Chapter 6 — Bathroom Crash
The setting sun slanted in from the end of the street, painting the entrance of Rayne Clinic in a warm orange glow.
Ethan locked up and took a deep breath. The air was fresh—carrying a faint trace of ocean breeze… mixed with the sharp scent of burning tobacco.
He frowned slightly. "Huh? Is that… weed? Seriously—land of the free, huh."
He hadn't stayed late today, yet he still felt like something heavy was pressing on his chest.
John Kramer's gloomy face kept flashing through his mind.
Please just recover quickly… and don't ever come back.
Muttering to himself, Ethan headed toward the corner.
The city at dusk was too beautiful, almost enough to make someone forget the darkness of the day. He decided not to call a cab—he'd walk home instead.
Jazz floated out of a roadside café. The wind lifted old posters. Streetlights came on one by one, glowing softly.
Ethan bought a can of ice-cold beer, took a long sip, and let the chill slide down his throat—pushing his emotions down with it.
"That's it," he told himself. "Tonight, I just want to be a normal person."
He quickened his pace and crossed the street.
---
Half an hour later, the door to the fourth-floor apartment swung open and Ethan walked in.
Howard was there too.
That meant all four guys from The Big Bang Theory were present—except for the Indian guy, Rajesh, who was nowhere to be seen.
The place was lively.
Howard was crouched in front of the TV messing with a VCR. Sheldon was writing furiously on the whiteboard. Leonard was in the kitchen preparing popcorn and snacks.
"Hey, Ethan! You're back!" Leonard greeted him. "How was the clinic today?"
"Pretty good." Ethan tossed off his coat and rolled his shoulder. "Just ran into a… seriously difficult old man."
He loosened his tie and sighed. In his mind, that old man's face kept circling together with one word:
Jigsaw.
He didn't bother asking what the nerd squad was up to. He headed straight for his bedroom.
One piece of clothing came off after another until he was down to just his shirt and boxers. He stretched, deciding a shower was necessary—purely for the sake of cleansing body, mind, and soul.
He walked into the bathroom.
The shower curtain was drawn, and water was running inside.
It could only be Raj.
"Rajesh," Ethan called casually, "why are you showering here in our place?"
He pushed the bathroom door open, pulled the curtain aside—
And froze on the spot.
Inside the shower wasn't Rajesh.
It was a blonde woman washing her hair.
The moment she looked up, water droplets slid down her neck—
"AAAAAH!!!"
"Ah?!"
"SORRY!" Ethan snapped back to life instantly, yanking the curtain shut and spinning around. "I thought you were Rajesh!"
---
Footsteps came rushing from outside almost immediately.
Leonard was the first to burst in, followed closely by Sheldon and Howard.
"What happened?!"
"Who screamed?!"
The three stormed into the bathroom—only to see Ethan standing frozen at the doorway, wearing nothing but an unbuttoned shirt and boxers, hair damp and messy…
And behind the shower curtain, a woman was desperately clutching a towel for dear life.
"I—I thought it was Rajesh!" Ethan stammered.
"Rajesh?" Leonard frowned. "He's not back yet."
"Then I definitely… misunderstood!" Ethan said quickly.
"Misunderstood…" Howard muttered under his breath. "Man, I wish I could 'misunderstand' once in my life."
Sheldon frowned deeply. "I've said this before—strange women should not be allowed into the bathroom. This violates Apartment Cleanliness Rule Twelve."
"I'm not a strange woman!" Penny's voice snapped from behind the curtain. "I said hi to you guys earlier TODAY!"
"It's just a misunderstanding—everyone calm down," Leonard tried to smooth things over, while subtly peeking through the tiny gap in the curtain. "Penny's bathroom isn't ready yet, so she—"
"I'm already calm," Ethan said, spreading his hands. "And I literally just got off work. I was distracted. I didn't see anything."
"Gentlemen," Penny shouted from the shower, sticking her head out slightly, "I'M STILL NAKED IN HERE! GET OUT! ALL OF YOU—GET OUT!"
The four men stared at one another.
Then they bolted out of the bathroom like their lives depended on it.
"And close the damn door!"
---
Fifteen minutes later, the apartment finally settled down.
The TV in the living room buzzed to life.
"This," Howard announced proudly as he inserted the tape, "is Stephen Hawking's MIT lecture from 1974—back when he didn't have that 'robot voice.'"
He even mimicked the robotic tone for emphasis.
Sheldon snapped, "Quiet! We are about to witness the echo of a great mind."
Ethan dropped onto the couch with a sigh, watching them worship a dusty old VCR like it was sacred technology.
The bathroom incident still lingered in his nerves…
But their nerd energy diluted the trauma by sheer force.
Then the bathroom door opened.
Penny walked out—hair half-wet, cheeks flushed pink from steam.
Leonard shot to his feet, tense like a high school boy about to ask someone to prom.
"Hi, Penny! D-did you like the bathroom?"
"It was fine," Penny said, smiling sweetly. "Except for the part where FOUR MEN broke in."
Ethan cleared his throat. "Penny, I want to sincerely apologize. I came home and went straight to my room. I didn't know it was you. And I didn't see anything."
Penny raised her eyebrows. "That's a shame. I'm pretty proud of my body."
Ethan froze for half a second.
Howard leaned in instantly. "Hi Penny! I'm Howard Wolowitz—applied physics department at Caltech. You may already be familiar with some of my work. It's currently orbiting Jupiter's largest moon and capturing high-resolution digital images."
Penny blinked slowly, then nodded as if she understood at least one word.
"I'm Penny," she said. "I work at The Cheesecake Factory."
Under Howard's flirty stare, the room fell into three full seconds of painfully awkward silence.
"…I'm gonna go change," Penny said decisively—and fled.
---
By the time Penny came out dressed, Raj had returned.
He was curled up in the corner with a drink, eyes darting nervously between Penny and the carpet. He clearly wanted to say hi—
But no sound came out.
Instead, he gave her an awkward little "social anxiety smile."
And just like that, the apartment returned to its bizarre equilibrium.
On TV, Hawking's voice was mechanical and solemn. Sheldon and Leonard sat bolt upright like students in a holy sermon. Howard held the remote with near-reverence.
Ethan slouched at the far end of the couch, posture loose—like a man who'd done hard labor all day and finally collapsed. An empty beer can sat by his foot. His expression hovered somewhere between exhausted and mentally checked out.
He stared at Hawking on the screen and couldn't help thinking:
What the hell is so interesting about this?
Penny walked over.
Her hair was dry now, and she'd changed into a loose T-shirt and jeans. That casual, effortless vibe somehow made the entire living room feel brighter.
"Sorry," she said as she sat down, smiling. "I think I interrupted your science gathering."
"It's fine!" Leonard responded instantly—his voice jumping an octave. "We're actually at the best part!"
"The segment about 'black holes not completely destroying information,'" Sheldon added.
Penny nodded thoughtfully, putting on a serious expression.
"That sounds…" she said slowly, "…kinda sexy."
Howard nearly choked on his drink.
Ethan couldn't hold it in and laughed. "That's the first time I've ever heard anyone describe Hawking that way."