Chapter Text
Amy wasn’t able sleep well last night. Her mind was clouded with anxiety about leaving Harvard to accept a full-time job at Caltech. Ever since she finished her doctoral studies, she had never thought of transferring and living away from her parents. This nervousness takes her back to the time when she first entered high school. Like any other girl, she had hoped for a fun high school life with her classmates. Unfortunately, it only ended in agony, as she spent everyday getting bullied by almost everyone at school. She was terrified that the same thing will happen to her upon leaving Harvard. Despite of her desire for things to stay the same, she just can’t refuse the opportunity that Caltech was offering her. Now that she’s a known scientist in her field, she assured herself that she’d find a way to fit in a university as renowned as Caltech.
She stood up, roaming her eyes on her room one last time. Her room witnessed her growth, from a young girl who cries almost every night to a Neurobiologist whose face had been the cover of Neutron twice in a row. Amy never had an exciting childhood, but she was sure that she’ll miss everything in her childhood home. With a heavy heart, she finally closed the door of her room, leaving her memories with inside it.
Amy clutched her handbag and went downstairs to bid her goodbye to her parents. She saw them on the couch, patiently waiting for her to get down.
“Mom, dad, I’m leaving.” she said softly, trying to fight the urge to cry.
“Oh pumpkin, take good care of yourself there. Make sure to message or call us everyday, alright?” her dad enveloped her to a warm and comforting hug. God, she’s gonna miss this so bad.
Amy broke the hug and turned to her mom. “Remember, don’t talk to strangers, don’t take drugs, don’t drink alcohol or any substance that is high in caffeine…” Mrs. Fowler held her daughter’s hands tightly, as if she never wanted to let her go. “And finally, we know how engrossed you can be while working so please, Amy, don’t forget to take a rest.” she smiled as a tear suddenly fell from her eye.
Amy nodded. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.” she assured them. Amy’s heart swelled upon seeing how concerned her parents were about her well-being. For once, she thought, her parents were able to put their overprotectiveness into good use.
Mr. Fowler opened the drawer of the nightstand beside the couch, showing a black leather box. “We wanted to give this to you on your birthday, but we thought that now might be the right time for you to have it.” he uttered, still clutching the box in his hand. Mr. Fowler stretched his arm and gave Amy the box.
With shaky fingers, Amy eagerly opened the box. She gasped upon seeing its content. It was the watch she was about to buy with the advanced salary she got from Caltech.
“We’ve seen that you’ve been eyeing that one for a long time so we went out on a limb to buy it for you.”
Amy leaned forward and hugged her parents. “I can’t believe it! Thank you so much!” she exclaimed in glee. Her face beamed with happiness, as if she won the lottery.
Her mom grabbed the watch and put it into her daughter’s wrist. “Perfect.”
After a few more minutes, Amy finally took the courage to see herself out. It was already four in the afternoon, so she was afraid that she’ll be bombarded by traffic on her way to Pasadena. She said goodbye to her parents and hopped onto her car.
Amy pressed the lone button of her new watch. She set it into heart rate mode.
75 beats per minute. Wonderful.
She turned the radio on and prepared herself for the long drive that was ahead of her.
Raj, Sheldon, Leonard, and Howard sat on their favorite spot on the cafeteria. It was their ritual to gather here during lunch break and eat lunch together. They were all having a good time talking about the new Star Wars movie when Sheldon suddenly let out a loud shriek, causing everyone to look at their table.
“Sheldon, what’s the matter?” Leonard asked calmly.
Sheldon grabbed his plate of jello and shoved it into Leonard’s face. “Do you see now why I’m very upset?” he asked, still holding the plate. Leonard glanced at Raj and Howard, but they only shook their heads. “I don’t even know why you’re shoving your dessert on my face, Sheldon.” he admitted. Sheldon put the plate down and crossed his arms.
“Today’s jello was orange flavored. Do you understand where I’m getting at?”
“Sorry, but I believe I don’t.”
Sheldon let out a deep sigh and turned his face to Leonard’s. “The cafeteria always serves pineapple flavored jello. For years, never have I encountered any flavor being served on my plate. Now that I’m already accustomed to the sweet and tasty flavor of pineapple, they change the flavor of the jello? That’s preposterous!” he exclaimed.
Once again, Leonard peeped at the two men in front of him who were already bearing the same defeated expression in their faces. They already know what’s coming, a detailed discussion about jello for the rest of their lunch break.
Raj, Howard, and Leonard just focused on eating while Sheldon kept on blabbering about some jello nonsense. When they thought that there’s nothing that could make this lunch break worse, a girl walks into the cafeteria, with her eyes locked on their table.
"Holy crap in a cracker, she's here again..." Howard used his left hand to hide his face from the woman that was about to approach their table.
“S-Should we pretend to not see her and just run for our lives?” Raj asked in a shaky voice. Before all of them could find a good place to hide, a tall and slender figure already stood before them. As Raj would say, she is a blonde, attractive, and manipulative witch who seems to enjoy pestering their social group with her unbelievable annoyingness.
"Hello, Dr. Cooper!" she greeted enthusiastically, not even minding that Sheldon had company.
"Well hello to you too, Dr. Nowitzki."
Ramona grinned upon hearing Sheldon’s reply. She started twirling her blonde locks, attempting to flirt with the emotionless robot before her. As much as the guys hated Ramona’s frequent interruption of their lunch break, they can’t deny that watching Ramona being turned down by Sheldon every single time made their lunches a bit more entertaining. She was persistent, like an alien parasite, but not persistent enough to break the strong walls that Sheldon built for himself.
"I was thinking if you could spare some time to help me with my current paper? It's about string theory, so I thought that I could use your help on finishing it." she asked, using her most flirtatious voice. "If you're available tonight, I could drop by your apartment and buy some pizza for dinner."
Sheldon pondered about Ramona’s offer. Sure, he loves free food. But if it’s coming from Ramona… Well… he’ll rather die from starvation than accept her offer for pizza.
He turned his head to her while she watched him in anticipation. "Thank you for the offer but I'm not in the mood for pizza." Sheldon declared.
Ramona nodded, accepting the challenge. "What about Thai then? I know a restaurant that serves delicious thai food just around the corner. We could eat dinner there while you discuss your thoughts about my paper.”
"About that, I--"
Just as when he was about to turn down Ramona once and for all, the doors of the cafeteria swung open as a young, bespectacled woman stepped inside.
“I don’t know about you, but my lunch break just got more exciting!” Raj smirked as he stood up, eyeing the woman as if he’s a predator. Sheldon turned his head to see the woman which caused Raj to elicit such action. Nothing out of the ordinary, he observed. Her dark hair flowed until her shoulders, her emerald orbs frantically roamed the entire room, and also, she wore layers and layers of clothes. Not that he cares, but he found it odd to see someone putting a lot of layers when the weather is so warm outside.
Howard stood beside Raj and tapped his shoulders. “Leonard has Penny, I have Bernadette, and Sheldon’s an emotionless robot so…” he winked at him before continuing. “I think she’s all yours.”
Sheldon scoffed at the two of them. He was sure that Raj will not be able to woo that woman to go out with him. By the looks of it, the woman who just entered appears to be someone intelligent and knowledgeable enough to decline Raj’s advances.
With eyes still fixated on the newcomer, another figure entered the cafeteria. This time, it was President Siebert.
The president cleared his throat to gain the attention of everyone in the cafeteria. "Listen, everyone!” he clapped twice to make sure that all attention was on him. “As you all know, Caltech has been expanding its research parameters in the pursuit of the advancement of Science. Last month, we have announced the formation of several research teams in the university. Today, it is my great pleasure to present to you the head of the newly established Neurobiology research team, none other than the brilliant Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler!” he announced proudly.
The bespectacled woman beside him took a step forward and tightened her grip on her skirt. "Hello, I am Amy Farrah Fowler and I'll be working at Caltech from now on." she said with ample softness in her voice.
The president’s great news caused the entire room to be filled with happy cheers and loud clapping.
Sheldon crossed his arms once again, as if he was thinking something of utmost importance. “Amy Farrah Fowler. Where have I heard that name?” Sheldon asked himself, trying to remember if he had met her before. If she was a new employee at Caltech, it’s impossible for him to have met her around the university. And he was also certain that he never met her outside work, since the only places he visits are the grocery store, the train store, and the comic bookstore. If he hadn’t met her before, why does her name ring a bell on his mind?
Sheldon was unaware that Leonard heard his mumble to himself. He knew firsthand that Sheldon wasn’t the type of guy who would interact with someone who is not his colleague. With that thought in mind, he only reached one plausible explanation. “Hmm, this is my first time seeing her so I’m certain that we don’t know her personally.” he stated. “Since she’s a published scientist, what if you’ve heard of her name though other sources, like online journals or science magazines?”
Leonard had a valid point, Sheldon thought. However, given that he’s an exceptional theoretical physicist, why would he bother reading a paper about biology online?
Wait, wait.
Online.
Online.
Online.
Yes, online.
Now it all made sense.
The familiarity of the name, it struck them all at the same time. Sheldon felt the wave of memories hit him like a truck. The hidden dirty sock. The dating site. The coffee shop. The girl…
Sheldon, Raj, and Howard looked at each other in horror.
She was Amy Farrah Fowler. The woman he ditched two years ago.