She wasn't a physicist. Dressed in a fitted black t-shirt that had the Batman logo across the chest, red & black plaid slacks, and a pair high-top Chuck Taylor's, she was dressed the part of a geek, and the fact that she was reading Is Anyone Out There? The Scientific Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence certainly helped that opinion.

If Sheldon were the type to care about appearances being first impressions then he might appreciate hers. All he could see was that it was Saturday night at 8:15 and this female geek had taken control of all four washing machines available to the building. Considering her lack of appearance before now he couldn't help but wonder if she even lived in this building.

He was standing in the doorway contemplating how he would proceed when the machine she was sitting on buzzed, announcing the end to it's final cycle. The girl closed the book with one hand, pulling the ear buds of her iPod with the other as she gave a little jump off the machine. It was then that she noticed she was no longer alone in the laundry room.

"Oh! Hello. Give me two shakes and you can have this machine."

The girl didn't wait for a reply from Sheldon before turning her attention to her clothes, opening the washer and scooping them all out with big scoop and carrying them haphazardly over to the row of dryers. It was through no small feat that she managed to open the side door by hooking the toe of her foot in the handle, and she tossed the majority of her load into the machine before returning to the washer to scoop out a stray sock and pair of panties. After throwing them in with a few dryer sheets and starting the machine she turned again to face Sheldon who still seemed at a loss at the entrance.

With an eyebrow raised she smiled. "Hello..."

"Hi."

"Hi."

"Hi."

"Hi?"

Sheldon quickly lowered his gaze to the basket in his arms, a slight pink hinting at his cheeks before he hurried over to the now empty washer to start his own cleaning process.

The girl's expression was one of bemusement as she watched him move about the laundry room. He had a specific way of shaking out his clothes before placing them in the washer which she watched for several moments before moving to stand next to him.

"Hank."

Sheldon paused, his hands aloft in mid shake as he turned his gaze to her. "My name is Sheldon. I think you have me confused with someone else."

"No," she replied with a chuckle. "Hank is my name. I just moved into 4C. It's nice to meet you, Sheldon."

The shirt in his hands dropped back into the basket. "What?! What happened to Mrs Giardi?"

"I... Didn't ask." Hank picked up the book and iPod from where she had discarded them and jumped up to sit on the next machine.

"I liked Mrs Giardi. She was quiet, very efficient about her trash routine. And after that initial conversation when I first moved in she never bothered me with awkward small talk."

"I'm sorry?"

"Let me ask you something- Hank, is it?"

She nodded.

"How would you rate your frequency of noise on a scale of one to ten- one being a mainstream rock concert, ten being the audience in a theater during the final courtroom scene of A Time to Kill."

One eyebrow raised. "I..." Sheldon opened his mouth to speak again but Hank quickly raised a finger to hold him off. She appeared to give the question some thought for a moment before speaking again. "6.5."

He nodded. "That's fair. Are you now, or have you ever been a drummer, opera singer, or a member of the musical revue known as Fosse?"

A somewhat bemused grin appeared on the girl's face. "Not in this Universe, but I can't speak for any other 'me's' that may exist."

The first hint of a smile appeared on his face. "Next question. Are you fertile?"

Hank's grin disappeared. "Are you hitting on me?"

"I'm trying to determine whether crying infants from the next wall are a possibility."

She burst out laughing with a shake of her head. "I haven't had sex in four years so unless I'm chosen to carry the next Messiah I don't think you'll have any problems in that regard."

"... How do you feel about Jewish Engineers?"

"While I have no prior experience in that regard, if I had to guess they are probably less boring but more annoying than Jewish Accountants."

"Fair enough. A final question."

"Oh, just one more?" she said in a dry tone.

Sheldon inclined his head slightly. "Was that sarcasm?"

"Was that your question?"

"No," he replied, a slightly confused expression crossing his features.

"What did you want to ask me?"

"How do you feel about furniture placement?"

"Did you want to come up and see if the location of my bookshelves meet your specifications?"

"Why, yes, actually. That would be-" He paused, glancing down before looking back at her. "That was sarcasm, wasn't it?"

She chuckled again. "So how did I do?"

He returned his attention to his laundry, measuring out a very specific amount of detergent as he answered. "I don't want to make any assumptions, but I would say that you're off to an excellent start."

With a smile Hank picked up her book, opening it to the page she had left off at with a full intent to start reading again. With his clothes now secure in the washing machine Sheldon noted the time on his watch and set his alarm before he turned to head back upstairs to 4A.

"Sheldon?"

"Hank?"

"Do I get to quiz you?"

The expression that crossed his features was one of suspicion. "What do you want to know?"

She inclined her head slightly. "PhD?"

"Two," he replied, no small hint of pride in his tone."

"Hmm... Physics or Math?"

"Physics... How did you know that?"

"You're very analytical. Implies a very strong use of the left brain. And your clothing suggests nerd, but you seem less like a slime ball than the traditional 'IT guy'. Would you like to get a cup of coffee sometime?"

He shook his head. "I don't do drugs."

Hank laughed aloud. "You're very funny, you know that?"

"Thank you, I do have a wonderful sense of humor and a particular fondness for practical jokes."

She bit her tongue to keep from making a sarcastic remark about his modesty. "Well, would you like to have water sometime, or whatever it is you do drink?"

"I was just about to have a glass of cold milk, 2%, with one of the brownies Penny made."

"Oh. Okay." She couldn't figure out if he was just completely oblivious or completely not interested in her so rather than press the issue she decided to return her attention to her book.

Sheldon turned to leave, stopped at the doorway and thought for a moment before looking back at the girl sitting on the washing machine. "Would you like to accompany me?"

Surprised, Hank looked around the room briefly before deciding that if he was willing to leave his clothes unattended hers would probably be okay. "That'd be great, thank you," she replied with a small hop off the machine to follow him upstairs.