A Starry Flight

Mordecai Gets Sick

The day of the musical Karen was excited. Her motors hummed and she could barely process information without getting distracted. The play started at 7 p.m. and it was currently 5. Just when she was about to roll out of the chum bucket, her phone rang. It was Mordecai.

"Hey Mordecai!" She answered with an excited tone.

"Hey Karen, I am afraid I have to bail on the musical, I am sick." He said in a raspy voice. His voice was usually pretty raspy, but this was on a whole other level. It sounded like he had swallowed thumbtacks and sandpaper.

"I can hear that Mordecai! Are you ok? Do you need me to cancel to take care of you?" She said.

"No, please go ahead with GIR. I know he is looking forward to spending time with you." He said roughly.

"Are you sure Mordecai? I can bring you some soup." She said., She was worried. She didn't want him to be alone when he was sick.

"I am sure Karen. Please enjoy the musical." He said as softly as he could manage. She took a deep breath.

"Ok Mordecai, please stay safe, ok?"

"Ok Karen, I will."

"Bye Mordecai." There was silence on the other side for a few seconds. Mordecai sighed.

"Goodbye Karen" The phone beeped as Mordecai hung up.

She looked down at the phone and sighed. She wondered if he was really ok. After a few seconds she put her phone away and headed to the theater.

When she walked through the doors of the lobby, GIR was standing there. He was wearing a dapper suit and held a rose. He walked up to her, and they locked eyes. She loved his eyes.

"For you!" he said and reached the rose out towards her. The line on her face began to beat as if she had a heart monitor hooked up to her processor.

"Oh my, GIR! Thank you! You are too sweet!" She reached out her hand and held the rose. The green stem reflected slightly off of her metallic exoskeleton, and she examined it closely. It was a maroon red and cut from any thorns that had previously been on the rose. It had 3 lush green leaves and it was fully bloomed as if it was just picked seconds ago.

"Let's go! Play will start!" He said and lightly took her hand that wasn't holding the rose and began to walk towards the doors leading into the theater.

The theater itself was grand. It had a first floor that was flooded with seats and a second-floor balcony that was about 20 feet up. It had a few separated seats to the side of the second-floor balcony for VIPs and their families. The stage was massive. It had a light wood flooring, and the curtains were a deep purple. The lights ahead were shining brightly upon the stage.

"Wow," she said quietly. It was beautiful. She processed the sight with awe. Once they got to their seats, they were both jittery. The seats were plush and extremely comfortable. They were made from velvet and fine wood. She could fall asleep in them.

After a few minutes the lights dimmed, and the play began.

Even though she had been excited to see this play, she could barely focus on it. She couldn't even focus on the fact that GIR had his hand holding hers. All that she could think about was Mordecai. He wasn't answering her texts and She was worried about him. He was sick and missing the play. He was sick. Alone. She wasn't there to tend to him or make him soup. She wanted to be there. She was so out of it that she didn't even notice the lights brighten for a 15-minute break.

"Get drink!" GIR said and he started to get up.

"Hey GIR, I actually think I am going to leave. I'm not feeling too good." Karen said.

"Drive?" GIR responded.

"No GIR, I will go by myself. Please enjoy the rest of the play." She said and began to roll away in a hurry. She got one more glance of GIR's face before she went through the lobby doors. He was sad.

In around 20 minutes, she was at Mordecai's house. She had only been there once for dinner, and she was with Plankton. There used to be other people living with him but they either died, or just left. He was alone. She walked up the steps to the front door and knocked on the door. No answer. She knocked again. Still no answer. She tried the doorknob and it was unlocked. She walked in. It was dark inside. The only light was coming from his room where the door was cracked open. She looked in to see him collapsed on the ground. He was struggling to breathe.

"Mordecai!" She shouted and ran over to him. He opened his eyes and looked into hers.

"Karen?" he said in a quiet and raspy voice. "What are you doing here?"

"I was making sure you were ok, but you are obviously not!" She said, "You need to get to a hospital!"

"No, I don't!" He said and tried to get up, but he fell back down.

"Let me help you." she grabbed his arm and layed one over her shoulder and helped support him. She walked him to the bed and set him down gently. "You seriously need to get to a Doctor Mordecai."

"As I said, I'm fine. I just need some rest and I will be up on my feet again by tomorrow." He said as he adjusted his pillow.

"Well, if I can't make you go to the doctor, the least I can do is stay with you." she said.

"I would rather not bother you but knowing just how stubborn you are, you will stay no matter what I say." He said and rolled his eyes.

"Ok, I will first get you some soup. I will be right back, do not go anywhere." She gave him a quick pat on his shoulder and rolled into the kitchen where she found bouillon cubes, chicken breasts, and egg noodles.

"Perfect," she said quietly to herself. She first started cooking the chicken breasts. While they were fizzling in the pan, she took the egg noodles and boiled them in a pot of water with salt. Once those were done, she dropped bouillon cubes into a separate pot of water and mixed everything together. It smelled delectable.

She brought Mordecai his soup on a tray along with saltine crackers, a spoon, 2 napkins, and a large glass of ice water. When she set it in front of him, he immediately gulped down the soup as if he hadn't eaten in days. After he was done with his soup, he drank the water in large gulps. It was gone in the matter of 10 seconds.

"That was good Karen, I had no idea that you could cook." He said in astonishment.

"That was a very simple Mordecai soup. And when you live with someone who only knows how to make chum, you have to learn how to make better food, so you don't die of food poisoning." She chuckled. Even she, a robot, had gotten food poisoning from Plankton's chum. Now that is saying something.

Mordecai chuckled and he set the tray onto his side table. He softly grabbed Karen's hand and held it. Her processors worked fast and the line on her screen beat again. They looked into each other's eyes, and he fell asleep still holding her hand. She stayed standing for a few minutes and then she sat down on the ground next to his bed and began to fall asleep as well.

There was a knock at the door. It woke up Karen but not Mordecai. She looked at the clock. It was 8 am. She stayed at his side the entire night, never letting go of his hand. She got up and gently placed his hand to his side to answer the door. Before she could get to the door there was another knock. Whoever was on the other side must have been impatient. She placed her hand on the doorknob and opened the door.