Chapter 115: Chuck, the Social Man, Still Playing Football?
"That should be right here."
A little girl with glasses led Chuck and his group over, pointing to the lockers in the hallway. Then, after glancing around nervously, she ducked her head and ran off.
"What's wrong with this school?"
Cheryl, who had insisted on following along, grumbled at the little girl's behavior.
She had attended private schools before, but because of her family's status, she always had bodyguards around.
Chuck didn't answer her question. He simply walked forward, examining the lockers on either side, and stopped at little Leonard's.
"Here?"
Cheryl followed, staring at the locker in disbelief. "You don't actually think he's in there, do you?"
Knock knock!
Little Leonard heard voices outside and knocked on the locker door from inside.
"I'll go find the janitor for a key,"
Cheryl said, startled, and started to head toward the principal's office.
Click!
Before she could take two steps, Chuck pulled a paperclip from his pocket, straightened it, and inserted it into the keyhole, unlocking the locker with practiced ease.
In the darkness, little Leonard heard the locker door opening and was struck by blinding fluorescent light. He squinted against the glare, then opened his eyes when they adjusted. He saw a tall figure silhouetted before him. He looked up and exclaimed in surprise, "Batman!"
"He's not Batman!"
Little Sheldon retorted sharply, seeing little Leonard say the words he hated most upon being rescued.
"He is!"
Little Leonard said with absolute certainty.
Chuck carefully lifted him out of the cramped locker.
Cheryl surveyed the narrow locker space, then looked at little Leonard's stretched and disheveled form, and asked in disbelief, "How did they even manage that?"
"It wasn't just me in there,"
little Leonard said, grinning self-deprecatingly at the sight of the beautiful older girl. "It was all thanks to Jimmy Sparkman and his crew."
"Don't sell yourself short,"
little Sheldon said matter-of-factly. "It's mainly because you're compact."
"..."
Little Leonard's eye twitched, and he glared at little Sheldon with annoyance.
"How are you so good at lock picking?"
Cheryl looked at Chuck suspiciously. "And you just carry paperclips around?"
"I'm a detective."
Chuck bent the paperclip back into its original shape and slipped it back into his pocket. "Carrying basic tools is part of the job."
"I carry a paperclip too!"
Little Sheldon said defensively, pulling his own paperclip from his pocket.
"Are you seriously Robin?"
Cheryl was at a loss for words.
She was starting to think little Sheldon was copying Chuck's every move.
Besides detectives and spies, who just casually carries paperclips?
"He's not Batman, and I'm not Robin!"
Little Sheldon repeated emphatically. "I carry a paperclip because you never know when staplers will malfunction, and it keeps my research papers properly organized!"
"..."
Cheryl was speechless.
Okay.
There were also obsessive-compulsive types.
"Where's Jimmy Sparkman right now?"
Chuck looked at little Leonard.
"Playing football on the field."
Little Leonard looked at Chuck with stars in his eyes, excited about what was to come.
"Lead the way,"
Chuck gestured.
"You got it!"
Little Leonard grinned and started limping forward.
"Oh my God! What happened to you?"
Cheryl exclaimed, "Are you injured?"
"No, no..."
Little Leonard blushed and waved his hands frantically.
"But your leg?"
Cheryl asked, puzzled.
"Jimmy gave me a wedgie..."
Under everyone's gaze, little Leonard turned red and whispered the embarrassing reason.
Little Sheldon shook his head with the expression of someone who'd been there: "You walked right into that one."
"..."
Little Leonard was speechless, turned his head to ignore little Sheldon, and continued limping forward.
The Football Field
The striking group of attractive young people, along with the quirky little Sheldon and little Leonard, made for quite a scene as they approached.
A tall, heavyset player running drills spotted them and grinned. After catching a pass, he saw the group watching and decided to show off by hurling the football directly at them with tremendous force.
"Ahhh!"
Little Sheldon screamed in terror.
Little Leonard watched in horror as the football, thrown with brutal force and speed, came hurtling straight toward them, growing larger and larger.
Then he saw a large hand appear and effortlessly catch the incoming projectile. The sheer speed and precision of the movement made his breathing quicken, and he instinctively pulled out his inhaler and took a puff.
"Hey, Nancy, tell that tall dude to toss the ball back over here," the tall, heavyset player shouted at little Leonard. "And what did I tell you about showing your face around here? Get lost before I stuff you back in that locker myself."
"My name isn't Nancy,"
little Leonard muttered under his breath.
Nancy was clearly a girl's name.
"What was that?"
The big kid had actually heard him perfectly, but he cupped his hand to his ear, pretending he hadn't.
"I..."
Little Leonard opened his mouth, but no words came out. He couldn't help but glance at Chuck, and seeing Chuck's steady gaze somehow gave him courage. Suddenly he shouted, "I'm not Nancy, I'm Leonard Hofstadter!"
"If I say your name is Nancy, then you answer to Nancy! Don't think having backup changes anything."
Jimmy's face darkened as he glared at the "troublemaker." "Hey, big guy, toss the ball back,"
he said, gesturing to show that his whole team was behind him.
Football was inherently aggressive, so when these players saw Jimmy getting confrontational, they gathered around with cocky grins, ready to back up their teammate.
"I'm finally getting a picture of what my dad was like in high school,"
little Sheldon observed, looking at Jimmy, who bore a striking resemblance to his father.
His father was now a high school football coach and had played varsity football back in the day. Watching Jimmy's behavior, he could completely picture his father at that age.
Chuck looked at him, then at the football in his hand, and extended his arm holding it forward.
"That's more like it..."
Jimmy, who looked exactly like Sheldon's father, thought Chuck was backing down, pleased that he'd intimidated a grown man. His triumphant laugh began to fade.
Because the football, held out in Chuck's extended hand, suddenly... exploded!
The scene instantly went silent.
The other football players, who had been laughing and enjoying the show, were struck speechless.
This was a regulation football!
Having always been involved in contact sports, they couldn't fathom such raw power and were completely stunned.
Jimmy's throat went dry, his legs went weak. He struggled to look away from the destroyed football and toward the man who had crushed it with one hand. Chuck stared back at him expressionlessly.
While there was no anger in his expression, it was this very lack of emotion that drained the last bit of strength from Jimmy's legs, causing him to collapse to the ground.
"Dude! He wet himself!"
Little Sheldon, seeing Chuck completely in control, was the first to recover. His keen eyes caught the humiliating detail and announced it without filter.
Everyone looked down at this revelation, their faces turning various shades of pale and green. Jimmy squirmed but remained slumped on the ground, unable to hide his shame.
Such an embarrassing scene would normally have triggered uncontrollable laughter, but now, under Chuck's impassive stare, no one dared make a sound.
Their scalps prickled with unease. If they had initially been shocked by the terrifying display of strength in crushing a football barehanded, Chuck's emotionless, calm gaze now projected something far more overwhelming than mere physical power.
No one even consciously thought, "This guy is dangerous!" They just instinctively fell silent.
Chuck wasn't surprised by their reaction.
The psychiatric evaluator had once labeled Chuck as having sociopathic tendencies with potential for violence. Legal kills aside, someone with that psychological profile still carried that aura.
These kids who played the easy game of school bullying had no concept of what real menace looked like.
"Oh man,"
little Sheldon said, frowning at the terrified Jimmy. "No wonder your last name isn't Cooper anymore."
He didn't want to share a surname with someone who wet themselves in public; it might lead people to think he, as a Cooper, had also wet his pants. Although he often felt the urge during stressful situations, he could proudly say he had never had an accident in public.
Ever!
Previously, he'd gotten punched when he tried to establish their family connection because he'd opened with, "How come you're not named Cooper but Sparkman?" For Jimmy, whose parents had divorced when he was young and who now used his stepfather's surname, this had been a sensitive topic.
Fortunately, Jimmy didn't have the mental capacity to process little Sheldon's latest jab.
Little Leonard was grinning from ear to ear.
Cheryl watched the scene unfold, and while she found Chuck's intimidation tactics slightly concerning, she was also deeply impressed by the commanding presence he projected.
So masculine, wasn't it?
Batman, Superman, the X-Men... She was beginning to understand why those superheroes all had "man" in their names.
"Cheryl!"
The female bodyguard, who had also been watching the drama unfold, suddenly received a phone call. Her expression changed dramatically, and she hurried over, whispered urgently in Cheryl's ear, then began pulling her away.
Cheryl was stunned. She let herself be dragged along for several steps before snapping back to reality, breaking free from the bodyguard's grip, and running back toward the group.
"Cheryl, where are you going?"
The female bodyguard called out in alarm.
"I'm going to find Chuck!"
Cheryl shouted as she ran: "Only he can save my sister!"
(End of Chapter)