The clock ticked softly as Pingu tossed and tuned in his icy bed. He had expected himself to fall asleep instantly as he had watched the entirety of the three day live stream to raise money for those affected by a destructive tornado that had torn through the state of Oklahoma and not long before.
The destruction was not the thing that kept him from sleep, but rather the Chat section beside it. Over those three days Pingu had watched the stream, he had also been reading every comment left there by the charitable viewers. Fondly, he remembered the kind words of support and hilarious observations that pinged up in quick succession. Of all the names, one was recalled with more delight than the others.
Giving in to temptation, the stout penguin slid off his bed and over to his computer. It flashed into life and in seconds Pingu was back on the familiar page, the colourful offline screen hurting his eyes. Blinking and allowing them time to adjust, Pingu retuned his gaze to the lively chat section, still ablaze with cheerful fans from around the world, despite the stream being long finished .
The bird's eyes were fixed in anticipation at the bottom of the chat. Suddenly, a sensation similar to being punched in the chest overcame Pingu as he saw the name he had so desperately wanted to see, flash on the screen.
The bright pink username was reflected in the ice of the igloo as he read the comment. It was chirpy and light hearted, as always, but Pingu despaired for a moment as it said that would be leaving for bed very shortly.
With a determined mind, Pingu ferociously attacked his keyboard. Eventually, he had persuaded his friend to stay on the chat for just a little longer. Pingu felt slightly bad that he had kept his friend from sleep but, remembering his friend had done so also, any rationality left the bird and the two proceeded to stay up all through the polar night talking of meaningless things until they were the only ones there.
"Pingu: I so wish we could meet." admitted Pingu.
To his relief, the pink username appeared again and admitted having the same thoughts. Alas, it was destined that the two should never meet. No greater friendship could have been forged over just six months and with such patchy internet connections, but this was still not enough to unite them. You see, Penguins and Polar bears are never to meet, and that was decided by the Earth. Perhaps someday, the two shall gaze upon each other through the Perspex and crowds at a popular zoo in space.
These were the thoughts of the lonely penguin, over the cold nights.
The true story was that, in fact, shortly after re-joining the chat, the pink username had enough of being harassed. They declared Pingu's actions to be Cyberbullying and shortly thereafter left the chat.
Say no, to Cyberbullying.