Chapter 55 - Hippo, Schrodinger Cat, Penny Decision

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3RD POV

Morning arrived, and Sheldon stepped out of Apartment 4A, headphones in his ears.

Hearing the apartment door open and close, Penny quickly stood up and rushed to open her own door.

"Sheldon!" Penny called out softly, unsure if he'd hear her. But to her surprise, Sheldon, whose hearing was remarkably sharp, responded immediately.

"Yes?"

He was already heading down the stairs but paused when he noticed Penny calling him.

"What is it, Penny?" he asked, looking at her.

"Can we talk for a second?" Penny asked cautiously, not wanting Leonard, who was still inside 4A, to overhear. "It's about Leonard."

"Why me? Why not Koothrappali or Wolowitz?" Sheldon questioned, stepping closer.

"Well, Raj can't talk to me unless he's drunk, and Wolowitz is… you know… disgusting." Penny rolled her eyes. Then, flashing a teasing smile, she added, "Besides, I wanted to talk to my whackadoodle cowboy from Texas." She giggled.

Sheldon sighed. "Alright, I suppose I can spare a moment."

Penny giggled again and motioned for him to enter her apartment.

"Okay, here's the thing… I assume you already know that Leonard asked me out." Penny started, then hesitated when she noticed Sheldon still standing at the entrance. "What's wrong?"

Sheldon glanced around. "You know, I don't spend much time here, so I never picked a designated seat." He turned to Penny. "Though my brother insists it's a simple decision, and I quote, 'You just sit wherever you like. It's a simple thing to do.' If only it were that easy. You can talk while I find my ideal spot."

Penny sighed as Sheldon began inspecting potential seating options.

"Oookay… so here's the thing. I've known for a while that Leonard has a little crush on me…" she continued, watching Sheldon pace around.

"A little crush?" Sheldon scoffed. "That's like saying Menelaus was slightly interested in Helen of Troy."

Penny blinked. "Who?"

"Menelaus, King of Sparta and Helen's husband. When Helen was taken by Prince Paris of Troy, Menelaus rallied the Greeks and launched a massive war to get her back."

Penny still looked lost.

Sheldon sighed. "Huff… it was a huge conflict over the so-called 'little crush' you just mentioned."

Penny's eyes widened slightly. "Wait… so Leonard having feelings for me has been a problem for you guys?"

Sheldon smirked. "Now you get it. This is what it felt like teaching my sister something for the first time."

Penny rolled her eyes. "Alright, yeah, we're getting off track. The point is, Leonard isn't the type of guy I usually date."

"I know, right?" Sheldon deadpanned, rolling his eyes sarcastically.

Sheldon finally sat down next to Penny. "Could you rotate the couch 30 degrees? Never mind, I'll do it myself."

Before Penny could react, Sheldon stood up and effortlessly lifted one side of the couch, adjusting it to his liking.

"What are you doing?!" Penny exclaimed, startled by how easily he moved the furniture.

"I need to secure the best spot," Sheldon replied matter-of-factly before sitting back down. "Alright! This is much better. Now, continue."

Penny blinked in disbelief, shaking her head. At this point, she had come to accept that all the guys in 4A were weird. But as long as they were nice to her, she could tolerate their quirks.

"…Alright, what I was saying is, Leonard might be different… in a good way… Wait—what are you doing?"

Sheldon was staring at her intently, his expression unusually serious.

"What?" he asked.

Penny shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. This wasn't the Sheldon she was used to. His look felt… different.

"Is that something your brother taught you? Because it's really working on me." Penny said, slightly amused. Sheldon's gaze remained intensely focused, as if he were truly absorbing every word.

"Yes. My brother taught me to listen to people with great seriousness, even when I have no desire to, because apparently, that's what's expected in 'society.'" Sheldon replied, resting his head on his hand and leaning his side body back against the couch. "Go on."

Penny observed him. Normally, she'd find Sheldon's antics frustrating, but this time, she didn't. There was something different about his demeanor.

"Has your sister's visit affected you this much?" she asked, curious.

"Penny, I'm here to listen to you. If we're done, I'll be heading to the ground floor to check my mail." Sheldon replied, swiftly steering the conversation away from the topic that had been bothering him since the night before.

"Alright, alright…" Penny relented and continued, though she deliberately avoided looking at Sheldon. "But on the other hand, if things don't work out between me and Leonard, I'll be losing a really good friend…" She stole a quick glance at Sheldon before diverting her eyes again. "I know he's not the kind of guy who just wants to have fun. He takes relationships seriously. And—ugh, stop looking at me like that!"

"My apologies. Is it truly bothering you? Blame my brother for that." Sheldon said with a slight shrug.

"Fine, then give me his phone number so I can personally complain about you."

Sheldon reached for his phone but suddenly hesitated, realizing something. He eyed Penny's outstretched hand skeptically. "I'm not falling for that."

"Tch." Penny clicked her tongue in disappointment. "Anyway, were you even paying attention to what I was saying earlier?" she asked, slightly irritated.

"Hmm… let's see…" Sheldon pondered for a moment before responding, "Schrödinger's cat."

Penny blinked. "Schrödinger…? Is she the woman from 2A?" She tried to recall where she'd heard the name before.

"No, no, that's Mrs. Grossinger. She doesn't own a cat, just a noisy, annoying animal."

"Alright… so what's Schrödinger's cat?"

Sheldon straightened up, ready to explain. "In 1935, Erwin Schrödinger proposed a thought experiment to illustrate the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics. He described a scenario in which a cat is placed inside a sealed box along with a small container of poison that may break open at any moment."

He paused, making sure Penny was following.

"Are you with me so far?" he asked.

"So… this is Schrödinger's cat? And we have no idea whether the cat is dead or alive until we open the box?" Penny carefully repeated her understanding, not wanting to frustrate Sheldon.

"Yes! Very good," Sheldon praised, giving her a small pat on the head. Penny beamed at the unexpected compliment.

Sheldon continued, "Until the box is opened, we don't know the cat's fate. The point is, your potential relationship with Leonard is both good and bad at the same time. You won't know the outcome until you 'open the box' and see for yourself."

"Oooh… I get it now." Penny grinned, feeling a small sense of accomplishment.

"Exactly. I can't predict the future, nor can I tell if your date with Leonard will be a success. You'd have to be psychic to know that. My brother once tricked me into thinking he could predict the future, but it turned out he had just planned things in advance and calculated the probability of them happening."

Sheldon scoffed at the memory, clearly still annoyed at being duped by Georgie.

"Wait, really? What exactly happened?" Penny perked up, sensing an opportunity for some juicy gossip about George Cooper Jr.

Sheldon waved his hand dismissively. "It's irrelevant. Now, have you made up your mind? Are you certain you want to go on this date with Leonard?"

"Well, yeah. I think I'll give it a shot and have dinner with him. If it doesn't work out, we'll still be neighbors because, let's be real, I can't afford to move out anytime soon." Penny said, reclining against the couch.

"Alright, then. I have to go now," Sheldon said, getting up from his seat.

"Wait!" Penny quickly stood up as well, looking at him. "…Can I give you a hug?" she asked with a hopeful smile.

"No."

And with that, Sheldon bolted out of Apartment 4B before she could say another word.

Penny pouted, but in the end, she simply shook her head, already used to Sheldon's quirks.