The Sound of Silence
One night, like many nights prior, Sheldon James Plankton found himself staring blankly at the ceiling. As per usual, the mattress he lay on felt like stone, an insignificant shape that occupied the center of the room. A single light bulb flickered on and off, fighting for dear life. He couldn't help but admire that lamp's determination, a quality he always admired in fish. It was, of course, a quality he needed to possess himself or he'd never reach his life's goal—not that it'd help much.
One night, like many nights prior, Sheldon James Plankton was nothing but a tiny almost invisible speck in the dark.
Except, this night, unlike those many nights prior, he wasn't the only one awake.
A low monotonous beep could be heard from the corner, drawing the microscopic organism out of bed. Light reflected off her screen onto the walls.
"Karen?"
He was greeted by the continuous tone, with an occasional high pitched ringing sound.
"You awake too, hon?"
No words.
Breathing loudly, Plankton hopped onto his wife's stand. The light of her screen seemed to flicker along with the overhead lamp.
Finally, in a low barely audible voice, Karen spoke.
"Y'know, you prob'ly wouldn't fail as much if you got some proper sleep."
Plankton felt the leaden weight lifted from the bottom of his chest. Yep, he thought, she's awake.
They were both silent for the next few minutes. He clung to the cold metal pole that allowed her to stay upright yet he might as well of clung on to nothing. The room was dimmed under the light, still fighting to stay lit.
"Sleep mode malfunctioning?"
"Eh…"
"I'll fix it in the morning, dear."
"Of course you will."
Plankton was slightly jerked about as his wife wheeled away. She came to a screeching halt in front of the room's only window, unfortunately overlooking the establishment of his ex-best friend and business rival, Eugene H. Krabs. Not that Plankton could see anything higher than the power outlet below the window frame.
Looking to Karen, he swore under his breath. "Barnacles! For once I'm not isolated by my insomnia. Why can't I talk to my own wife?"
He cleared his throat twice. "So…what've you been up to lately?"
"You should know," Karen scoffed. "I told you yesterday."
"Right hehehehehe…" He'd completely forgotten she'd been installing an update to her security system. Plankton hid his face, nervously laughing. The flickering ceiling light seemed to be taunting him.
Karen laughed with him as well. It was just as forced as his but it had an underlying hint of despair, like she was at a funeral. At least he wasn't alone.
"I'd figure after over thirty years you'd remember what goes on in my life." She said.
"Give me a break!" Plankton snapped. "It's three a m!"
"If that's so," Karen set her husband down on the linoleum floor, bent down to his level as best she could. A pixelated smile appeared on her screen. "I think y'need a couple more hours a'sleep."
"That'd be nice, dear. If only I could sleep!" Plankton raised his stubby arms over his head. "And that's a big big if!"
But, even though Plankton knew he couldn't sleep, he also felt, deep down, that he should just throw himself back down on the mattress while the light flickered on and off above him. Just as he did many nights prior.
Oh dear Neptune, he wanted to shout, why can't I talk to my wife!
Then, as if she were wired into his brain, Karen picked him up and gently laid him back on his lazy excuse for a bed.
"Hey, no fair! How come you get to stay up late and I don't?"
"I only sleep 'cause you programmed me to hit the sack from ten to six." Karen said. Once she'd propped his head up against his cotton ball pillow, she wheeled back to the lone window in the room. "If y'didn't run the risk of sleepwalking into the paper shredder or the garbage disposal every morning, then I'd love for you to stay up with me."
Plankton rolled his eye and sunk further into the mattress. There was no arguing with Karen. He never realized that one of the very things that made him fall in love with her could come back to squash him like Spongebob's big black shoe.
Still, despite the taunts of the ceiling lamp, he felt it was worth one last try.
"Karen?" he squeaked.
"Yes, darling?" she looked to him.
This is it, Plankton thought, tell her something. Just strike up a conversation. It's…it's just like when you first programmed her.
All that slipped from his agape mouth was a barely audible "goodnight."
She said the same in return.
But, instead of turning to the window once more, she kept her screen fixed on the little green speck that was her husband. Though her face was nothing more than a pixelated image, he could still see a sense of loss in her eyes.
After several minutes, she finally looked away again, never losing focus on the night sky. Plankton kept his focus on the overhead lamp despite its taunts. He didn't blame it for taunting him. He shouldn't have given up.
Eventually, the lamp gave up as well. The only thing that lit the room was the reflection of Karen's distant smile off the window.
A/N: Why am I writing Spongebob fanfiction when I rarely ever watch the show nowadays? Well, through a strange series of events, I found some episodes on YouTube that I hadn't seen. One or two of them, primarily the ones that focused on the loving yet troubled relationship of Plankton and his computer wife, Karen, inspired me to write this story. Not just that, but I'd like to contribute something to this fanfic section that isn't a troll/crackfic.