[ficlet] tbbt - by the numbers
Jun. 12th, 2009 10:09 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
damalurbackupBy the Numbers. Sheldon/Penny, ~450 words, written for Paradox's Fiction Friday. These are things that Penny, age 20, does not anticipate.
BY THE NUMBERS
These are things that Penny, age 20, does not anticipate:
She does not anticipate that Penny, age 21, will meet and befriend a misshapen group of geeks and brainiacs. She - always popular, always on the edge, always liked and accepted and possessed of, if not the latest fashion, at least a decent imitation - does not anticipate what their awkward, surprising, delightful friendship will come to mean to her. She does not anticipate Leonard's sweetness or Raj's unexpected streak of sarcasm or Howard's insecurity; nor does she anticipate Sheldon's perspicacity, curiosity, innocence, or sheer stubbornness.
Most of all, she does not anticipate having her underwear strung up from a telephone wire in the middle of the night.
-
She does not anticipate that Penny, age 22, will come to depend so heavily on the most demanding person she will ever meet. She does not anticipate how he will challenge her, nor does she anticipate how he will aggravate her. She does not anticipate that a child-prodigy-turned-Nobel-laureate will sit beside her on her couch and help her make hair accessories; she does not anticipate that he will willingly lend her money; she does not anticipate that he will stoop to hug her.
She does not anticipate that Penny, age 22, will miss her difficult, brilliant neighbor when he's gone.
-
Nor does she does not anticipate that Penny, age 23, will kiss him when he returns. She does not anticipate that he will allow her kiss, and she does not anticipate that he will, for the briefest of moments, return it.
-
She does not anticipate that Penny, age 24, will fail as an actress. At 20, failure is not in her vocabulary; at 24, it rushes in along with a whole glossary of new words, words like overdue and talentless and hack.
She does not anticipate, in the midst of such turmoil, that she will fall in love with Doctor Sheldon Cooper.
-
And more:
She does not anticipate that Penny, age 26, will find success not as an actress but as a scriptwriter. She does not anticipate that Penny, age 28, will become Penny Cooper. She does not anticipate that Penny, age 31, will have a daughter, or that Penny, age 36, will travel to Sweden, or that Penny, age 49, will watch her daughter graduate from MIT weeks after she wins an Oscar. She does not anticipate the feel of her husband's hand in hers at 50, or the still-vehement clash of their personalities at 58, or the pleasure of being the only one who can shut him up even at 65.
-
She does not ever anticipate Sheldon Cooper's capacity to love.
BY THE NUMBERS
These are things that Penny, age 20, does not anticipate:
She does not anticipate that Penny, age 21, will meet and befriend a misshapen group of geeks and brainiacs. She - always popular, always on the edge, always liked and accepted and possessed of, if not the latest fashion, at least a decent imitation - does not anticipate what their awkward, surprising, delightful friendship will come to mean to her. She does not anticipate Leonard's sweetness or Raj's unexpected streak of sarcasm or Howard's insecurity; nor does she anticipate Sheldon's perspicacity, curiosity, innocence, or sheer stubbornness.
Most of all, she does not anticipate having her underwear strung up from a telephone wire in the middle of the night.
-
She does not anticipate that Penny, age 22, will come to depend so heavily on the most demanding person she will ever meet. She does not anticipate how he will challenge her, nor does she anticipate how he will aggravate her. She does not anticipate that a child-prodigy-turned-Nobel-laureate will sit beside her on her couch and help her make hair accessories; she does not anticipate that he will willingly lend her money; she does not anticipate that he will stoop to hug her.
She does not anticipate that Penny, age 22, will miss her difficult, brilliant neighbor when he's gone.
-
Nor does she does not anticipate that Penny, age 23, will kiss him when he returns. She does not anticipate that he will allow her kiss, and she does not anticipate that he will, for the briefest of moments, return it.
-
She does not anticipate that Penny, age 24, will fail as an actress. At 20, failure is not in her vocabulary; at 24, it rushes in along with a whole glossary of new words, words like overdue and talentless and hack.
She does not anticipate, in the midst of such turmoil, that she will fall in love with Doctor Sheldon Cooper.
-
And more:
She does not anticipate that Penny, age 26, will find success not as an actress but as a scriptwriter. She does not anticipate that Penny, age 28, will become Penny Cooper. She does not anticipate that Penny, age 31, will have a daughter, or that Penny, age 36, will travel to Sweden, or that Penny, age 49, will watch her daughter graduate from MIT weeks after she wins an Oscar. She does not anticipate the feel of her husband's hand in hers at 50, or the still-vehement clash of their personalities at 58, or the pleasure of being the only one who can shut him up even at 65.
-
She does not ever anticipate Sheldon Cooper's capacity to love.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-06-12 03:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-12 05:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-12 08:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-13 04:25 am (UTC)but i kind of love you for using words that i have never heard of before (perspicacity). i have a pretty decent vocabulary thanks to my mother and i had to look that one up. also, because this story is ALL KINDS OF ADORABLE!! im in full support of the idea of penny giving up acting because she realizes that she has talents in other areas.
(not reading your porn battle story yet - im waiting till its over and i can gorge myself on all the porny goodness at once.)
no subject
Date: 2009-06-16 10:24 pm (UTC)