It had been almost 2 weeks since Jessa disappeared, and Boober was still brooding over it. Sure, she didn't tell him about being half shazzle, yet Boober found her absence even more heart-wrenching. He sighed roughly before squeezing the shirt he was scrubbing. Boober wanted to stay mad at her, but he couldn't. Talking about it was out of the question since Jessa stayed away from Fraggle Rock.
"Did she just not trust me?" Boober asked himself sadly while staring down at the damp shirt in his lap. "Oh, why do I care?!"
Boober tried to not think about it, but no matter how hard he repressed his thoughts, they would always come back like a tsunami.
"She lied to me," Boober ranted while climbing into bed.
It was very late and everyone else was asleep. But even in the daytime, Nobody bothered to mention Jessa or even bring her up in conversation. Not after she left, probably for good. Some part of Boober couldn't help but feel hurt that Jessa was gone. It would take a long time to get over her. But even if he did, nobody else could replace her. He grunted weakly before going to sleep. Maybe sleep would help him forget about the whole thing. But alas, Sidebottom had come to pester him.
"Go away, Sidebottom!" Boober snarled at him.
"Wow, you're even grumpier than usual. Somebody stick a pole up your butt?"
"Ha ha ha!" Boober replied sarcastically.
"No but seriously, why the attitude?"
Boober huffed before giving his answer.
"Jessa is half-shazzle and she never told me."
"Then how do you know?"
"I don't appreciate your humor!"
Sidebottom, for once, backed away with his hands up.
"I can't believe she kept this from me!" Boober vented. "Jessa kept a huge part of herself a secret. Why would she not tell me?!"
"Sounds like you're more upset that Jessa didn't trust you rather than you knowing what she is."
Boober didn't reply, but let his words sink in.
"You can stay mad all you want to, Boober, but I know that look on your face. You miss her despite what happened."
"No, I don't."
But his heart felt otherwise. That was what Boober couldn't acknowledge yet.
"Maybe Jessa has a lot more going on in that pretty head of hers than that meets the eye," Sidebottom added.
"How would you know? You've never been inside her head."
"Boober, I spend 95% of my time trapped in here. You don't think I can tell when someone is struggling internally?"
"Are you trying to tell me something or are you just talking in metaphors?"
"That's for you to decide. If you decide to see where Sugar Lips went off to."
"Who knows where she went."
Boober's lips quivered slightly before he continued.
"Why wouldn't she confide in me?"
Mokey was alone in her room the next morning drawing in her notebook when Boober visited her.
"Hi Boober," she greeted him sympathetically, knowing his situation.
Boober didn't reply, instead walking over to Jessa's now solidified handprint and pressing his hand into it. Her fingers were longer than his, though still dainty. Boober hung his head and sighed in despair, prompting Mokey to hug him.
"Is it bad that I miss her?" Boober asked sadly.
"No. I miss Jessa too," Mokey admitted.
Boober's hand remained in Jessa's handprint. This was the first time he heard anyone say her name since she left.
"She hasn't come back," Boober said hoarsely. "I wonder if Jessa ever really cared about us at all."
"I'm sure she did. She cared about Red enough to sacrifice revealing herself to save her."
"Is Red still upset about this whole ordeal?"
"I have no idea. I haven't asked her about it."
"She betrayed us…" Boober said slowly, though it conveyed much less malice and more longing.
A longing that Mokey picked up on.
"Before she left, Jessa said she didn't expect anyone to understand her. I wonder if she was referring to something in particular."
Boober remembered Jessa's nightmare and what details she cared to reveal at the time.
"Jessa had a nightmare once," Boober told her. "And it was so bad that she ran to the entrance of the Terrible Tunnel and threw up before crying."
Even now, this still broke Boober. How torturous that nightmare must have been for Jessa for her to have such a strong reaction.
"It was a nightmare about her parents getting killed. It still haunts her."
Mokey hummed contemplatively.
"Then there's the matter of her getting bullied by other shazzles."
Saying these things out loud made Boober realize that Jessa was even more troubled than he thought.
"I need some time to think about this," he said as Mokey finally let go. "Thanks for letting me vent, Mokey."
"Aw, anytime Boober. Just let me know if you want to talk about it some more."
"I will."
Boober went back to his hole while Mokey stared at her yet-to-be-completed painting. She hadn't bothered to add more to the canvas since Jessa's departure. It was a sad sight indeed. Nevertheless, she went back to sketching in her diary.