"Hello... Sheldon... do you have any idea what time it is..." Dr. Linkletter, roused from a deep sleep by the phone, was still in a complete daze.
"Fine. I agree to your request."
Realizing why Sheldon was calling in the middle of the night, Dr. Linkletter seemed moved by the boy's persistence. Of course, it was far more likely that he just found it troublesome and didn't want to be harassed anymore.
So, he granted Sheldon's request. Before hanging up, he made sure to add, "Do not call me again."
Then, just to be safe, Dr. Linkletter yanked the phone cord right out of the wall after hanging up.
Back at the Cooper household, Sheldon, who had been strategizing how to persuade Dr. Linkletter, froze when he heard the response.
The joy came so suddenly that it felt unreal. Especially since it was the middle of the night—prime dreaming time.
"Did I actually succeed?"
Sheldon muttered to himself, then dialed the number again to confirm the good news. Naturally, no one picked up this time.
Listening to the busy signal, Sheldon wasn't disappointed. Possessing an eidetic memory, he knew very well he hadn't been dreaming.
Having successfully secured his spot as a researcher using his "harassment strategy," he put the phone back and walked contentedly to his room. With that worry off his mind, he quickly fell asleep.
Sheldon, however, didn't know that because of his harassment tactics, an old man was suffering from insomnia tonight. After all, sleep quality for the elderly is generally poor; falling back asleep after being woken up is a difficult task.
---
The next day, in the lab at the University of Texas.
Seeing the obvious dark circles under Dr. Linkletter's eyes, Sheldon asked with concern, "Dr. Linkletter, did you have insomnia last night? I have a lot of experience in that area..."
Sheldon, who also suffered from insomnia, seemed to want to share some sleeping tips as a thank-you for making him a researcher. Unfortunately, this icebreaker struck a raw nerve in Dr. Linkletter's brain.
"Quiet, Sheldon!" Dr. Linkletter snapped emotionally. "If you have anything to say, go tell Professor Sturgis. Do not bother me again."
Clearly, realizing he couldn't handle the trouble that was Sheldon, he chose to avoid him. In fact, even as a fellow researcher on the project, Dr. Linkletter still had the right to refuse to interact with him.
"Sheldon, what did you do to upset Dr. Linkletter? He looks quite agitated..." Professor Sturgis asked curiously as Sheldon approached him.
"I don't know," Sheldon replied honestly after a moment's thought. "I thought Dr. Linkletter and I had a good relationship. In fact, we spoke on the phone just last night..."
Hearing that Sheldon had called Dr. Linkletter in the middle of the night, Professor Sturgis—being an elderly man himself—felt a bit of sympathy for his colleague. However, this wasn't the right setting to discuss it, so he didn't comment further. Instead, he responsibly assigned the day's tasks to Sheldon and Paige.
While the calculation work might seem tedious and complex to ordinary people, it posed little challenge to two super-geniuses like Sheldon and Paige. Before long, they had finished the entire day's workload.
Eager for more learning opportunities, Sheldon approached Professor Sturgis again. However, since the new formula project wasn't on a tight schedule, Professor Sturgis turned down his request.
Back in his seat with nothing to do, Sheldon saw Paige staring into space and asked, "Paige, do you know any way we can get more hands-on opportunities?"
To Sheldon, sitting there doing nothing was a waste of a perfectly good learning opportunity.
Paige, who had been thinking about her gaming session last night, was annoyed at the interruption. "Sheldon, do you know the difference between you and Mike?"
"I'm smarter than him, and I work harder, too," Sheldon answered confidently.
In his view, Mike was foolish to give up this learning opportunity. Spending so much time on dates every weekend was a complete waste of valuable study time. All things considered, Sheldon was quite certain he would end up being more successful than Mike.
"No. Compared to us sitting here dealing with data, what Mike is doing is much more meaningful," Paige said.
In American schools, a socially active student is obviously more popular than a nerd. But Sheldon, who only cared about science, didn't realize this at all.
"Why would you say that?" Sheldon didn't agree with Paige's assessment.
Seeing his reaction, Paige wasn't surprised. She gestured toward Professor Sturgis and Dr. Linkletter, who were working. "What do you think of them?"
"They are both remarkable people. I hope I can be like them someday..." Sheldon said earnestly.
It had to be said—it was Professor Sturgis's college physics course that had sparked Sheldon's immense interest in the subject. In a way, the man was his academic mentor. As for Dr. Linkletter, Sheldon also held him in high regard due to their previous interactions. So, all in all, Sheldon looked up to both professors immensely.
"It seems my intuition was right," Paige said with a smile. "You are exactly the same kind of person they are."
"What do you mean by that?" Although Sheldon felt Paige wasn't technically wrong, he detected a hint of provocation in her tone.
"Statistics show that people who are only obsessed with science eventually develop eccentric personalities, making it impossible to make friends. In the end, they have no choice but to die alone," Paige stated bluntly.
This was the little girl's honest opinion. If she could, she wouldn't be here at all. Hanging out with friends was what she really wanted to be doing right now.
"Die alone?" Sheldon really didn't want to agree with Paige.
But he quickly realized she might be right—Professor Sturgis and Dr. Linkletter's current situations could certainly be described as 'lonely.' This realization gave Sheldon a fright. He revved up his brilliant brain, thought for a moment, and said, "I have many friends. I'm not lonely."
"Can you give me an example?" Paige asked seriously.
"Mike. Mike... he's one of my good friends..." Sheldon answered.
"Mike has a lot of friends; he might not always have time for you in the future," Paige shifted the concept slightly, then continued, "So, besides him, do you have any other friends?"
"Well..." Sheldon was stumped. He didn't have many people he considered friends. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "Dan! Besides Mike, Dan is also my good friend."
Seeing Sheldon's relief, Paige stated confidently, "If I'm not mistaken, this 'Dan' is also a bookworm with no friends, isn't he?"
"How did you know?" A look of surprise appeared on Sheldon's face.
"Aren't they the perfect examples right over there?" Paige gestured toward Professor Sturgis and Dr. Linkletter again.
The issue had circled back to the starting point. Looking at the two elderly men who got along reasonably well, Sheldon fell into a state of self-doubt. At this moment, even becoming a project researcher wasn't enough to cheer him up.
Although Sheldon was eccentric, he couldn't accept the hypothesis that he would die alone.
Meanwhile, Paige, no longer being bothered, smiled with satisfaction.