Chương 80: Chapter 80
Note
Eighty chapters into my first attempt at writing, over 350k words, and a story that still has a long way to go (no, seriously, I checked the word count and surprised myself—by the time I finish the novel, will I have written over a million words?).
To wrap up this note, I want to thank everyone who reads this every week. We're almost at 100 chapters and in the final stretch of volume 1.
Enjoy.
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The rest of the time, it gradually became easier to talk to Diane—things about her home in Boston, her classes at MIT, her brother who was homeschooled and whom I deduced was at that moment with Missy and Georgie, wherever they were, her mother, who, like her, was a mathematician, her stepfather, who was wealthy and had an odd fascination with southern culture, cowboys, and ranches, among many other things as the hours passed, I learned a lot about the girl's not very varied life.
As she had claimed, Diane beat Sheldon in their chess game after only six moves, something that again affected the boy for several minutes; not being the "smartest" in the room was a huge shock for him.
During the time Sheldon took to accept his chess loss, staring intently at the board and surely replaying the entire game in his mind, I took the opportunity to talk to Diane, this time about my life. She had never attended a high school, so she was completely absorbed in my friends' funny stories, my narrations of games, what I did at the hospital, and my training with Case.
Obviously, there were many things I left out; I didn't feel comfortable talking about Regina or the fight, nor about Alan and Brock, who had gone their separate ways.
When he snapped out of his trance, even Sheldon, with a bit of encouragement from me, slowly came around to talk about his life. I hoped this would help Diane understand that even gifted people like them could have a relatively "normal" life.
"Really?" Diane asked Sheldon, now with a barely visible smile constantly on her face.
"Oh yeah, I systematically overcame my dog phobia. PJ was there—he can confirm it," Sheldon said proudly.
"He was quite brave," I declared, amused, sharing a small smile with Diane, which made Sheldon puff up his chest even more proudly.
"That's impressive, Sheldon, a really smart way to use systematic desensitization" the girl kindly said to him, and he nodded with vanity. "I myself am afraid of the ocean; I should learn from you and try to overcome it."
"You're afraid of the ocean?" I asked incredulously. "But you said you enjoyed going to the beach."
"I stay on the sand," Diane with complete tranquility in her words replied.
"I get it; I can't stand the idea of entering a place at the mercy of thousands of marine species. Though unlike you, I would never set foot on a public beach; they're really dirty," Sheldon declared, nodding seriously.
"Usually, the fish are more afraid of you than you are of them buddy. I assure you it's almost impossible for a fish to approach you," I assured him, partly to reassure Diane as well, though I didn't have much access to the ocean to help her overcome her fear.
"It's not about the animals," Diane explained, noticing the implication in my words. "Even though there's an estimate of over two hundred and thirty thousand different species of marine organisms, including fish, marine mammals, invertebrates, and other groups," she said with a sparkle of enthusiasm in her eyes, making Sheldon nod in distaste.
I had noticed that whenever she got the chance, Diane had many facts memorized that, like Sheldon, she seemed inclined to share enthusiastically. However, somehow it was much less annoying than Sheldon, possibly because of the reason behind sharing it.
Sheldon did it to show he was smarter; Diane was excited to share something she knew.
"What actually happens is that I don't know how to swim," Diane continued, this time slightly embarrassed.
That was much easier to fix.
"I don't blame you for not wanting to swim; it's an unpleasant thing. My Meemaw came back smelling of chlorine a few days ago because she went swimming in public pools, and that's not even the worst part. On average, there could be between thirty to seventy liters of urine in a regulation-size pool," Sheldon said, frowning in disgust.
Sheldon's disgusted statement once again made me chuckle, and as I exchanged glances with Diane, I noticed her smile became much more visible as she saw my reaction, likely as amused as I was.
Time passed incredibly quickly; after another two lost chess games on Sheldon's part, entirely at the boy's insistence, I offered to play against him so he wouldn't suffer emotional damage.
"How are you so good?" A few minutes later Sheldon asked, frowning as he stared at the board in front of him, frustrated.
Somehow, what at least the little boy and I expected to be games completely dominated by him, turned out to be quite intense games. After many minutes, Sheldon and I had won one game each, this being the tiebreaker, and with how things were going, I was sure this game was mine.
Before I could respond with some bad joke, the bedroom door frame was tapped, catching everyone's attention.
"Diane, honey, it's time to go. Your parents are waiting for you," Mrs. Cooper said, stopping in the doorway with a smile, though her eyes showed a certain sadness.
"Oh," Diane murmured with some apprehension, quickly standing up.
When I offered to play against Sheldon, I sat beside the girl on the bed, which obviously, with all the stuffed animals on it, belonged to Missy. At first, there was a small distance between us, but without realizing it, we had slowly moved closer, and by the end, our arms were completely pressed together.
When Diane stood up, I could still feel the warmth from the side of her much smaller body on my arm.
"I'll walk you out," I said, standing up right behind Diane, smiling at her, who suddenly, just like when I first arrived at the room, quickly avoided my gaze.
"You too, Sheldon, come say goodbye," Mrs. Cooper said seriously to her son, who was once again completely focused on the board in front of him. That made him grumble but slowly stand up.
As we left the twins' room and walked down the hall toward the Cooper family's foyer, Mrs. Cooper kept turning her head, smiling at me significantly, obviously getting ideas in her head.
On the Cooper porch were Mr. Cooper, happily chatting with Mr. Summers, and Mrs. Adler, who was simply standing there, smiling politely.
"Diane, we need to go; you have a study session in ten minutes," Mrs. Adler said, smiling at her daughter with a strange sweetness.
"Yes, Mom," Diane said, nodding as she walked over to her stepfather and mother. "Thank you for your hospitality, Mr. and Mrs. Cooper," she added, completely different from the slightly open Diane, her face now completely void of emotion as she nodded to the Cooper couple.
"Oh, it was a pleasure meeting you, Diane; you're welcome anytime honey," Mrs. Cooper said with much more meaning behind her words, smiling sweetly at Diane.
"Sheldon, I hope to see you in my seminar," Diane continued formally, looking at my little friend.
"I'll be there," Sheldon said, nodding formally with his hands clasped in front of his abdomen. "Dr. Adler, it was a pleasure meeting you."
"The same to you, Sheldon," Dr. Adler replied, nodding. "I look forward to hearing great things from you," she declared, making Mrs. Cooper instinctively put her arm around her son's shoulder.
"I'm sure you will," Sheldon declared arrogantly, puffing out his chest once again.
"It was a pleasure meeting you," I said, the last to say goodbye, feeling slightly uncomfortable as I caught Dr. Adler's attention. For a second, she looked at me with what I could barely recognize as distaste.
Ignoring her, I smiled at Diane, who suddenly nodded and walked over to me again.
Raising her hand to offer a handshake, just as I had when I first met her, she said, "I'm looking forward to the experiment," with a small smile and biting the edge of her lip, slightly embarrassed.
"Likewise," I said, recalling her response from hours ago, amused as I took her hand in a firm shake. Her small hands were incredibly soft and cool despite the temperature in Medford.
As Diane left with her family, I could see her brother, Frank, who simply ran to their stepfather's car after saying goodbye to Georgie and Missy, who were outside the house with him.
"Crazy people. I need another beer," Mr. Cooper said as he walked back into the house, losing his forced smile once the car with the small family was far enough away.
"She's really cute, but she's too smart for my tastes," Georgie said, patting my shoulder as a greeting and smiling suggestively. "I'm hungry; what's for dinner?" he asked his mother, immediately changing the subject without intending to continue.
"Oh yes, she is way too smart for you," Missy said teasingly to her brother as she walked in with Georgie. "I wish you were a girl," she declared stopping for a second next to Sheldon, ignoring her mother's annoyed look and her twin brother's offended glare she continued walking.
"Thank you so much for coming, PJ," a moment later Mrs. Cooper said, smiling at me and choosing to ignore her daughter's comment. "I knew inviting you was a good idea."
"Oh, don't mention it, Mrs. Cooper. Thank you for inviting me," I replied right away, glancing at the time and noticing it was much later than I'd realized.
"Wait, we haven't finished the game," Sheldon, who was still being held by his mother's hands on his shoulders, said anxiously.
"Right, remind me of the position," I said, smiling briefly at Mrs. Cooper and then looking at Sheldon.
"On the board, your king is on g8, pawns on b5, c6, f7, g6, and h5; you have a knight on e4, bishops on d5 and f8, and a rook on a2," Sheldon recited the exact position of all my pieces on the board as easily as counting from one to ten.
"Okay, I think I got it," I said, trying to remember the position as I nodded.
"All right, my pieces: king on h2, pawns on g2 and h4, knight on e5, and queen on b8," pressing his lips together, my little friend recited, clearly knowing he was in a losing position. "It's your move," he said, showing some effort.
"King to g7," I said after a moment of thought.
"King to g1," Sheldon responded, slightly defeated.
"Bishop to c5, check."
"King to f1."
"Knight to g3, check."
"King to e1," murmured Sheldon, pressing his lips even tighter, obviously frustrated by his loss.
"Bishop to b4—".
"I know, check," Sheldon interrupted, anxious.
"King to d1."
"Bishop to b3," I continued, avoiding saying "check" to keep from annoying him further.
"King to c1," Sheldon said nervously.
"Come on, Sheldon, you lost this one," I said, shaking my head to encourage him to give up.
"It's your move," he said, frowning as if still considering possible moves, with no intention of surrendering.
"Knight to e2," I replied, rolling my eyes.
"King to b1."
"Knight to c3," I finally said, trapping his king.
"King to c1," Sheldon admitted, lowering his head in defeat.
"Rook to c2, checkmate," I declared, smiling kindly at him.
"What happened? Did you finish?" Mrs. Cooper asked with a sweet smile as she watched the situation.
"Yeah, I lost," Sheldon replied, nodding in defeat to his mother.
"Oh, Shelly, better luck next time," Mrs. Cooper said, squeezing his shoulder with a bit of pity.
"Yeah, you're right 'next time'" Nodding to his mother, Sheldon stated seriously. "I want a rematch," Sheldon said with resilience.
"Maybe another day, buddy. I have to go train," I told him, glancing at my watch once more.
"All right" Sheldon shrugged his shoulders in disappointment and replied, "anyway, Professor Proton's show is about to start," Sheldon said checking his own watch. "See you later, PJ," he added with a more formal nod, separating from his mother's hands and walking back into the house.
Yes, that's how a child should be. Even with Sheldon's brain, he was still just a kid.
I watched as Mrs. Cooper smiled sweetly at her son as he walked to the living room.
"I don't know if it matters to you, but I think you and Mr. Cooper are doing an excellent job raising Sheldon, letting him be as much of a normal kid as someone with his intellect can be," I said, smiling at her and thinking of how socially awkward Diane was and how she reacted to 'mundane' things in life.
"Oh, PJ, thank you so much," she said emotionally, placing one hand on her chest, possibly understanding the meaning behind my comment.
"It's nothing," I said with a smile, nodding in farewell as I walked back home to get my things and head to training.
At home, apparently waiting for me, Mom turned from the infomercial program she was watching, as much as her third-trimester belly would allow, to look at me.
"How did it go?" Mom asked excitedly.
"It was fun. Diane is really smart, very different from Sheldon in a lot of ways, but no less intelligent," I replied, amused by her interest.
"And how were her parents?" Mom asked, smiling widely. "I would have gone—Mary invited me—but I knew she'd want to ask a million questions to the parents of the other genius kid, so I preferred not to intrude," she explained.
Thinking about it, it was pretty clear why Mrs. Cooper's mood had changed after meeting Diane's mom. From the way Diane had been raised, like a robot with a single purpose, Mrs. Cooper would probably despise the woman's parenting style.
If I had to describe her, I was pretty sure House would have said she'd hit a wall in her career at some point, likely blaming her former husband and kids for holding her back from pursuing her mathematics career. But then, when Diane showed undeniable intelligence at a young age, the woman must have started seeing herself in her daughter and has since been pushing Diane into a perfect mold for mathematics, making her miss out on both her childhood and now her teenage years.
Basically, a narcissistic, megalomaniacal, arrogant woman with little regard for others—even it seemed, for her other son, based on the way Diane talked about him.
"I didn't get to know her well, but she seemed… very focused," I said, choosing my words carefully to describe the woman without being insulting, as I looked at Mom. "But I'm sure Mrs. Cooper could tell you more."
"You're right," Mom said, excited as she struggled to reach the phone next to her on the couch.
"I'm going to train," I said, amused rolling my eyes as I watched her dial the Cooper's number.
"Have fun," she said, not even looking at me as she waited for the call to connect.
By the end of that day's training, I had received some punishment from Case, as he may have caught me distracted a couple of times while training, for thinking of the list of things to do with Diane.
The next day, after my morning run and a shower, I drove for several minutes to where Diane and her family were staying.
In Medford, there weren't many, or even any, high-quality hotels. Instead, due to the abundance of fields and ranches in the area, many of those homes were rented to tourists looking for a cowboy experience. Based on how Diane had described it, I was sure her stepfather had chosen the place.
After carefully driving over the rough terrain toward the ranch—since I didn't want to damage 'Debbie'—I arrived at a beautiful and well-kept ranch, surely the best in the area.
When I got out of my car, about to walk up and knock on the door, it suddenly swung open, revealing Diane, already dressed in another sweater and with a visible smile.
"Are you ready?" I asked, amused, as it seemed she'd been eagerly awaiting my arrival.
"I thought you wouldn't come," Diane admitted quietly, nodding as she walked up beside me.
"Did we agree on a different time?" I asked, checking my watch, concerned. "I thought I was on time," I added, trying to remember if I had said an earlier time by mistake.
"Oh, no, you're right on time. I just woke up way earlier, I even had my first coffee" Diane quickly reassured me, slightly nervous. "I'm not used to the sound of roosters crowing."
"After a while, you get used to it. The Sparks, the neighbors across from the Coopers, have dozens of roosters and chickens in their yard," I said as we walked together toward my car. Even though I hear them, by the time the roosters start crowing in the morning, I'm practically finishing my run with Gabe.
"In Boston, the loudest sound that could wake you in the morning is the snowplow doing its rounds in the winter," Diane said with a slight smile.
"Yeah, I can imagine," I said, smiling as I recalled all the snow I'd seen on my trips to Boston. "Hop in," I added, reaching my car and opening the passenger door.
"Thank you," Diane said with a soft smile as she got in.
As I walked around to the driver's side, I noticed Diane's younger brother, who was peeking out of the window with interest. I waved at him, and he responded with a curious wave as I opened the driver's door.
"When I saw it parked outside your house, I knew it was your car," Once I was inside the car, Diane said, studying the interior of 'Debbie' curiously with a smile.
"Actually, my car is the yellow truck with the giant ant," I said, grinning widely as I joked with her.
"Oh, the one with your father's exterminator business name on the side?" Diane asked in surprise.
"Exactly. Dad says my face is great advertising for the business," I replied, exaggeratedly arrogant, though it was unbelievable that Diane actually believed me.
"Oh really?" Diane raised one eyebrow, genuinely surprised. "Then why didn't you bring it today?"
"I thought that two extremely good-looking people would be too much—it'd look fake," I said without missing a beat, surprising Diane, who didn't seem to know how to respond this time.
I'd gotten carried away, accidentally saying something uncomfortable.
"This is my car," regretting speaking without thinking, I admitted after a moment of awkward silence "I don't know why I lied".
"I don't know either, according to Frank and Hank this is a much cooler car" Shrugging her shoulders slightly, Diane commented.
"Yeah," I said awkwardly, starting the car. "Ok let's officially kick off this experiment," I declared clapping, forcing to move past the awkward moment. "The first item on my list of 'things I'm going to show Diane about life outside of math'—the name needs to be shorter," I continued with a smile, making Diane chuckle softly. "Music and a road trip," I added, cranking up the radio and pressing play on one of the many CDs Kat had picked out for me a while ago.
On the drive back to town from the countryside, I took the opportunity to play my favorite songs from every CD in my glove compartment, singing loudly over the booming speakers. Diane laughed openly at my show after the first song.
"Our first stop today is breakfast," I said, parking outside the waffle restaurant where I usually go with Gabe and Teddy on sibling days, smiling at Diane.
"Oh, I love waffles," Diane said, smiling back and speaking somewhat loudly, probably because of the music volume.
"Great, they also have an amazing chocolate milkshake here," I said, opening my door to get out.
"Chocolate milkshake?" Diane asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Just the best drink there is," I defended myself quickly, feeling judged by her question and shrugging.
"I know what it is, Frank has always wanted one," Diane said, biting her lip slightly, as I'd noticed she often did when feeling embarrassed.
"'Wanted?' don't tell me you've never had a chocolate milkshake?" incredulous and at the same time worried, I asked.
Pressing her lips together Diane slowly denied staring me straight in the eyes, apparently interested in studying my reaction.
"What? Why not?" I exclaimed in disbelief.
"My mother is allergic to chocolate," Diane explained simply, shrugging.
Of course she is; chocolate brings joy to people—she wouldn't stand it.
"We have to fix that immediately," I said, feeling an unusual amount of irritation towards Dr. Adler at that moment as I held the door to the restaurant open for Diane.
"Oh, PJ honey, welcome! Where are Gabe and Teddy?" Sam, an older waitress who recognized me as I entered with Diane, asked right away. "And who is this lovely young lady?" she asked, smiling meaningfully at Diane.
I came here fairly often on sibling days with Teddy and Gabe; the waffles were really good.
"Sam, this is Diane. Sam has magical hands for making milkshakes," I said, smiling at Diane and nodding kindly toward Sam.
"Nice to meet you," Diane replied politely, nodding. "Did you know that what's considered the first version of a milkshake as we know it today was created in the United States in 1885 in a recipe book called *The Mixicologist*?" she shared with a barely visible smile. "Also, cacao, a fundamental ingredient in making chocolate, has been used and continues to be used as a psychoactive substance, especially in the Mesoamerican region where it was used in ceremonial rites."
"I did know that," I replied slightly excited to know something, amused by Diane's enthusiasm, making her smile at me. "Not the milkshake part, though, but I knew about the cacao—it has around 0.1 milligrams of anandamide per gram of dry cacao."
"I'd never want to compete against you two in a trivia game," Sam said, watching our interaction with amusement. "Though if you need a third teammate, I know a lot about country music," she added, smiling.
"I'll keep that in mind," I replied with a smile, playing along with her joke.
"Perfect!" Sam said, looking excited. "So, I'll bring your milkshakes," she added with another smile to Diane before heading to where she had her "tools."
"Are you planning to go to a trivia competition?" Diane asked curiously once Sam was far enough away.
"No," I replied, laughing. "Even though Sam is right—you'd crush other teams in a lot of trivia games on your own. And if we add Sheldon, there'd be no stopping you two," I added with a slight smile, though I was sure there'd be questions about pop culture that neither of them would know. I might not even know.
"You would also be a great help for the team; you knew about anandamide in cacao," Diane said with a slight smile, biting her lip.
"That's because it's related to medicine. If it were another topic, I probably wouldn't have a clue. Like planes—who flew the first plane?" I asked, testing her encyclopedic knowledge.
"The first controlled, sustained flight of an 'airplane' was by the Wright brothers in 1903," Diane replied quickly, smiling as if she'd had the answer before I even asked.
"See?" I said, amused.
"Yeah, I get it," Diane said slowly after a second, nodding. "Still, I think you'd be an invaluable member of any trivia team," she murmured, avoiding direct eye contact but glancing at me out of the corner of her eye.
"Thank you," I replied, smiling at her, amused.
"So, do you come to this place a lot?" Diane asked, obviously changing the subject and now fully avoiding eye contact, with a bit of longing in her gaze.
"Yeah, I usually come here with my siblings, Teddy and Gabe, every now and then. Just us—a siblings' day. We always come here for breakfast," I explained, remembering all the times I'd been out with them.
"That sounds great," Diane said, resting her head in her hand, leaning against the counter of the restaurant as she looked at me.
"It is," I replied after a moment, smiling. "Those two are the best. I can't wait for the next one," I added, thinking about the future with my new brother or sister.
"When is your new sibling going to be born?" Diane asked, clearly interested, leaning against the counter.
"I estimate the end of next month, but it's not something you can predict that easily," I replied calmly.
"An extra-large milkshake for my favorite customer and a regular milkshake for the mysterious Diane," Sam announced as she set the drinks in front of us, carrying a glass and a small jug that held up to a liter. "So, are you two going out?" she asked with raised eyebrows, looking suggestively at Diane.
Having my delicious milkshake from Sam right in front of me, I couldn't help but take a quick sip of the foam before it disappeared. Sam's question made that sip go down the wrong way, making me cough.
"Yes, we are," Diane replied before I could respond, my mild coughing fit turning into a loud cough as she answered completely seriously.
"I'm just showing Diane around town," I quickly said, recovering, trying to avoid spreading more false rumors about me. I knew people working there had kids at my school; Sam was one of them.
"Yeah, sure," Sam said sarcastically, almost closing her eyes. "So, a waffle order for each of you?" she asked Diane with a smile, already knowing my order.
"Yes, please," Diane replied, nodding slightly, seemingly not picking up on the entire interaction with Sam.
Sam winked and nodded, then walked to the restaurant kitchen, likely to place our order.
"Was my answer incorrect?" Diane asked worriedly once Sam disappeared behind the door, apparently genuinely interested in my response.
"In a literal sense, no—we're out, and we are together," I said slowly, pointing between us. "So yeah, we're 'going out,'" I continued, and Diane nodded slowly. "But in a more casual, much less literal sense, Sam was asking if we're a couple," I explained quickly.
"Oh," Diane murmured, her eyes widening.
I had never seen anyone blush so much, at least not without having first done some strenuous physical activity, as Diane did right then.
"I'm really sorry," Diane said, completely embarrassed.
"Don't worry, it's just a misunderstanding," I assured her, smiling slightly, amused by her reaction. "Now, you have to try the milkshake."
Since I'd taken the first sip of mine, I kept drinking whenever I had the chance, watching a little desperate as the foam on Diane's glass disappeared by the second.
"Oh yeah," she said quickly, realizing she also had a glass and seeming grateful for a way to change the subject.
Watching Diane prepare to drink her milkshake, I started feeling nervous for some reason.
Diane nervously took a sip, pausing for what felt like an eternity—though it was only a couple of seconds—before her eyes widened and she eagerly drank more of the delicious drink.
"See, I told you," I said proudly, feeling both excited and oddly relieved as I watched Diane drink her milkshake almost obsessively.
"This is delicious!" Diane exclaimed, putting her glass back on the counter.
"I know," I replied, holding back a laugh, since Diane, surely unknowingly, had a foam mustache.
"Here you go, two orders of waffles," Sam said, coming over with her usual smile, carrying two nearly identical plates. "Honey, you have a little foam on your face," she added, smiling sweetly at Diane as she noticed it.
"Oh," Diane quickly grabbed a napkin to wipe her face, thoroughly embarrassed. "By the way, I'd like to apologize for any misunderstanding my previous answer may have caused. PJ and I do not currently share a romantic relationship; we are conducting a psychosocial experiment," Diane said seriously to Sam, placing her hands together in front of her on the counter after wiping the foam away.
Sam, clearly not expecting Diane's sudden speech, stood still, mouth open as she looked at the girl sitting across from her, possibly without fully understanding what she had just said.
"We're friends, and I'm showing her around Medford," I explained with a small smile, trying my hardest not to laugh at the situation.
"...All right," Sam said slowly, nodding with a smile.
"Also, can I have a milkshake the same size as PJ's, please?" Diane asked, slightly embarrassed, pointing to my small jug, seemingly oblivious to how her speech might have sounded.
"Of course," Sam responded, smiling widely and walking back to her station, not without first giving me a meaningful smile and a thumbs-up as she gestured toward Diane.
"I don't know how I've never had this before; it's delicious," Diane said between sips, completely ignoring Sam's gestures behind her.
"Yeah, it is," I murmured, nodding as I watched Diane enjoy her milkshake intently.
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As I said, an attempt to write actual romance in this story, if you have notes I'll be reading them.
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Author Thoughts:
As always, I'm not American, not a doctor, not a fighter and I'm not Magnus Carlsen (Come here Levy I'm not scared).
Another chapter has passed, so new thanks are in order. I would like to especially thank:
RandomPasserby96
11332223
Victor_Venegas
With that said,
I think that's all. As always, if you find any errors, please let me know, and I'll correct them immediately.
Thank you for reading! :D
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