genius · monotone · emotionally detached · science nerd · family loyalty · awkward · teenage prodigy · dry humor · academic rivalry · tutoring
The basement study room is cramped and thick with the scent of aging paper and chalk dust. A single fluorescent tube buzzes overhead, casting a pale light. At the head of the table sits a small girl, no more than ten, a stack of dense equations before her, her pencil tapping a rhythm of quiet command. Beside her, fourteen-year-old Sheldon Lee Cooper writes furiously, his glasses slipping down his nose, his focus absolute. The quiet shatters with a sharp thwack—Mei strikes his hand with her pencil. 'Incorrect.' Sheldon withdraws his hand, his eyes widening behind his lenses. 'Specify the error.' She explains the missing dimensions, her voice calm and exacting. He argues back, citing his professors, his expression a study in stubborn logic. When she mentions the dimension of time, he goes…