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Chapter 1: The Games and Chinese Food Conundrum
It was a nice Friday evening in Pasadena California, as the sun started to set on the horizon. While the weather was pleasant, the conflict that had arrived for a group of genius scientists had become not only a familiar conflict, but also a headache at times.
Sitting in the living room of Apartment 4A, were scientist friends Sheldon, Leonard, Howard, and Raj. They were currently planning for their Chinese takeout dinners well as what Sheldon called Vintage Game Night. A stack of video games were already assembled on the living room table.
"So we can play any game as long as it's one we haven't played in a long while, and isn't glitchy or damaged?" Howard asked after Sheldon had finished organizing the games by color and release dates.
"That is correct, Howard. Except for Halo. Not only did we play that last week, but we pick that one way too often. I don't want it to get overused," Sheldon answered matter-of-factly.
"Alright, what about Halo 3?" Leonard offered, pointing to the game on the table. Sheldon looked at his friend as if he was bonkers.
"What part of 'overused' do you not understand?" Sheldon stated in a baffled tone.
"You said you didn't want Halo to get overused," Leonard retorted respectfully. Sheldon's face fell flat into a bland expression.
"I wasn't just talking about the original Halo; I meant the entire Halo saga of games!" Sheldon further explained. "I thought you would have caught onto the deeper interpretation,"
Leonard rolled his eyes, and laid back in his chair. Sometimes living with a roommate such as Sheldon got super irritating!
"Okay, forget Halo. How about Final Fantasy?" Raj suggested innocently.
"A good choice, though we would all have to take turns playing, unless we went with Final Fantasy XL or Final Fantasy XLV. Those are the games we could all play as a four or five players system," Sheldon agreed cautiously.
"Great! So how about we eat dinner, and then we play?" Howard happily agreed.
"Indeed! Now remember gentlemen, we're getting Chinese food tonight!" Sheldon reminded them with a smile.
Suddenly a knock was heard on the door. Leonard got up, and opened the door to see Penny, their female, blond-haired, neighbor.
"Hi Penny, we were just about to get some Chinese food for dinner!" Leonard greeted casually.
"Great, because I actually could use some help. I need to take my car in for an oil change, and afterwards I was going to come back to eat," Penny explained nonchalantly.
"Oh my, you want one of us to come with you?" Leonard offered kindly.
"Yes please. I would really appreciate the company!" Penny pleaded.
"Wait a minute!" Sheldon exclaimed, standing up. "If one of us goes to assist you, how will they be back for dinner, and Vintage Game Night?"
"Sheldon, relax. The oil change will take only a few hours. Someone can order the Chinese food over the phone, and the rest of us can pick it up here when it's delivered!" Leonard said reassuringly.
"Excuse me?! 'When it's delivered?!'" Sheldon proclaimed in a shocked expression, his voice going up in intensity. "Delivered by the restaurant? That simply won't work! What if we place the order, and they give us the wrong mustard? Or shred the chicken instead of diced? Oh no, no, no!"
"Sheldon, restaurants do drive by giveaways and drop offs a lot recently, I'm sure it will be fine!" Penny commented calmly.
"NO!" Leonard, Howard, and Raj all shouted, before groaning simultaneously.
"I'm sorry Penny, but the idea of a delivery person dropping off our Chinese food to our doorstep without possible error is unacceptable! There's way too many rooms for error, and our dinner must consist of a constant, orderly, specifically detailed menu that must be followed, or the entirety of our perfect Friday weekly plan will be ruined, before it can be corrected by ordering the same order again, only to hopefully be fulfilled to our scheduled, and dietary needs as placed by us, the weekly customers!" Sheldon explained in a factual manner.
"I'm sorry, what?" Penny replied, clearly confused.
"Our Chinese food needs to be perfect so our night isn't ruined or we get to eat leftovers of said 'ruined meal' before trying to order the correct version of the same food again," Leonard clarified. Howard and Raj just giggled at how ridiculous the idea sounded, trying to get some enjoyment out of the conversation.
"Well, while you guys figure out your dinner I'm going to go get my car checked. Oh, and I heard there's some new science fiction movie on this weekend. Something called 'Sharknado'" Penny responded casually.
"Thank you for your thoughtful suggestion, but tonight is Vintage Game Night. We've already got tonight's events settled," Sheldon said respectfully.
"We can still check input this weekend, Sheldon. It's no problem!" Leonard reassured him. "Anyways, I'm going to get out order, I will be back soon!"
"Bye guys!" Penny called out before she and Leonard walked out the door, then closed it.
"Bye!" Sheldon and Howard replied, waving their hands.