After loading everything into the car, Mike pulled out a pair of sporty wrist guards and a brass coach's whistle that he'd asked Dale to wrap separately.
He handed them to George Sr. and Georgie, saying, "Thanks for coming with me to pick out the gear. These little gifts are for you guys."
Both father and son were genuinely stoked to get such thoughtful presents.
Next, Mike let Georgie know he wanted to grab some small gifts for young Sheldon and Connie too.
So Georgie fired up the truck and drove Mike around town some more.
Meanwhile, Sheldon—who'd gone home alone—burst through the door and excitedly told his mom Mary and Meemaw Connie all about making a friend that day.
Mary had been worried sick that her little genius starting high school so young would mean he'd get bullied or left out because he couldn't make friends.
Hearing he'd actually clicked with someone made her over-the-moon happy for her youngest.
Connie gave him a big hug to celebrate.
Missy overheard the commotion and wandered out of her room. Once she heard the news, she snorted, "Whoever's willing to be friends with Sheldon is probably a total weirdo too."
Mary had just started relaxing about the friend thing, but Missy's comment put her right back on edge.
Knowing how quirky her little boy was, she thought for a second and suggested, "Shelly, why don't you invite your new friend over for dinner?"
Sheldon, pure as the driven snow when it came to social stuff, asked, "Why?"
Mary smiled and explained, "It's totally normal for friends to have dinner at each other's houses. It's a nice way to show you're buddies."
Truth was, she was worried some shady kid might pretend to be friends just to take advantage of her little genius.
Inviting the friend over would let her vet him and make sure Sheldon stayed safe.
Sheldon bought the explanation without a second thought. Still riding the high of making a friend, he immediately called Dan to invite him.
A minute later, he came bouncing back with the good news: Dan had said yes.
Mary, pleased her plan worked, "happily" headed to the kitchen to start prepping a big dinner.
Connie, being the wise old bird she was, saw right through Mary's little scheme. She followed her into the kitchen and said, "Mary, this isn't cool. You might end up hurting Sheldon and his friend."
Caught red-handed, Mary still dug in her heels. "I'm just looking out for Sheldon."
"Alright," Connie said, shaking her head as she strolled out. "Just try not to scare the kid off when he gets here."
…
When George and the boys got home, they walked into a table loaded with a full-on feast. Everyone in the living room was dressed nice and proper, like it was a special occasion.
George blinked in surprise. "Did I forget some big holiday or something?"
Mary saw his confusion and explained, "Sheldon's friend is coming over for dinner tonight…"
She didn't mention her worries to her husband—just shared how thrilled she was that Sheldon had made a friend.
On the other side of the room, Mike saw everyone was there and took the chance to hand out the gifts he'd picked up.
Connie got a stylish sun hat, Mary a soft silk scarf, Sheldon a toy train set, and Missy a pink Barbie doll.
Everyone thanked him right away—except Sheldon, who was already busy playing with his new train.
Missy took the opportunity to throw herself into another hug with Mike.
The little girl spotted the big bag he was still holding and asked curiously, "Mike, what's in there?"
Connie and Mary looked over too.
Clearly, even though Mike had only been around one day, the Cooper family was already treating him like one of their own.
So, with everyone watching expectantly, Mike told them about joining the football team.
"Cool~" Missy gasped, then immediately started begging him to put on the gear so they could all see.
(Really, she just wanted to see it herself.)
Mike was hemming and hawing, but Connie jumped in with a mischievous grin. "Go on, Mike—suit up. Meemaw wants a look too~"
Figuring he had nothing better to do, Mike shrugged and nodded. He grabbed the bag and followed Georgie to his room.
With Georgie's help, Mike got fully kitted out in no time.
In full pads and uniform, Mike felt like a general ready for battle—those pads were his armor.
When he walked out holding the helmet, the ladies in the room let out a chorus of cheers.
Connie laughed, "Mike, looking like that, you're gonna break a thousand high school girls' hearts!"
Missy went straight to touching the pads all over.
Seeing even Mary admiring the view, George pretended to be jealous. "Back in the day, I was just as studly~"
Mary turned, eyed her husband's gut and massive beer belly, and just went "tsk tsk."
She didn't say a word, but the shade was brutal.
George awkwardly patted his belly and shut up about his glory days.
Everyone except Sheldon—who was still lost in his train—threw a few compliments Mike's way.
Feeling hot in all that gear, Mike headed back to Georgie's room alone to take it off.
When he came out again, Sheldon's friend Dan had arrived.
He was sitting at the table, looking super awkward under the stares of the whole Cooper clan.
Sheldon, who was supposed to introduce him, didn't even notice how tense things had gotten.
Everyone just stared at each other in silence.
Things only loosened up once Mike sat down.
After the prayer, Connie kicked off the conversation to break the ice, telling stories about Mike's first day: how every girl in the building was swooning over him, how he'd aced the placement test…
In her telling, Mike was this perfect, super-smart heartthrob.
George took a sip of beer and chimed in, mostly hyping Mike's insane natural talent for football.
In his version, Mike was the team's future savior.
As the chat went on, everyone at the table—except Sheldon and Mary—couldn't stop talking about Mike.
Dan looked at Mike with straight-up envy and whispered to Sheldon, "Man, I wish I was that awesome and had girls all over me."
Sheldon didn't want to admit it, but after everything he'd seen that day, it felt like Mike was stealing his spotlight left and right.
Now even his only friend Dan was Team Mike.
Feeling threatened, Sheldon huffed, "I'm way better than Mike. Girls at school like me too…"
"That's different…" Dan said, trying to find the words. He lowered his voice. "Girls like you because you've got low testosterone—they think you're cute like a puppy. Girls like Mike because he's actually hot."
Sheldon blinked. "What's the difference?"
Looking at Sheldon's totally innocent face, Dan realized there was no way to explain the gap between "aww, adorable" and "actual attraction."
So he just shrugged and said, "Nothing!"