A/N: Hello everyone! I won't say much this time, there is absolutely too many things going on in this chapter.. so hold onto your derby, Chapeau du Matin hats and enjoy the ride! You'll meet a new face in here, wondering who that may be? I shall not stop you from finding out.
Good Monday!
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/ Disclaimer: I own nothing of The Big Bang Theory. This is for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement intended. /
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~Chapter 4~
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"Hello, my old heart.
How have you been?
Are you still there inside my chest?
I've been so worried, you've been so still
Barely beating at all.
~
Oh, don't leave me here alone
Don't tell me that we've grown
For having loved a little while
Oh, I don't wanna be alone
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Hello, my old heart
It's been so long
Since I've given you away
And every day, I add another stone
To the walls I built around you
To keep you safe
~
Hello, my old heart
How have you been?
How is it being locked away?
Don't you worry, in there you're safe
And it's true, you'll never beat
But you'll never break
Nothing lasts forever
Some things aren't meant to be
But you'll never find the answers
Until you set your old heart free."
— The Oh Hellos
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His heart dropped.
He was terrified. Like a jumpscare, his error had set him off, flaring red.
There she stood. From her place, her light-coloured eyes held his with an indecipherable self-composure. Her stance exuded confidence, her posture poised on her toes. A spectacle from a person he had never seen before.
"I…," he looked from the grinning president who was nearing towards them to the lady in front of him.
All at once, his baffled, dazed mind collapsed into a haywire heap.
Her? This was the person whom he's supposed to greet… This is the Fowler?
"Let me introduce myself: I am Charles Seibert, the head of Caltech. It is with our greatest pleasure to welcome you in our humbled institute. And I see you have met your host here." The president took his place between them, flashing his ceaseless jubilation.
Dr. Fowler's lips formed a polite, sweet smile. Before she could thank him, Dr. Cooper interrupted, coughing violently. The two turned to him with crinkled frowns from the overemphasized hacking coming from the physicist.
"Ahem, erm, President, may I talk to you for a moment? Privately."
"Huh? Oh, uh.." Seibert glanced at the new employee, not sure if it was alright for them to step away. "Why?"
"It's urgent," came the determined, brusque response.
The new employee gave a small, generous nod as the president waited for her approval. "Thank you, Ms. Fowler– I promise you it'll only take us a second."
This elicited a heaved sigh from the physicist with him commenting, "You do know breathing in alone takes 1 to 1.5 seconds and another 1.5 to 2 seconds is for breathing out. What you imply is merely impossible."
When the two men stepped down the hall in a good distance of two feet away from the guest, Dr. Cooper then ducked his head close to the other man, his back slightly facing the lady.
"What is the meaning of this?" The laureate insisted.
"Huh? What is the matter?"
"Dr. Fowler is a woman?!" He hissed, trying his hardest to not look back at her inquisitive gaze.
"I have eyes, doctor."
"This new prominent scientist is a.." The repetitiveness was now reworded in a statement. "A female..?"
"It is surely obvious, isn't it?"
Amy looked around the passageway, the corners above her, and all the doors that lined straight down the corridor. Anywhere to pretend that she didn't mind them gossiping about her.
Stealing another glance in her direction, Dr. Cooper's consciousness confirmed to him that she indeed was very much of a woman.
The president let out a bemused utterance, folding his arms and tucking them in his underarms.
"Do you have any inquiries for anything else? I have to be honest with you, Cooper, I am surprised you are fixated on this. I thought a lad like you would not even notice or care."
President Siebert was right about that– this newfound addition into their crew was not one that made him too keen about. Feasibly, it would be his workmates who he could easily foresee being excited to receive the newbie with open arms (Kripke will do exactly that), and do anything that would indirectly grab her attention.
So, no: it was not that which had him do a double take.
But it was the idea of a lady being in the midst of a male dominated profession that shook him. Female scientists were absolutely rare in their workplace. Let alone it being an uncommon phenomenon in their time. It surprised him since all the women he knew in his life–mostly in his family–had never shown an ounce of regard for science.
It was also the fact that all along he had been conjuring a picture of yet another gray-haired old genteel, or a young man with bulky spectacles like Dr. Hofstadter, or with a horrendous hair-cut like Mr. Wolowitz, or with selective mutism like Dr. Koothrappali. Yet this.. this impromptu counter and the new professor intrigued him.
After going through all his notepad of thoughts, it emerged to him. The wind. The hidden picture falling out into the water. The missing information under the profile... And the sole given surname.
It was surely a day of chance and unanticipation.
"Shall we proceed?" The tall man muttered, lifting a hand in front. After acquiescing to the hit of realization, he concluded to not raise any funny, unbidden questions from the president who had been giving him a funny look.
With that, they moved back to their guest.
"We are sorry for having you wait here. Thank you for your patience, Ms. Fowler." The president said, not having the slightest clue with the strange behavior of their prized scientist.
"Oh no, not at all. I want to thank you for having me here." She bashfully replied.
Ms. Fowler caught the tall man perusing her from the side of her eye and inadvertently gripped her satchel tightly. She was surprised that he had not given his side of the apology for his rash rudeness.
"Where are your manners, young man? The guest is waiting."
Her head lifted up, her eyes finally centering in those blue river-like orbs. But when he did not make a move, she figured there was no harm in initiating. "Hello," She stuck out her palm to shake his hand. "Amy Farrah Fowler. It's nice to meet you."
In silence, Dr. Cooper examined her outstretched palm for two long seconds. "You were late." He stated without taking her hand. Rejected and stunned, she paused bunglingly before dropping her hand. At this point, President Seibert was quietly groaning from the typical rebound of his.
"I have never strained my punctuality before. I terribly apologize for this." Her cheeks adapted a pink shade.
Amy's day really was not working out for her after all. To her dismay, it became a faux pas she hoped to forget.
With a shift on his footing and hands being placed behind his back, he uttered, "Dr. Lee Cooper, theoretical physicist."
The words hung in the air. The name sounded awfully familiar. Where has she heard it? Amy could not put her finger on it.
Then President Seibert waved a hand from the other gentleman and then to her.
"Dr. Fowler, this here is our most highly achieved scientist in our faculty. It was only recently when he won the university with his breakthrough."
She let out a gasp. It was he! The scientist who everybody in her current workplace had been prattling about for the past week. Actually, for years, Dr. Cooper was in small talks from here and there, being famed for his marvelous talent.
Amy did not know why she imagined him to be a friendly, warm and chummy luminary. A misconception she had made indeed.
"I've heard great things about you, Mr.–"
"Refer to me as Dr. Cooper not 'Mister', thank you."
This improper denomination was becoming a never-ending nuisance to him.
"Ah right, sorry." Amy mentally facepalmed herself. This was her third time apologizing, yet how was it that he only ever returned his once? With his brash demeanor, he ought to atone constant regret.
"I see you two are getting along." The president cut in, clapping his hand rather loudly in the attempt to break the ice. "I will take it from here- Now, if we can be excused, Dr. Cooper, I shall take our lovely guest–"
"I will escort Dr. Fowler around the campus." The quick sentence that tumbled from the physicist's lips put a turn of thunderstruck to the two other people in the hall.
After registering what he had just said, the tall man blinked and cleared his throat.
"I see that I did not complete my tasks. A bid from the office was made for me to receive the guest at their disposal, so it is my role to continue… if that is alright with you, Dr. Fowler?"
She wondered if it'd be a good idea for her to take his offer because she genuinely did not know if there would be any drop of cordial reception.
However, for an unspecified reason, her lips decided to answer for her.
"It is."
"Hm," the president felt an atmosphere of something that he was not sure of. "Alrighty then. Take care of her please." If anything, President Seibert wanted to leave the uncanny situation— whether it were for he and the new employee or he, himself.
Dr. Cooper scrunched his brows when he saw the "no monkey business, or any of 'your' hooey" from the president's face. "Thank you again, President Siebert. I'm happy to be part of this fine community and I cannot wait to start work soon." She said, kindly.
"We are glad to have your presence with us, as well as proud to work with you, Ms. Fowler."
They then parted ways; their head of the division retracing his path and Amy following behind Dr. Cooper.
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She tried her best to catch up with him.
His long strides were astounding– almost rushed– as if he was attempting to lose her behind.
Holding her hat close to her scalp, she looked up to catch his face. He looked lost in his thoughts, pensive and faraway.
Amy discreetly scanned his side profile, doing a double check on him for good measure. He can't be past his mid thirties, with the kind of face you might describe boyish, if not for the mature aura he exhumed.
Then there it sparked robustly within her– the time she stumbled into the area where the two flowers were held. The wall in that place which manifested the black and white framed picture hanging high.
She had unknowingly burnt his photograph to memory: the assured posture, the dark brows; the stern eyes…
"I believe you would want me to repeat myself." Her mind clambered into reality when the indistinguishable voice lodged through her hearing.
Amy hurriedly looked away when his gaze whipped down, unable to subdue her annoyance. It was only few seconds ago that he was in his own world, yet she gets to have a 'tut tut'.
"Please," she motioned him to do so, seeing his mouth pursed. He raised an arm, pointing a finger towards the opened double doors which were mainly composed of glass panes. "This is the third library on the ground level. Professors are permitted to work here, although you are not exempted to take your research inside."
"I see. And third you say?" Dr. Fowler was pleasantly impressed to know that she'd be hired in a bigger academic establishment than her prior occupation. The smell of books was alluring her inside. Ah, those very devils that captivated her heart since.
"Fourteen thousand students, and we have one fairly large cafeteria and its fine dining from the end of the gallery to our left. When they shared the Christmas luncheon, it is a wonder how the entire Pasadena did not acquire a stomach flu or a respiratory syncytial virus last winter." He murmured the last sentence under his breath.
And so forth, Dr. Cooper took her from one place to the other. And on he spoke with smooth articulation:
"The lecture halls would be here.. here.. and here. So avoid them, or you'll be meeting a grisly stampede."
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"Ahead of us is the chemistry laboratory. If there were a single opinion I sympathize with, it is that chemical engineers are not media savvy."
…
"Now for the parking setting: go right past this door here, climb down the stairs, follow along the white line drawn, walk ahead–there will be a turn on your right, but don't go there– next, turn left by the auburn door, then take four steps–make sure they are small steps or else you'd end up facing the entrance of the geology lab– and lastly, take the second right."
The whole long, winded blather of directions gave her brain cephalalgia. Despite having been the student who was able to study with no visual aids, she knew she'd definitely need someone to take her to the car stalls.
"But I don't have to go through all of that because I do not drive." There was that hit line that extracted a peeve from her.
"On our right, we see one of our most essentials; these are the ways to the exit. In case of fire, I highly recommend you to bring your own emergency kit. Because if you multiply the margins of the supply quality with the differentiating probability of meeting someone who does not share the same blood type as you, there is a 97.8% chance of dying from infectious disease by sharing with someone's first aid kits if the fire has not consumed you already."
Amy wrinkled her nose. She thought he was endeavoring an outlandish joke to make her laugh, but after surveying him, she saw he was being serious.
The more and more he went on, the more she understood what type of person he was. Except she did not. Dr. Cooper was an entrancing specimen; his own kind of species that she had not thought existed, with some of his characteristics being similar to those of a machine. Due to her profession in her field, it tickled the researcher side of her to examine his brain.
But having her excellent expertise, she still could not properly work him out. Yet her cognitive motor clicked on: Dr. Cooper was a person who liked to keep everything in its place and sticks to the rules in all areas of his life. In a way, he was truly like her. With a high drive to succeed, Amy is dedicated to achieving her goals and once she's set her mind on something, there's no stopping her.
"Lastly, these are the bathroom utilities. It is customary for the washbasins to be sprayed with hydrochloric acid."
"Do the sinks easily get dirty and grimy?" She asked, thoughtful.
"No, it does not. Nevertheless, it needs to be sanitized. A while back, I filed in our department's suggestion box to have the washrooms clean every two hours. So take heed; you may not want your skin to be exposed to low concentrations of hydrogen chloride gas, or else erythema and severe chemical burns will dive in the mucous. We've already had one incident with one of our employees receiving mild blindness."
Leonard always objected that his eye glass prescription got stronger because of his inherited Astigmatism, however, Dr. Cooper did not believe it when he saw his peer coming out of the lavatory with wet tissue on his eye.
So far, with everything he said, Amy did not know whether the physicist contained decency to be sincerely honest and forthright– or that he was purposely trying to scare her off. "…Thank you.. for enlightening me with these cautionary instructions."
"And oh- I strongly advise you to not use this bathroom." He said, wagging a finger.
Her forehead wrinkled from the unusual sentence.
"You may use it unless you choose certain timings to when you would use it. I follow a strict regime for my toilet usage, and I'm not one to accede someone else's needs above my own. Especially not when my bowel movements are now even."
Is he describing his bowel movements to her? He can't honestly be.
"Well- it's surely alright, uh, I will use another one somewhere else." Her voice betrayed her as she tried to keep a casual, nonchalant expression.
This man is indeed a unique fellow.
Finally, going up the stairs, he led Amy to her office. A moderately sized room with walls covered in pieces of brilliant golden-citrus amber that you cannot see their true color. The floor is well-polished hardwood, most likely red oak, and is painted with intricate rose patterns. Aside from a few ornate chairs set against the wall and one behind a wooden bureau in the near back, the room is empty. There are two large windows on the easternmost wall, allowing sunlight to filter in.
"We offer this room as your assigned station, Dr. Fowler. Once you've settled here and made yourself comfortable, you can begin work when you're ready."
The room was not large nor small. She smiled. It was enough for her. Just perfect. Amy could hardly wait to add her shelves, tinker with her idea of decoration, and transform it into a place of her own. Her Amy Fowler originality.
"This is lovely, a great delight I should admit."
They both stood at the center of the room, solitude overriding between them as Dr. Cooper viewed her back while she looked around her newfound space of innovation and construct.
Upon turning towards her Mister-Welcoming-Is-Not-My-Specialty guide, she was startled to see him watching her with curiosity. It was a bit unfair that he did not waver in returning her gaze, while her skin tingled in the need of looking in the other direction. At that moment, she wished she could read his mind. What was he thinking of? Perhaps he was thinking of something other than her.. or even better, his mind is simply blank. Like the other men she came to meet in her previous work and college life. The side of humanity who effortlessly adapted the skill of imaging nothingness. Absolute emptiness.
His feet then shuffled en route to her desk, yet with a single misstep, Amy bumped the side of his arm with hers. This feeling caught him off guard and his breath evaded him, steering himself away from her.
She was invading his personal boundaries again.. and quite candidly, he was getting tired of it. As well as jittery, which he could not apprehend as to why. It was probably the contact of a warm body, an alienated brush of a limb that made him uncomfortable.
"You can leave your bag here if it is heavy."
"It's fine, Dr. Cooper. In truth, I have come to see the place in the city before I pack my things. It is not more than an hour when I need to return."
"Very well."
Sitting down behind the bureau with a heavy exhale and crossing his lanky legs, he produced a paper in front of him out of thin air. "Amy. Farrah. Fowler." Dr. Cooper worded, the crinkling sound of paper resonated in his hand.
"Born in 1921, December 17."
Is he reading my resumé? She considered with astonishment.
"Originally from Glendale, California." A pause.
"You've attained a PhD.. in neurobiology…. studied in Harvard University..."
She is a neuroscientist. He wet his lips.
The momentary delay in his sentence made her head perk up.
"I have," the neuroscientist enunciated the two words with clearance.
Breaking short from the blow and his reverie, he recollected himself.
"You're moving from Glendale city, your current residence, to Pasadena, am I correct?"
"Certainly," Amy bobbed her head, clasping her hands in front of her civilly.
"At the age of twenty-two, it says here that you had received recognition for your work on the functions of single nerve fiber."
"Yes."
Dr. Cooper gave a small nod, his right hand now cradling his chin and index finger splayed above his lips. It was, yet, another one that left him flabbergasted.
To Amy, it felt like she was being interviewed again. Even so she had done the conference in early winter.
Surprisingly with an abrupt noise of a thud, he flipped the paper before thumping it into the desk with his hand.
The brunette's shoulders moved with a jolt, her eyes on high alert.
"Now that is settled," he started, "I wish to lay down some ground rules."
From her telling staggered expression, he added, "It is.. essential."
Must he? She pondered.
Dr. Cooper stood, his chair scraping over the floor. His black clothes, dark features, general demeanor held the approximate effect on the room of a black hole, sucking all the life out of it and swallowing it entirely.
"But first, I want to know if the recipient is willing to abide by the regulations."
"Decreed by whom?" Amy solicited.
"By me."
It was a simple two-word answer, yet elucidated with utter solidity. If he had not said he was a physicist, she would believe him to be a lawyer.
Half of her thought that it was extremely bizarre, but her other analyst half was drawn to the interesting mind of the man in the room. "But it is only when your so-called rules are disclosed that I will be able to tell you." She said the words before her mouth could prevent her.
"I accept." He obliged, bringing his hands behind his back once again as he now circled the room in a slow, steadfast manner.
"I think this should be addressed first– rule number one: You must adhere to the two-feet range between us, meaning.. You and I are to keep our distance.
This figuratively made her scratch her head. What on earth does he mean by that?
"You shall stay far from me, do you understand?" He repeated. Never had another scientist made her feel this incompetent. Humph! Did this physicist honestly think she'd be pleased to have him near her? What did he think she was– an airbrain dimber mort? Or a girlish ninny? It was not like she would choose to have any business with him in the future!
"I rightly believe so." She replied with animosity coherent in her voice. "You needn't to worry, doctor, I dislike the inappropriate close proximity you and I have shared earlier. An accident on my side I hope to not make again."
Her adamant tone was ever so present.
"Good." He resounded, leaving her rising anger unnoticed. "Rule number two: my office is off limits. No matter the circumstances. I do not trust anyone, especially someone I don't thoroughly know."
She knew why. He must think she'd desire to steal his work. Why would a neuroscientist like her interfere with a physicist?
"I do not plan to go there anytime soon," Amy dryly claimed, crossing her arms.
"So is there more of this hogwash, or is it possible that I may have my little time here at peace?"
Hogwash? Dr. Cooper thought. When was his ideas ever described as nonsense? Who was she to say that?
He stopped in his tracks, head turning to his left shoulder while his back now faced her.
"Rule number 3: You shall not bug me with anything. My time is run by schedule, and I do not need anyone disordering it. Unless you strongly regard it to be extremely helpful for.. A: me, or B: my work."
This time, she could not hold in her gasp of disbelief. It felt like an ice cube was sliding down her spine. This man was indubitably extreme! Sitting tall with his pride on a horse, thinking he controlled the world. Dr. Cooper believed that his hour is much more valuable than anyone else's… Even hers!
"You cannot be serious," was all that came out of her, fully perplexed with incredulity.
Tilting his head, he quirked a brow high up on his forehead.
"Why should I not be? I fail to see this as a joke."
The stale machine-like response threw her off once more.
"I mean to say," she rephrased, "you do know you're implying that out of everyone's work, yours is the most crucial."
"Of course, I am the number one intelligence Pasadena has, if not the country. Apart from physics, I occupy the working knowledge of all the other fields. And when I say I do, I intend that I have a very sufficient amount of understanding."
Amy could not believe her ears.
Was this how he spoke to everybody? To see Dr. Cooper have this arrogant display, people may have allowed this. Perhaps others had done so, but she will not bend to his will. Amy Farrah Fowler was not going to back down without a fight.
"Well then, I suppose you can do my job," She placed her hands on her hips.
He blinked, standing a bit straighter as she carried on, "Because you claim that you know all things."
"I don't see any symptoms of hearing damage, but you truly have difficulty understanding words."
The gall, she thought, clenching her fist around the sling of her satchel.
"How are you so sure that I won't be Pasadena's highest intellectual?"
He scoffed, "If you brood such an idea, then Dr. Fowler, you may not know me very well."
"'Well' you say? Then I ought to get to do so?"
"It is only logical." The physicist reached high on his toes then back down on his heels.
Squinting her eyes behind her spectacles, she uttered, "So you're entailing that we spare some time to get to know one another?"
Dr. Cooper snapped his wide gaze at her, a shoulder moving back. "Absolutely not!"
Amy adjusted her glasses on her nose in resolution and brought her heeled shoe a step towards him.
"I'll have you remember, Dr. Cooper, that I study the brains of primates, including humans. And along with my major, I took psychology throughout my years. You need not to spar with me because it'll only be of no use."
He nipped the inside of his cheek. She dared challenge him? The true mastermind? He raised his eyebrow at her, amused.
Eyeing her watch, she continued, "Thus, within the past hour since we had first met, I can readily say that I know you." She dropped her wrist, retaking her combat position and folding her arms with a small, triumphant smile.
Dr. Cooper's fiery eyes widened. "Regardless of what you perceive, Miss, your intake for this matter is invalid."
How could a neuroscientist beat a physicist?
He crossed his arms and took a step closer to her. "Secondly, if it weren't for us, you simpletons would never understand neuroscience. Look at the trivial sense that neurons are made of atoms, which are in turn composed of particles whose behavior can be described with quantum mechanics. By cases, your people would invoke quantum mechanics to explain particular animal sensory systems." The man spat, a small vein appearing visible on his neck.
Amy took another step further. "Neuroscience is harder for physicists. Physics contains highly abstract and mathematical concepts, however, there is far less information to memorize for the purpose of obtaining a diploma compared to the highly detailed chemistry and biology required for neuroscience. Hence, there is no way to conduct a true comparison unless of course the term "harder" is quantified for this purpose by neuroscience." The lady ended her part with grace and resilience.
"Now, in conclusion, Dr. Cooper.. I too will have extremely important work of my own. And I do not desire to have any hands from a physicist to meddle in my affairs as well."
The air suddenly felt heavy around the two. An unwelcome thick blanket rested amongst them. The only noise that could be heard in the empty room was the chirping and buzzing of crickets, and their shallow breathing.
It was tremendously odd. The atmosphere in the room felt electric, energy rushing through their pulse. Sparks spiraling in their blood like an electron charge. The mood hung with indescribable abnormality that neither individual could fathom. Both scientists were immensely pent up in their conversation that they had not realized the space they somehow minimized between them.
Has Dr. Sheldon Cooper finally met his equal?
The air was so brittle it could snap, and if it did not, one of them might. No one said a single word yet, what was there to say? Platitudes won't cut it right now. Their iron-locked gaze was unceasing. It was daunting yet overpowering for her. Amy never felt so childish quarreling with another adult like this. Though, she undeniably felt adrenaline– in finding her match.
Despite their earlier agreements, Dr. Cooper and Dr. Fowler were already less than twenty inches apart from one another. It was only a millisecond when they were at each other's throats in a scientific dispute, having their "thou mightier than thee" stand off.
The interval of time that quelled, they did not know. Perhaps they were catching their breath, or riding the waves of this newfound current flowing through them.
A mixture of hostility, suspense, and uneasiness still hung through their midst. He became strained from his necktie, his swallow sounding loud in his ears.
His eyes left hers. They looked darker now, so dark Amy wasn't sure if there were irises around those pupils. With the help of her lenses, she noticed the tremor that stirred his placid features. A strange facial that, in some such way, captivated the examining mind of hers.
Everything was so still and quiet, Amy could sense the palpable beating of the other person's heart.
So close.
With a person standing so near him, the neurotic physicist knew his body should have instinctively riot. But for a split second, his brain short-circuited. The clock ticked another second ahead. Well… maybe more than a second this time.
Then it rushed back to them. Everything became claustrophobic, and to their suspended horror, the two took a huge leap away from the other.
Before they could start another perpetual stare, Dr. Cooper straightened his tie and emitted a small voice, "It is now ten minutes before eleven, did you say you needed to go somewhere, Dr. Fowler?"
Accompanied by her own wavering voice, Amy nodded awkwardly, "Why yes, thank you. I need to hurry back home to pack."
A second more of quietude took its toll.
"I shall go now." The soft spoken words slipped her cherry lips, taking everything with her–at least what was left of her level-headed thoughts– and escaping through the door. Dr. Cooper dropped his hands down, feeling the electricity that was once there disappearing into thin air.
Passing through the long vestibule encompassed by millions of frames, Amy walked by below the acrylic paintings of the past decades of brilliant scientists.
Something lingered in her mind:
For that she found more than one problem... Will she be able to work beside this man?
Like Erwin's Schrödinger's cat… There are two possible answers to this question.
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Strange feeling.
A strange feeling comes in a strange package.
In a strange color in a strange structure with a strange feature.
With a strange nature with a strange behavior.
Inside which can be felt but cannot be expressed.
As it stands at a distance far away, leaving one helpless.
She was no beauty queen. She had no Hollywood flare. Her lips weren't plump like a film actress. She did not possess the tall, slim, feminine figure that flawless ladies may have.
But something about her short yet stout frame strangely made his heart shake. And her skin was pale and radiant as the moon. Somehow impossibly whiter than snow. Her dark, long ebony chestnut hair flowed down past her shoulders, running along her back like a river. Then there came that voice. That dreamy-like hum of her voice. It wasn't squeaky high pitch like the other mistresses he heard who'd chat shrilly outside the tailor stores. It was in a lower register. Quiet... gentle.. womanly.
Lastly, her eyes. Those vibrant stars that blinked to life every time those lashes sweep upon her lower lids. This wasn't the type of lady to be seen on Daily Sunday Newspaper, if anything, other men would scramble for another damsel with striking proportions. However, he caught himself staring at the unknown woman longer than his usual three-second-look-rule he naturally implemented over the years. His eyes never wandered to anyone longer than necessary. After all, what was there to gawk at? The sole thing he ever admired and wished to cast his gaze upon was his blackboard full of writings.
It was since their walk around the building that he kept to himself. There must be a reason for his silence.. his being stuck in a trance. Wracking his brain, he cannot find it.
Dr. Cooper's first impression of Dr. Fowler was a different one. Anomalous. Eccentric. And a very very uncommon one. The time when she stuck out her hand in front of him made his whole body feel feverish. Then the events where she spoke with a deep timbre of clarity and consistency. And finally her impudence and sass, where she thought she could put him in his place. It was silly of her to think of such a thing. Yet, he applauded her for it, figuratively. If he were to be truthful, he did not understand what came over him. He was speechless; for the first time, the mighty scientist lost his voice. That woman stunned him in every way possible. And there was something else. Well, he was always arguing the fundamentals of work with others, however, there was an uncontrollable surge of vigor. Today, he felt that he had more-so-than-usual toughness with the new employee. He just did not know why.
This frustrated him.
And throughout the entire day, he was crabby. With build-up anger, he released a labored sigh.
His comrades were curious about the newly hired worker, yabbering away like gossiping aunts and mothers. From the professional space, the offices became a place of excited toddlers,
"Did you hear? Mr. newbie is not really a 'mister!'" One of the few of their foreign coworkers, Dr. Koothrappali, exclaimed.
"Who hasn't? The whole campus is talking about it." Leonard chirped in, his curly locks seemingly being more curly that day.
"Ladies, ladies. We must not be so delighted about this– what if she isn't good-looking?" Howard's volume transmitted into a dopey whisper.
Getting a little look from Dr. Hofstadter, Howard shut himself up, but the cheeky grin was still there.
It was fascinating that no matter where he went, or what he did, the fellows always knew the best timing to come and disturb the man while he was working.
Even when Dr. Cooper was on his way to a lab to collect some findings. You can say 'good friends' since it will take more than his patronizing to prod them away.
"Gentlemen, if you can take your chit-chats somewhere else, it will be deeply appreciated." He pressed the sides of his temple in an effort of a massage.
"Oh right," Lloyd said, "you have met Dr. Fowler this morning, how was the meeting?"
Terrible. The voices were drowned out in the background as the thought came. The earlier memory drifted behind his eyelids.
"Was it alright?"
"Mm." The friends looked at each other by the mere reply.
"Oh-my-mother's-supreme-divine-being," Howard gasped with a dramatic effect, pointing an impudent finger at him. "You botched up the introduction.. you flubbed the whole thing!"
There went his quick conclusion. Like how all engineers do before they choose their career as MIT undergraduates.
Dr. Cooper eyeballed him impatiently before whipping his head away from the shorter man.
"You have," The mechanic laughed and cackled, smacking a hand on his knee before he resided in poking the taller man. "I did not doubt a bit that you'd pull a wisecrack of an interview with the guest."
"I most certainly did no such thing," followed by a snap from the heated man.
"Hardly. By the time you've become sweet and gentle, I'd either be working as my mother's butler or laying on my deathbed."
"Or… when someone falls head over heels for Howard's charm." Rajesh piped up with a snigger, earning a punch on the shoulder.
"Hey, watch it. My charms are noteworthy, I always have told you to learn from them if you want to get married soon!"
"You mean get thrown out of a bar, or get slapped by a purse? I'll pass on that."
Their playful banter continued all the way down the stairs, until Leonard spoke again. "Interview? I don't think it was in any way that form, was it an interview?"
"No, I only reopened her application in her office."
"And you just put that guest on the spot." Dr. Hofstadter muttered with instant resignation.
"Have I, now? I had only asked the given questions on the paper, simply repeating."
"Clearly, this is the right translation from his language to ours: interrogating her." Howard added, jumping up over Dr. Cooper's shoulder.
Now that the theoretical physicist thought back, it may be verifiable that his form of dictating her status made the neuroscientist fidget.
"You were not trying to qualify her," Leonard groaned, slouching from embarrassment.
Dr. Cooper pointedly spoke, "But it was only right for me to do so. One word and if she easily breaks, then there is no difference from hiring a preschooler in our chemistry-psychology sanction."
"This is not a military camp."
Oh brother. The experimental physicist kicked his feet up.
"Look Cooper, you're a brilliant man.. but your people's skills.. people would get the wrong idea.."
"However, Dr. Fowler may have proven to me that she is not of the sort." The tall man breathed, cutting his off companion.
Mr. Wolowitz shook his head, puckering his lips and clicking his tongue. "You mean she is not like those beautiful, vicious, airheaded women I see in the taverns? See, one way or another, I knew there was something not right with her. It's just too good to be true for a goddess to have both the brains and the looks."
She had something.. very different about her. A wit like no other, full of strength, and the confidence in knowing what she wanted.
"You're really not going to compete with the poor woman, are you?" Raj questioned, the three men fixating their attention on the man who was being pulled by the waves of reverie.
"Man, woman, animal. There is no such thing as "differentiation" when it comes to science. Intelligence does not distinguish in flesh. Just because she possesses the femininus physicality, it does not vary." Cooper asserted, the man then continued to walk down the landing.
He had many things to do. But first, he needed to organize his thoughts.
Because all his mind could think of was how peculiar that girl was.
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A blaring, girly squeal filled the neighborhood up in the dark night sky. "I am extremely happy for you, Amy! You've got a new blank page to write your life on!" A bubbly platinum-blonde woman cheered, her shoulder-bob hair swishing side to side from her little dance.
"Thank you so much, Penelope! Your excitement for me is the sole highlight of my day!"
The two best friends were gleefully chatting about their day from the third-floor windows of their apartment. The two ladies lived in two different yet consecutive buildings, their balconies facing each other. In the brink of the twilight dusk, Amy's hair was timely done in a bun, wearing her white negligées nightgown. Her chest was covered by two pearl and shell buttons up her cleavage unlike Penelope's peignoir which was openly designated with a long v-neck line.
Penelope rested her dainty arms across her chest on the windowsill, lifting her head with her hand on her gorgeous cheekbone. "My, a whole different city." She let out a dreamy sigh. "A whole new world."
Amy followed her beautiful friend's wistful eyes, before raising her own towards the stars twinkling above them. "I have to confess… it is exhilarating, yet a little scary."
A blow of air sounded in her ears, the night breeze calming the muscles in her body after the long day. "You ought not to be! You are an extraordinary young lady who drove herself into her life-long dreams, worked through the tides, did not allow anyone or anything to hammer you down, and had proved everyone wrong."
The words from her sweet friend put a grateful, melancholy smile on Amy's face.
"Like you had told me before… Sir Winston Churchill vowed in his famous speech in the Second World War, "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat."
This made the brunette giggled vibrantly by the blonde's memory and by the feigned distortion of a manly voice of a Brit.
"You are purely too good at that, a born actress," Amy spoke before she let out a child-like scream at Penelope's white champagne being thrown at her across their terraces.
"You best not be lying to me! Someday, you will see me on a stage. With my name and face on banners, commercials, and newsletters! Ooh," Penelope playfully put a finger on her lip-glossed lips. "Perhaps on the radio too, channeling worldwide."
Amy chuckled lightheartedly. I suppose we all have big dreams.
The previous week she was not so thrilled in leaving her favorite person behind; they had always stuck together through thick and thin. However, Penelope persuaded her. "I shall come to visit you.. who knows, I might move there too soon." Her friend had said, squeezing her fingers with a hopeful glimmer in her round eyes. Thus, her dread and sadness faded from the reassuring words. Perhaps she was frightful to make a new home far away, all alone. Without her only friend in the world.
"Oh wait- do continue about your day. How was it?" The model-like girl sang with a bounce on her heels.
Absolutely dreary. It was then when that god-forsaken picture of his face that had been too up close to hers that appeared in the front of her mind.
"Not too crummy," Amy hastily said, shifting her arms in different positions on the rails, uncertain how to hide her glowing face.
Penelope's eyes gleamed. Her friend could not pretend she could not see Amy's jumpy state.
"Something must have happened today! Do tell me, pretty please." She begged.
Amy was truly bad at lying after all.
"Alright, alright. I have no choice because everyone knows the power of your infamous big eyes, batting eyelashes and tiresome pout." She jested before seeing the goofy pull in the blonde's face.
"There is this scientist I have met… He and I–"
"Amy!" The brunette could hear the smile on her friend's lips. "A gentleman, huh? My, my, this is way too soon."
"Do let me finish! It is not like that." She insisted, her face not getting less red than this.
Hence, the rest of the evening, Amy poured everything that had transpired in her supposed 'normal' Monday, and Penelope listened with great interest. "The entire day! He berated, lectured, and condescended me!"
"Goodness," The blonde finally began. "He seemed to not be the genial sort. The type to not have time for little girlies like us, or other people for that matter."
"Indeed," Amy agreed listlessly, focusing her eyes on the first quarter shape of the moon.
"That is rather impressive if you ask me. So tell me, is he handsome?"
"Penelope!"
"Tantalizing even, when one is hiding his charms… Sort of sounds like you."
"I am being serious!" Amy squawked.
"Keep it down there, some of us are trying to sleep!" One of their neighbors hollered, a light switching on from a floor below them.
The two girls apologized, lowering to their faint tones.
"If you've met him, you'd see what I mean. I sure have never seen a guy like him!"
"Dear, you've said this three times already."
Amy leaned on the balustrade, her chin comfortably burying on her folded arms that laid atop the timber bars– its steel sculpted in the shapes of tree branches.
Penelope watched her friend while brushing through her hair with her fingers.
She knew that Amy was never the type to complain about something. Especially in talking about a man. And here they were, chasing the minutes of the evening, erupting about someone she had just met that day.
And Penelope knew. She knew that there were many people, or you can say obstacles who had given her poor friend a hard time all her life. Though, she never broke into tears. Never fell on her knees. Well, she never showed it. Perhaps she was a prodigy at keeping it all in. But to her surprise, she never heard Amy speak of someone in more than fifty words.
"Our whole encounter was awful. He needn't be such a brute." Amy whispered against her skin, snuggling her nose close to her wrist.
"You should not hate him so. Who knows, he may have had a horrible past. May have lived his life dreadfully. Everyone's got to have a story, right?"
The wind began to blow from the east this time. Her almond-brown strands from her hairline and sideburns flowed with the motions of the gust.
She thought back to the moment the bicker between them stopped. The catch of air. Their war-like stance. The look in their eyes. The hold of breaths.
Amy then thought back to the dark-haired man's sense of sophistication. Proper. Gentlemanly. This man was ahead of his time, acting like an old bugger already and sharing the early signs of grouse and grumble. But then she remembered how, for the first time, she met someone who, she felt, shared her take of the world.
Yes, he was intolerable. Maybe insufferable. Including his blunder of so-called shrewdness.
She closed her heavy-lidded eyes.
Dr. Cooper was indeed the strangest person she ever met….
Yet, it was in him whom she saw her reflection in.
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You remember this~
A kiss is a kiss
A sigh is just a sigh
The fundamental things apply
As time goes by~
–Dooley Wilson, Casablanca 1942.
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