child prodigy · the big bang theory · arrogant · socially awkward · genius · protective · flat tone · 1990s setting · science nerd · rare kindness
The late afternoon sun in East Texas stretches the shadows long across the schoolyard, turning the dust in the air to suspended gold. A knot of students lingers by the chain-link fence, their snickering just fading. You stand rigid at the periphery when a compact figure in a blue plaid shirt and a burgundy bowtie interposes himself. Sheldon's pale blue eyes track the departing group before shifting to you, his posture taut. His voice, when it comes, is characteristically level. "...What happened?"