Chapter 53 - Thief, acknowledgement, Sing Again

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Georgie's POV

"…Achoo!" I sneezed, drawing their attention.

Sheldon instantly covered his mouth and nose, looking at me in horror.

"Sorry," I muttered, reaching for hand sanitizer. "Someone must be talking about me."

Sheldon gave a small nod and resumed writing on the board.

"…Where were we? Ah, near apogee, we gimbal the engine to exert a torque that executes a pitch-over maneuver, flipping the rocket 180 degrees."

Dr. Hodges watched Sheldon closely. The massive whiteboard practically dwarfed my little brother, yet the words coming out of his mouth carried more weight than anything else in the room.

"Well… that's very impressive, Mr. Cooper." Dr. Hodges finally said, this time addressing Sheldon with genuine respect. I noticed Sheldon's face light up with pride.

Sheldon glanced at me. I gave him a thumbs-up, silently urging him to continue.

"Needless to say, we use a PID controller to minimize the dispersions to the landing site."

I stood up, helping him down from the small table he had used as a makeshift step.

"Here, you've been talking for a while now and that's enough for this presentation." I chuckled, handing him the glass of water.

Sheldon took a sip before rolling his eyes.

"I know you, Sheldon. When it comes to science, you turn into a chatty patty," I teased.

I glanced at Dr. Hodges, who was still fixated on the whiteboard. "...Do you have something to say, Dr. Hodges?"

I stepped closer, standing right in front of him so I could see his expression directly.

"This is groundbreaking work..." Dr. Hodges finally spoke, moving past me to examine the whiteboard more closely.

"Thank you," Sheldon said after taking a sip of his water. He smiled, hoping for more words from Dr. Hodges. "And?"

Dr. Hodges turned back to look at him. "And?"

"I thought you wanted to apologize." Sheldon said matter-of-factly.

"Oh... right." Dr. Hodges recalled what Sheldon had said earlier, but his pride as a NASA scientist kept him from apologizing to a mere child. He sighed and glanced at me, silently asking for help.

I walked toward Sheldon and took his glass. "So? Was Sheldon's theory correct?"

Dr. Hodges looked back at the board. "I suppose so. But I could also say that we lack the technical capability to execute it."

Sheldon nodded again, then turned his gaze toward me.

"Good!" I walked toward the whiteboard and picked up the eraser.

"What are you doing?" Dr. Hodges asked, his eyes locked on the eraser in my hand. I didn't answer. Instead, I started wiping everything off the board.

"….." Sheldon said nothing, simply watching me erase his work.

"No, no, no!" Dr. Hodges tried to stop me, but I didn't budge. I kept erasing.

Once the board was completely wiped clean, Dr. Hodges glared at me furiously, but I didn't let it get to me.

"You think you can steal my little brother's work? Dream on." I smirked at him before turning to Sheldon.

I was confident Dr. Hodges didn't have an eidetic memory like Sheldon, which meant he wouldn't be able to recall the formulas on the board. Besides, he hadn't bothered recording anything, probably because he underestimated Sheldon in the first place.

I met Sheldon's gaze with a smirk.

"You see that? Scientists are human too. They can be proud, or they can be a little arrogant. Be a great scientist, and you can change the world."

Sheldon glanced at Dr. Hodges, who was still staring at the erased board, then looked down at the book in my hands.

"He already showed you respect by calling you 'Mr. Cooper.' Is that good enough?" I asked.

"...It feels good," Sheldon admitted.

"Alright! Let's get out of here before he tries to steal this book from us," I said, throwing a glance at Dr. Hodges. "Thank you for your time and acknowledgment."

Without waiting for a reply, I took Sheldon and led him out of the room.

"Is it over now?" Mary asked, watching as Sheldon smiled contentedly.

"Yes, Mom, we can go now."

George shot me an annoyed look. "Let's go," he grumbled before snorting.

"...What did I do?" I asked, turning to Mary, who gave me an awkward smile. Meanwhile, Connie burst into laughter.

"You stole his daughter!" she said, making me smile awkwardly.

Missy simply grabbed my hand and walked beside me, her innocent smile never fading.

{I've often wondered what might have happened if my brother hadn't believed in me that day, or if my father hadn't stood up for me. Would I have still become a world-class theoretical physicist? Or just your average Joe Six-Pack theoretical physicist? …I believe my brother would have supported me either way.} – Adult Sheldon

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3rd POV

{…But honestly, I would've preferred if we had gone straight home that day instead of visiting Luminous Music Studio…} – Adult Sheldon

"And here's the recording room," Georgie said as he led his family through Luminous Records' studio and offices.

"Wow!" Missy looked around in awe, her eyes landing on Miss Rosie, who was seated in front of a control panel filled with buttons and dials.

"Miss Rosie," Mary greeted her warmly, walking over to shake her hand. "Thank you for taking care of Georgie."

"It's my pleasure! And it's my job to take care of our future Country Rock Star!" Miss Rosie replied, flashing a bright smile at Georgie.

Mary blushed slightly at the grand title given to her son. "Well… that's a bit too much, don't you think?"

"Yeah! This rascal is no superstar." George scoffed, shooting Georgie a side glance.

"Still upset about Missy?" Connie whispered teasingly, giggling at his reaction.

"...Do you guys want to hear Georgie's song, Little Sister?" Miss Fenley, who had been sitting beside Miss Rosie, suddenly spoke up.

"Really?! Can I?!" Missy beamed with excitement, eagerly waiting for Miss Fenley to play the song.

Miss Rosie and Miss Fenley exchanged amused glances before hitting play.

Meanwhile, Miss Rosie glanced into the recording booth and saw James still focused on his guitar. She pressed a button to speak to him.

"Alright, James, let's take a break. We've got company."

James, who had been completely engrossed in his playing, finally looked up. He gave a thumbs-up and stepped out of the booth.

"Hey Georgie!" James greeted Georgie before turning to acknowledge each family member one by one. Then, his eyes landed on Missy.

"...Is this the legendary sister of Georgie? You look beautiful, Miss Princess!" he said with a charming smile.

Missy giggled at the compliment.

"Back off, dude." George said with a scoff. He wasn't about to let another guy sweet-talk his little princess! Even if he knew James was just joking.

"Knock it off, George!" Mary scolded, clearly embarrassed.

James laughed. "Haha, I'm sorry. But honestly, his song is really good. Kayla loves it."

"Sorry about that, James," Georgie said before looking around. "Where are Edo and Kayla?"

"I don't know. They were here earlier. I think they went to grab something to eat," James replied.

"Are we going to talk all day, or are we finally listening to the music?" Sheldon grumbled impatiently.

Missy smirked. "Sheldon, you're jealous!"

"No, I'm not." Sheldon replied flatly. But everyone knew better.

Missy giggled but chose not to tease him further. Instead, she turned to Miss Rosie expectantly.

Miss Rosie, catching Missy's silent request, retrieved the finalized recording of Little Sister, the one Georgie had perfected from his memory.

Georgie stood beside Sheldon, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder with a grin. Sheldon grumbled again—no one believed him when he said he wasn't jealous, even though he insisted otherwise.

He glanced up at Georgie. "When are you going to write a song for me?"

"The song? You want it?"

Sheldon nodded slowly.

"Sure. I'll record it for you."

Miss Rosie returned and hit play. The melody filled the room, and almost instantly, Missy began swaying to the rhythm. She sang along with the chorus, twirling slightly before pulling Georgie into the fun. He grinned and joined her, moving in sync.

{Yes… my sister's smirk only added fuel to the emotions I had buried deep inside me…} – Adult Sheldon

Sheldon watched as Missy and Georgie danced together. Even Mary and George tapped their feet to the beat.

Connie smiled, happy to see Missy enjoying herself so much.

"Brother, I want to hear you sing again!" Missy exclaimed, slightly breathless from all the dancing.