The rocket launch proposal Sheldon was putting together was a massive undertaking. It incorporated Mike's theories on multi-stage propulsion and booster recovery, making the engineering calculations incredibly complex.
Sheldon had already made it clear before leaving that he would need Mike's input for the upcoming calculations.
Once the Cooper family left, Mike sat down at the computer.
He quickly navigated to the stock market page.
Mike had a little over twenty thousand dollars in capital on hand. After filtering through some options, he zeroed in on two rising stocks.
Microsoft was already showing signs of becoming an industry titan. With his future knowledge, Mike knew this was a guaranteed win and perfect for a long-term hold.
So, without hesitation, he dumped ten thousand dollars into Microsoft shares.
For the remaining funds, Mike looked toward the retail food and beverage sector. Coke and Pepsi were both showing strong upward momentum.
Knowing that these two cola giants would eventually dominate the globe, Mike didn't second-guess himself. Aside from keeping a little bit for pocket money, he split the remaining ten grand between the two companies.
"Whatcha doin', Mike?" Meemaw, having finished clearing the dinner table, wandered over. She peered curiously at the squiggly lines on the screen.
"Just the stocks I was telling you about..." Mike gave her a quick rundown on how stocks worked and how people made money from them. Then he made an offer: "It's pretty easy to make money in this market right now. You want in?"
Mike had thought about bringing Meemaw and the Coopers along for the ride to riches.
If Meemaw was interested, Mike could help her set up a brokerage account right now and they could make money together.
Meemaw stared at the market trends on the screen, deep in thought for a long moment. Finally, she shook her head. "Nah, forget it. I don't understand any of this stuff. Maybe later."
Meemaw loved a gamble, so the idea of buying stocks was naturally tempting.
Unfortunately, while she had some cash on hand, she had also racked up quite a bit of debt at the arcade recently.
So, after weighing her options, Meemaw decided it was safer to keep her cash accessible for emergencies.
"Alright. Whenever you feel like buying, just come find me. I can give you some tips," Mike said. He could tell she was hesitant, so he didn't push it.
It was best to let these things happen naturally. Once Mike started making money in the market, Meemaw would figure out what to do on her own.
Besides, Mike knew that in the coming years, money-printing machines like Facebook and Bitcoin were on the horizon.
Knowing this, Mike wasn't in a rush. He just needed to slowly build up his capital and see if he could seize those opportunities when they arose.
If his grand plan worked, Mike would ascend to the ranks of the wealthy, and even the scraps falling from his table would be enough to enrich everyone around him.
And if it didn't work? No big loss. Stocks were just one of the ways Mike planned to make money.
Having finished his trades, he washed up and went to his room to rest.
---
Meanwhile, Meemaw, who usually went to bed early, snuck back into the living room after seeing Mike leave.
Standing in front of the computer, she carefully pressed the power button.
Meemaw was actually quite open to new things, and she was very curious about this computer in her house.
Earlier, with so many kids waiting to use it, she hadn't wanted to fight them for a turn. So, she chose the dead of night to investigate this new gadget solo.
Mimicking what she'd seen Mike do, Meemaw successfully navigated to the chat interface. But then she hit a wall—she had no idea how to create an account.
Finally, she tried treating it like a telephone. She leaned in toward the mouse and spoke: "Hello... anyone there... It's Connie... over..."
Computers hadn't quite reached the "smart assistant" phase yet, so obviously, Meemaw got no response.
"See? I told you computers were boring," Meemaw muttered, finding a perfect excuse for her awkwardness after a solid minute of silence.
She turned off the computer and left the living room, quite pleased with herself.
Even though she hadn't found the "correct" way to use it, she had technically "played" on the computer and satisfied her curiosity.
---
The next day, early in the morning, Sheldon showed up at Meemaw's house.
He spent the entire day glued to the computer. Throughout the day, he called Mike over several times to consult on his rocket launch proposal.
Finally, just before dinner, Sheldon finished his proposal. He shouted happily, "Mike! Come look! Our proposal is done!"
Yes, since Mike had provided the theoretical basis, Sheldon had added Mike's name to the rocket launch proposal.
Then, with Mike as his witness, Sheldon successfully sent the proposal to the designated email address for NASA in Houston.
"I'm going to call Dr. Ronald and ask him what he thinks of the new proposal..." Seeing the email had been sent, Sheldon rushed toward the phone.
He was eagerly anticipating the moment Dr. Ronald would apologize to him after seeing the brilliant new plan.
"Hold on, Sheldon. You just sent the email; Dr. Ronald probably hasn't seen it yet. You'd better wait until tomorrow afternoon to call," Mike advised.
It was the weekend, and late in the day at that. Even if someone was working overtime at NASA, they had probably gone home by now.
Plus, public inboxes at agencies like that got flooded with emails every day. There was no guarantee anyone would see Sheldon's email right away.
After Mike pointed this out, Sheldon realized he was right.
"Okay then. waiting until tomorrow to enjoy the victory sounds nice too," Sheldon said.
Just being in this state of anticipating good news was enough to make Sheldon happy.
---
Time flew by, and soon it was Monday afternoon. After school, Mike went home to freshen up and was just getting ready to head over to the Coopers' for dinner with Meemaw.
But before they could even step out the door, Mary arrived at Meemaw's house with Sheldon and Missy in tow.
"What's wrong, Mary? What happened?" Meemaw asked with concern, seeing Mary's dejected look.
"I'm fine..." Mary covered her face, her voice low. "Connie, can we stay at your place for a few days?"
Meemaw didn't know what had happened at the Cooper house, but Mary definitely didn't look "fine."
"This is your home too. Stay as long as you want," Meemaw said, ushering Mary into the living room and pouring her a glass of water.
Then, she pulled Sheldon and Missy aside and whispered, "What happened over there? Why is Mary so upset?"
"Mary and George got into a fight, so we ran away from home," Sheldon answered matter-of-factly.
However, judging by how Sheldon kept glancing at the computer, he didn't seem too broken up about being a runaway.
"Why did they fight? Weren't they fine before?" Meemaw pressed.
"I don't know," Sheldon shook his head. He was never very attuned to the emotional climate of the house.