Mary blinked. “You’re afraid of a school dance?”
Sheldon said nothing. Then: “What if I don’t know what to do? What if I stand in the corner and everyone stares?” Mary took his hand. “Then you stand in the corner. And maybe someone interesting joins you.” At the dance, the DJ played a slow song. Missy watched couples shuffle awkwardly. Marcus was suddenly very interested in his shoelaces. Then she saw him—a boy named Todd, who wore glasses and carried a notebook. He wasn’t dancing either. He was drawing the disco ball. young sheldon s02e16 bdrip
Meanwhile, Georgie had convinced Veronica to slow-dance. He stepped on her foot twice, but she didn’t leave. For a moment, he felt like a man, not a teenager who still lived in a room with a lava lamp. Sheldon, against all odds, decided to go. His mother drove him to the school gym, and he walked in like an astronaut entering an alien atmosphere. The music was too loud. The lights were too bright. But then he saw Missy sitting with Todd, showing him how to draw a perfect parabola. Mary blinked
“I’m not afraid,” he corrected. “I’m logically averse to an environment with loud music, unpredictable social interactions, and the expectation of physical contact known as dancing.” Mary smiled. “So you’re scared.” What if I stand in the corner and everyone stares
Across the room, Georgie was in his element. He had slicked back his hair and borrowed his father’s cologne. He spotted Veronica, the pretty older girl who worked at the bowling alley, and made his move. “Nice shoes,” he said. “Wanna dance?” She laughed—not at him, exactly, but near him. Still, it was a start. Back home, Sheldon lay on the couch, a Dr. Seuss book open on his chest. His mother brought him ginger ale. “I don’t understand,” he said. “My symptoms are inconsistent with any known pathogen.” Mary sat beside him. “Sheldon, are you sure nothing’s bothering you?” He hesitated. Then, quietly: “The dance.”