I hate homework. Other than my stupid muse, it is the one thing that makes me want to tear out my hair until I'm bald.

"Excuse me! You love me. I am the bright shining star in your universe. I am the most integral part of the semi-fantastic work that is you."

"You?re a pain in the @$$. Go away." I mutter as I try to shove my wayward Greek letter off my desk. He glares at me, and then with his little tadpole lip he starts to pout. "Oh come on, would you please go away, you have some math book party you have to go to right? I have to do my homework." I groan as Squiggle hops onto my CPU.

"Nope, tonight's karoke down at the Cartesian Coordinate Corral. I'm all yours toots. I'm resting my singing voice for the really big bash next week. All the important Greek letters are going to be there." He says with pride as he props his big head up against my monitor. I raise an eyebrow.

"The important letters? Aren't they all equally insignificant?" I ask, not really wanting to know the answer. Squiggle glares at me for the second time in one evening.

"Laugh it up, Toots. You keep insulting me like this and I'm going to give you insomnia." My little Greek letter adds triumphantly. I let a rather audible gulp.

"You wouldn't. Come on! I have an eight o'clock class tomorrow! I can not be up all night dreaming about teenage guys jumping around in spandex. Have mercy, I beg of you." I say clasping my hands together and kneeling on the floor.

"You know you love it, Toots. You always so chipper the morning after a good Carlos or Rocky dream." He adds with an evil glint in his eyes.

"You shut up about those. If I want to dream about them kissing me I can, so there. Why don't you go give Jacqui insomnia." I say, getting off my knees. He refuses to budge as I try and wipe him off my already trashed desk.

"I gave her insomnia last night. Besides, she has weird dreams. They scare me sometimes." My muse gives a delicate shudder, and I begin to laugh hysterically. (Okay, you get three hours of sleep and see how lucid you are.) I eye my muse with a critical glance.

"You know, if I calculate the trajectory right, and you keep standing upright, just like you are now, I could probably effectively smush you." I say, picking up my physics book, and taking tiny steps toward the annoying little Greek letter. Squiggle raises an eyebrow.

"Okay, maybe you do need some sleep. Who are you trying to kid? You can't kill an ant without feeling guilty. You kill me, and I'll haunt your dreams from now until eternity, Toots." Squiggle leans against my CPU, and I realize that I've just missed my opportunity. I can't kill my computer in good faith. Unlike Squiggle, I need my computer. I'm like a dying person, and Rufus is my IV.

"You are such a weirdo. Who names their computer, Rufus?" My muse scoffs.

"You're just jealous cause the computer as a cooler name than you do." I mutter as I shove a couple of party mints into my mouth. "Arfe you surfe you down't wanna go to the karoke Corral?" I ask, trying not to choke on the food in my mouth as Squiggle plasters himself against my monitor. "What are you doing?"

"Maureen loves me." He sighs. I stare at him like he's lost his mind.

"Maureen? Who the heck is Maureen?" I ask, almost dreading the answer.

"Maureen, you know" He says as he gestures to my monitor. "Maureen, the love of my life, the shining star in my sky. . ."

"Oh please. Put a cork in it.? I groan as he makes smacking noises. ?The monitor's an inanimate object. She can't love you back. Why couldn?t I have gotten a cool muse like Jeremy?s or Cynthia?s. Even Dreamwalker has a cooler muse than me. I bet his raccoon doesn?t think it?s in love with a computer monitor." I say as I try to peel my demented Greek letter off the screen. He resists, and I suddenly realize that I've just told my fictional muse that he can't fall in love with Maureen, the monitor, and that the monitor can?t love him back. Have I totally lost my marbles? Squiggle nods his head. "What are you doing?" I ask.

"I'm agreeing with you. I'd try to help you find your marbles, but I think it's a lost cause."

"You can read my mind?!" I squeal in horror. My muse gives me a huge grin and nods. I resist the urge to grab a handful of hair. "That's it. I'm going to bed. You and Maureen can do the mamba all night long for all I care." I mumble, and then reach over and flip off the computer. Squiggle cries out in horror as Maureen goes blank. As I crawl into bed I can hear him wailing in grief.

"Oh good lord." I mutter as I pull the covers up over my head. "Why are you doing this to me? You know I'm going to turn her back on in the morning. Go to sleep. Go to the Cartesian Corral. Go fly a kite. I don't care. Just leave me alone." I moan. Thankfully, my pleas are met with silence. I give a happy sigh, close my eyes, and drift off into dream land.