maybe I should start thinking about other girls… Maybe one of them might be willing to go on a date with me…
He struggled to think. The girls who expressed any level of interest or even civility toward him were darned few and far between, he knew; still, if he really put some serious thought to it, he felt he might be able to come up with at least a couple of possible candidates…
Let's see… he thought. Who else is there…? Maybe Bernice…? She's a nice girl… She was kind to me once before, a few weeks ago, when Jenny was absent for awhile, doing that whole home-schooling thing… And I was all depressed about it and everything…Bernice was the only one who showed me any kindness when I really needed it… And then what did I do? I turned right around and dumped her when Jenny came back, that's what I did! Stupid, stupid, stupid big dumb jerk that I am! He smacked himself in the forehead at the recollection. But…but maybe…maybe if I apologize to her and say I'm sorry…then maybe she'll forgive me…and give me another chance... Maybe…
Or if not, then maybe Ashleigh… She seems like a nice girl, too… And she always has such interesting questions and comments during the classroom discussions! Maybe she might be willing to go out with me sometime… I suppose she's kinda out of my league, though; she's way better-looking than me, after all… Still…she's always been nice to me whenever I talked to her, and there aren't very many girls I can say that about…
Or if both of those girls turn me down, then maybe that foreign-exchange student from Russia, Tina I think her name is… She seems really nice, too… And smart! I think she's supposed to be some kind of math genius or something, a real prodigy, maybe even smarter than me! And a real whiz in chess-club, too, I heard! Yeah, I bet we'd have a lot in common! And I remember she smiled at me real nice in physics class once, too… So maybe…maybe she might like to go out with me…sometime… Maybe we could go visit the science museum together…and see that new exhibit they've got about the Sagan Deep Space Observatory…! Yeah…! I bet she'd like that…!
As Sheldon thought about it more and more, he began to realize that other options were available to him, and that there were at least a few girls here and there who'd been friendly to him, had treated him well, and who he now thought might be worth approaching for a date. It was funny, but…he had never really thought about them very much before; he'd been so obsessed with Jenny for so long that he never really paid much attention to any other girls besides her. But now that Jenny was effectively out of the picture so far as he was concerned, these other girls now seemed to be at least within his reach. Perhaps…just perhaps…by setting his sights a bit lower than Jenny, there was a chance of finding some real happiness with one of these other girls instead…
And as he thought about all the prospects that now lay before him, his possible future at a new school, and the other girls whom he might approach, his spirits continued to improve, and he began to look forward to the possibilities that the future might bring.
And he began to feel that, somehow, everything was going to be all right; that his luck was at long last beginning to change for the better, and that things were finally starting to go his way.
The rest of Monday morning dragged on intolerably-slowly as it always did, the students struggling valiantly to remain awake as their teachers droned on about dull, boring subjects that they'd all long since lost interest in, while counting off the minutes and hours remaining until lunchtime. The end of the school-day was, of course, also longed-for, but seemed so far off in the distant future, that it might as well be another century away…
Throughout that morning, Jenny saw very little of Sheldon; only the briefest glimpses of him now and then from a distance, down at the far end of a hallway, often just as he scurried into or out of a classroom. Only once during the entire morning did the two pass near enough to each other as to allow them to speak together directly, face-to-face.
On that occasion, just as she had earlier that morning, she'd made a special effort to be extra friendly to him, greeting him with her warmest, most ingratiating smile, and a cheerful, upbeat, "Hi, Sheldon!"
But as before, his only response was another pleasant but tepid, "Oh…hi…Jenny," accompanied by a weak, and somewhat forced, smile. His tone likewise contained little enthusiasm, and his pace never slowed as he drew near her, barely glancing at her…as he kept right on walking.
"Hey, Sheldon, wait!" Jenny called out in surprise once she realized he'd walked right past her. "Don't you want to stay and talk awhile?"
"Um…sorry…can't," he said, over his shoulder as he continued down the hall. "Gotta get to a class," he pointed off in the distance of the direction he was headed. "I've…got some make-up work to do, on account of skipping class on Friday afternoon. You understand."
"But—"
"See you," he said with a quick, token wave of his hand, then turned his face forward, picking up his pace to a near-trot.
Jenny stood stock-still, as though she'd experienced a sudden power-loss in her primary energy-cells. What the heck just happened here? She wondered.
The entire encounter lasted no more than a few seconds. But it was enough to leave Jenny feeling stunned, confused, disappointed…
…and more than a little hurt.
Did he just…snub me…? She wondered.
She shook her head, as if to dispel the thought. No, no, it can't be! It can't be! she told herself, as she slowly turned and headed to her next class. It's probably just because he's grounded, that's all. Sure! He's probably got a lot of stuff on his mind, 'cuz of that… Not only is his mom mad at him, but so are the teachers and vice-principal Razinski too, most likely… They're probably all on his back, giving him grief! Plus he's got make-up work to do, and who knows what else… Sure! That's all it is…that's gotta be it! After all, whenever I get grounded, I get pretty cranky and sulky, too! So yeah, that's probably all it is… Once he's through being grounded, I bet he'll cheer right up and be his old self again, and then things can finally get back to normal again between us!
And yet, even as she told herself all this, a small, tiny part of her began to get the uncomfortable feeling that it might not be quite that simple…
And so the morning dragged on, until at last, mercifully, the lunchtime-bell rang. Almost as a single body, all the students throughout the entire school rose from their seats, enlivened and invigorated by the bell as if awakening from a long, deep hibernation, and streamed en masse from the classrooms, like water gushing from a fire-hose at full force, all charging straight for the cafeteria.
As always, Jenny and Brad were among the first to arrive at the cafeteria, and as was customary for them, he got into the bus-line to get his lunch, while Jenny grabbed a seat at their usual table. A short while later, he joined her, sitting down beside her with his tray. And as always, he regarded the mess that lay before him on his tray with unconcealed disgust.
"Yeccchhhhh!" he said with a sour face. "I didn't think it was even possible, but I swear the food in this place is getting even worse!" He prodded the contents of the meal with his fork, examining what he could only assume was supposed to be a hunk of either meat, fish or poultry—though which of these it could be, he couldn't even guess. (It appeared to be a blob of semi-congealed grease mixed with raw sewage—which Brad strongly suspected it was.) Similarly, he poked at the soggy mass of what appeared to be pulverized lawn-clippings beside it, marinated in an unidentifiable, grey-green oleaginous sauce, and his revulsion only grew.
"Oh man, I don't even wanna know what that is!" he grumbled in disgust as he poked and prodded the wet, Astroturf-textured-and-colored, semi-gelatinized mass with his fork. He sighed resignedly, shut his eyes tightly, took deep a breath, and steeled himself to the inevitable task of the First Mouthful of the Day. He opened wide…placed a forkful of the unpalatable mush into his mouth, closed his lips, chewed a few times and...
Well…at least he hadn't gotten his hopes up too high… (And at least he hadn't felt the urge to spit it right back out again.)
And, with several swallows of soda following, he was at least able to get it down the pipe without too much gagging…
He shook his head when the ghastly concoction had at last safely descended his gullet. "Believe me, Jen, you don't know how lucky you are, not to have to eat this slop," he said when he was able to speak again. He took more swallows of soda, and gave her a sickly smile. "Instead, all you need's a can of oil, a bottle of jet-fuel and a quick recharge now and then, and you're good to go!"
She smiled at him in response and took a drink from her can of Synthoil, then turned and glanced around the rapidly-filling cafeteria.
Brad noticed. "What are you looking for now?" he asked, by now weary of asking the same question over and over and never getting a satisfactory answer. "Expecting a giant sludge-monster to invade the cafeteria or something?" He smiled, his question intended in half-jest, although such occurrences were by now so common in Tremorton that it no longer seemed quite outside the realm of possibility. "If you ask me," he went on. "I think this mess on my plate is the real sludge-monster of Tremorton!"
"Well, I was just—" Jenny began, haltingly, completely overlooking the humor of his half-joking question. "Well, I…I thought that maybe Sheldon might like to join us for lunch today." She turned back to face him. "You don't mind, do you?"
He shrugged. "Why would I mind?" he said. "It's fine with me. I don't care."
She then turned and scanned the room again, until at last she spotted Sheldon stepping through the doorway and heading for the bus-line. She kept her eye riveted on him as he slowly passed through the line, collecting food items onto his tray, before turning and proceeding into the seating-area. She waved over to him, trying to catch his attention.
But just as she thought she'd caught his eye, and was about to beckon him over to join her, he suddenly turned away, as though he hadn't seen her. He headed in an oblique direction, away from the main crowd, toward a table in a far corner—one of the few remaining that still had any seats available—where he sat down to join a small group of boys already seated there. Jenny immediately recognized them as Sheldon's gaming friends.
Darn! She thought with minor annoyance. I thought I caught his eye! Why'd he turn away like that?
"Something the matter?" Brad asked.
"No, no…it's…nothing…" Jenny said, as she turned her attention back to him and resumed sipping at her can of oil. "I just—couldn't get his attention, that's all."
"Oh…" Brad said, as he glanced in the direction where Jenny seemed to be looking. "Well, I guess he just wants to sit with his gaming friends today, that's all." He gave another small shrug. "That's okay; he can always sit with us tomorrow if he wants to."
"Yeah…" Jenny said simply. She then turned to face him. "You never got into role-playing games, did you?"
"Nah," he said with an indifferent shake of his head as he took a drink of soda.
"I didn't think you did." She said, with a tinge of regret. "Just not interested?"
"Well…" he said. "I tried reading that book of instructions Sheldon gave me for that game he and his friends are into, but I just couldn't get into it. I couldn't make head nor tail out of it, and by about the third page, I was totally lost. It didn't make any sense to me."
"Oh," Jenny said simply, and left it at that.
She then changed the subject to one they both shared, and from there, the two had resumed their usual lunchtime banter and chitchat, on many of the same sorts of topics they discussed during their morning walks to school. But just as it had been during the weekend and that very morning, Jenny's attention was clearly focused elsewhere, as she repeatedly stole glances in the direction of the corner lunch-table.
Darn! She thought, setting down her oil-can. I was really hoping we could all sit and have lunch together, like we used to, so that we could go back to being friends again, but—
"Hey, Jen?" Brad said.
"Hm?" She looked up, her eyebrows arched as if startled.
"You all right? You were kind of frowning there for a minute. Anything bothering you?"
"No, no, I'm fine," she said, as she picked up her oil-can and resumed sipping at it, draining it in half the usual time. "Nothing's the matter, I'm fine, I'm fine… Everything's fine…" She continued to glance furtively in the direction of the far corner of the cafeteria, as her steel fingertips drummed nervously on the table surface.
Brad merely observed her in silence.
"Well, well, look who's here!" Quinton greeted Sheldon with a smile as his friend sat down to join the small gathering of gaming enthusiasts at the lunch-table. "The Gavilan Gargoyle Game Master of Tremorton himself!"
Sheldon grinned at his friend's reference to his encyclopedic knowledge of the game they all enjoyed. "Hey, guys!" he said with a smile.
"Glad you could join us, O Great and Powerful Wizard!" said Flynn, as the other boys at the table chimed in with similar sentiments, each bowing in Sheldon's direction, as though to a respected and revered Sensei. "You honor us with your presence, O Keeper of all Gavilan Knowledge and Lore!"
"All right, all right, that's enough," Sheldon replied with an embarrassed smile, displaying false modesty at the attention and good-natured ribbing he received from his friends, when in truth, he relished every word of it.
"Well, at least the Wizard seems to be in much better spirits today, anyway!" noted Phred, as he gagged down a mouthful of the inedible pulp that was the midday meal. "And the townspeople were much pleased!"
"That's true," agreed Gerard, nodding. "At least, you don't look like your world's coming apart at the seams anymore. Say, what the heck was up with you last week, anyway? Did your copy of the latest issue of Trek Wars get lost in the mail or something?" he smirked.
"No, no, nothing that serious," Sheldon half-smiled in return. "It was…just a personal matter. Nothing major. It was just…" he hesitated, not really wanting to go into further details. "Well…it doesn't matter. It's over and settled now." He paused. "I'm sorry if I was acting like a jerk on Friday, though."
"Ah, don't worry about it," said Quinton, echoed by similar responses from the rest of the boys. "We're used to it by now. I—I didn't mean—!" He gulped and blanched, suddenly realizing too late what his words sounded like. "I—I didn't mean it to sound the way it did, like I'm implying you're always a jerk or anything, I only meant—" he hastened to clarify and rectify his verbal clumsiness.
"I know, I know," Sheldon interjected with a dismissive wave of his hand. Like the other boys at the table, he also knew all too well how easy it was to inadvertently say the wrong thing in the wrong way and end up sounding like an inarticulate clod as a result; he'd certainly done it himself enough times in the past; certainly more than he would've liked to admit.
"Any chance of joining us for a gaming-session today after school?" asked Gerard, in between the forkfuls of food he pounded down his gullet as though he were starving.
"Nahhh, sorry guys; I can't," Sheldon replied. "I've been grounded for two weeks. For cutting school Friday afternoon."
"Wow!" exclaimed Flynn. "Two weeks? Jeez, that's rough!"
"Bummer!" remarked Gerard.
"That's too bad," agreed Quinton. The other boys likewise expressed sympathy and disappointment.
"Yeah, but…well, that's…you know, that's life; just the roll of the dice, that's all." Sheldon nodded sadly. "Oh, by the way, before I forget: Phred was right. The other day? That play that Gordo made on the 13th level of Gargoyles of Gavilan? Totally against the rules. He's gotta lose four rolls of the dice as a penalty."
"See?! I told you! I told you!" exclaimed Phred, punctuating his words with punches to his friend's shoulder.
"Waitaminnit, waitaminnit!" Gordo objected, rubbing his shoulder. "How do you figure that?"
"It's very simple," Sheldon explained. "On the previous three—no, two—rolls of the dice before that, you said you drew an obstacle-and-hazard card that said, according to the runes on the dice, that your scout stepped into a sinkhole and broke his leg, right? So that meant he couldn't have climbed the rope ladder to lead the team to the next level, so—"
"No, but wait, see, my elf-healer was able to fix his leg with a healing-pouch, so—"
"No…no…" Sheldon interrupted, shaking his head in an all-knowing, professorial manner. "She couldn't have done that, 'cuz she already used up three healing-pouches on the levels before that and didn't get any fresh ones in the meantime, so that left her with only one pouch left by Level 13, and according to page…" he paused, deep in thought. "...fifty-nine of the official rule-book, fourth paragraph, on any level above Level 12, any injuries sustained are automatically twice as severe, and require a minimum of two healing pouches to heal. So your elf-healer couldn't have healed the scout's broken leg with only one pouch to do it with, and therefore your scout couldn't have led the team up the ladder with a busted leg. So if you did it anyway, then it was totally against the rules. Four dice-roll penalty. Case closed." He concluded his discourse with a long, triumphant swallow of soda.
The small gathering regarded Sheldon in amazed, impressed silence. Then, slowly, painfully, Gordo closed his eyes, and an agonized expression crept over his face as he realized his mistake during the game.
"Shoot!" he muttered quietly as he conceded defeat at last.
"I told you!" muttered Phred one last time with a final punch to his friend's shoulder.
"Say, wait a minute!" asked Gerard incredulously. "You actually remember all those details? That was way last Friday morning when all this came up. You looked so out of it at the time, I didn't think you were even listening."
"Well, of course I remember!" Sheldon replied, mildly indignant. "Whattaya think, I'm stupid or something? Geez! Give me credit for having some sense!"
"Say, guys!" Quinton spoke up suddenly, with an abrupt change of subject. "I just had an idea! Since Sheldon's not available, do you think maybe Jenny might like to join us for a gaming-session instead?"
"Hey, yeah! I bet she would! Let's ask her" agreed Flynn.
But at the mention of Jenny's name, Sheldon noticeably stiffened. "Um…I don't know, guys… I don't think that's such a good idea." He said, frowning.
The others all looked at him in bewilderment. "Why not?" asked Gerard.
"'Cuz I don't think she's…really into this stuff all that much, to tell you the truth. I think…" he started to say more, but then stopped.
"What do you mean, 'she's not really into it'?" asked Phred, puzzled.
"Well, I just mean that…" He paused, then continued with a sigh. "It's just that…well…sometimes I get the feeling that…she's just been…laughing at us behind our backs all this time. Like we're all just a bunch of geeks and nerds and losers; just one big joke to her."
Now they all regarded him in stunned, wounded silence. They couldn't believe what they'd just heard.
"Oh…I…I can't believe that," Quinton said, the first to voice the objection they all shared. "That doesn't sound like Jenny to me at all." Still, his expression indicated that it was at least a remote possibility that he hadn't considered before.
"No, no," agreed Flynn, shaking his head. "The Crust Cousins or Pteresa, definitely, or the rest of that snotty 'popular' bunch, yeah, I could see, but not Jenny. That doesn't sound like her at all." Though from his tone of voice, it was obvious that he too was at least considering the possibility, however unlikely he knew it to be.
"I agree; she always used to enjoy playing with us in the past…." said Phred, though quite feebly.
"At least…sometimes she did..." added Gordo, tepidly. "Ya know, when she wasn't busy fighting off giant, glowing, radioactive space lobsters or something."
"Yeah…well…that was before…" Sheldon said quietly, as he hunched over his food-tray, his frown deepening.
"Before what?" asked Quinton. "Did something happen?"
"No!" Sheldon barked with a sudden vehemence that made them all jump. "Nothing happened! I mean…" As he looked around at the stunned faces, he hastened to add, "I mean, if you guys wanna ask her, go ahead, but don't be surprised if she says 'no.'"
Quinton stared at his friend, now regretting having made the suggestion in the first place. It seemed like such a simple, utterly innocuous idea, but somehow, it had completely backfired, putting a damper on the entire conversation. Wow, looks like I really stepped on a corn here! He thought.
The rest of the boys also stared at Sheldon for another moment or two, then each exchanged quick, puzzled glances at one another.
"Well…if you say so," Gordo finally said, speaking aloud what the others were thinking. "Still…I think we should at least ask her… No harm in at least asking, right? If she says 'no,' she says 'no.' No big. It's just a friendly game, after all."
"Well, do whatever you want," Sheldon muttered gloomily. "Doesn't matter to me one way or the other. I won't be there anyway. I'm grounded, remember?"
An unnatural silence fell upon the small group as they continued their meal, broken only by the sound of Gerard suddenly speaking up.
"Say, are you gonna eat that dinner roll?" he asked, pointing to Sheldon's tray.
Without a word, Sheldon shoved the plate with the roll on it over to his rotund friend, who greedily pounced on it like a starving jungle cat and proceeded to ravenously devour it in microseconds. The rest of the boys continued their meal in utter silence.
Lunchtime ended, and the students trickled out of the cafeteria and back into the hallways, heading to their afternoon classes. Sheldon stopped by his locker briefly, opened it long enough to pull some textbooks out for the afternoon, closed it and just as he stepped away from it, he spotted Bernice Topflemeier in the distance down the hall.
She was not a girl whom most of the boys of Tremorton High would consider beautiful, or even remotely attractive. She was short, heavyset, wore thick glasses, had a head full of thick, unruly red hair and a face full of blotchy red freckles. However, what she lacked in physical attractiveness, she more than made up for in other ways. She was highly-intelligent, deeply sensitive, and naturally kind and compassionate by nature, and Sheldon was now beginning to appreciate the true value of these qualities.
As soon as he spotted her, he winced as he recalled his shabby treatment of her some weeks earlier, and he knew that he just had to apologize to her, without delay. He doubted she would ever accept his apology or forgive him…but he knew he had to at least make the attempt.
He gulped and steeled his nerves as he called out to her, "Hey, Bernice!"
She stopped and turned to see who had called her by name, and saw Sheldon trotting over to her. She eyed him narrowly, even suspiciously, as he approached. As he drew near, she quietly uttered the single word, "Sheldon," with a simple, curt little nod of acknowledgment; nothing more.
He smiled amiably, fully expecting her reaction to be it was. He knew exactly where he had to begin. "Hi, Bernice," he said, meekly. "Um…listen, I want you to know I'm really, really sorry for the way I acted a few weeks ago; the way I dumped you so suddenly and everything, without even a word. I was a total jerk, and I'm really, really sorry."
Bernice continued to regard him with wary suspicion. "Oh…that..." She said offhandedly, as though it were a matter of no importance to her. "It was nothing. Forget it. Don't worry about it." She started to turn away.
"No, no," Sheldon said hurriedly, recapturing her attention. "I was way outta line, the way I treated you, and I'm real sorry about it. Especially after you'd been so good to me, and at a time when I really needed a friend," He shrugged, and half-raised his hands in contrition. "…and I—I want to apologize."
She studied him in silence for another moment or two, as though measuring the sincerity of his apology. "Well…" she said softly. "I was pretty hurt."
"I know, I know," Sheldon winced, recalling his behavior. "And I am sorry. Believe me."
"'Cuz I was starting to really like you, you know…" she said.
"I know, I know…" Sheldon repeated, his eyes shut painfully tight.
She continued to eye him narrowly, as though sizing him up. As hurt as she'd been by his sudden, abrupt rejection of her that day, she found that she really couldn't stay too angry at him. She just couldn't help herself; he was just so freaking, adorkably cute!
Another long moment passed before she spoke. "Well…all right," she said with a simple nod as a demure little smile crept across her freckled face. "I accept your apology."
Immediately, Sheldon began to relax. He opened his eyes and looked at her. Gradually, his face softened into a relieved smile.
An awkward moment followed then, as they each shifted their gaze nervously about, each trying desperately to think of something to say next.
"Um…maybe…maybe we could…sit and have lunch together sometime…? Or…something…?" Sheldon suggested, timidly.
"Yeah…yeah, maybe we could," Bernice replied, gradually warming up to his suggestion. Even though a part of her was still smarting inside, she was still willing to give him another chance. "That is…if you're sure you're not too busy chasing after…after…" she found that she couldn't even utter the name.
"Oh, you mean Jenny?" Sheldon said, then shook his head. "No…no…I think that's pretty much over and done with now. It was always a lost cause right from the beginning, I hate to say… I don't think it ever had a chance of going anywhere, really…" He paused. "I mean, we're still friends and everything—supposedly, anyway—but…well, I don't think it's ever gonna be anything more than that…" He wanted to say more, but suddenly realized that he just couldn't. And it would do no good and serve no purpose anyway.
"That's too bad," Bernice said, trying to sound sympathetic, though not too convincingly. "But…on the other hand…" She hesitated.
"On the other hand…what?" Sheldon prompted.
"Well…I didn't want to say anything," she paused and lowered her voice. "But you know…I always thought you were way too good for her anyway, to tell you the truth."
Sheldon blinked and his mouth dropped open in surprise. "Really!" he said, utterly stunned.
Bernice nodded. "Really. After all, you're smart and sweet and sensitive and kind and…and just… You're way too good for her, that's all." The words came tumbling out of her mouth almost before she knew she'd uttered them, and in moments, her face began to turn a shade of bright red, almost as vivid as her hair. "And if she's too stupid to see those qualities in you," she went on, putting a particularly chilly emphasis on the feminine pronoun. "Well then…it's her loss."
"Wow…" Sheldon half-whispered. "I had no idea you felt that way…" He couldn't believe it; he couldn't believe that anyone could possibly think of him as being 'too good' for any girl. As soon as he'd recovered from the initial shock, he began to realize that his self-esteem had bumped up several notches, and that his posture had also begun to improve. He now stood up just a bit straighter, held his head a bit higher, his formerly hunched stoop now diminishing with each passing second.
"Well…ah…er…um…thanks…" he stammered, momentarily flustered. "That's—that's very kind of you to say that."
"It's the truth," she said with a smile. "I mean every word."
He blushed and found himself momentarily speechless. When he managed to find his voice again, he struggled to adopt what he imagined was a more objective and 'philosophical' tone. "Well, er, um…at—at any rate…" he began, then nervously cleared his throat. "As for Jenny, well…it's…it's all the past now anyway, me and her. And…well, life goes on."
"That is true," Bernice said as her smile continued to grow. "That is so very true…"
Sheldon smiled broadly in return; a genuine, from-the-heart smile, his first in many, many weeks. For the first time in a long time, he began to feel truly relaxed, at ease, and contented, the last vestiges of anxiety and sadness now gone at last. He felt…happy.
Yes, that was it, he suddenly realized with a start. He felt happy. It had been so long since he'd experienced the emotion, that he'd almost forgotten what it felt like; it almost felt alien to him now.
He also realized a few things that he never had before. That even if Bernice wasn't anything like what he'd once thought he was looking for in a girl—she was neither strong nor 'heroic,' like Jenny was, nor could she be called 'beautiful' in any external, physical sense of the word—she was nevertheless a girl with a good and kind heart, and a compassionate nature, and Sheldon now realized just how important and valuable these qualities really were to him.
And even more importantly, he now realized that Bernice could apparently see qualities in him that others could not, and this fact alone had done wonders for his self-esteem. He'd never experienced the feeling before, of seeing himself reflected so positively in a girl's eyes, and he discovered that he liked the feeling. For one of the precious few times in his young life, Sheldon actually began to feel good about himself for a change.
He'd always wished that Jenny would be the one to look at him in that special way; to see his better qualities and to look upon him as someone of exceptional value and worth, but, he sadly reflected, she never did…and she never would, he now knew…
Well…he quickly reminded himself. It doesn't matter. Jenny is in the past…there's no point in dwelling on her now…
So even if Bernice wasn't strictly-speaking 'girlfriend material'—at least, not yet—or even had the potential of becoming a girlfriend—she was still a girl with a good heart whom Sheldon felt he could trust and upon whom he could rely; a girl he could get along with and regard as a friend, a genuine friend. And that, he now realized, was the most important thing of all.
End Chapter 2
