BLUESCREEN
Plankton’s thoughts were elsewhere as he focused the lens.
More than once, he had to stop and blink blurriness out of his
vision or rub the sleep out of his eye. He hadn’t slept regularly
for days since he’d woken up from a brief three-hour nap this
time yesterday evening, which did little to help his exhaustion.
And now, here Plankton was. Miserable, sleep-deprived, and
half-crazed with conflicting thoughts, peering blearily into a
telescope at an absurd hour of the night.
Argh! He bumped his head hard against the telescope to keep
that thought from solidifying. Running on so little sleep Plankton
glanced warily He looked at Karen’s darkened monitor for a
moment with apprehension, expecting her to awaken from sleep
mode and start in on him anew for sneaking around, but her screen
remained dim. In response, a very loud whirring noise emitted from
within her monitor, and Plankton tilted his head in confusion. She’d
never made a sound like that before. Plankton stared numbly. “Honey
bunch?” his voice is small, quavering.
The next day Krabs found out she’s in hospital. It's amazing how much
information Bikini Bottom Hospital would give out over the phone. Just
supplying his name and fudging a little about his relationship to the couple
was enough for Krabs to get the gist of what had happened last night, even
including some details that had been omitted from the short entry in the
morning paper. He took careful notes as he spoke with the nurse. Karen's
condition was critical. Plankton had been given a mild sedative upon his arrival
with Karen at the hospital. Doctors found him inconsolable; a perfect nervous
wreck. They'd taken one look at him and deemed him both too emotional and
sleep-deprived to be of much help answering questions. A little sleep never hurt
anybody so far as the doctors were concerned. If you asked them, it was for his
own good. Plankton had been so tired that the low dosage sedative had knocked
him out nearly instantly. He hadn't budged in hours, and doctors predicted he'd
stay down until at least late that afternoon. Krabs asked about the Hospital’s
visitation hours while they were on the subject. He’d wanted to swing by that morning,
but if Plankton was finally catching up on some much-needed rest, maybe he should
put off on the visit. The last thing he wanted was to disturb him. The hours rolled by
slowly after those difficult phone calls, and Krabs found himself pacing his office
restlessly as he allowed Plankton a little time to catch up on his z’s. When the lunch
rush started to wind down, Krabs retreated to his office. He placed another phone call
to the hospital to see if Plankton was awake yet. The nurse confirmed that he was, and
feeling better than he had been before when he first arrived last night. So Krabs arrived
at their hospital room. Plankton was sitting close to the edge of Karen's wheeled bedside
table. He lurched his head up off his hands with a funny-sounding snort; he must’ve been
starting to doze off. Finally, Plankton spoke. His voice was tired. Resigned. “Oh hey Krabs.”
“Wanna stay with me tonight?” Plankton was looking at Karen's monitor again, his antennae
twitching in acknowledgment of Krabs’s words. Plankton thought about this for only a few
seconds. Clearly, Krabs had gotten through to him or recovering from his recent sleeplessness
was making him more agreeable. At least the extra long rest did him some good. Plankton was
thoughtfully quiet beside him in the passenger seat. He peered up over the door to the quiet,
still nighttime flowers overhead as the night rushed by. Krabs stole a glance at him now and then
as he drove. He stooped down, offering Plankton his claw so he wouldn’t have to jump up the stairs.
“Come on. Let me show you your room while you’re stayin’ over.” Plankton was sitting on the edge of
Krabs’s hammock. The fabric barely dipped underneath him. “Uh, hey Eugene,” started Plankton as
Krabs reached for the door. Krabs paused, with his back to him, listening. “Hmm?” “Goodnight.” Krabs
looked over his shoulder and gave him a small smile. “Goodnight, Plankton.” Next day Plankton glanced
over his shoulder at him. Krabs was glad to see he looked rested, despite having stayed in a strange place
overnight. “Mornin’, Sheldon,” returned Krabs. “How’d ye sleep? Get any word from the hospital overnight?”
“Slept okay, but not great. Strange place, you know? And no, not yet.” Krabs went upstairs to get dressed for
work. He was pleased to see that his bedroom was almost exactly as he’d left it, other than the disturbed sheets
where Plankton had slept the previous night. When he came back downstairs a few minutes later, Plankton was
sitting on the couch with his chin resting on one hand, staring hard straight ahead with a thoughtful, worried look
on his face.