Disclaimer: I do not own The Big Bang Theory and no profit is being made from this story. Also, I want to note that this chapter is also un-betaed. If anyone wants the job, feel free to contact me!
It was 11:14 am on Thursday, October 24th, the day after Penny had come to the comic book store. Sheldon had a lot on his mind. He had so much on his mind, in fact, that he couldn't concentrate on his work so instead he was pacing around his office. Halloween was in one week and he still hadn't figured out his costume. He had to book a hotel room for Nobel Prize week. He had to get proper attire for all of the various Nobel Prize events. He had to think about Penny's theory about Raj being a homosexual. In addition, there was Penny herself to think about.
Sheldon's train of thought was interrupted by his cell phone ringing. He took his phone out of his pocket, looked down at the caller I.D. and saw that it was his mother. What could she possibly want? She knew that he didn't like it when she called him when he was at work! He decided that it must be some sort of emergency so he answered the phone.
"Hello Mom," he said feeling a little bothered.
His feelings must have been conveyed through his tone of voice because his mother's response was "Sheldon Lee Cooper, is that any way to talk to your mother?"
"No Mom, I'm sorry," Sheldon said, not feeling sorry at all.
"That's not all you have to be sorry for." Her tone sounded angry and Sheldon immediately knew that he had done something wrong.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"What's wrong? Shelly, why did I have to hear it from Meemaw? Why did she have to find out in a letter? Why didn't you call?"
"Find out what?" Sheldon wasn't sure quite what his mother was referring to since he told Meemaw a lot of things over the years in his letters to her.
"Shelly, don't play dumb with me. You are getting a Nobel Prize so you are obviously not stupid!"
That was when it hit him that he hadn't called his mother to tell her about the Nobel Prize and she was annoyed about that.
"I'm sorry for not telling you," Sheldon said sheepishly as he sat down in his office chair. He could tell that this conversation was not going to end any time soon.
"Thank you, Shelly, for realizing your wrongdoing. Anyway, I'm sure Amy must be excited for you."
Sheldon hadn't mentioned his breakup with Amy in his latest letter to Meemaw. He knew that Meemaw wanted nothing more for him than to settle down and have a family. Telling Meemaw about the breakup with Amy would break her heart. He supposed, though, that the truth would come out sooner or later so he figured that now was as good of a time as any to spill the beans, so to speak.
"Amy and I broke up," he said cautiously.
"Why did you have to go breaking up with Amy?" His mother sounded angry. This was not good.
"I did not break up with Amy. She broke up with me."
"Oh, Shelly, why did she go and do that?" his mother asked softly.
"She said it was because I wouldn't take her to Stockholm with me when I get the Nobel Prize. I think that she was jealous because I'm taking Penny," Sheldon explained.
"Of course she was jealous!" Oh boy, his mother's anger was back.
"I don't know why she would be. Amy knows perfectly well that she's on a no-fly list so we would have to take a boat to Sweden!"
"So you take a boat to Sweden, Shelly! You were telling me just a few weeks ago that the university wants you to take another vacation! I was hoping that you would come visit us, but this is more important."
"Oh, you know as well as anyone that I don't swim!" Sheldon realized that getting angry at his mother was not going to help the situation. He took a few deep breaths before continuing. "I don't want to learn on the spot. Anyway, a few years ago, Leonard was supposed to take Penny to Switzerland on Valentine's Day. Actually, he was supposed to take me. However, both Penny and I got sick so neither us were able to accompany Leonard to Switzerland so he ended up taking Raj. Penny is more deserving of this trip than Amy is."
"That doesn't matter, Shelly. You DON'T decide to take the neighbor girl to an award ceremony instead of your girlfriend! Anyway, isn't she dating Leonard?"
"No she is not dating Leonard. The two of them broke up when Leonard forbid her to go to Stockholm with me. Also, since I no longer have a girlfriend, it is a moot point." Sheldon was starting to get frustrated with the conversation.
"Well if by the grace of God you ever do get another girlfriend, make sure you put her above everybody else so she won't go and break up with you!"
Sheldon wanted to finish the conversation soon. It was time for lunch and he was hungry so he said "I have to go."
After his mother had said good bye, he stood up, pocketed his phone, and headed to the cafeteria.
After he got his food, he looked around the cafeteria and spotted Amy and Leonard at one table and Howard and Raj at another table. He decided to join Howard and Raj rather than face his ex-girlfriend.
"Gentlemen," he said in greeting as he sat down.
"Hi Sheldon," said Howard before stabbing a couple of carrots with his fork.
"Hello Sheldon," said Raj cheerfully. "The meatloaf looks delicious today," he added, looking over at Sheldon's tray.
Sheldon looked down at his meatloaf and saw nothing out of the ordinary about it, so he said "It does not look any more delicious than usual."
"Don't spoil this for me, Sheldon. I'm in a great mood today," Raj said warningly.
"Why is that?" asked Sheldon. He was a little miffed that Raj had opted to skip playing Halo the previous night to spend time with his dog. Since Leonard and Penny were not currently on speaking terms, they could not invite Penny to take Raj's place and therefore Halo night had been canceled.
Halo night being canceled annoyed Sheldon more than it normally would have because he ended up sitting in his room thinking about Penny. Thinking about Penny lead to sexual arousal on his part and his usual method of dealing with it, the practice of kolinahr, failed him which ended up leading to a session of self-abuse. Really, this attraction to Penny was getting out of hand.
"Because Stuart ended up coming home with me last night and we had a sleepover!" Raj said excitedly, shaking Sheldon out of his contemplation of the previous night.
"Did you guys do each other's hair?" asked Howard only a little facetiously.
"Actually, yes!" exclaimed Raj.
This line of conversation got reminded Sheldon of what Penny had said about Raj the night before so he said to Raj "Penny thinks that you're a homosexual."
Sheldon started cutting his meatloaf as Howard said "Sheldon, with the exception of maybe you, everyone that Raj knows thinks that Raj is a homosexual."
"Guys, I've got a secret to tell you," said Raj quietly and a little guiltily.
Sheldon looked up from his meatloaf as Howard said "Oh?"
"I've been holding this in for my entire life, but the truth is that I'm gay," said Raj quickly.
"That comes as a surprise to absolutely no one," said Howard.
"Wait a minute," said Sheldon. "If you're gay, how come you couldn't speak to women for most of your life?"
"They scare me," answered Raj as he chased a pea around his plate with his fork. "I mean, they are more likely guess that I'm gay than men are."
"So is Stuart your boyfriend?" asked Howard sounding genuinely curious.
"No," said Raj. "At least I don't think he is. Last night was the first time we did it. In fact, last night was the first time that I ever did it with a guy."
"Well would you like him to be?" asked Howard.
"I don't know. I'm all confused," Raj said.
Sheldon suddenly did not want to hear anymore on this subject so he said "New subject. Did you know that owls lay white eggs to protect the eggs in the snow?"