SF Chapter 44: The Luminous Fish Effects III
A few days after the family dinner, Daniel was walking up the stairs of Penny's building again when, on the floor below hers, he saw someone stepping out.
"Hey, Lexi," he greeted Alexandra Daddario.
He had started calling her by her nickname after coming over a few times that week and talking with her.
She finished locking the door. "Dani, great, I wanted to talk to you and Penny about something."
He took a deep breath. "My answer is yes. Yes!" he agreed immediately.
She rolled her eyes, but quickly thought about it and smirked. "So you're gonna pay my rent?"
"Yes," he replied unfazed, "as already agreed."
Alexandra looked a little surprised. "You would really pay my rent?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Affirmative." He stepped closer and placed a hand on her shoulder. "My little Lexi, I don't count pennies - I do a Penny, however," he added with small chuckles.
"Yeah, that's exactly what I want to talk about," Alexandra groaned softly as the two continued up the stairs.
"I'm a little confused now. Did we go back to the beginning? My answer is still yes," he teased, annoying her a bit more.
She ignored him and knocked on her friend's door.
"Lexi, Dani? Come on in," Penny gestured as soon as she opened it.
"Wine?" She offered, as the other two sat down on the couch.
"Yes, thanks."
"Yes, please," Alexandra agreed as well. "Penny, Dani, I need to ask you two something."
"Sure." Her friend handed her a glass of wine. "What is it?"
"Can you two be a little quieter when you're having sex?"
Penny spilled her wine on Daniel after hearing what her friend said.
Alexandra continued, "I know your upstairs neighbor is basically a deaf old lady, but I'm not."
"Oh, she's talking about you, Penny. My only fault is being too good to you," he joked, receiving a slap on the arm.
Penny sat down next to her friend. "I'll put some padding on the bed to muffle the noise and keep it from squeaking… sorry, Lexi."
"That's okay, it didn't bother me too much. But I did have some weird dreams about rodeos," Alexandra revealed, placing a hand on her chin.
Daniel burst out laughing, while Penny looked a little embarrassed.
Alexandra completely changed the subject. "How did you write all your books, Dani?" She had finally asked something she was curious about regarding him.
"When I first met you, even though Penny had told me you were the writer of Wimpy Kid and Percy Jackson, I didn't really believe it..."
"Huh, where should I start, Miss Daddario?" He grew thoughtful. "You might not believe it, but when I was younger, I wasn't this awesome," he revealed.
"No, no, I believe it!" she deadpanned.
He ignored her. "I started writing Wimpy based on my own personal experiences. As for the second book, for example, I used stories I heard from the childhood of my two brothers, Charlie and Alan."
"The third one is more about forced masculinity, with Greg's father - my main character's dad - deciding to 'straighten him out.'"
He went on, "you know... sports, 'manly' activities. I based that on some things I heard from my brother Mitchell. Alan also."
The two girls listened to him attentively.
"And what about the movie you're releasing in two weeks?" Penny inquired.
"I used the psychological concepts of Alfred Adler: inferiority complex, striving for superiority, and social hierarchy. And also Erving Goffman's idea of 'social life as theater.'"
"The contrast between the social mask and who a person truly is. And finally, the Stanford Prison Experiment - how power transforms behavior. How Cady turns into a plastic queen."
They stared at him with their mouths open - especially Alexandra.
"Yeah, that's what I'll say if I get interviewed. The truth is, my real inspiration was hooking up with a bunch of mean, spoiled rich girls," he laughed.
Now Lexi was glaring at him, her arms crossed.
He grinned. "I did three Prom Queens! All for this movie! True story!"
Penny narrowed her eyes but smirked. "Well, four," she corrected, holding up her fingers.
He laughed and pulled her onto his lap. "That's my Penny!" He placed his hand firmly on her waist while she giggled.
"Okay, guys, I'm still here!" Alexandra scoffed.
He winked. "You know that wouldn't be an impediment for me."
She stared at him like he was a scumbag. "I will throw this wine at you," Lexi warned.
He held her gaze for a moment. "Fine!" He gave Penny's waist a playful pat.
"Let's have dinner. It's on me!"
But Alexandra provoked, "Too bad you back off so easily. I might have yielded."
"Hey, how about we go to that Cheesecake Factory where you used to work?" Daniel turned to Penny, completely ignoring Alexandra's remark.
"You told me there's a friend of yours there you could introduce to Leonard," he continued.
"Yes," Penny nodded, "her name is Bernadette. I think they could make a cute couple!"
The trio went to the apartment next door to invite the rest of them, but only Sheldon answered the door.
"Okay... what the hell are you wearing?" Daniel asked, staring at him strangely, as he was wrapped in a colorful blanket.
But before the physicist could respond, Dani added, "What about the glow-in-the-dark tampons? I thought it was a great idea!" He turned to the two girls.
They stood there with their arms crossed, stone-faced, clearly not agreeing.
"It's like that Star Trek condom you used..." Penny commented.
Daniel snapped his head toward her.
"It's Star Wars!" he corrected, annoyed. "The only time I like doing it in the dark!"
"There's a Star Wars condom?" Sheldon inquired, suddenly interested.
"Yeah, protected by the Force," Dani joked.
"You can call Dani and have a lightsaber battle," Alexandra mocked.
"Change your friend, Penny. This one has brain damage!"
Daniel and Alexandra locked eyes for a moment, until two more people appeared on the stairs.
"Thanks for coming on such short notice," Leonard said to the woman who was coming up the stairs with him.
"You did the right thing calling."
"I didn't know what to do. He's lost all focus. Every day, he's got a new obsession." Then he noticed his roommate wrapped in a colorful blanket. "This is a particularly disturbing one," he muttered.
Sheldon's eyes widened. "Mommy?"
"Hi, baby." Mary Cooper went to hug her son. "Oh, you got yourself a loom. How nice." She examined the loom closely.
"Thank you."
"Honey, why did you get a loom?"
Sheldon explained calmly, "I was working with luminous fish and I thought, 'Hey… loom.'"
"Wow, incredible thought process," Daniel remarked. "187 IQ, indeed."
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