Does Sheldon have a sister?

Leonard and Raj were having lunch in the cafeteria, both lost in thought, until Raj asked, while poking at his food:

"Where's Sheldon?"

Leonard shrugged. "He said he had something important to do. He'll be late."

"More important than eating?"

Leonard looked around and realized Howard wasn't there either. "And Howard? He's disappeared too."

Raj pointed to the side. Leonard turned his head and saw Howard running towards them with a goofy grin on his face.

Howard arrived, out of breath.

"You guys won't believe what I just saw! Everyone's already talking about it."

Raj, curious, leaned forward. "What is it?"

"Just follow me, I'll show you. It's worth it."

Howard gave a mischievous smile, and though they didn't fully understand, Leonard and Raj stood up to follow him.

They followed Howard through the halls until they reached Sheldon's office. A small group of employees was gathered outside, all peeking in with curiosity.

"Why is there a crowd here?" Raj asked.

"When a beautiful unidentified woman shows up, this is what happens."

Raj looked around. "Beautiful woman? Where?"

Then he saw her inside Sheldon's office. A stunning woman stood next to Sheldon's desk, adjusting her hair with a relaxed smile. She seemed to radiate charm. Raj's heart skipped a beat. Everything around him started moving in slow motion. George Michael's "Careless Whisper" played in his mind. Every movement she made seemed deliberately seductive. Nonexistent wind gently swayed her hair, and Raj stood there, frozen.

They watched as Sheldon stood up and approached the door. As he neared, the onlookers quickly dispersed, and Howard and Leonard tried not to look too obvious, attempting to blend in. But Raj remained planted in the same spot, his gaze still locked on Missy.

Sheldon opened the door. "Ah, you've arrived. How convenient, saves me the energy of calling you over."

Howard and Leonard tried to appear casual. Leonard, in a clumsy attempt to sound sophisticated, asked, "Who's she?"

"That's my sister, Missy," Sheldon answered, as if it were an insignificant detail.

Raj shot a loaded glance at Leonard and Howard. His eyes said it all: "Don't even think about it." Howard, noticing the look, exchanged a quick glance with Leonard. A look that said: "Challenge accepted."

Leonard ignored Raj's silent warning. "So, Missy, have you had a chance to see the particle accelerator? It's… pretty exciting."

Howard: "Forget that. If you want to see real rockets, I'm your guy. Literally."

Missy smiled politely. "Are you guys friends of Sheldon?"

"Yes!" Leonard replied, maybe a little too loudly, adjusting his glasses nervously.

Howard nodded, flashing his most confident smile. "Yeah, you could say we're his inner circle… if he had an inner circle."

Raj knew he had to act fast before he lost his chance. With a discreet shove to Howard, who stumbled in surprise, Raj stepped forward.

"Hi… I'm Raj." He smiled simply.

Missy turned to him. "Hi, Raj. I'm Missy, Sheldon's sister."

Raj nodded. "Ah, yeah… it's hard not to notice the difference between you two."

Missy laughed softly. "Yeah, I hear that all the time."

"So… how long are you here for? Visiting Sheldon?"

"Just got in yesterday. Quick visit before heading back to Texas," Missy replied.

"Texas? Interesting place… I imagine your life there must be pretty different from Sheldon's life here."

"Definitely," Missy chuckled. "And you? Do you work with him?"

"Yes, I do. But I promise I'm not even half as… complicated." Raj joked, and they both laughed.

Leonard and Howard watched from a distance, Howard muttering under his breath, "That doesn't count, he shoved me…"

Sheldon: "Missy, I think we've spent enough time here. I still need to finish analyzing the anomalies in the thermal conductivity of superconducting materials. That can't wait."

Missy, with little enthusiasm, rolled her eyes. "Sure, Sheldon. Let's go." She smiled at the three, waving. "Nice to meet you, guys. See you later, Raj. It was great meeting you."

Raj smiled, nodding in agreement. "The pleasure was all mine, Missy."

As soon as Missy and Sheldon walked away, Howard immediately turned to Raj, pointing an accusing finger with narrowed eyes. "You cheated!"

Raj, confused, blinked a few times. "Cheated? What are you talking about?"

Howard huffed, crossing his arms. "You pushed me out of the way. I barely got to say anything to her! And I was just about to dazzle her with a magic trick that would've made her run straight into my arms!"

Raj: "Oh, sure. Because what every woman is looking for is a guy who pulls a rabbit out of a hat, right?"

Howard made an offended, almost dramatic face. "It was with handkerchiefs, Raj. Handkerchiefs. Women love that!"

Leonard: "Look, at least you said something. I barely got a word out. She probably thinks I'm some weirdo or something."

Raj and Howard, as if rehearsed, turned to Leonard at the same time. "Stay out of this!"

Raj turned back to Leonard, shaking his head. "Besides, you already have Penny."

Leonard's eyes widened in disbelief. "In what universe do I have Penny?!"

At that moment, Howard remembered something. "Hey, Raj, you already have Lalita! You don't need another one."

Raj immediately shook his head. "No, no. Lalita and I agreed to keep it casual. No romance. That would just ruin the friendship."

Leonard and Howard fell silent for a moment, exchanging surprised looks. Leonard was the first to break the silence. "You got dumped, didn't you?"

Howard shook his head, pretending to be sympathetic.

Raj choked, "No! I didn't get dumped! It was a mutual decision, completely rational. We both weren't ready for a relationship. It was… it was mature."

Leonard and Howard raised their hands at the same time, already tired of the explanation. "We get it, Raj," Leonard said, shaking his head with a sigh.

Howard: "Yeah, tough… getting dumped by a childhood friend. Tsk tsk tsk."

The two began walking away, muttering to each other, while Raj raised a hand in a last-ditch effort to keep explaining. "I didn't get dumped! It was mutual!" he shouted, but the two were already too far to hear.

Raj stood there for a moment, crossing his arms and muttering to himself. "Clearly, we weren't in the right place for a relationship. Yes, that's it…" He sighed.

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Your favorite author is back!!! :3

A/N: What did you guys think of this first interaction? The chapter is a bit short because I decided to split it into parts. If I did the whole thing at once, it would've been way too long, so expect more chapters throughout the week.

A/N: I also noticed some of you were wondering about Raj's personality, so I wanted to explain a bit: Raj is still the same Rajesh we saw in the series—he likes nerdy things, he's smart, his best friend is still Howard, he still has his Indian accent… all the things we love about him. He doesn't have to be confident 100% of the time. This is the reason I messed up my old fanfic—trying to make the character always say cool things and seem cool. But I don't think it's necessary. Some might say, "After all, this isn't a fanfic about Raj," but I disagree. From the start, I wanted to give readers a different perspective: what if Raj had more screen time? What if Raj said this instead of that? What if Raj wasn't awkward around women? That's the point I'm trying to reach. Of course, Raj will always be the protagonist and I'll give him all the attention he deserves. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to comment!

"We don't always have to be perfect. Sometimes, just being ourselves is all that matters." — AuthorSama