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Georgie's POV
I looked at Sheldon. "Don't worry, we can go to RadioShack, use the modem there, and access the FTP server at the Space Center." Sheldon nodded—something we poor people could only do.
"I don't like that place. It's full of nerds," Missy said.
"So, I'm a nerd too?" I asked, smirking at her.
"Nah, you're alright." Missy waved her hand dismissively, then glanced at Sheldon. "Although he is a nerd."
"No, he's just a robot for now," I said, ruffling Sheldon's hair. "I'm gonna program him to be more human, though."
"Thank you for the compliment," Sheldon replied, staring at me. I chuckled because, in a way, Sheldon had spent his whole life trying to be a robot. But it never really worked—he was still just a regular person with feelings. To him, being called a robot was actually a compliment.
I left Sheldon, who was still scribbling in his doodle book. Missy followed me, clearly bored with whatever Sheldon was doing.
"Hey, guys!" I called out to my family in the living room. Their faces showed a mix of emotions—Dad looking awkward, Mom looking grateful, and Meemaw looking furious.
"Are you satisfied?" Meemaw shot me a glare. "I hope you enjoyed making me the bad guy in front of those two!"
"Hey, I wasn't the one who refused to buy Sheldon a computer," I said with a smirk. "After everything he's been through, getting a B+ when someone here lost money for gambling and can't afford to buy a computer."
"I am not buying you a damn computer!" Meemaw snapped. But for Sheldon? Yeah, I had a feeling she would.
For a moment, I considered betting on Meemaw or handing my money over to her, but I had a much bigger problem.
I. AM. BROKE.
And I totally forgot about it because I've been too busy with music and other stuff.
"Alright… poor Shelly," I sighed dramatically, making sure they all heard it.
"Meemaw, I can give you a penny if you want," Missy said sweetly, acting all innocent. But we all knew she was teasing Meemaw.
"..." Meemaw turned her glare toward me. What did I do?! Missy was the one who said it, not me! But I kept my proud expression.
"Georgie! That's a bad example for the kids." Mom scolded, still wearing her grateful expression.
"You're acting like he didn't do anything wrong!" Meemaw snapped at Mom, making me burst into laughter.
"That's a little harsh, Georgie," Dad muttered. "…Connie can win something too," he shrugged, "Her dignity… Oh, wait. She just lost that too!" Dad smirked at her.
"Ha-ha. I'm sorry, Meemaw," I said, grinning. "You know we all love you, right? This doesn't change how much we love this crazy little family. And I know you didn't actually lose that much money—I was just teaching them a valuable lesson about how Bad gambling is."
I plopped down on the couch between Mom and Meemaw. Missy sat beside me and hugged her.
Meemaw huffed, still glaring at me, but I knew she wasn't really mad. She was just annoyed that she ended up being the villain in my story. But she still loved me and the family.
"Don't even think I'm gonna buy you a damn stupid computer." she grumbled.
Missy flashed her sweetest smile. "But you can still buy me a Barbie, right, Meemaw?"
"Hmph… You should be grateful that I love you…" Meemaw snorted, rolling her eyes as Missy batted her lashes at her.
"Hey, Shelly! Get over here." I called out to Sheldon.
He walked over, glanced at Meemaw, and deadpanned, "You're sitting in my spot."
"Oops, sorry, sorry, Moonpie…" Meemaw scooted over.
I sighed and moved to sit on the floor. "…We need a new couch."
"Pfft… You belong down there." Dad snorted. He just didn't want to buy a new couch—I could see it on his damn face. I swallowed my retort and kept my awkward expression.
"Sheldon, you don't have to rush your calculations," I said when I saw him still scribbling in his notebook. "There's plenty of time before the shuttle launch. I think Dr. Nimcompoop is still busy at his office until then."
"Oh, right! Can we go to Cape Canaveral, Florida?" Sheldon asked, perking up now that he had my attention.
"It's bonding time!" I grinned, turning to Dad. "Us boys go traveling, and you girls can do… whatever it is you wanna do!"
"Pfft… Florida?! That's a 12 to 15-hour drive! I'm not driving us to Florida." Dad scoffed.
I shrugged and looked at Sheldon. "…So, just you and me?"
"You are not going anywhere!" Mom cut in, giving Dad that look—the we'll talk about this in the bedroom look.
"Never mind, then…" Sheldon muttered, burying himself in his scribbles.
I exchanged a look with Mom.
"….." Dad awkwardly sipped his beer.
"Haha, now you're the bad guy," Meemaw smirked, laughing at him.
"Can I dye my hair?" Missy suddenly asked.
Me and Mom immediately answered, "NO!"
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3rd Person POV
In George and Mary's bedroom, the nightstand lamp was still on as George lay under the covers.
George glanced at Mary, who was applying her night cream.
"You think I should take them?" he asked. "To Florida?"
That small conversation had made him reconsider.
He was an old-school father, but he didn't want to be like his father. Saying I love you was too heavy for a man like him.
He showed his love through actions.
"I think you should," Mary said, rubbing the cream onto her skin. "Like Georgie said, it's bonding time."
"…But it's 15 hours of driving."
"So what? Enjoy the trip with them—especially with Sheldon. You know how different you two are."
George sighed. "…I guess."
Mary scooted closer to him, then whispered, "Tell you what… you take the boys on that trip… and right now, you can enjoy this little angel body of mine…"
A shiver ran through George.
"…You little succubus…" he growled, pulling her into his arms.
Mary giggled.
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3rd POV
In the school hallway, where students wandered about, Georgie and Sheldon walked toward James.
"Hey, James!" Georgie called out. James turned to look at them.
"Georgie, what's up?" James said before glancing at Sheldon, who was staring at him.
"You shouldn't have a lip piercing. It's against the rules," Sheldon stated.
"Yeah, sure," James replied, rolling his eyes as he removed the piercing. "Happy?"
Sheldon nodded in approval. Georgie ruffled Sheldon's hair and said, "You do realize that's just a form of self-expression for James, right?"
"So self-expression has to break the rules? I don't like that. I love rules." Sheldon countered, shaking his head.
"I'm not talking about the rules. Yes, you're right—James did break the school's dress code by piercing his lip. But I'm talking about why he did it in the first place." Georgie explained before turning to James.
Sheldon followed suit and asked bluntly, "Why?".
"I like punk and rock music. I think it looks cool to have a lip piercing," James said with a shrug, as if he didn't care much about the reasoning.
Georgie's lips twitched in irritation. That's such a mediocre reason!
Sheldon glanced back at Georgie, expecting an explanation.
"He's just stupid," Georgie muttered in frustration.
"Hey!" James snapped, clearly offended.
"Anyway, did you tell Miss Fenley?" James asked, shifting the topic.
"I already talked to her. We'll meet her this Sunday," Georgie replied, and James nodded. "I just need you to drive us to RadioShack. Can you do that?" Georgie continued.
"RadioShack? Sure, no problem," James agreed. He had nothing else planned anyway.
Sheldon then turned to Georgie. "Do you have money?"
"I've got 20 bucks. I figure that should be enough to rent a computer and modem for a few hours." Georgie said, pulling the cash from his pocket and showing it to Sheldon.
"Hmm… then we shouldn't waste any time while in there, I'll make a list of everything I need to find." Sheldon replied, already planning ahead.
"I don't know what you two are up to, but I gotta ask—why are you renting a computer and modem at RadioShack?" James asked, looking between them. He figured his job was just to drive them there, but since he had no other plans today, he might as well ask. Which is kinda sad, honestly.
"I need to access thrust-to-weight ratios from the FTP server at the Johnson Space Center," Sheldon explained.
Then, in typical Sheldon fashion, he kept going.
"It's crucial for my calculations to prove that we can land a booster rocket instead of letting it crash into the ocean, which wastes millions of dollars in government funding."
"You wanna build a rocket?!" James perked up at the word rocket, though he clearly didn't understand a word of Sheldon's technical jargon.
Sheldon sighed heavily. "No. I'm simply developing a theoretical model for NASA."
Georgie smirked. "Yeah, he's just doing all the math for them."
At that, James instantly lost interest. "Alright, fine. I'll drive you guys there after school." With that, he walked off.
Georgie turned to Sheldon. "I'll let Dad know so he can pick us up after football practice."
Sheldon nodded, and they continued walking toward their next class.
"...I haven't seen Veronica today. Where is she?" Sheldon suddenly asked.
Georgie stopped in his tracks. He thought for a moment—then, without a word, he suddenly took off running.
"Where are you going?! You have class right now!" Sheldon shouted after him.
"I'm gonna find Veronica!" Georgie yelled back, not stopping.
Sheldon let out a deep sigh. "Huff… Looks like I'll have to tell the teacher he's skipping class again…"
Because, let's face it—Sheldon is a mama's boy. Don't lie, don't cheat, don't do drugs. And he always followed Mama's rules.