Chapter 44 - Theme Song, B+!!!, Meeting!
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Georgie POV
I looked at Sheldon and Missy walking beside me. Tam had told me there was no trouble, and Missy was just dancing while Sheldon became the star of the party.
"You didn't drink anything from the party, right?" I asked them. Both of them shook their heads, making me relieved.
"…And what about you? Stop smiling like that." I said, turning to Veronica, who was still smiling as she walked beside Missy.
"What? It's a free country. I can smile whenever I want!" Veronica replied, winking at me playfully.
"Dang it, stop it." I said, trying to hold myself together, which made Veronica laugh.
"Technically, Veronica is right. The term 'free country' in this nation is an expression to justify one's unconventional or disruptive actions or opinions. As long as she doesn't break the law or harm anyone, Veronica can do whatever she wants." Sheldon added, always ready to provide an analysis.
"So, are you two together?" Missy asked, ignoring Sheldon's chatter.
Veronica looked at me with playful blinking eyes. "Yes." I admitted with a sigh.
"Great!" Missy said, looking at Veronica again. "Should I start calling you 'sister' now?"
"Sure!" Veronica replied, patting Missy's hair with a smile.
"I'm not going to call you that. I'll still call you Veronica until you marry my brother. Even after that, I'll call you my sister-in-law, not a real sister."
"Ohhh… somebody's jealous!" Missy teased Sheldon.
"...I am not jealous." Sheldon replied flatly. "I'm simply stating the facts."
"It's okay, Sheldon." Veronica said gently, smiling at him. Sheldon nodded.
"Is it because you didn't get a song from Big Brother? I knew it!" Missy teased again.
Sheldon opened his mouth to respond, but I ruffled his hair to calm him. "Don't be upset… I'll make a song for you." I said as an idea struck me. "How about I sing for you now while we walk home?"
"What?! Really?!" Missy exclaimed in surprise, and Veronica looked at me wide-eyed.
"It's okay. I don't really like music. Music is just a waste of time for me; I prefer science." Sheldon said, walking on without looking at me.
"I think you'll like this one. It's not complete yet, but I can sing you a snippet." I replied.
"Huff… alright. I suppose I'll have to listen." Sheldon relented.
I grinned and began singing in the stillness of the night:
"Our whole universe was in a hot, dense state
Then nearly fourteen billion years ago, expansion started, wait—."
I sang the lyrics to the end as Sheldon listened intently. With no instruments, just my voice, the quiet road, and the faint echoes of the party behind us, I sang.
Missy and Veronica didn't fully grasp the lyrics, but Sheldon nodded occasionally as he listened carefully.
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3rd POV
{Somehow my parents didn't find out about me partying heartily… but I did pay a price for burning the candle at both ends. I made a mistake on a math test.} – Adult Sheldon
Sheldon stared at the paper in front of him, showing a B+ with 'Show your work!' written beside the incorrect answer. It was utterly humiliating for Sheldon.
{In my exhaustion, I did all the calculations in my head and, like a common zoo animal, forgot to show my work.} – Adult Sheldon.
In the silence of the library, Sheldon kept glaring at the math test in front of him, but in his mind, frustration screamed through the quiet.
"Shelly, what's wrong?" Georgie's voice broke through, catching Sheldon's attention. Veronica stood beside Georgie, looking at the test.
"Oh, a B+… that's… terrible." Veronica began but quickly changed her response, knowing the test belonged to a genius attending high school at the age of nine.
"…This is the beginning of the end." Sheldon muttered, sighing deeply.
"Hey guys! Guess what? The girl I talked to at the party last night greeted me today!" Tam said excitedly, unaware of the gloomy moment.
"Not now, Tam." Georgie said, sitting beside Sheldon. "It's okay, Shelly. You know what's wrong, right?" Georgie asked.
"…I'm exhausted." Sheldon admitted with a heavy sigh.
"That's why I'm asking you before." Georgie replied, patting Sheldon's shoulder. "You need to rest. Talk to Dad and Meemaw, alright?"
"…." Sheldon remained silent but visibly frustrated.
"Hey, it's not the end of the world. Sometimes you're on top; sometimes you're at the bottom. You just need to keep running to reach the top again. If you can't run, walk. If you can't walk, crawl…" Georgie encouraged him.
"…You're right. I'll talk to Dad and Meemaw." Sheldon said, finally sighing again.
"Good! That's the spirit!" Georgie said, brightening the mood.
{Extricating myself from this situation was not going to be easy… My father was counting on me, Meemaw was counting on me, the school was counting on me… but my brother always knew what was best for us.} – Adult Sheldon.
After Sheldon complained about his test results to Georgie and the others, they both went home and had a meeting with other families.
Connie, George, and Missy sat across from Sheldon, Mary, and Georgie.
"Alright, now I want you to see this." Georgie said, handing Sheldon's math test to George.
"Huh, a B+? I win!" Missy exclaimed, delighted, and pulled out her English test, which had an A-.
"...Missy." Georgie said, trying to stop her teasing, though he gave her a thumbs-up and silently mouthed, 'Good work.' without anyone know.
Missy grinned but refrained from further teasing Sheldon.
"…Alright, what's going on?" George asked after looking at the paper.
"Sheldon got a B+ because he's exhausted." Mary said, glaring at George and Connie.
"That's right, ladies and gentlemen." Georgie said, looking between George and Connie.
"Because of Sheldon's work, he got a B+. He's not only helping Dad but also helping Meemaw all the time. I think we should end this nightmare." Georgie concluded, looking at them both.
"What? No, you can't do that. Weren't you the one who recommended Sheldon to help me? Our school is a winner!" George said, looking at Georgie.
"That's right." Memaw said, but she didn't continue her words because she didn't do it for anything noble like George, but to gamble.
"Sheldon, is there something you want to say?" Georgie, who heard George's words, looked at Sheldon.
"Thank you, Georgie." Sheldon said to him and turned back to face his dad and Memaw. "I got a B+, a very shameful grade for me. Especially because it's my own fault. My mind is full of regrets, and I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I've already imagined my life being ruined because of this. It's really terrible."
George and Connie listened to Sheldon without interrupting him. Mary stroked Sheldon's head and glared angrily at the two of them.
"I enjoyed helping Dad and Memaw, but because of this... B+... I need to stop this." Sheldon said. "I am sorry, but I can't help Dad and Memaw anymore."
Before George could say anything else, Georgie's voice, "Hang on a sec." drew their attention. All eyes turned to Georgie. "Shelly, do you really want to stop helping Dad?"
"Like I said, I enjoyed helping Dad and Memaw. But I don't want to fall too far; I could wind up a drug addict." Sheldon said irritably, looking at Georgie.
"Oh boy, you're not going to become a drug addict." George said with a scoff, and Mary glared at him.
"Maybe a nerd." Missy added, teasing Sheldon.
"Yeah, Moonpie. You're Memaw's favorite grandchild; of course, you're not going to end up like that." Connie said, trying to comfort Sheldon.
"Cut it out." George said with a smirk at Connie.
"What? Do you want to say something to me?" Connie snapped, glaring at George.
"Alright, stop it." Georgie intervened and turned back to Sheldon. "...You just don't know how to manage your time, and you're carrying a heavy burden." Georgie said.
"You're shouldering the responsibility of the football team and feeling like if they lose, it's your fault. Actually, I'm happy about that—it means you have a strong sense of responsibility."
Mary nodded her head and kissed Sheldon. "You're great, Shelly." Mary said.
"Yeah, like I said, we are the winner." George said with a smile at him.
"And Memaw is rich!" Memaw added, laughing.
"...But I didn't realize this was a double-edged sword... I'm sorry, Shelly." Georgie said sincerely.
"It's okay." Sheldon said. "I guess you're right... it makes me exhausted."
"Do you want to stop?" Georgie asked again, this time seriously, looking at Sheldon.
"..." Sheldon didn't say anything and thought about it again. In his mind, he weighed the pros and cons of helping them or not. He wanted to help, but the result—a B+—was already clear to him. However, he also didn't want to make his dad sad.
"...What should I do?" he paused and looked at Georgie, who nodded his head.
"Alright..." Georgie turned to George and Memaw. "First, we're going to make a schedule for Sheldon."
"Why? I have my own schedule." Sheldon said. He didn't like disrupting the schedule he had already made.
"Well, you can add it to the slots in your schedule that you consider free." Georgie replied, and Sheldon thought for two seconds before nodding.
"Alright... No more gambling for Memaw." Georgie said, looking at Connie, who seemed annoyed with him.
"Why?!"
"It's a bad influence... and gambling doesn't make you rich." Georgie said. "You're rich now, but you're becoming an addict. I don't want Sheldon or Missy to follow that example."
"That's true... Mom, stop gambling." Mary said, glaring at Connie.
"Ugh." Connie huffed and ignored them.
"Dad, you're going to help Sheldon gather all complete data according to his needs. Sheldon will only calculate and analyze the complicated patterns or trends for you... and the rest will depend on you." Georgie said, looking at George.
"...I suppose that's fine..." George said, nodding.
"...But..." Georgie continued with a grin, "...You've had a free trial from Sheldon for five consecutive weeks... it's time to make the school pay for Sheldon's services."
"..."
"..."
"..."
There was one thing Georgie didn't do—show his grades to the whole family. Because his grades were better than Sheldon's.