The Big Bang Baby [The Big Bang Theory]

Chapter 8

"Is this a kind of April fool's joke?" Penny asks. The apartment is silent. I've never heard it so quiet in my life. There is no response from Amy or Sheldon. They are just looking at us to see our reaction. I'm surprised his face is so natural comparing him to how my father reacted when he found out my mother was pregnant with me. According to my mother, he even started to freak out about how they would raise me. I would've thought that Sheldon would be climbing out the apartment's walls and refusing to come down from the ceiling by now. But all he did was smile and look awkwardly around the room.

"Bazinga!" Sheldon shouts after a while.

"Happy fools-day!" Amy shouted and began to laugh. I tried to smile and take them seriously, but I'm not sure what to think about it now.

"You guys should've seen your faces." She continued. I looked in Raj's direction and saw he was a bit down. I stood up and went to sit next to him.

"So, did you ask that woman from the cheesecake factory to come over this weekend?" I asked him to get a conversation going with him and tried to cheer him up. He looked up at me and was surprised I was suddenly next to him.

"I think so," he's quiet for a second. "Halley, I think I made a mistake. I don't know why I invited her over. I was so confused and excited simultaneously, and the words just came out of my mouth." he said. I could see on his face that he was confused and didn't know what to do about the situation. I felt a movement next to me. I looked to see who it was, and Gregg was seated in the empty spot.

"What about Gregg and I coming over on Friday before she comes over?" Gregg looks at me with wide eyes. I can see he does not like where this conversation is going. I smiled and gave him a look back.

"Would you? That will be great, Halley!" He says and stands up to hug us. He walks away, clearly feeling better.

"How could you offer your help? What could you do to help him?" Gregg asks me.

"I don't know. But you should consider helping people when they require help." I say and stand, walking to the group of adults. I can see the worry in Gregg's eyes, but I also know the hope. It is a difficult balance to maintain, but it is something that I have learned over time.

"You should not have agreed to this, Hal. You didn't even ask me what my plans are for Friday." Gregg says as he follows me.

"I know, but I wanted to help," I say and turn to face him. He looks at me for a few moments before nodding, but I can see the unease in his eyes. I turn around again, continuing my journey to where my mom and the other girls are in the kitchen.

"That was an interesting April fools joke you had there," Penny says, taking a sip of her wine.

"I know, right?" Amy says, making my way to the fridge to pour myself some soda. I take a sip, the liquid flowing down my throat. It is cold and refreshing, just the way I like it.

"It was pretty clever," Raj says as he sits next to Penny.

"So, what are your plans for Friday?" Penny asks as she takes another sip of her wine. I hesitate for a moment before answering. I don't want to tell them the truth, but I also don't want them to worry about me.

"I'm going over to Raj. He needs some help with some things."

"Oh, okay. That's good," Penny says and takes another sip of her wine. "I did invite Gregg to come along, but he says he has other plans." I look over to Gregg and spot him looking at me. Like really looking. I can tell he is trying to figure out what I am saying.