Chapter 72 – The High-Energy Physics Symposium
Leonard's lecture was being held in the Rose Hall on the first floor, a modest venue rented by the research society. It could only seat about fifty people—a far cry from the lavish Golden Hall where the Transformers crew had celebrated their wrap party just the day before.
Maybe most of their budget had been reserved for the afterparty. According to Rajesh, at least the catering was supposed to be excellent.
Meanwhile, back at the apartment, Leonard was getting ready to leave.
After what he'd said to Penny the previous evening, things between him and Sheldon had grown even more strained. Feeling a little guilty, Leonard deliberately walked over to Sheldon's spot.
"I'm heading out to the conference now," he offered cautiously.
"Enjoy presenting my 'serendipitous discovery theory,'" Sheldon snapped. He was still furious. The idea that Leonard had called his work "serendipitous" had driven him up the wall. Lucky? His brilliance wasn't luck!
"Sheldon, that's not what I meant."
"Oh? Then what did you mean?"
"I don't know—I was just…talking with Penny, and it slipped out—"
"So you were trying to impress Penny?" Sheldon's voice was cutting and precise. Leonard froze, instantly tongue-tied.
"What? No…no, of course not," he stammered, but under Sheldon's unblinking glare, he finally broke. "Okay…maybe…a little bit."
"Did it work?"
Just then, the apartment door opened.
Penny leaned in. "Leonard? Are we ready to go?"
Well, that answered Sheldon's question. And the answer was yes—it had worked, quite effectively, too. Though if Ron had been there, he would have pointed out that Penny's main motivation was probably to tag along for the free food and drinks.
Leonard's face flushed. He made a frantic hand gesture at Penny to wait a second.
"Okay, Sheldon, I'll ask you one more time: we did this work together. Can't we just go and give the talk as a team?"
"And I'll tell you one more time: you're pimping me out. I will not participate in such a degrading event. If you don't like it, bite me."
With that, Sheldon resolutely crossed his fingers into a "V," held them against his forehead, and struck a pose as if casting a telekinetic curse.
Seeing there was no convincing him, Leonard sighed and left with Penny—under Sheldon's ridiculous "Force curse."
Neither of them noticed that after they stepped out, the apartment lights flickered off, and a furtive figure slipped out behind them, quickly hailing a cab to follow.
---
Night had already fallen.
Upstairs in his hotel room, Ron had been enjoying an entire day of blissful, uninterrupted sleep. Now, he woke up ravenous. Yet, compared to the hunger in his stomach, the exhaustion in his mind had been far worse.
God only knew what Megan had been thinking—trying to completely drain him before leaving town. Where did she get the nerve? Naturally, she'd paid the price for her ambition. But thanks to her, Ron had barely gotten any rest all night.
At least now he was recharged. All he needed was to watch a bit of this "comedy performance" and score a free meal.
---
Penny was fussing with Leonard's suit collar, inspecting it critically. "That's better."
Leonard smiled ingratiatingly. "You were right—this side does look better."
"No," Penny corrected flatly, "I meant there's less brown on this side."
She shook her head, speechless. Who knew these nerds wore ties that were double-sided—and both sides looked awful? Did none of them have the faintest sense of taste?
---
"I had a look inside," Penny went on. "There's maybe twenty, twenty-five people in there."
"So few?" Ron arrived just in time, strolling over at a leisurely pace.
"Hi, Ron."
"Hey, everyone," Ron greeted them. "This is supposed to be a high-energy physics symposium, right? I'm not pronouncing that wrong? So why are there so few people?"
"So few?!" Leonard's voice shot up several octaves. "For high-energy physics, twenty-five people is basically a rock festival."
"…All right," Ron muttered, discreetly rolling his eyes. "So when does the—uh—meal start… I mean, when does it begin?"
"Right now," Leonard said, a nervous excitement on his face. He looked like he was already standing onstage, basking in imaginary applause. "Honestly, I'm a little anxious."
Howard chimed in, "Don't worry. Just open with a joke—you won't be nervous anymore."
Then Leonard told the "spherical chicken" joke.
Everyone laughed—except Ron and Penny.
The three scientists chuckled at first but gradually trailed off when they noticed the two of them staring blankly.
"Why aren't you laughing?"
"I've heard that one before," Ron and Penny answered in unison.
These scientists and their damned bizarre sense of humor! Ron swore this was the most perfectly in-sync moment he'd ever shared with Penny.
---
"Come on, let's head in," Leonard said, regaining his confidence and marching to open the door.
"I really should have just driven here," Penny muttered as she fell to the back of the group.
"If you leave early, you'll regret it," Ron reminded her. "The banquet tonight is serving Australian lobsters—not your average Maine lobster. And the chef here is actually pretty good."
Everyone knew that while both were called "lobster," Australian lobster could easily cost seven or eight times more than Maine lobster.
Penny immediately brightened, her eyes gleaming. "How do you even know that?"
"Because I was here last night," Ron said casually. "Different wrap party."
But he made no move to follow them in.
"You're not coming?" Penny asked, holding the door.
"No. I'm waiting for someone."
Penny shrugged and left him there, heading inside to take a seat in the front row with Howard and the others. Ron couldn't help twitching his mouth in amusement but decided not to say anything.
He silently prayed that, under the influence of so much high-level academic discussion, this little academic disaster might at least get some decent sleep.
As for hoping Penny would actually understand any of it—he didn't even bother. He'd already witnessed her math skills firsthand. The woman could barely handle two-digit multiplication and division.
---
Sheldon didn't keep Ron waiting long. About five minutes later, Ron, who had a keen eye for this sort of thing, spotted a conspicuous figure standing out from the crowd like a crane among chickens.
"Sheldon!"
Ron walked over and clapped him on the shoulder, making Sheldon jump out of his skin.
Clutching his chest, Sheldon hissed in annoyance, "Ron, how did you recognize me?"
"Do you honestly think a professional operative wouldn't notice the guy in the crowd wearing a baseball cap, a hoodie pulled halfway over his face, and sunglasses? You're basically holding up a sign that says 'I'm suspicious.'" Ron smirked faintly. "I get the feeling you're underestimating me."
"…Where's Leonard?" Sheldon asked stiffly.
"Already inside. Didn't you say you weren't coming?"
"We'd better hurry in," Sheldon muttered, looking away. "I need to see if he's about to butcher my research."
If Ron hadn't known for a fact that both of them were straight, he'd have been tempted to call his mom and tell her she'd never be getting a grandson from Sheldon.
"Sure—whatever you say."