"Dad, how old do you think the Earth is?" Young Sheldon asked, chatting with his father, George, who was driving. Sheldon had recently learned a bit about carbon dating.
"It's got to be pretty old," George replied after thinking for a moment. "I'd guess you'd have to count it in the billions of years."
"Good. It seems we're on the same page," Sheldon explained. "Actually, the Earth has existed for over four billion years."
"That long? It really is an old antique, then," George said, acting like he'd learned something new.
"I asked Mom the same question, but she firmly believes the Earth has only existed for about six thousand years and was created by God." Sheldon shook his head slightly, as if sighing at his mother's ignorance.
Then, he continued, "Dad, do you and Mom ever talk about this kind of stuff? And when you disagree, how do you handle it?"
After all, the hardest thing in the world is probably trying to convince someone who has a completely different worldview than you.
"No, Mary and I don't talk about that sort of thing. And if we do disagree, I usually just let it slide and wait for it to blow over," George said casually.
"That sounds terrible." Sheldon couldn't imagine the disaster of a household formed by two people who thought so differently.
He looked at his dad with sympathy. "You've made me fear marriage. I don't think I'll ever marry someone who doesn't think the way I do."
"Who knows? Some things aren't up to you," George said with the voice of experience. "So, never say never."
"Strictly speaking, you just said 'never' twice in a row." Sheldon's focus was always different from normal people.
George, who had intended to impart some life wisdom to his youngest son, was choked off by the boy's nitpicking.
He sighed helplessly and lost interest in chatting.
Under normal circumstances, George would be lying on the couch right now, drinking a beer and watching a football game. Since it was the end of the year, the Super Bowl was only a couple of months away. As America's wildest sporting event, the Super Bowl hype was already starting to ramp up on TV.
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"Here, Sheldon. I'm done with it." When the car arrived at the Museum of Natural Science, Mike finished reading the magazine on carbon dating.
Since it was just a promotional brochure, it wasn't very thick, nor was it overly technical. But for little Sheldon, this specialized magazine was still a treasure.
He carefully put the magazine away before following George and Mike into the museum.
Standing tall in Texas, this Museum of Natural Science was huge and had a long history.
In the center of the exhibit hall, you could see life-like specimens of prehistoric animals like mammoths and saber-toothed tigers.
"Whoa~ that big guy is huge. If we used it for meat, we probably couldn't finish eating it in a year," George exclaimed, looking at the giant dinosaur skeleton in the center of the hall.
"That is a precious prehistoric specimen, not food..." Sheldon rolled his eyes. He felt his dad's behavior was embarrassing.
The feeling only got stronger when other tourists in the museum turned to look at them.
"Okay, okay, I'll stop," George shrugged, seeing his son's disgusted look. "So, where's the lecture?"
It seemed he wanted to drop his son off at his destination quickly so he could go enjoy his weekend. After all, hanging out with a constantly nitpicking Sheldon was a bit draining for George.
Following the signs in the brochure, the three of them found the museum's lecture hall.
The spacious hall wasn't very crowded yet, so Sheldon easily snagged the best spot—front and center.
Mike scanned the room as they entered. Not seeing Paige yet, he sat down casually next to Sheldon.
"You guys stay here. I'm going to walk around outside. I'll pick you up when the lecture is over." George wasn't interested in science lectures. On the weekend, he just wanted to relax comfortably.
"Mike, keep an eye on Shelly for me. Don't let him make a scene." George was still a bit worried about his youngest son before he left.
When it came to "stirring things up," Sheldon had a unique talent.
"No problem," Mike nodded, accepting the task.
"Shelly, I'll be right at the entrance. Come find me if you need anything," George added, still uneasy.
"Didn't someone say they were leaving? Why are your feet still planted there?" Sheldon seemed annoyed by his dad's nagging and hated being treated like a child.
Choked by his son's words again and staring at that look of disdain, George shook his head silently and quickly left the lecture hall.
As the start time approached, more people trickled into the hall.
Most of them were middle-aged, which made sense; young people usually aren't that interested in the study of ancient natural sciences.
"Are you waiting for someone?" Sheldon, reviewing his brochure, noticed Mike looking distracted and constantly glancing at the door.
"Yeah. If all goes to plan, you'll see her soon," Mike smiled.
Mike knew that every time Sheldon and Paige met, there was a high chance of triggering an intelligence boost. For Mike, that was a good thing.
"I didn't know you had friends who liked natural science," Sheldon asked, surprised by Mike's confidence.
"You'll see. You actually know her, too," Mike said with a hint of mischief.
"Based on what you're saying, we both know this person." Sheldon thought for a moment, his expression changing as he realized the bad news. "It's not Pai..."
Just as Sheldon was about to guess the answer, Paige walked in and spotted Mike in the front row with a look of surprise.
"Mike? What are you doing here?" Paige skipped happily over to the front row.
"This is such a coincidence!" she exclaimed.
From their previous interactions, Paige already considered Mike a good friend. Thinking this was a chance encounter, the little girl was naturally very happy.
"Very coincidental," Mike smiled and greeted her.
Today, Paige was wearing a pinkish denim overall dress, looking cool but cute.
She walked past Sheldon and sat on Mike's other side.
Only after sitting down did she seem to notice Sheldon, who was one seat away. "Sheldon, you're here too?"
"Yes. I am here to attend the lecture on carbon-14 dating," Sheldon replied stiffly, sitting up straight.