A First Time For Everything
A MLAATR-Inspired Fanfic
By Shvique

As always, comments and feedback are welcome.

Chapter 8—Best-Laid Plans

Jenny leaned impatiently against the school building and heaved an exasperated sigh. She'd been standing motionless in that one position for so long that a line of ants had formed across the instep of her foot, and was now marching along its surface at a steady pace.

Brother, what's keeping him today? She wondered in a mild but growing pique. Cripes, I go to all the trouble of getting here early, just to make sure I'd get to see him before school starts, and what does he do? He decides to show up late!

She sighed and shook her head. Well…he's gotta show up eventually…! She thought. He's got to!

Just as the thought crossed her mind, she spotted a small, familiar figure in the periphery of her visual field, approaching from some distance down the block. She activated the zoom feature of her vision to focus closely on the figure, and immediately, she recognized it as Sheldon.

Her face immediately broke into a huge smile and she stood straight up. There he is! She thought excitedly. Now it's time to star laying on the charm! I'm gonna lay so much charm on him, he won't know what hit him!

She waited until she estimated he was within earshot, then bounced lightly on her feet (disturbing the line of ants), raised her arm over her head and waved in a wide, sweeping arc. "Hi, Sheldon!" she called out cheerily. "Over here!"

Sheldon's head snapped up at the call of his name. Upon recognition, he glanced away briefly, then slowly looked back to meet her gaze, as his footsteps slowed by the smallest increment.

"Oh, um…hi, Jenny…" he said in a quiet, subdued voice, his expression wary and guarded.

"What happened to your scooter?" Jenny asked as he approached.

"My scooter?" he said. "Oh, um…that… The uh…the battery conked out last night. So I had to walk." His tone was flat, uninflected, as he stepped past her and through the main doors.

"Gee, that's too bad," Jenny replied, following along right beside him. "Guess you'll have to buy a new one then, huh? A new battery, I mean."

"Yeah...probably…"

"I'd lend you one of my spare power-units, but I don't think it'd work. It's probably not compatible. Different power output and everything."

"Yeah, probably..." he repeated tonelessly.

Silence followed the pair as they continued down the entranceway and into the main hallway. Jenny remained close beside him, regarding him with the same pleasant little smile on her face, while he merely stared straight ahead, with only occasional quick glances of acknowledgement in her direction.

"Oh, by the way," she asked suddenly. "Did you get my emails?"

"Your what?" Sheldon gave her a puzzled look.

"My emails. I sent you a whole bunch of them over the last several days, on all kinds of stuff I thought you'd like to read about." She paused, waiting for a response. "Did you get a chance to look any of them yet? Or doesn't your mom let you use the Internet either while you're grounded?"

Sheldon stared blankly at her for a long moment, before he finally realized what she was referring to.

"Oh…oh…yeah…that…" he said, as he recalled the long series of emails he'd noticed in his inbox the night before.

Well, that explains that! He thought. At least those weren't spam emails I got. For a moment, he was almost about to mention his now-discarded theory that her email account had been hacked into and used by a spammer, but then just as quickly, he dropped the idea.

"Well, you see," he began. "I still have Internet access, but…well, these days I mostly only use it for homework and…stuff like that." His tone remained flat and noninflected throughout, as though he were merely responding out of politeness rather than genuine interest. "But yeah, I saw your emails in my inbox, and I was going to read 'em last night, but…" he hesitated, recalling the exhausting online debate he'd gotten into the night before. "But well… I kinda got sidetracked onto something else, and didn't get a chance to get back to 'em, so…sorry 'bout that."

"Oh," Jenny said, crestfallen. "Well, I…I just…thought you might find them interesting…" she trailed off.

"I'll read 'em later, though." He paused. "Tonight or something…probably…"

They walked in silence a few more paces, until they reached their lockers, where they stopped and opened them. They each placed their backpacks inside, and began pulling out textbooks, notebooks and other necessary items for their morning classes.

"Yeah, one of the emails I sent…" Jenny went on, somewhat awkwardly. "Um…it had a link to an article about a new movie I guess they're gonna start making pretty soon, about Captain Crush." She paused, waiting for a response. "That's the name of that comic book character you read, isn't it? Captain Crush?"

Sheldon glanced up at her, surprised at her mention of the name, and he opened his mouth, as if to respond. For a brief, hopeful moment, Jenny thought she detected a faint glimmer of the enthusiasm that he'd had often displayed in the past, whenever one of his favorite subjects was mentioned.

But the moment passed quickly and the faint glimmer vanished, almost as quickly as it appeared. "Yeah…yeah, that's the name, all right…" He said, his tone remaining subdued and cautious, his eyes narrowed as if in suspicion.

"I thought it was," Jenny continued as she closed her locker and spun the dial. "Anyway, yeah, the article talked about the plans they have for the movie, and the people who're gonna write it, and who they wanted to star as the lead, and some other stuff, too. They said they wanted to get Tab Fielding, or maybe Chet Starnes to play the part, but I dunno. Starnes is a good actor, but I don't think he really seems the type to play a superhero. What do you think?"

"Well, I…" Sheldon began, then hesitated as he dropped his gaze, closing his locker. "I don't know… I suppose…" He shrugged, turned and started to walk away without another word.

Jenny quickly stepped along to join him. "And that other guy they mentioned," she continued. "That Fielding guy, I never even heard of him. I don't even know if he can act. I don't think he's ever even been in a movie before. I mean, he sorta looks the part, and if he can act and do the stunts and everything okay, then great, fine, whatever, but what if it turns out he can't act to save his life? What do you suppose they'll do then? Do you think maybe they'll have to bring in an acting-coach or something, just so he doesn't end up looking like a total block of wood onscreen?"

For a moment, Jenny thought she heard a faint sound like a repressed snicker from Sheldon, and she was positive she saw a faint flicker of a smile tug at his lips. She waited a good thirty seconds for a reply or a response of some kind from him. But in the end, just as he had before, he merely shrugged, as though he had virtually no interest in the subject.

"I don't know…" he finally said. "Guess we'll just have to wait and see…"

Jenny fought the urge to sigh out loud at the tepid response she received. Huh! she thought. I thought for sure this'd get a bigger reaction from him. He always used to talk about this stuff so much before… He'd never shut up about it, in fact! But now… Now, it's like he couldn't care less!

Despite her disappointment however, Jenny refused to give up. "Say! You know who I think would be a good choice to play the part?" she went on, striving to match the energy-level she'd often seen Sheldon display when discussing his favorite topics. "Arvin Hatcher! Don't you think? Yeah, he's a terrific actor, and I think he'd be a great choice to play the role! And he kinda looks like a comic book superhero anyway. Or maybe Arch Stanton! He'd be good, too. Or maybe Bill Carson. Or maybe even Bob Tetley! I don't know if he's quite tall enough to play Captain Crush, but maybe with tricky camera work or something they could somehow make it work… Yeah, I think any one of them would be good in the role!" She paused, then added, coaxingly, "What do you think?"

Sheldon turned to face her, and looked at her directly for a long moment, as though studying her closely. His expression seemed to have subtly altered, and there was now something about it that seemed…softer somehow, contemplative, thoughtful, as though he were carefully considering Jenny's words, and forming a thoughtful, meaningful reply for her. He opened his mouth again, and for a long moment, it seemed as though he was finally prepared to speak freely and openly about the subject.

But once again, he hesitated at the last instant, as though something inside him was holding him back. He closed his mouth and turned away. "I...I guess so," he replied quietly. "I dunno… I…I'd have to read the articles." He fell back into a sullen silence once more as he continued walking.

Again, Jenny strongly resisted the urge to release a disappointed sigh. Okay…okay… she thought. I knew this wasn't going to be easy… But even so, I thought he'd give me something more to work with than this!

The pair soon arrived at the doorway of the biology lab. "Yeah, well, this is my next class, so…I'll see you" Sheldon said as he stepped past her and into the lab, taking his usual seat in the front row.

"Yeah…see you…" Jenny replied as she remained at the doorway, looking in after him, her hand resting on the doorjamb.

Sheldon opened his textbook and notebook, carefully arranging them on the lab-table, as he prepared to take notes for the morning's class, while Jenny remained at the doorway, utterly motionless, her eyes fixed upon him.

I'm not giving up on you, Sheldon…! she thought. I am gonna get you to open up and like me again, just like you used to! And I don't care how long it takes!

After a full minute had passed, Sheldon happened to glance up to discover that Jenny was still standing at the doorway, staring in at him with a faint little smile on her face. His gaze rested on her for a moment, then he looked away with a shudder.

There was just something odd about her that morning, her whole manner, that just unnerved him And that smile! There was just something creepy and…unnatural about it. Unnatural, even allowing for the fact that it came from a robot. It just seemed…fake, somehow, as though it were concealing some secret ulterior motive that Sheldon couldn't even guess at.

Jenny's lingering presence at the doorway also attracted the attention of others, including the instructor, Dr. Farandolae.

"Ms. Wakeman?" the instructor said as she approached Jenny, speaking in her usual distinctive, high-pitched, whining tone—a tone which grated upon the nerves of all students everywhere, including Jenny. "Haven't you a class of your own to attend this period?"

"Hmm…?" Jenny replied distractedly, her eyes remaining fixed upon Sheldon.

"Ms. Wakeman?" The instructor repeated, this time in an even whinier, more grating tone.

"Oh! Um, I mean….yes, Dr. Farandolae…?" Jenny replied, suppressing a smile as she looked down at the diminutive biology teacher now addressing her. With her slender, almost ectomorphic build, pale complexion and full head of frizzy white hair, Dr. Farandolae resembled nothing so much as a five-foot-tall Q-tip.

"I said, haven't you a class of your own to attend?" The instructor repeated her question.

"Yes, Doctor, I have a class," Jenny replied, her gaze drifting back to Sheldon.

"Then perhaps you should get to it!" the instructor suggested, her tone now acquiring a distinctly sarcastic edge to it, her frizzy white hair seeming to bristle with impatience.

"Yeah…maybe I should…" Jenny replied absentmindedly, barely listening.

"Well…?" Dr. Farandolae said after a beat.

"Well, what?" Reluctantly, Jenny's attention snapped back to face the instructor.

"Well then, begone with you!" Dr. Farandolae commanded, waving Jenny off with both hands as though she were a bothersome insect. "Away with you! Shoo! Shoo!"

"Oh… Yes… Right… Sorry…" Jenny turned to leave, but just before departing, she managed to catch Sheldon's eye for one last instant, and gave him a quick final wave and a smile.

Sheldon merely regarded her with a look of utter bewilderment and a puzzled shake of his head.

What the heck is with her these days? He wondered.

The bell rang, signaling the end of class. Sheldon jotted down a few final notes, then closed his textbook and notebook, and gathering them up with the rest of his books, tucked them under his arm as he rose to his feet.

I wonder if I'll get to meet up with Bernice sometime this morning? he wondered. I sure hope so… I'd really like a chance to talk to her some more…

The stream of students jostling past him disturbed his thoughts, and he quickly joined them, exiting the lab and stepping out into the hallway. As he strolled along, he scanned the crowd for the familiar form of his new friend, but saw no sign of her.

Well, it's early yet, he thought. I'll probably see her sometime today in between classes or something… I'm bound to run into her eventually… And maybe later on I'll catch up with the guys too, see if maybe they want to have a gaming-session today after school… I sure hope so… I haven't been able to join them in a game for a long, long time now… I sure hope I didn't get rusty since I last played …

He soon arrived at the chemistry-lab and stepped inside, taking a seat at the fourth-row table. at the front of the lab, the instructor, Mr. Pigott sat at his desk, in the process of removing some papers from his briefcase, arranging them on the desktop, and reviewing them one at a time.

Sheldon glanced up at the clock on the wall. Still a few minutes left, he thought. Time enough for a little light reading.

He pulled a comic-book from the back pocket of his binder, issue #17 of The Knights of Lucida, opened it midway and began reading, picking up the story where he'd left off the evening before. He soon became so absorbed in the story that he took no notice of the other students sauntering into the lab. One of the new arrivals was Jenny.

"Hey, Sheldon!" she called out to him upon entering.

He glanced up from his comic book, startled. "Oh hi, Jenny," he replied evenly, then turned his attention back to the illustrated pages before him.

Jenny casually strolled over to his lab-table and stood beside him.

"Soooo…" she began amiably, as she looked over his shoulder at the pages of the comic-book. "Whatcha readin'…?"

"Oh, just…" he flipped the book over, displaying the cover with the title.

Jenny scanned the cover-art and title in an instant, cross-referenced them against her memory-banks, and immediately came up with a match, a process which took a mere fraction of a second.

"Oh! The new Knights of Lucida!" she exclaimed. "That's the new one, isn't it? The spin-off series that came out only a year or two ago, based on Trek Wars, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Sheldon said, not looking up.

In a flash, another idea formed in Jenny's mind, one that, she felt sure, was absolutely foolproof, guaranteed to work without fail.

"Say, speaking of that," she exclaimed, with an upbeat lilt to her voice. "I'll bet you're really looking forward to that new Trek Wars movie that's coming out this Summer, huh! You know the one, Attack of Hanni Jos Nor! Isn't that the title?"

Sheldon looked up at her, stunned, the question having caught him completely by surprise. He stared at her intently for a full 30 seconds before he mumbled a reply, "Umm…yeah…" He spoke in a quiet, guarded tone, as though he still wasn't quite sure he'd heard correctly. "Yeah, that's the title, all right…"

"I saw the commercial for it on TV the other night," Jenny went on. "And it looks like it's gonna be really awesome! Maybe even better than the last one in the series! And, OH! What about those two new villains they have? They look like just about the creepiest villains I've seen yet in those movies! Like the kind that loves to lay waste to entire planets and star-systems, just for the heck of it, and leave nothing behind but ashes! Scary! And that one guy in particular, the title character. You know the one I mean? The slimy warlord with a head shaped like a soccer ball? Wow, he really looks like a creep! Or that evil queen!" She shuddered. "Yeesh! Toxic! Like she's got acid in her veins! She kinda reminded me of Queen Vexus! Don't you think?"

Sheldon regarded Jenny in utter, perplexed silence, completely baffled. But as he listened, his features gradually softened, untainted by his earlier suspicion, and he came to regard her more with a genuine, sincere interest.

His mouth started to open too, and for a moment, it seemed as though he were at last about to reply with a more thoughtful and substantive response. But again, at the very last instant, he hesitated and slowly closed his mouth again. It seemed as though he wanted to speak with a more fulsome reply, but something deep within him prevented it.

His sudden reticence on the subject both surprised and puzzled Jenny. She knew that the series of movies, and the line of comics and books related to them, were among Sheldon's top-favorite subjects, and before now, he'd always had a lot to say about them.

Still hoping to encourage him, she went on, in an effort to keep the one-sided conversation going. "Anyway…yeah, it looks like it's going to be a really cool movie…" She searched her memory-banks for further details to add. "And um…I…I hope they give the robots a little more to do in this movie," she added. "You know, give them a little more screen-time, and some more dialog. I mean, they're such fun characters, and they add so much to the story, I really think they ought to be used more…don't you?"

Her smile widened encouragingly, as she waited for a response—any response: a nod, a simple word, a look of acknowledgement, anything. Still, Sheldon regarded her only with blank stoicism.

Come on, Sheldon, come on! She thought. Give me something!

At last, he replied, "Yeah… Yeah, more screen-time for the robots would be good…"

Okay…! Jenny thought, At least he's giving me something to work with now…! That's more than he was giving me earlier…

"Although I have to admit," she pressed ahead, going out on a limb. "I hope they don't bring back that awful KNDY-37 character; I didn't like her one bit!"

Sheldon's eyebrows shot up. "Oh, you didn't like her either?" he asked.

Jenny shook her head. "No, I couldn't stand her! I thought she was a real pain in the diodes!"

To her amazement and relief, Sheldon actually chuckled at her remark, and even revealed a tiny, subdued smile. It wasn't much, but it was the first hopeful sign she'd seen in days of his former good humor whenever he was in her presence.

"Anyhow…I know that Brad and Tuck will probably want to see the movie, too," she went on cautiously. "So I was just thinking…um…maybe…maybe we can all go see it together…" she suggested. "You know; the four of us. We could all go see it together and make a special thing of it…" she paused. "Wouldn't that be fun?"

"Um…yeah…sure…" Sheldon replied cautiously, eyeing her warily, as though he were half-expecting some sort of cruel joke to be played on him.

"Great!" Jenny replied, now beaming widely. "We'll keep that in mind for the Summer, then! If we plan ahead, maybe we can even go see it on opening day!"

"Um…well, yeah…I…suppose…maybe…" Sheldon replied quietly.

Jenny's smile faltered. 'Maybe'? she thought. Only 'maybe?' Cripes, I thought for sure he'd be way more excited about it than this!

But almost as though he'd read her thoughts, Sheldon quickly added. "I…I mean, I'm not sure. I…might be out of town or—something—when the movie opens."

"Oh?" Jenny said, her eyebrows raised. "Where are you going?"

"Oh, I—" He was almost about to mention the possible trip to Hawaii that his mother had mentioned that morning, but at the last instant, he hesitated. No…no, He thought. I don't want to jinx it by saying anything about it now! Not 'til it's all set!

So instead, he merely shrugged. "Well…I'm not sure yet." He said. "I'm not even sure the trip's really gonna happen or not at this point. It's still kind of early in the planning stages. There are a lot of variables involved."

"Oh, I see." Jenny smiled. It was funny, she thought, but even in friendly conversation, Sheldon sometimes lapsed into expressing himself in mathematical terms, just out of sheer habit. And even though she had at one time found this tendency in him to be both weird and kind of off-putting, she now found it ironically appealing and even somewhat endearing…

"Well," she said. "If you do end up going on your trip to…wherever, we can still all go see the movie together once you get back home…" She paused. "Right?"

"Yeah…" he replied tepidly. "Sure…"

She gave him a final, friendly nod and a broad smile. "Great!" she said. "Looking forward to it then!"

She then turned and walked away to take her seat at another lab-table a couple of rows away. Although Sheldon's response was still far less than she'd have liked, it was better than nothing, and she would accept it for now.

Sheldon watched her for a moment longer, then turned his attention back to the pages of his comic book. Huh! He thought. That was weird… First Captain Crush and now this… She never used to be that interested in this stuff before… I wonder why she's suddenly so interested in it now…? Is it just 'cuz Trek Wars has robots in it…? Or did she really like Trek Wars all along and I just never knew it…? I kinda doubt it… But still…I suppose it's possible…

The moment Jenny had taken her seat, she swiveled around to look back at Sheldon, her elbow resting on the chair-back, and her chin resting on the palm of one hand. As she quietly observed him, the same warm little smile remained on her face.

He's getting there…! She thought. Little by little, I think he's starting to warm up to me again, I can tell…! He really wanted to say something just now too, I just know he did! I could feel it! And he almost did, too! Almost…! But…it's almost like he's afraid to say anything… I don't know why… But even so, he is starting to relax around me again, I just know he is! I just need a little more time, that's all… Just a little more time…and I gotta remember to be patient with him too, like Mom said! Just a little bit more time and before long, we'll be back to being friends again, same as always…!

She sighed as she watched him. Maybe…she thought. Maybe, in time, I can even get him to join me and Brad and Tuck for other fun stuff, too… Like we all used to do together…sometimes… Maybe we can all go on a trip up to the lake for a picnic or something… Or maybe up to the mountains for an overnight camping-trip… That'd be fun. I've always wanted to do something like that anyway. Or maybe I can fly all three of them out to the coast, for a day at the beach… I don't really like the beach all that much—all that sand and saltwater is bad for my circuitry! But still…I bet the boys'd like it… Or maybe…maybe Sheldon and I could just do something together, just the two of us… He always wanted to do fun stuff with me anyway… So… Hmm…I wonder if he's ever been to Port Leroux? That's a nice city…I bet he'd like it…! I think they have some really cool museums there that he might like to visit, too... So maybe I could fly him out there sometime… And the two of us could even have lunch or dinner on top of the Hotel Egmont! Just the two of us! I bet he'd really like that… And the view from up there is just incredible!

The smile on her face continued to grow into a broad, anticipatory grin as she considered all of the wonderful possibilities for the future that now lay before her…

More students continued to stroll into the lab, carrying with them snippets of their ongoing conversations. They gathered in small groups scattered here and there around the lab, and little by little, the ambient volume-level gradually increased. Nevertheless, both Sheldon and Jenny's attention remained unbroken; his firmly focused on the pages of his comic-book, while hers remained focused solely on him.

Minutes passed and Sheldon suddenly became aware of the eerie sensation…that he was being watched. He glanced up and realized with a start…

…that Jenny was staring at him, with her cheek resting on one palm, and with an unnerving little smile on her face—similar to the one she'd displayed earlier that morning, when she'd stood at the classroom door.

Puzzled, he met her gaze for only a moment, before turning his attention back to the comic book.

After another moment or two had passed, he glanced up again to discover Jenny still staring at him, still with the same unsettling little smile on her face.

"What?" he finally asked.

"Nothing…nothing…" Jenny shook her head, her cheeks briefly flaring in a faint blue blush.

"Well then, what are you staring at me for?" he asked, with a slightly irritated frown.

"I'm…I'm not…" she demurely turned away and lowered her eyes, her LED blush-response briefly flaring once more.

Sheldon frowned at her for a moment longer, then sighed in a quiet, mild pique and resumed reading.

Another few more moments had passed and he again glanced up to find Jenny still staring at him.

"You're doing it again!" he said, his voice now acquiring a distinctly irritated edge.

"Oh… Sorry…" Jenny said, and only then did she finally turn around to face forward, her cheeks now flaring brilliantly in the brightest shade of an embarrassed blue blush.

Boy, she sure is acting weird lately! Sheldon thought. I don't know what the heck is with her these days! She's been acting weird all week, but today it's like she's really coming unglued! Is she trying to be funny? Trying to play some kind of weird mind-game on me or something? Is that it? Or maybe she wants another favor from me…and the 'friendly' bit is just to try to get on my good side… I bet that's it! After all, she's done that kind of thing before whenever she wanted something, so…yeah, that's probably what it is… She probably just wants another favor, that's all. She hasn't come right out and asked for anything yet, but…she probably will…soon…

His thoughts were interrupted when, in the periphery of his vision, he noticed Mr. Pigott rise from his desk, adjust his even-phonier-looking-than-usual toupee, and approach the board to begin the day's lessons. Sheldon closed his comic book and carefully slipped it into the back pocket of his binder, before pulling out the class textbook, a notebook and a pen.

Well… he thought, taking a deep breath. Whatever it is, she's bound to get bored eventually and knock it off… She'll probably go back to hanging around Brad and Tuck again… Like she usually does… Or else go off to fight some giant monsters from another planet or something… Then she'll leave me alone and go back to ignoring me again… Just like she always did before…

Only now, he thought. Being ignored by Jenny might not be such a bad thing… In fact, it might even be kind of a relief...

But as the remainder of the morning progressed, it soon became clear that Jenny was not becoming bored with Sheldon. Quite the contrary, she not only persisted in her efforts, she even redoubled them, following him around almost everywhere as he went from class to class. As they walked up and down the hallways, corridors and stairways, she remained firmly at his side, as though they were moored together with an unbreakable chain. And all the while, she chattered away at him incessantly, about any and all subjects which entered her mind, all drawn nanosecond by nanosecond from her vast memory-banks. And as she spoke, the cadence of her speech gradually increased, first to one hundred words per minute, then two hundred, then three, eventually reaching a top rate of five hundred words per minute, her maximum.

"Yeah, so like I was saying," she went on. "That one article I emailed you a couple of days ago sounded pretty interesting, definitely like something you'd really, really, really like, all about some of the projects they're working on at the Bambleweeny Lab over in Great Britain, and their research into something they're calling an Infinite Improbability Drive, and the article said it's still pretty much in the theoretical phase right now, but the physicists working on the project all sounded pretty confident they could produce a working prototype of the thing within only a few years from now, and they went into a whole lot of technical details about how they expected it to work, and all the principles involved and stuff, and the different designs they had in mind for it, and what it could mean for the future of space travel if they could get it to work, and a whole bunch of technical stuff that was all pretty complicated and confusing, and to be honest, I didn't really understand very much of it—it sounded an awful lot like some of the stuff my mom rambles on about in fact—but I thought you could probably make sense out of it, so when you get a chance later on, maybe you can read it and tell me what you think of it, whether you think their theory sounds any good, or if it just sounds like a bunch of baloney or whatever, and—"

On and on and on Jenny rambled, ceaselessly, relentlessly, without letup, without the slightest hesitation, and completely oblivious to the diminishing level of response exhibited by Sheldon. His only reaction to her nonstop verbal bombardment was to withdraw even further into a total, profound silence, and his expression slowly evolved from one of wary suspicion to mild impatience to borderline annoyance.

Brother, she's still going at it! He thought as he glanced sidelong at her for what seemed like the umpty-umpth time. I thought she'd get bored by now and stop, but she didn't! Instead, she's still going strong! I don't know what the heck is with her… Did she overcharge herself or something last night? 'Cuz I haven't seen her get like this since the time she plugged herself directly into the school's main generator and she nearly blew out all her circuits as a result! Or maybe…maybe it's something else... Is she just trying to convince me that she wants to be my friend now or something? Is that it? Okay, fine, whatever, but… I mean, come on now! This is getting ridiculous! This is really overdoing it! Besides, I know she probably doesn't really mean it! She doesn't really care about me or any of this stuff, so she can just knock it off now! It's getting on my nerves! Not only that, but it's also getting embarrassing at this point!

A shudder ran down Sheldon's spine at that point as he suddenly realized just how Jenny might have felt two years earlier, when she was the one so relentlessly pursued by him. Now that the roles were ironically reversed, it was an extremely unsettling realization for him to face.

His jaw tightened and he shook his head, trying to banish the thought from his mind. No, no, no! he argued with himself. This isn't like that at all! When I was following her around, I was totally honest about it! I wasn't faking or pretending anything! I really, really liked her! This is totally different! She's being totally fake and phony with this whole weird pretend 'friendly' act she's putting on, no matter why she's doing it!

He shot another quick, annoyed glance at her—which went entirely unnoticed by her, wholly absorbed as she was in her ongoing rapid-fire monologue—and a sudden, random, highly-unlikely possibility occurred to him. Unless…he thought. Unless maybe…she's not faking…! Maybe she's not pretending anything…! Maybe she really means it this time, and really does want to be friends...! Honest to goodness, actual friends…!

He slowly turned his head and looked at her again, studying her closely, his annoyance and suspicion gradually diminishing. Is it possible? He wondered. Could it be true…?

I mean, yeah, sure, he thought as he weighed the possibility. Maybe she is going a little overboard with it, but…well, she kinda tends to do that with stuff anyway… So maybe…maybe she really does mean it… After all, she did say she wanted to try and be a better friend to me in the future, so…is this maybe just her way of showing it? I didn't really expect her to even bother trying, but now…I'm not so sure…

He pondered the possibility for only another moment, then shook his head dismissively and quickly looked away. Nahhh! He thought, rejecting the possibility. It can't be that! There's gotta be some other weird reason for why she's acting like this! I just haven't figured out what it is yet!

Eventually, Jenny's unusual and excessive clinginess to Sheldon, coupled with her loquacious and rather loud discourse, began to attract the attention of other students as she walked along, attention which soon provoked the inevitable reactions, of both mockery and ridicule, coupled with equally-inevitable jeering comments and remarks.

"Oooooooo, Jenny's got a boyfriend! Jenny's got a boyfriend!" was one such typical refrain, virtually identical to the taunt to which she'd been subjected two years earlier, when it was Sheldon following her everywhere. Only now that the roles were reversed, it somehow seemed even funnier to the mocking crowd, and provoked even more ridicule and scorn.

The comments also became more esoteric and obscure in nature, referring to Jenny's recent outburst in her Literature Class a few days earlier. Comments such as, "Hey Jenny, why don't you ask your boyfriend to fight some duels for you? Huh? How 'bout it? Have him give us a little swordplay, right here in the hallway?" Or "Hey Jenny, what's the matter? Hasn't your Dueling Cavalier answered any of your emails lately? Maybe he's been too busy fighting duels with the Viscount, to defend your honor!"

These comments in particular rankled Jenny and rattled her nerves, which were still quite raw, both from her initial in-class embarrassment to which the comments referred, and from the resulting and ongoing teasing about it that she'd had to endure ever since.

She winced at each new remark and comment made behind her back. Ohhhh, I sure wish those numbskulls would knock it off with that stuff! She thought as she cringed. It's really getting old by now!

But as irritating as the remarks were, Jenny knew that the one thing she could not do was to let on that they were getting to her. There was absolutely no way that she would ever give anyone that satisfaction. Nor would she allow them to distract her or dissuade her from her primary goal of winning back Sheldon's friendship. No, that goal still remained her top priority, and nothing, she firmly decided, would deter or distract her from it, no matter what.

So she tried to ignore the comments, refusing to acknowledge them, and allowed them to simply echo harmlessly behind her. It wasn't easy, but somehow, she managed it—barely.

Sheldon, of course, could still hear the remarks perfectly, but they made no sense to him. Not having witnessed Jenny's in-class outburst, he had no idea what the comments meant or what they referred to, and he soon found himself just as puzzled by them as he was by Jenny's behavior.

He glanced over his shoulder after one remark. "What the heck was all that about?" he asked when he was finally able to slip a word in edgewise into the midst of Jenny's mega-filibuster, though he didn't really expect much of an answer.

"Oh...pay no attention to them," Jenny replied, her mood now visibly souring. "It's just…the usual bunch of knuckleheads trying to be funny, that's all. Just ignore them."

"Oh," Sheldon replied. "That figures. But I still don't get it. I mean, their remarks are always stupid and lame, but at least they usually make some kind of sense. But these? Something about fighting duels or something? Defending your honor? Sword fighting? What the heck is all that even supposed to mean?"

"I told you, it's nothing!" Jenny snapped, her mood and tone suddenly sharpened. "Forget about it, it's just more of the same stupid lame remarks those idiots are always making!"

"Okay, okay," Sheldon replied, recoiling slightly with an irritated frown, and gripping his textbooks closer to himself as though they were a protective shield.

The pair walked in silence for a few more paces, before Jenny spoke again.

"It's just—" she hesitated, then pressed ahead. "It's about a dumb stupid book I had to read for my dumb stupid Classic Lit class, that's all." she said.

"Oh… Okay..."

Silence.

"'The Dueling Cavalier' is the title, okay?" Jenny snapped, causing Sheldon to jump. "They're just making fun of me 'cuz of the dumb stupid oral report I did on it the other day, that I totally goofed up, and everybody laughed, and now these dumbbells apparently still think it's the funniest thing in the world, because they're still making dumb stupid lame jokes about it! And that's all!" She shot a quick, withering glance over her shoulder at the crowd of mocking faces behind her. "Cripes, I don't know why everybody has to make such a big deal about it!"

"Okay, okay!" Sheldon exclaimed, by now beginning to bristle with annoyance, and having lost whatever interest he had in the subject to begin with. "Jeez, forget I said anything!"

Jenny looked down at him and, catching the wounded look on his face, immediately regretted having lashed out at him. Terrific! she thought. Nice going, Jenny! That's all he needs right now, is you yelling at him, and taking his head off!

"I'm sorry," she quickly added, in a greatly softened tone.

"It's okay," Sheldon said. "Forget it."

"It's just…that stuff really gets under my skin after a while." With considerable effort, she even managed to force a smile onto her face. "Even my steel skin."

"Mmm," Sheldon murmured, not even glancing in her direction.

The pair continued down the hallway without another word spoken between them, while the chorus of 'Jenny's Got a Boyfriend!' and the like continued in their wake. Despite her best efforts to ignore the taunts and block them out, they continued to gnaw at her and slowly erode her patience. Finally, she reached a breaking-point, and before she even realized what she was doing, she abruptly spun on her heel in a quick about-face and confronted the mob of jeering students.

"Yeah?!" She challenged in a thunderous voice loud enough to be heard clear out to the parking-lot. "And so what if I do have a boyfriend?! Huh?! Huh?! So what?! You wanna make something out of it?!"

With her clenched fists resting on her hips, she stared down the mocking students one by one, until they each began to back down and walk away, melting into the passing crowd. Most regarded her with scornful sneers as they departed, but they otherwise remained silent, and made no further comments. At least, none that were expressed directly to her face or within her hearing.

But two haughty students remained, refusing to back down, and continued to eye Jenny up and down with utter disdain.

"I say, it seems that we've touched upon a raw circuit here, wouldn't you say, Tiff?" said Britney Crust in her usual, supercilious tone as she addressed her smaller cousin beside her.

"Yeah, you got that right, girl!" Tiffany replied with a loud, braying laugh. "If aluminum-butt here was a real girl, I'd say she was in love! 'Course, she ain't a real girl, but still!" Both girls erupted in peals of caustic laughter.

Jenny eyed them narrowly. "Ohhhhhh, don't you two start up with me!" she said, clenching her fists even tighter. "I'm not in the mood for it! Not today!"

Ignoring her, Brit continued. "Didn't I say that the creature had romantic issues going on in her head the other day? After she had her little meltdown in class?"

"Well, yeah, that was obvious!" Tiff replied, eyeing Jenny scornfully. "She has been flakier than usual these days, so that's gotta be it! Unless maybe her ol' brain-box is finally shorting out completely! Like maybe she overcharged herself a few too many times and fried a few too many circuits over the years!" She snorted with contempt. "But if aluminum-butt is in love, then the only question is, who—or rather, what—could she possibly be in love with?"

"The cafeteria microwave, perhaps?" suggested Brit, her lip curled disdainfully.

"Or the toaster, maybe?" Tiff offered with another braying laugh.

"Or one of the school air-conditioners perhaps?" Brit sneered, slightly baring some teeth.

"Or maybe it's the garbage-disposal!" Tiff guffawed. "No, wait, I know! She's in love with the trash-compactor!"

"Indeed, yes!" Brit chuckled, eyeing Jenny up and down. "Of course! And how perfectly apt that is, too! After all," She made a sweeping gesture in Jenny's direction with a kid-gloved hand. "Trash for trash!"

"Oh, ha ha," Jenny retorted, trying her best to match their sneering tones. "That is so funny, so clever, let me write that down!"

"Why, my dear," Brit regarded Jenny with a look of sugary-sweet faux-innocence that would nauseate even the strongest of stomachs. "We were merely rejoicing on your behalf, is all! After all, it isn't every day that a walking bucket of bolts falls in—" she snorted as she repressed a laugh. "In love!" The mocking emphasis she placed on the word made Jenny want to drive a steel fist right through her sneering face.

"Or maybe it's not the air-conditioner or the trash-compactor," Tiff suggested. "Maybe it's a boy!" She shared a quick, vicious glance with her cousin. "An actual, real, live boy! The kind with a pulse and everything!" She snickered at the thought.

Almost imperceptibly, Jenny recoiled and began to tremble, as she struggled to keep her temper under control.

"Yes, yes, I suppose that is a possibility too," Brit replied, picking up the cue from her cousin, and tapping her chin thoughtfully with a leather-sheathed finger. "A definite possibility. But then, of course, that raises the question of what boy would have her? Who would want her? Who could possibly be that desperate?"

"He'd have to be a real loser, that's for sure!" Tiff shot back, her voice dripping with pure vitriol. "A total zero, an absolute bottom-feeder!" The cousins exchanged another quick, knowing glance with each other, then looked at Jenny, and burst into vicious laughter again. "Somebody with no standards and no rep at all, so they got nothin' to lose!"

"Perhaps it is one of those repulsive garden-slugs in that—" Brit paused, repressing a laugh. "In that ridiculous gaming club, with their silly little juvenile role-playing games!" she finished with a sneer, her voice dripping with loathing.

Jenny glowered at the pair. Those were her friends they were talking about! "Don't…!" she warned through clenched jaws. "Just…don't…!"

Ignoring her, Tiff laughed, "Yeah, I'll bet it is one of them! I've seen her hanging out with that whole pitiful pack of losers sometimes, so…yeah!"

"It's most likely the most worthless loser of them all!" Brit added in her most quietly-poisonous tone. "The absolute bottom of the heap!"

Jenny shuddered; now it was getting serious. "Don't…don't even…!" she growled in a low, threatening tone. "Don't even go there…! You both better stop right now! I'm warning you…!"

"Who, us?" Britney said, reviving the same revolting faux-innocent tone she'd used earlier. "We never even mentioned the repulsive creature's name! Did we, Tiff?" The smaller cousin shook her head, then eyed Jenny evilly. "Even though it's obvious you've been trailing after the loathsome little insect all morning long."

Jenny shuddered again, then took a step closer to Brit. "You'd better not say anything about him…!" She snarled, her eyes narrowed menacingly. "I mean it! Not another word!"

At Jenny's reaction, Tiff picked up her cousin's cue and proceeded to rub it in even further. "Oooooo, I think we're onto something here, Cuz!" she said. "I think it is that slimy little maggot!"

Jenny trembled with barely-suppressed fury, her oil-temperature creeping up toward the boiling-point as her eyes began to glow red. Oooooooo, if it wasn't for the First Law of Robotics…! she thought as she glowered at the pair. There'd be nothing left of you two right now but a pair of greasy spots on the wall!

"I do believe you're right, Tiff," Brit replied, nodding with her arms folded and the haughty, arrogant insolence of one who is at the absolute pinnacle of a high-school social scale. "And it makes perfect sense, too. The greasy little ratboy and the walking grease-pit here would be the perfect match!"

"Yeah, they're both slime!" Tiff shot back, picking up the cue. "Absolute slime! Equally gross, the both of them!"

"The freak and the geek!" Brit concluded. "The perfect couple!" Both Crusts erupted into fresh rounds of vicious, toxic laughter at this, which echoed jarringly throughout the halls, and pierced Jenny's audio-sensors like two concentrated streams of highly-corrosive acid.

"I told you to shut up!" Jenny snarled, getting right up into Brit's face, nearly touching her nose. Her fists were now tight enough to crush steel ball-bearings, and some of the larger boys watching from the crowd began to approach her, ready to pull her away from the Crusts at any moment if necessary.

But both Crust Cousins remained thoroughly unfazed by Jenny's mounting fury, both of them displaying a degree of casual insouciance that infuriated her even more. It was clear that they weren't the least bit intimidated by her, or even remotely impressed. Quite the contrary, they seemed to feed upon her growing anger like a pair of energy-vampires.

"But then again," Brit went on haughtily. "We could be wrong. Perhaps it isn't the loathsome little vermin, after all."

"Oh yeah, I see what you mean," Tiff replied with a smirking nod.

Jenny looked from one Crust Cousin to the other, trying to discern the obscure meaning behind their words. "What…what's that supposed to mean…?" she asked—and immediately felt foolish for doing so.

"What I mean, stupid," said Brit, pointing a single gloved finger in the direction of the hallway behind Jenny. "Is that your repulsive little…boyfriend…" she paused, placing a particularly scornful emphasis on the word."Seems to have…oh dear, how shall I put it? Oh yes! Bailed on you!"

Jenny turned around and looked in the direction indicated to discover that Sheldon was no longer standing behind her, nor could he be seen anywhere nearby. Instead, he was off in the distance down the hallway, walking slowly and heading in the opposite direction. With his shoulders hunched and his head bowed, it was clear that he was not happy.

Ohhhhhhh, cripes! Jenny thought, dismayed.

Immediately, her head whipped around to face the Crusts again. Furiously shaking a steel finger in their faces, she cried, "Ohhhhhhhhhh, this is all your fault!"

Without another moment's hesitation, she spun on her heel and quickly dashed down the hallway after Sheldon. "Sheldon!" she called out. "Hey, Sheldon! Wait up! Wait! Wait!"

The cruel laughter of the Crust Cousins echoed through the halls behind her, soon joined by the laughter of all the others watching from the nearby crowd.

Sheldon stomped down the hallway, a deep frown etched onto his face, paying little attention to the other students he bumped into as he passed.

So that's it! He silently fumed with a disgusted sigh. She does have a new boyfriend! I knew it! I knew it had to be something like that! Probably some stupid new jerk in school caught her eye, like before! And it's probably some big dumb stupid jock who played too many football-games without his helmet or something! I should've known! I should've known her weird 'friendly' bit was all just an act! She probably only did it to try and make the guy jealous or something, by following me around, pretending to be interested in me! Just like I tried to make her jealous by pretending to be dating Pteresa that one time! Now I get it! Now it makes total sense! But jeez! You'd think she could at least come up with a more original idea than that, instead of just copying mine!

And I guess that phony 'promise' she made the other night, about being a better friend to me didn't last very long, did it? He thought with renewed bitterness. Jeez, and to think I was almost sucker enough to believe it! For awhile there, I almost thought she really meant it, that she really did want to be friends with me! Well…it doesn't matter! She didn't have me fooled, not for one minute! I had a feeling there was something fake and phony about her act, that she didn't mean any of it, and it turns out I was right!

Sheldon had seen too many times before how Jenny behaved when she was infatuated with someone, and he was in no mood to have to witness it all over again. So the moment he'd heard her mention something about having a boyfriend, well…that was all he needed to hear to draw his own conclusions. He knew what was likely to follow after that, so rather than stay and watch it happen all over again, he turned right around and marched away just as fast as he could. He thought he'd heard some heated words behind him, exchanged between Jenny and the Crust Cousins, but since it likely involved Jenny's new boyfriend, he had no interest in staying to listen to any of it.

He continued down the main hallway until he reached the next corner, where he turned sharply and continued down a side corridor. He soon reached the boys' restroom, stepped inside and crossed over to the nearest sink. He turned on the faucet, leaned over and splashed some cold water onto his face, taking a deep breath as he tried to calm down and collect his thoughts.

In addition to his disgust and resentment, Sheldon also felt a profound sense of fatigue—fatigue at having gone through the same old routine with Jenny so many times before, only to arrive at the same unhappy conclusion each time. He thought he'd finally managed to put it all behind him and get past it, but now, here it was, the same old thing happening all over again.

It's all so familiar, he thought. So depressingly familiar…and predictable...and I'm so sick of it by now! I suppose I should've known better… I shouldn't expect anything different from her… She is just a robot, after all… All she knows, all she does is just whatever's been programmed into her, and that's all… She's never gonna change… She's gonna stay exactly the same as she is now, no matter what, and that's all there is to it… I just have to face that fact…

In spite of his resentment and bitterness, Sheldon also couldn't help but feel a tinge of sorrow at this thought as well. Though he hated to have to admit it, there was something kind of sad in realizing that Jenny would never change. He had, of course, already arrived at this conclusion and accepted it as fact some time before this, but it was still sad to see it demonstrated all over again right before his eyes this way.

He continued to mull over the thought for several more minutes in the quiet solitude of the restroom, soberly reflecting upon its full implications, as he gently wiped his face with a damp paper towel.

Jenny strode rapidly down the same corridor through which Sheldon had passed only moments ago, taking long, brisk with each step and with her head raised several feet above her shoulders by means of her extendo-neck, as she anxiously scanned the milling crowd for her friend. Come on, come on, come on! She thought as she searched. I could've sworn I saw him hang a sharp right down this way only a moment ago! He's got to be around here somewhere! He's gotta be! Where the heck could he have gone?!

But Sheldon was nowhere in sight. In frustration, Jenny came to a full stop and looked all around her, her head swiveling in a full, 360-degree arc as she scanned the crowd like a searchlight.

Oh, come on! She fumed in silent frustration as a feeling of Déjà vu crept over her. Not this again! This is ridiculous! I only turned my back on him for a couple of minutes! How far could he have gotten?! What the heck did he do, pass into another dimension or something?! Sheesh!

After a few more minutes of fruitless search, she reluctantly retracted her extendo-neck, returning her head to its normal position above her shoulders, then continued down the corridor in normal fashion, her eyes still searching the crowd from left to right.

Oooooooo, I knew shouldn't have let those stupid Crust jerks get to me! She thought as she pounded her feet in frustration, causing a slight tremor to run through the walls of the school building. I should've just paid no attention and kept on walking, and not given them the satisfaction! But no! I had to go and be a complete idiot, and stop and talk back to them! Ohhhhh, why did I do it?! Why?! Why do I always let those stupid creeps get to me? Why do I let them push my buttons this way?! I should've known better than to listen to anything they say, but oooo! When they said those things about Sheldon…!

Sheldon! She thought in renewed dismay. Oh, crikey…! Who knows what he must be thinking right now? What must be going through his mind…? He probably feels just awful right now, because of what those jerks said!

Sheldon gripped the sides of the sink and slowly raised his head to look himself directly in the mirror. Now that he'd had some time to settle down and think things over calmly, he was able to view his situation a bit more clearly.

Well… he thought with one final sigh of resignation. One thing's for sure, I'm definitely not gonna make the same old stupid mistake of getting jealous or anything... It won't do any good anyhow… It never did before… And besides…it's none of my business anyway! It's her life. She can do whatever she likes, and go chasing after any guy she wants! I don't care. It doesn't bother me. It doesn't bother me at all! And why should it? After all, we never even dated or anything! We were barely even friends, for that matter! So why should I be jealous? So…fine, if she's got a new boyfriend or whatever, then fine, good for her... I'll just stay the heck out of her way, and give her all the space she wants, and she can go chase after the guy 'til doomsday for all I care! It doesn't matter to me… It doesn't matter at all!

He cocked his head as he looked at his reflection. But if it doesn't matter, he asked himself more honestly. Then why does it still hurt inside?

He sighed again, unable to answer the question.

But if she wants somebody to hang around to try and make this new jerk jealous or whatever, he thought, his jaw clenched with renewed resentment. Then she can go ask some other poor dumb sucker to do it! Maybe Brad or somebody! I don't want any part of it!

And anyhow… he thought, trying to console himself. I don't have time for that stuff anymore; I've got other priorities now. And I don't need Jenny anymore either, for that matter! I've got a new friend to hang out with now! That's right! I can go hang out with Bernice! So what if she doesn't like Trek Wars? So what? There's gotta be a lot of other stuff we can talk about besides that! Plenty of stuff. And maybe if we can sit down and have lunch together sometime, we can talk about them. Like that book I told her about the other day, for instance… She seemed like she might be interested in it…or at least interested enough to take a look at it and maybe read it… Good thing I remembered to bring it with me this morning… If I see her today I'll have to give it to her, and then maybe we can talk about it over lunch… And…maybe talk about other stuff, too…

And with that final encouraging thought, Sheldon at last stepped away from the sink and stood straight up. With his head held high and a final, silent moment of resolve, he turned and walked out of the bathroom and into the hallway, where he quickly rejoined the rapidly-moving ebb and flow of regular pre-noon foot-traffic. With the prospect of a noontime meal spent in pleasant conversation with a new friend to look forward to, his resentment over Jenny began to diminish, and his spirits gradually rose. As they did, a tiny but insistent little smile of hopeful anticipation began to tug at the corners of his mouth and continued to grow as he ambled along.

The bell rang, signaling the imminent start of the next class-period, and Jenny released a loud, exasperated sigh. Reluctantly, she gave up her search for Sheldon, turned and hurried along to her next class.

Well… she thought as she entered the classroom and took her seat. It's early yet… I'll probably catch up with him on the next break. I can try talking to him then… See if maybe I can cheer him up, offer him some words of encouragement or something…

She didn't know precisely what she would say to him, but she would think of something.

Dr. Wakeman paused in her work momentarily to glance up at the clock over her workstation. Still no call back, she thought. Good gracious, doesn't she ever check her voice-mail?

She sighed and nervously drummed her fingers on the desk, silently debating whether or not to make another phone call.

I suppose I ought to wait a while longer, she thought. And allow her a bit more time to call back, but…

More minutes passed and Dr. Wakeman continued drumming her fingers, as though measuring the time.

Ohhhhhhh, piffle! She thought at last as she reached over, picked up the phone and started dialing. She waited patiently as it rang several times, hoping to get an answer this time, yet not really expecting one. This was the fourth call she'd made that morning to the same number, the earlier attempts having resulted in messages left on a voice-mail system, but with no response thus far.

As the phone continued to ring, Dr. Wakeman mentally prepared herself to leave yet-another message, when she was surprised by a live, weary-sounding but coolly-professional feminine voice answering at the other end.

"Hello? Dr. Toshiro?" Dr. Wakeman said, once she realized she had finally reached a live person and not the voicemail system again. "Yes. This is Dr. Wakeman speaking. I don't know if you've received the messages I left earlier, but—" She broke off abruptly. "Oh, you have? Well, it's—" She broke off again, and simply listened. "Well, yes, I can understand that. Yes, I imagine you are very busy… Yes, I can certainly appreciate that your time is very valuable to you, but—" She paused again, her brows hardened into a frown. "Yes, but I believe that this is important; very important, and I think it's something that you and I really ought to address and discuss, as parents." She shifted uncomfortably in her chair as she listened. "Well, I'm not sure it's something that should be discussed over the phone; I think it's something we should discuss in person, face to face. Yes…yes, I know… I understand that…" Another, longer pause. "Well, I was hoping it could be sooner than that. No, I wouldn't say it's an emergency, exactly, but…well, I don't think it's something that should be delayed or postponed, either."

She paused, waiting and hoping for a favorable response. "Well, I was really hoping it could be today sometime." Another, shorter pause. "Well, I would really appreciate it all the same, if you could possibly manage it." Dr. Wakeman took a deep breath and silently counted to ten, trying to remain patient, and keep the growing strain in her voice from becoming too noticeable.

"Yes…yes, that would be fine…" she said at last, in a greatly relieved tone. "Noon at the cafeteria of Tremorton General will be fine. Yes…I shall meet you there at that time. Now, how will I know you?" She paused. "Oh, you have?" Her expression soured slightly as she listened. "Oh…no, no, it's not a problem at all. I simply wish that you hadn't seen that picture of me, is all; it's not a very good one. It was taken several years ago, and I wasn't in the best of spirits at the time, and—" She paused one final time before concluding the call. "Yes. Very well. I'll see you then. Good bye." She hung up the phone and released an enormous, relieved sigh.

Well… she thought, struggling to look on the bright side. At least she finally got back to me! And agreed to meet with me today, so that's a start. I'm sure that once we sit down together and discuss the matter calmly, we can resolve it all quite easily…

And yet, even as the thought crossed her mind, Dr. Wakeman began to get the uneasy feeling that it wouldn't be quite so simple a matter after all.

The bell rang, signaling the end of another class. The morning was now growing late; only one more class remained before noon, and Jenny's efforts to find Sheldon still failed to yield results, and her search became more intense, almost frantic in nature.

Come on, come on, come on! She thought impatiently as she waded through the bustling crowd clustered in the Main Quad, the intersection of the two busiest corridors of Tremorton High. He's gotta show up around here soon! He's always hanging around this area this time of the morning!

Suddenly, on her left, right in the periphery of her vision, she caught sight of Sheldon's head gently gliding past her from behind. Evidently, he had passed right by her without a word, without stopping, and—apparently—without even noticing her.

"Well hey, Sheldon!" she called out, affecting a light, friendly tone, trying her best to sound relaxed and casual, concealing the frustration and dismay she'd felt only moments earlier. "There you are! Just the guy I wanted to see! I've been looking all over for you!" She slipped quickly through the dense crowd to walk beside him, flashing him a friendly, ingratiating smile as she approached.

Sheldon's head whipped around at the mention of his name, and the moment he made eye-contact with her, he immediately looked away with a scowl. You only just saw me about an hour ago! He thought sourly.

Oh, no! Jenny thought once she saw his reaction. I was afraid of this! He must've heard every word those stupid Crust jerks said! About him and his friends! And now he's hurt! And angry! And I don't blame him!

"Yeah, well…" he replied quietly, still not looking at her. "I'm here now, so…"

She reached out a hand to him amiably. "Yeah, well, I just wanted to say… Um…" she hesitated. "About all that…stuff the Crust Cousins were saying," she tried to strike a reassuring, encouraging note. "Don't pay any attention to them, they're just stupid jerks, they—"

But Sheldon only seemed to recoil at her friendly gesture and words, and he visibly stiffened. "Forget it," he said, interrupting her brusquely. "It…it's none of my business."

Jenny blinked, surprised at the rebuff. 'None of your business'? she thought in bewilderment. What the heck is that supposed to mean?

"But…but all I'm saying is that—" she went on, trying again.

He finally looked up and glared at her. And what are you gonna say? He thought bitterly. Are you gonna go on about your stupid new boyfriend or something? Bragging about him and about how wonderful he is and all that? Well, forget it! I don't want to hear it! I'm not interested!

"Jenny, you don't have to say anything." He said, interrupting her again. "You really don't." He spoke quietly, but with an intensity that sliced through the ambient noise of the Main Quad like a straight razor.

Jenny stared at him, utterly baffled. She didn't know what to make of him—his expression was difficult to read. Clearly, he was upset about something, and yet he didn't quite seem hurt or angry—he didn't even seem irritated or annoyed, in fact. Rather, there seemed to be a kind of bored weariness about him, as though he'd been repeatedly asked to solve the same mathematical problem over and over again, only to come up with the wrong answer each and every time.

Nevertheless, Jenny persisted. "No, wait, you don't understand," she said. "See, all that stuff they were saying is just a lot of—"

"Look, I'm not interested, all right?" Sheldon interrupted once more, abruptly cutting her off. "I'm really not. Whatever it is, it doesn't concern me. The truth is," he said with a dismissive toss of his head. "I couldn't care less about…" he hesitated, then went on. "…what the Crust Cousins have to say! About anything!"

Somehow, the way Sheldon spoke the words, the tone of voice he used and the look in his eyes, gave Jenny the disturbing feeling that he didn't much care about anything she had to say, either. His evident indifference to the entire matter, including the fact that she'd just stood up for him and tried to defend him against insults, left her feeling both confused and deeply hurt inside.

"Oh… " She replied quietly, stunned by both the bluntness of his words and the quiet severity of his tone, her wounded voice sounding pitifully small by comparison. "Well, I just… I…I wanted you to know that I—"

"Look," he interrupted one final time, his tone growing in intensity, though with no increase in volume. "Whatever's going on between you and the Crusts and…and whoever, it doesn't concern me." His voice then became softer, almost conciliatory in tone. "Whatever it is, I'm sure you…" he paused, as though considering his next choice of words very carefully. "You'll…work it out just fine." He concluded through clenched teeth. "Now, um…" he glanced quickly at his watch. "If you'll excuse me, I really have to get going now, I uh…have a meeting scheduled with one of my teachers, to talk about some…extra-credit homework I've got, so…" He turned and veered off in an oblique direction, heading for the nearest staircase.

"But—but if you'd only just listen for a—" she called feebly, reaching a hand out as if to stop him.

"I'll…I'll see you," He concluded with a dismissive wave of his hand, and in a quick moment, he disappeared up the stairs, leaving Jenny behind.

She remained rooted to the spot for several moments longer, as the dense crowd continued to pass around her and past her from all directions. She felt utterly lost, perplexed, and completely de-energized, with all hopeful optimism drained out of her. Vainly, she tried to make some kind of sense of the encounter she'd just experienced. Evidently, there was some sort of misunderstanding or misapprehension involved somewhere along the line, but for the life of her, she couldn't figure out what it could be or how it had come about. Clearly, Sheldon had somehow gotten the wrong idea from Jenny's heated exchange with the Crusts, but what that wrong idea could be, Jenny had no clue.

What…the heck…just happened here…?! She wondered, shaking her head in utter, complete bewilderment. I don't get it…! I just don't get it! I mean, I know he's hurt and upset and everything because of what those stupid jerks said, but…but I still don't get it! I mean, he…he acts like he's ticked-off at me! As if I'm the one who said those nasty things about him! Cripes, I'm the one who stood up for him and defended him, for Jobs' sake! Or wasn't he listening? Wasn't he paying attention? You'd think he would at least appreciate it! But instead, he acts like he couldn't care less!

Finally, she turned and gloomily started shuffling her way down the main hallway to her next class, feeling both very hurt and utterly defeated.

And why did he have to keep interrupting me like that? she wondered as she trudged along in her sulk. Why didn't he listen? I was just trying to help! I was trying be a good friend to him and cheer him up and tell him not to pay any attention to anything those jerks said, that's all! He could've at least listened to me! He could've done that much! It wouldn't have hurt him! After all, I've been trying extra hard all morning to be extra friendly to him, too! Cripes…! Can't he get it through his thick head that I'm trying to be nice to him?!

She sighed as she tried to consider possible reasons for Sheldon's sudden surly attitude. Maybe… she thought. Maybe…I just didn't try hard enough… Maybe that's it… Maybe I should've tried harder, and made more of an effort to be friendly to him… Maybe I should've forced him to listen to me! Or forced him to tell me why he's so angry at me now! He wasn't like that earlier...but now, he almost seems… She shuddered as a new, albeit highly-unlikely possibility occurred to her. He almost seems to think that I somehow agree with those morons! That can't be right…he can't possibly think that…can he…? I know I said some mean things about him a long time ago, but…but that was a very long time ago! I don't feel that way about him anymore! But maybe…maybe he somehow thinks that I still do!

But either way… She thought in growing dismay. Cripes…! All that good progress I made with him up to now to get on his good side again...gone! Right down the drain! And I nearly had him won over, too! He was almost on the verge of starting to like me again, I could tell! But now…pfft! Gone! Now he's back to being angry at me and avoiding me all over again!

She struggled to keep her growing frustration and despair under control. Okay…okay…okay… she told herself. Calm down…take it easy… Don't give up… I'll just have to try talking to him again, that's all…and again and again if necessary! As many times as it takes! I don't know why he's suddenly so steamed at me again, but I'm gonna find out, whatever it is! One way or another, I'm going to get to the bottom of it and straighten it all out. All I need is to get him to sit still in one spot for more than a couple of minutes and not go running off someplace, that's all… Just long enough to really talk to him and find out just what the heck is bugging him! Whatever it is, I know I can fix it and get it all straightened out. Then he'll stop being angry at me, and start liking me again! Just like he's supposed to!

But when? She thought, glancing up at the clock on the wall as she passed by. When…? It's almost noon now…! Cripes, half the day's shot already…! There's only a few hours left in the school day, and we don't share that many classes in the afternoon, so—

Suddenly, an idea flashed through her Positronic brain like a lightning-bolt, a solution to her predicament that was so obvious that it seemed to strike her in the face like a bazooka-blast.

Noon! She thought, her spirits rekindling in a flash. Of course! That's it! Lunchtime!

She was certain to see him in the cafeteria during lunch! And a whole hour would be more than enough time to talk things over with him and get the matter cleared up, whatever it was. And this time, there would be no half-efforts on her part, no 'not trying hard enough.' She would absolutely, positively not get discouraged or lose her nerve or otherwise talk herself out of it. She would simply march right up to him and insist—no, demand that he join her for lunch, that was all. And no questions or arguments, either! She would not take 'no' for an answer. One way or another, she would get him to sit down and have lunch with her, even if she had to drag him across the cafeteria-floor by his ankles.

And once he was sitting down next to her, without any chance for him to rush off somewhere for a class or a meeting with a teacher or whatever, well then, he'd have no choice but to sit and listen to her. And after that, the rest would be easy. She would simply turn on the charm, just as she always did, and with her usual finesse, and her subtle powers of persuasion, she would very deftly uncover the reasons why he was so upset with her. And whatever those reasons were, well…she would simply explain them all away, that was all. Problem solved. And then he would understand. Then he would know. He would know the truth about how she really felt about him now, how he could now truly count on her and depend on her as a friend… In short, he would know and understand everything.

And so, encouraged with a new plan of action firmly in her mind, Jenny nodded to herself with renewed optimism and a satisfied smile on her face, quite pleased with herself for her ingenuity, and fully confident that her plan would work. It hadto; it just had to!

And if Sheldon still won't cooperate? She briefly wondered.

Well, then…she thought, her mouth suddenly tightened. In that case, I'll just have to take more drastic measures, that's all…

The noon bell rang promptly on the hour, signaling the end of the final class of the morning, and, more importantly, the beginning of the lunch break. Throughout Tremorton High, classroom doors flung wide open and students poured out in massive torrents, all streaming toward the cafeteria in a mad, frenzied rush. All except Sheldon, who remained at his desk for a few moments longer, just long enough to carefully close his textbook and notebook, before he too headed for the exit, following the others.

As he reached the doorway however, he hesitated for a moment, then slowly craned his head out into the hallway. He looked to his left…and then to his right. A relieved smile appeared on his face.

Ah, good! He thought. The coast is clear! Maybe now I can have a moment to myself! And maybe even catch up with Bernice and talk to her for a few minutes…!

He stepped out of the classroom and into the hallway, soon joining the flow of the other students. As he walked, he kept his eyes open for any sign of his new friend. Halfway to the cafeteria, he spotted a distinctive head of bushy bright red hair atop a familiar short, squat form bobbing along at a leisurely pace at the outer periphery of the flowing crowd.

There she is! He thought with a smile, and increased his pace. "Hey, Bernice!" he called out.

The short, plump red-haired girl stopped, turned around, and immediately broke into a smile. "Oh, hi Sheldon!" she replied warmly, her cheeks flaring a bright, vivid red that almost matched the radiant hue of her hair.

Sheldon trotted the few remaining paces to close the distance between them, then stopped beside her. The pair silently regarded each other with warm smiles, lingering for only a moment before resuming their way to the cafeteria, ambling along side by side and exchanging pleasantries along the way.

"Say, by the way!" Sheldon exclaimed excitedly, as though the idea had only just then occurred to him. "Remember that book I was telling you about the other day? The one I was going to give you, The Demetrios Vortex, by Andrei Kobelkov? Well, I brought it with me this morning!" He paused, his initial burst of energy faltering slightly for a moment. "And…and I thought that maybe we could…um…" he hesitated, his courage beginning to wane, replaced by increasing nervousness. "That is, I thought I could…you know, give it to you and…and…" His palms began to sweat and he began to tremble, his throat suddenly dry as he struggled to get the rest of the words out. "And I thought maybe we could…sit together…at lunch…" He shut his eyes tightly, swallowed hard and forged ahead. "And we could…you know…" He swallowed. "Talk about it... About the book I mean," he finally managed to utter the remainder of the words.

"Sure!" Bernice replied without hesitation. "I'd love to!"

Sheldon smiled in relief. "Great!" He said. He reached down under his arm to retrieve the book, only to discover, much to his chagrin, that it wasn't there. Frantically, he began searching through the rest of his books, as though the missing volume might somehow be hidden among them. "Shoot!" he exclaimed, suddenly feeling like a complete fool. "I thought I had it with me," he admitted with a disappointed shake his head. "I must've left it back in my locker. I'll have to go back and get it." He started to turn, preparing to head back in the opposite direction.

"That's all right, I'll wait." Bernice smiled.

"No, no, I have a better idea. You go on ahead and grab us a table, and I'll join you there in a minute or two. Okay?"

"Oh, okay," she nodded, still smiling as though nothing in the world could possibly disappoint her.

"Great!" he said, fairly bouncing on his feet. "See you soon!" He turned on his heel and began trotting back to his locker. Bernice continued looking after him for a few moments longer, until he disappeared out of sight around a corner. Only then did she slowly turn and continue on her way to the cafeteria.

He's such a nice boy…! she thought dreamily. So kind…so sensitive… I wonder if he'd like My Teeny Gecko? I bet he would! Maybe…maybe I can invite him over to my house sometime…and persuade him to watch a few episodes of it! I bet he'd like it if he gave it a chance… I bet he'd really, really like it once he watched it and saw for himself how good it is…!

She sighed, her smile growing as she imagined herself sitting together with Sheldon on her living-room sofa, watching episode after episode of her favorite animated television program…

End Chapter 8