Book smart, street dumb

Lunch, mittens, and trains

The week had been positively uneventful. School was the same as usual, people were the same, and so far, Y/n saw no more of the Cooper's than normal. However, one day, things got a little out of the ordinary.

It was lunchtime on the Friday of the second week of school. Y/n sat down at her usual table with her unappetizing looking meal. Right as she dug in, a girl her age came trotting over to the table. She had chestnut brown hair that bounced when she walked, and she had the nagging feeling she recognized her eyes..

"Hey, this seat taken?"

She gestured to the seat across from the Y/n, already setting down her tray and seating herself before hearing the answer to that question.

"Oh, uh, yeah!"

"Sooo.. you're the new girl, right?"

"Yup, that's me. Seems like that's all people know me as right now."

"Yeah, I hear ya.. so, you know Sheldon?"

"Sheldon? Ah, it rings a bell.."

"Bow tie? Nerd?"

"Oh yeah, I ran into him last week! Literally."

"He's my brother. He told me about you and asked if I knew you, so I figured why not get to?"

"You're the first. No one is really even talking to me right now."

"I'm sorry. Well, I'll talk to you! I don't mind."

"Thanks. What's your name?"

"Missy. And you?"

"Y/n. I like your name."

"Thanks. It's short for Melissa, actually. But nobody calls me that."

Y/n was quite happy Missy had come to talk to her. If it hadn't been for her, she would still be turning over the mashed potatoes with her fork in silence, instead of having someone who actually laughed at the jokes she told. After lunch, Missy walked with Y/n to their classes they shared and walked Y/n to the ones they didn't share.

After school, they both walked home together, and they stopped outside the Coopers'.

"Would your parents care if you came inside for a bit?"

"I'm sure they wouldn't. Would yours?"

"Doesn't matter. Come on!"

Y/n hurried after her into the house, which she noticed immediately was more full than her own house. There were plenty of family photos, and general memorabilia scattered around. It smelled faintly of fresh fruit mingled with meatloaf. Mrs. Cooper was in the kitchen, and looked up to the sound of the door opening.

"How was scho- oh! And who is this?"

"Mom, this is Y/n, my new friend from school. She's new, she just moved to Texas not long ago."

"Well hello! How've you been enjoying Medford so far?"

"It's been very good so far! The neighborhood seems nice."

"Well good. How about you stay for dinner?"

"Oh, I wouldn't want to be trouble-"

"Nonsense! Dinner's almost about ready anyway."

She grinned from ear to ear. This was her first time eating dinner at a friends house. Missy gave her a small smile before taking her hand and dragging her off around to show her the house. She first stopped in her room, showing off her posters and her radio. Then it was Sheldon's room. He was currently typing on his clacky computer, playing Oregon Trail. He didn't budge at all upon her entry, continuing to gaze into the screen full of colored pixels. He typed very precisely with his pointer fingers, making sure to hit each and every key when typing.

"This is my dorky brother Sheldon's room. You know him."

"You didn't knock."

Sheldon finally turned from the computer to look at the two. He turned his whole body in his chair so he was facing them fully. When he finally saw Y/n, his eyes widened in shock and recognition, but he quickly composed himself before it became too obvious.

"Woah, is that a whole model train set? That's awesome!"

"Yes indeed. It's a mod-"

"Boooooo, lame. Bye Sheldon."

Missy once again dragged her out of the room, leaving a slightly crestfallen Sheldon behind. Y/n gave him an apologetic look over her shoulder, having been genuinely interested in the trains. He sighed and shook his head, now annoyed at Missy for dragging a potential listener away. 

TIMESKIP TO DINNER TIME

It was now dinner time. Georgie was not at the table, so Y/n took his spot. Mary hustled over with the large plate of meatloaf in her oven mitted hands, setting it down on the center of the table. She took her place in her seat and announced for them to say grace. 

When she said this, for some reason the first thought in her head was how she was going to be holding Sheldon's hand. And when she thought about this, her stomach fluttered in a way which was unfamiliar to her. She eagerly reached out to take his hand, but was disappointed to feel itchy wool against her hand rather than bare skin. She looked over at his hand and saw he was wearing thick wooly mittens. He noticed her staring, and turned to look at her as well, answering her unspoken question. 

"My mittens. I don't risk touching people's filthy hands, especially no one at this table."

"Mary: Let's just say grace, shall we?"

She took Missy's hand with her free one, noting how she didn't feel the same fluttery feeling in her stomach she had gotten with Sheldon. She decided to just close her eyes, listen to Mary say grace, and say amen when it was appropriate. 

TIMESKIP TO AFTER DINNER 

"Thank you so much for having me, Mrs. Cooper!"

"Oh, don't even worry about it sweetheart! You're welcome over any time!"

She gave her one last goodbye before leaving the house, Missy hugging her goodbye. She took her time to walk over to her house, and though it was only one house apart from the Coopers', it felt quite far away at the time being. She began daydreaming, thinking about how glad she was to have met Missy, how nice the dinner at the Coopers' house was, what Sheldon's hands must feel like under the mittens.. nevermind that last one. 

She entered the house quietly and cautiously, in case her parents were already asleep, which she came to find they were. She tiptoed to her bedroom, shutting and locking the door behind her. She planned on sleeping in nice and long tomorrow morning, since it was a Saturday. While she was falling asleep, however, she couldn't stop thinking about that model train set and his cute little bowtie..