"We're here little one. Last stop of the night."
Gently Maille, pulled me from her pocket. I opened my eyes for a moment to stare into hers. I shivered, curling into her palm. Where was the warmth? I wanted to be back in her pocket again.
"I know, it is a bit chilly isn't it." She bit her lip. "I wish I could take you inside little one, but I can't. I just hope you don't freeze." She sighed. "If only Isabelle wasn't my roommate, I would feel safe bringing you inside."

If I had been my normal self I would have been shocked to discover this little tidbit. For priding myself on being just like Sherlock Holmes, it was just plain despicable that I hadn't had a clue that Isabelle and Maille were anything more then coworkers. They certainly didn't act like they roomed together. I had thought they never mingled outside of work. I knew that Isabelle was jealous of Maille's hair. How it was curly and full, while hers was stringy and straight. It was obvious by how she would toss her hair every time Maille came in with her hair down. How she would be more friendly when Maille came in with her hair pulled back. Obvious. Obvious how Isabelle idol worshiped Howard. How she would pull whatever strings necessary to be near him while he was working in the lab. A simple crush. All obvious.
Yet, I never knew that the two girls were roommates. They didn't even use the same shampoo or perfume. 
Of course....being a hamster, I didn't care about that. What her statement meant to me was simple. Maille was leaving me. I couldn't be by her.

"She would go straight to Howard if she knew I had you in the apartment, little one. You probably don't know that we're not supposed to take the hamsters out of the lab. But I wasn't about to leave you for Howard to discover." She exhaled, holding me close to her. "Please just survive the night little one. That's all I ask. I'll be back in the morning. Please. Please just survive."

Can I say that that night, huddled in a hamster ball stuffed with tissues...was one of the worst nights of my life? It was miserable. It got cold. Colder then normal. Or perhaps I was just more sensitive to it being a hamster. In any case. It wasn't warm. I craved warmth. And huddled in on myself in that ball, I really wasn't sure that I would survive the night in her car.

The worst part was.
I didn't know if Maille would come back.

Martin Elek