Chapter 32: Math Problems in the Hallway
"Chuck Wolfe."
Seeing Paige extending her hand, Chuck shook it back.
Young Sheldon was even more irritated by this.
Chuck hadn't even used his "Doctor" title—something Chuck had made such a big deal about when they'd first met.
"Chuck, do you have a girlfriend?"
Paige asked with a mischievous grin, glancing at Monica and Alicia, who were chatting nearby.
Monica and Alicia both looked over at her.
"...No."
Chuck wanted to bluntly ask Paige to define what constituted a girlfriend, and to clarify that while he didn't have a girlfriend, he did have several female friends with benefits. But she was just an 11-year-old kid, and no matter how direct his personality was, he couldn't say that to her. So he gave the most precise and concise answer possible.
Monica's face immediately lit up.
Alicia, on the other hand, wasn't surprised. For someone like Chuck—and like her husband—having a girlfriend, or even a wife, would be truly shocking.
But when she saw the change in Monica's expression, her look toward Monica became complex: six parts sympathy, three parts recognition, and one part something indescribable.
"Paige, what are you even doing here?"
Young Sheldon didn't like this whole vibe and interrupted irritably.
"I heard this place was interesting, so I came to check it out."
Paige smiled. "And it definitely looks like it is."
"It's not interesting at all!"
Young Sheldon was so frustrated he didn't even bother correcting her assessment. He glanced around at everyone and stalked out with his little rolling suitcase.
Paige had no intention of following him, just kept looking at Chuck.
Chuck nodded politely to the three women and also headed out.
Three women in one room equals drama.
Given his current stress tolerance level, he was nowhere near ready for that kind of chaos.
Monica smiled awkwardly but politely at Alicia, then hurried to pull Paige out after Chuck.
In the hallway.
A crowd had gathered around a whiteboard.
"What the hell is this?"
"You can't figure it out? It's obviously a Fourier formula."
"No shit! Of course I know it's a Fourier formula, but why is this advanced Fourier equation posted here? Please tell me this isn't going to be our homework assignment. That would be absolutely brutal!"
"Unfortunately, this is exactly the extra credit assignment Professor John Harper just posted."
"...You've got to be kidding me."
"I thought it was a joke at first too, but since it came from Professor John Harper, it actually makes sense. I mean, do you really think he considers our intellectual limitations?"
"Professor John Harper has mellowed out a lot since he got married. He definitely wouldn't have shown this kind of mercy before, but now he's got his wife helping him explain things to us mere mortals. This assignment is optional and doesn't count against your regular coursework. Whoever can solve it before the end of the semester gets not only an A+ but also guaranteed admission to any graduate program at Princeton, because historically, the only people who've solved advanced Fourier equations like this were Nobel Prize winners, Fields Medal recipients, or absolute legends in theoretical physics and astrophysics."
"Holy crap!"
"Now do you understand why I was freaking out about what this was?"
Everyone was buzzing with conversation.
"Let me see, let me see!"
Young Sheldon had been frowning and trying to walk around the crowd, but when he caught the conversation, he immediately stopped dead in his tracks. Then, shouting in his distinctive high-pitched voice that stood out like a sore thumb in this college setting, he clutched his little suitcase and tried to push through the crowd.
When it came to a real test of intellectual prowess, how could Sheldon Cooper possibly sit it out!
"Hey little genius, think you can crack it?"
College was definitely more civilized than high school. Seeing young Sheldon like this, everyone made room for him to get to the whiteboard. Watching him crane his neck to study the problem, someone called out teasingly.
"Of course I can!"
Young Sheldon immediately responded with his trademark arrogance, but his eyes remained glued to the whiteboard.
This Fourier formula—so advanced that only true mathematical masters had ever solved it—was obviously not something he could figure out at first glance.
The crowd gradually dispersed with chuckles and murmurs.
There were still classes to get to.
Besides, a problem like this wasn't going to be solved overnight.
"Hmm, interesting challenge,"
Paige said, her attention immediately captured by the equation on the whiteboard.
Chuck also stopped to examine it.
As always, he was drawn to mathematical puzzles.
Monica stared at the two kids—one older, one younger—both completely absorbed by the whiteboard. Her jaw dropped slightly, frustration washing over her face. Even though she was standing right next to Chuck, she felt strangely distant from him.
Professor Alicia Harper emerged from the classroom, saw the scene, shook her head, and walked over to warn, "Cooper, don't you have another class to get to?"
"Oh crap!"
Young Sheldon finally snapped out of his mathematical trance. He glanced at his Apple Watch, yelped, and started speed-walking toward the exit with his characteristic stiff gait. After a few steps, he turned back to see Chuck and Paige still standing there. He couldn't help but stop and declare, "I'm definitely going to be the first one to solve it!"
"I seriously doubt that."
Paige smiled and looked over at him. "Have you already forgotten who the youngest and smartest genius around here is?"
"I'M the smartest!"
Young Sheldon's eyes practically bulged out of his head as he stormed off at his zombie-like pace.
Back in Texas, he'd taken classes at East Texas Tech to get a taste of college-level coursework. He'd thought he was the youngest and smartest student there, but when he arrived, he discovered Paige was already enrolled.
During every Q&A session, Paige had completely demolished him intellectually.
What made it even more infuriating was that after comparing their ages and birthdays, Paige had smugly announced that she was actually the youngest student in their university program.
Since they were both born in 1980, young Sheldon's birthday was February 26th, while Paige's was March 17th.
He deeply resented that age gap.
If only he had tried harder in his mother's womb, gotten rid of his annoying twin sister Missy, and developed faster, maybe he wouldn't have been born on February 26th out of sheer frustration with Missy's presence.
He felt like he could have held out another month, toughed it out until March 26th!
That way, he wouldn't be stuck listening to Paige's constant bragging without being able to argue back.
It was all Missy's fault!
"Got nothing to say?"
Paige watched young Sheldon disappear around the corner and looked at Chuck, who had remained silently focused on the board.
Chuck said nothing, continuing to work through the math problem on the whiteboard.
"So tomorrow's Saturday—what are your weekend plans?"
Monica couldn't help but ask.
Earlier, she'd thought she could play it cool and not be so forward with someone as intimidating as Chuck.
But now she felt a deep sense of urgency. Chuck's intimidating presence wasn't the real problem. After all, who doesn't like a challenge?
"I'm flying out to Wyoming,"
Chuck replied, his eyes still fixed on the whiteboard.
"What time's your flight?"
Monica asked anxiously.
"Nine PM,"
Chuck said.
"Paige, we should head back."
Monica gritted her teeth and tugged at Paige, who was still staring intently at the whiteboard. Seeing that Paige was reluctant to leave, she immediately asked, "You can think about it back at the dorm. Don't tell me you haven't already memorized the whole equation?"
After getting Paige moving, Monica asked her to go on ahead, then whispered something to Chuck.
Chuck glanced at her, nodded, then returned his attention to the whiteboard.
Monica hurried away.
She wanted to get Paige back to the dorm first.
(End of chapter)
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