Howard had a bad start, but he didn't give up. Instead, he continued to pester Paige with increasing desperation.
"Then how about singing? Dancing? We could play games, watch movies..." He rattled off suggestion after suggestion, but what he got back was always a firm "No, no, no!" Each rejection came with a tone that grew more resolute and impatient than the last.
Paige's affection for Howard was visibly plummeting—from neutrality to indifference, and then from indifference to outright disgust. Yet somehow, Howard remained completely oblivious to her mounting irritation.
Raj couldn't help shaking his head in exasperation. "Howie, that's enough," he said firmly. "We're about to start working. You'd better leave first."
Hearing this, Howard immediately strode over and whispered accusingly in Raj's ear. "You want to drive me away? Are you trying to run away with her again?"
"Run away your sister!" Raj shot him an annoyed look. "Didn't you notice that her attitude is getting colder and colder? If you're so ignorant and continue to pester her like this, you'll be listed as a 'rejected account.' I'm helping you here, do you understand?"
Howard was taken aback for a moment, then turned his head to look at Paige. Seeing that her eyes were indeed full of repulsion and disgust when she looked at him, his heart sank.
He often felt completely out of balance when it came to chasing girls. He would be obviously irritating and off-putting, but he never felt it at all. Instead, he genuinely believed that women were deeply fascinated by him and his so-called charm.
This misguided self-perception was one of the main reasons why he had repeatedly failed to pick up girls.
"Okay, then I'll go first," Howard said, finally woken up by Raj's harsh words. He stopped clinging to Paige at last.
He waved awkwardly to her. "Ma'am, goodbye," he said, then turned and walked out.
"I'm sorry, Paige," Raj apologized on his behalf once Howard was gone. "Actually, Howie's not a bad person. He's just been single for too long, so he gets way too enthusiastic around girls."
"Yeah." Paige nodded with understanding. "It's okay. Let's get to work."
"There's no rush for work," Raj waved his hand dismissively. "I need to help you go through the entry procedures first. After we formally establish the working relationship, then we'll start working."
Although Paige was his assistant, she was hired by the school, so she also needed to sign a contract and apply for various documents, door cards, and other essentials.
"Okay," Paige nodded in agreement.
Raj then took Paige to the office building and accompanied her through the various administrative procedures.
Wherever they went, all the men—and even some women—paid attention to them with curious stares.
Of course, everyone's eyes were mostly on Paige, drawn to her striking appearance. Raj was just a dispensable side dish in comparison. However, seeing that he got to accompany such a beautiful woman, he still received plenty of jealous glances from envious colleagues.
After completing the series of bureaucratic procedures, Raj decided to take Paige around campus to familiarize her with the environment, since there was still some time before the workday officially began.
As an assistant, she would need to run errands frequently, so it was good to get familiar with the layout now. Moreover, Raj had to admit he quite enjoyed the feeling of being envied by his peers.
"This building is the biology building, and that one over there is the chemistry building," Raj explained as they walked. "Our physics department and the geology department share the same building. The first and second floors belong to the physics department, the third and fourth floors are the geology department, and there's a physics laboratory in the corner of the first floor." He introduced each location one by one with practiced ease.
Paige listened attentively and took mental notes, quickly memorizing the campus layout.
After touring the campus, it was already noon. Raj took Paige to the cafeteria for lunch and introduced her to some of his friends along the way.
Needless to say, when the two entered the cafeteria, they caused quite a sensation again.
The cafeteria worker who was in charge of serving food took one look at Paige's beautiful face and gave her free cookies with a warm smile.
This was a treatment that Raj and the others had never enjoyed before.
"Paige, let me introduce you," Raj said with a smile as they approached a table. "This is Dr. Leslie Winkle, an experimental physicist." He gestured to the woman at the table. "Leslie, this is my new assistant, Paige Swanson."
"Hi," the two women greeted each other coolly, sizing each other up.
At that moment, Leonard and Howard arrived together. "Hi," they chorused.
"This is Dr. Leonard Hofstadter, who is also an experimental physicist," Raj continued. "He's currently doing research on soft separation of cosmic radiation at sea level." He paused, then added, "And Howard Wolowitz—well, I don't need to introduce him again." Raj turned back to Leonard. "Leonard, this is my assistant, Paige Swanson."
"Hi, Miss Swanson," Leonard greeted her with obvious restraint, trying to appear casual. In front of Paige, he could feel his heart beating hard in his chest.
"Hello, Dr. Hofstadter," Paige smiled and greeted him lightly, politely.
"Okay, let's sit down and eat," Raj said cheerfully, gesturing to the empty seats.
Paige nodded and sat down with him.
Seeing this opportunity, Howard and Leonard quickly grabbed seats at the same table with their food trays.
As soon as the four of them settled in, Sheldon appeared carrying his lunch tray. He couldn't help frowning when he saw Leonard sitting with Raj's group instead of at their usual spot.
"Leonard, you should sit with me," he stated firmly, staring at Leonard with serious intensity.
"Sheldon, you should understand," Leonard said, winking meaningfully in Paige's direction.
Since he had the chance to have dinner with such a beautiful woman, he had no intention of sitting with Sheldon and his rigid routine anymore.
Hearing Leonard's response, Paige looked at Sheldon with sudden curiosity, and then asked with growing recognition, "You're Sheldon—Sheldon Cooper, aren't you?"
"Of course it's me," Sheldon said with unmistakable pride in his voice.
"It really is you," Paige said, her face breaking into a genuine smile of recognition.
"Why, do you two know each other?" Howard couldn't help asking, confused by their strange exchange.
Leonard and Leslie also frowned, unable to understand what was going on between them.
"Have you forgotten me? I'm Paige Swanson," Paige stood up from her seat and said with emotion.
"Paige?!" Sheldon looked her up and down carefully, also appearing somewhat surprised. "It really is you."
"Yes, I didn't expect to see you here of all places," Paige said, her voice tinged with genuine emotion and nostalgia.
"I didn't think of it either," Sheldon nodded matter-of-factly. "Okay, you can eat now. Leonard, sit with me."
After finishing his brief acknowledgment, he picked up his meal tray and walked over to sit at another table, completely dismissing the reunion.
Leonard rolled his eyes in frustration. He really wanted to stay and figure out what was going on between Sheldon and Paige, but he knew Sheldon wouldn't let it go. Reluctantly, he followed with his own meal tray.
Seeing that Sheldon was so indifferent to her after all these years, Paige stood frozen on the spot, her expression clearly disappointed and hurt.
"Paige, don't take it personally," Raj said softly, noticing her reaction. "Since you know Sheldon, you should already know that he doesn't have the emotions of ordinary people." He spoke gently, trying to console her. "In our view, it's a happy occasion when old friends reunite. But to him, it's relatively insignificant. He didn't intend to neglect you, and you don't need to be upset because of it."
Raj recalled how, in one instance in the show, Sheldon had encountered his childhood friend Tam after more than ten years apart. It stood to reason that they should have been excited to meet again. But Sheldon had just said a brief hello to him and then went about his own business as if nothing special had happened.
Paige listened to Raj's explanation carefully, and after a moment of quiet contemplation, she nodded slowly in understanding.
Sheldon had been so emotionally detached even when he was a child. This was simply his character, and it seemed time had not changed him at all.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi everyone,
Thank you so much for your support!
I hope you're enjoying the story so far—your feedback truly means the world to me. I'd love to hear your thoughts on where you'd like the story to go next, so feel free to share any ideas or suggestions in the comments.
If you'd like to support my work and gain access to 10 advance chapters, exclusive artwork, story polls etc please consider visiting: patre on. com (slash) Maggie329