Technical Difficulties
Knock Knock Knock, Penny
Penny staggered into her apartment, drunk and finally home from clubbing. Stumbling slightly, she entered her bedroom, thinking of sleeping, but after entering she giggled. "Who needs sleep?" Penny asked, sniggering to herself. She collapsed on her sofa, slotting a movie in the player. She watched five minutes of it, unable to grasp the storyline, watching fuzzy images dance in her brain, until she passed out.
Penny woke eight hours later feeling like death. She wondered what had disturbed her, as she knew very well that she was a heavy sleeper. Penny didn't doubt what had woken her when the second round of knocks began. Three times, followed by her name, repeated three times. She glanced at the clock on her bedside table. It showed eight am. "Sheldon," she growled, sitting up.
Apparently she sat up too quickly. Millions of men with hammers found work inside her brain, hammering away. Penny groaned. She had no recollection of the night out whatever, but judging by the hangover she was nursing, it had been pretty dang good.
Anyway, to Sheldon. Clutching her head, she tottered across her apartment, teetering on unsteady legs. She threw open the door and gave the best glare she could at this time in the morning.
"This better be damn important, Sheldon Cooper, or you will find my foot where the sun don't shine."
She was greeted with a smirking Sheldon. "Penny, there are plenty of places where the sun doesn't shine," he said smugly. "By the way, you made a grammatical mistake. Doesn't, not don't."
Penny was practically snarling at him. "What the hell do you want, Sheldon?"
Sheldon opened his mouth to make another sarcastic remark. Penny raised her fist and her eyebrows. Sheldon closed his mouth and covered his throat nonchalantly, crossing his legs as well. He started backing away.
"If you must know," he said. "The reason I have woken you before your preferred time of rise is because you invaded my personal space last night, which I disliked – " Colour rose in his cheeks. " – thus, I required revenge."
Penny eyebrows shot up higher. "You woke me up at eight am because I kissed – um, invaded your personal space?"
Sheldon nodded smugly.
Penny narrowed her eyes. "If it wasn't so early," she snapped. "I would have punched you. Count yourself lucky." She turned and slammed the door in her face. "If you make too much noise, you will further aggravate your hangover-induced headache," he called. Penny waited until she heard his door shutting before she went back to bed to indulge in some much needed sleep.
Later, Penny felt productive enough to clean her apartment. However, she got as far as folding her laundry and putting it away until her initiative faded and she flopped on the sofa, magazine in hand. "Ooh, those shoes are cute," she murmured absently, turning the page. Penny glanced up and took a guilty look at her untidy apartment. "Oh well." She shrugged it off. I've done my good deed of the day, she said to herself. I have time to relax, it's Sunday!
Penny felt suddenly alone. It wasn't like she was starved of human contact, but she missed having a man, missed having someone to cuddle up to, missed someone focusing and praising her positive aspects and traits rather than pointing out her negatives. Although she came across as a lust driven lover, she was a caring girlfriend.
She tried to cheer herself up, for her mood had steadily decreased. Girl, the next person to knock on that door could be your soulmate! Penny thought.
Knock knock knock.
"Penny."
Knock knock knock.
"Penny."
Knock knock knock.
"Penny."
Penny groaned. Of course I would think that before Sheldon knocks at the door, she thought irritably. A part of her became excited and happy, but the rest of her squashed it. It's Sheldon Cooper, Penny, she said to herself. Dr. Sheldon Cooper, PhD, supreme ass, physicist, perfectionist.
Even so, he crossed the room and opened the door for Dr. Ass, plastering a big smile on her face. "Hey sweetie!" Penny said brightly.
"Good afternoon, Penny," Sheldon said. "Tonight we are dining out at the sushi restaurant – a drastic change in routine, I'm not entirely sure how my bowels will react, but I am certain – "
Penny wrinkled her nose. "That's nice sweetie, can we skip the bowel part?"
"We are dining out tonight at the sushi restaurant. Our party will include individuals of our social circle, which consists of Leonard Hofstadter, Howard Wolowitz, Rajesh Koothrappali, Amy Farrah Fowler, Bernadette Rostenkowski, myself, and if you're willing to join us, yourself."
Penny rolled her eyes. "Sweetie, if my life was made into a movie, your lines would be five paragraphs long. So you and the gang are going to get sushi, huh? I'll come."
Sheldon didn't seem pleased. "There is no need to 'dumb down' my way of speaking. By the way, you are driving myself and Amy Farrah Fowler to the restaurant."
"I am?"
"You are. Good day."
With that, he turned and walked back into his apartment, leaving Penny staring after him, a smile playing on her lips.