Chapter 8

"Dr. Hofstadter, please come in...your wife is already here." said Mrs. Flores, William's teacher.

"Thank you." Leonard said as he sat beside his wife inside Principal Scott's office. "What is this about? Are my kids in trouble?" he asked.

"Your kids are alright...no need to be alarmed." the principal said when Sarah's teacher Ms. Hudson came in and took a seat on the sofa.

"Sorry I'm late." Ms. Hudson said.

"What is it about our children that you called us for?" asked Penny.

"I think we should start with your son." said Mrs. Flores as she handed a stack of papers to the couple. Leonard and Penny looked at them and smiled, seeing the high scores of William's test papers. "Do you see anything out of the ordinary?" she asked.

"Well...these are all A-pluses...what's wrong with these?" asked Penny while Leonard looked at a couple of the test papers, comparing them side by side.

"I think I know what you mean." Leonard said.

Mrs. Flores then sat beside Penny and took one of the test papers. "You see here...he got the right answers but he erased it and chose the wrong ones..." she said, taking another paper from Leonard. "...it's the same for this one...see?" she said.

"Are you saying that my son is doing this on purpose?" asked Penny.

"Looks like it...but I don't understand why." said William's teacher before facing the couple. "Mrs. Hofstadter, your son is incredibly smart...too smart I think to be in my class." she said. "Just the other day I saw him reading an algebra book, replacing the cover to look like another book so the other kids wouldn't notice...I mean, no nine-year-old kid would read an algebra book unless they know that subject." Mrs. Flores added.

"I think I know the reason why." said Leonard.

"What is it honey?" asked Penny.

"I'm just going out on a limb here but I think he's doing this so his classmates won't think of him as different...you know, so he could fit in and not draw too much attention on himself." said Leonard.

"Do you think so?" asked Penny.

"Yeah...I mean, I did it when I was his age." he said. "And don't forget that he's the new kid in this school."

"Really? How come you never told me that before?" Penny said.

"I guess I forgot...but there was a time when I was getting perfect scores on all my subjects but then my classmates looked at me like I'm a freak or something." he said. "Then I started dialing it down so to speak and it kinda normalized for me...some of the kids still bullied me for being a nerd but I guess it was normal." he added.

"Is my son getting bullied?" Penny asked Mrs. Flores.

"Not that I know of...he usually just keeps to himself most of the time." Mrs. Flores said.

Penny felt a little sad after hearing that her son might be finding it difficult to find friends in school. "What do you think we should do?" Penny asked.

"Well you should talk to him and reassure him that it's alright to show how smart he is...honestly, I don't think we can properly nurture your son here..." said the principal. "And if I had my way, I'd send him to a school for gifted children...that way he can achieve his full potential...I could make some calls and get him a full scholarship if you want." said the principal, making Penny a little excited.

"No." Leonard said. "My kids will stay here."

"Leonard? What are you doing?" said Penny.

Leonard sighed and faced his wife. "Penny, I already went through that...and I don't want my kids to feel they're different...like some prized horse to be paraded around..." he said.

"But..." Penny said, somewhat realizing her husband's point.

"Penny...I'd rather have good kids than smart spoiled brats." he said. "I mean, look at Sheldon and tell me that you want our kids to grow up like him."

"Do you think that can happen to them?" asked Penny.

"Yes...Sheldon became like that because his parents indulged him when he was young, especially since he was eleven when he started attending college...and look at him now, he basically can't function on his own because he never grew up...deep inside, he's still that eleven-year-old kid who lights up when his mommy makes him spaghetti with hotdogs." Leonard said, making Penny smile.

Penny took a deep breath. "I guess you're right."

"It's still your decision." said Principal Scott. "If that's what you want then we'll support it."

"Thank you...what about my daughter? Is she doing the same thing?" asked Leonard.

Ms. Hudson faced the couple. "Well...your daughter seems to be taking the opposite route as your son." she said.

Penny sighed and bowed her head. "Oh my god, what did she do this time?"

"Nothing to be concerned about really...but she seems to be proud in showing her classmates that she knows a lot of things." Ms. Hudson said.

"Yeah, that sounds like her." Leonard said. "She's finished with all her bedtime story books and is now reading up on science before going to bed." he added.

"Don't worry Ms. Hudson, we'll talk to our daughter." Penny said.

"You should be very proud of your children...I can't remember the last time we had a bright student like William and Sarah in our halls...I hate to admit it but he may be smarter than most of the faculty here." said the principal.

"I won't disagree to that." said Mrs. Flores.

"Well we won't keep you here any longer...thank you for coming and we promise we'll look after your kids." said the principal.

"Thank you." said Leonard and Penny while shaking their hands.

XXXXXXXXXXXK

"I'm so proud of them." said Penny as Leonard started the car, getting ready to drive home.

"Me too...we really make a great team huh?" he said, giving his wife a high five.

"Amen to that." Penny said, laughing a bit.

"I have an idea." Leonard said while giving her a goofy smile.

"What?" Penny asked. "And why are you smiling like that?"

"Let's go home...lock the door, jump on the bed, get naked and make sweet love to one another!" said Leonard, laughing a bit while touching his wife's arm.

Penny gave him a glaring look. "Hmm...let me see..." she said, pretending to think. "Okay!"

Leonard was a little surprised to hear his wife saying yes. "That was easy..." he said as he put the car in gear and started to drive off the parking lot.

Penny suddenly faced him and ran her hand from his neck down to his abdomen, making Leonard shiver. "Hey...don't mess around..." he said as he tried to concentrate on the road.

"Or what?" Penny asked while continuing to touch him. "You're my husband and I can do whatever I want with you." she teasingly said.

Leonard took a deep breath. "You are gonna get it woman!" he said.

"Prove it then!" Penny whispered in his ear.

It took no time for them to arrive home and as soon as they were out of the car, Leonard forcefully dragged Penny into the house almost to the point of yanking her arm off her shoulder. Penny gladly went along, laughing and giggling as they start to remove their clothes while locking the bedroom door.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Later that night, the young family was having dinner in the kitchen...

"So guess what happened today?" said Leonard.

"What happened daddy?" asked Sarah.

"Well your mom and I went to your school and spoke to your teachers...and they told us how impressed they were at how smart you two are." Leonard said.

"Really? And what else?" Sarah asked, proud of herself.

"Well they were thinking of recommending you to a couple of schools for gifted children...because you're already too smart for them." he said, hoping he'll get a reaction from his son.

"Are we gonna transfer to another school? But we just started there?" William asked.

"No...your mom and I decided that you guys would stay there and live like normal kids and not be buried under books and equations." said Leonard.

"But daddy we're not normal kids, we're super smart." Sarah said, making her parents laugh.

"You are smart and your dad and I are so proud of you two...but you need to enjoy just being kids...have friends...go camping...school trips...normal stuff kids your age do and enjoy..." Penny said.

Sarah looked at her parents, not having any answer to them. "Okay."

Leonard faced his daughter. "Listen to me...your mom is right, we're very proud of you and your brother but as your parents, we don't want you guys missing out on your childhood...and if you still want to learn about math and stuff, I'm more that happy to teach you...okay?" he said, looking at his kids.

"I understand dad." said William.

"Me too." said Sarah.

"Good...and don't worry too much about it...just enjoy being at school with your friends and it's gonna be alright." Penny said.

"Mommy, can my friends come over here on Saturday so we can play in the tree house with Buster?" asked Sarah.

"No problem sweetheart." Penny said.

"And you'll make Nana's apple pie for us?" asked the young girl, making Leonard and William laugh.

"Yeah sure." said Penny.

"I kinda told them that your apple pie is very delicious, almost as good as the ones Nana makes." said Sarah, obviously playing on Penny's feelings.

"Okay...are you telling the truth or are you just buttering me up so I'll make some snacks for you and your friends?" Penny asked, giving her daughter a straight face.

Sarah gave her mother a sneaky smile. "Is it working?" she asked, making Leonard and William laugh more.

Penny sighed and rolled her eyes. "Okay...you win." she said.

"She really is your daughter." said Leonard, tapping Penny's shoulder. "Good job honey!" he said, giving his daughter a high-five.

"Thank you daddy, for giving me my big brain!" said Sarah, making Leonard smile.

"You're welcome honey." said Leonard, glad to hear his daughter's compliment.

"Mommy, thank you for making me sassy!" said Sarah, surprising her parents.

Penny sighed, knowing that her daughter means well. "You're welcome sweetie...your dad and I love you and your brother...don't forget that." she said.

"I love you too mommy...I love you daddy!" Sarah exclaimed as they continued having dinner

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After putting Sarah to bed, the couple decided to go to William's room to talk to him.

Penny knocked on the door. "Sweetheart, are you still up?" she asked.

"It's open mom." said William as the couple opened the door, seeing the young man on his desk, writing something on his pad of paper.

"Sweetie, can we talk for a while?" said Penny as she sat on the bed, motioning for her son to sit beside her.

William stood up and went to sit beside his mother. "I know why you're here." he said. "Mrs. Flores told you about my tests huh?" he asked, surprising Penny at how sharp her son's intuition was.

Leonard pulled a chair and sat in front of his son. "Your mom and I are not angry or anything buddy, we just want to hear your side of it." he said, reassuring his son.

"I just don't want to stand out dad." said William.

Leonard nodded. "I understand buddy...I went through the same thing when I was your age." he said.

"Really?" William asked.

"Yes buddy...the bullies just won't let up even if I helped them with their homeworks." said Leonard, slightly amusing his wife.

"Aww...poor baby." Penny said, touching his cheek and grossing out their son.

"You guys are so gross." William said, giving his parents a condescending look.

"Okay...I'm sorry about that." Penny said. "Now where were we...sweetie, you don't have be ashamed of what you can do..." she said.

"Your mom is right buddy." said Leonard. "And who knows, maybe some of the girls in your class would find you cute with how smart you are...like what your mom felt about me." he said, laughing a bit.

Penny stared at her husband and curled her lip. "You're dead to me Leonard." she said.

Leonard reached out and touched his wife's cheek. "I love you honey." he said.

William got off the bed and lightly pushed his parents away. "Okay...I know you're my parents and that was a good talk but you need to leave my room." he said, as Leonard and Penny went out of the room, amused by their son's discomfort.

"Sleep tight sweetie." Penny said, quickly hugging William and kissing his cheek.

William wiggled himself off from Penny. "Mom!" he protested.

"What?" Penny asked, glad to have landed a couple of kisses onto her son.

William grunted and rolled his eyes before slamming the door shut.

"Come on, you already won this round." Leonard said, pulling his wife towards their bedroom. After getting inside the bedroom and locking the door, Penny then pushed him on the bed, making clear of her intention. "Woah...twice lucky huh?"

"Shut up." Penny said as she straddled him while yanking off his clothes.

"Shutting up!" said Leonard as he spun her around and pinning her on the bed while slowly getting her naked as they slide under the covers, trying hard to be quiet in making love as they did hundreds of times before.