Desk Mate

Chapter 5 : Tangled Wires

Thursday.

The last period of the day was the Physics practical class. The laboratory smelled faintly of heated wires, metal instruments and chalk dust. Students were busy with their circuits, resistors, and voltmeters scattered across the wooden tables.

Moon stood quietly beside Souradeep as they tried to assemble the circuit.

Their project partner arrangement had forced them to work together for the past few days. Neither of them spoke much while working, yet something unspoken always hovered between them.

Today, however, things felt… different.

As Moon carefully tried to connect the wire to the terminal, her fingers trembled slightly. At that exact moment, Souradeep reached for the same wire.

Their fingers touched. For a brief second. Moon quickly pulled her hand back.

But only a minute later it happened again.And then once more.

Three times.

Each time the touch lasted only a second, yet it felt strangely intense. A strange warmth travelled through her fingers, up her arm, straight into her chest.She tried to ignore it and focus on the circuit. But the strange feeling refused to leave.

When the class finally ended, Moon almost rushed out of the lab and went straight to the washroom.She splashed cold water on her face and leaned over the basin, breathing deeply. “What is wrong with me…?” she murmured to herself.

Her heart was beating far too fast for such a small incident. Slowly she lifted her trembling fingers in front of her eyes.Those same fingers that had accidentally touched his.Even after washing them, she could almost feel the memory of that brief contact.

She shut her eyes tightly.“Stop thinking about it, Moon,” she whispered to herself. But her heart refused to listen.

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After school, Moon had to attend biology tuition at Shubhra Sir’s house.

Molly was absent that day, which made things worse.Moon cycled as fast as she could and reached the narrow lane where the tuition classes were held. Several bicycles were already parked outside.

A group of boys had just arrived too. Moon quickly leaned her bicycle against the row of parked cycles and rushed inside. If she was late, she would not get a good seat. But fate clearly had other plans. When she entered the room, her heart sank.There was only one empty spot left.

Right beside Souradeep.

Moon closed her eyes for a second and silently complained to God. “Why does this always happen to me?”

Still, she made one last desperate attempt. “Hey Chayan… why don’t you sit there instead?”

Chayan glanced at the corner seat she pointed to and immediately shook his head.

“There’s no air there. I’ll suffocate. You sit.”

Moon sighed. There was no way out now. She quietly walked to the seat beside Souradeep and sat down.

Just like always, Souradeep was already busy with his notebook. He didn’t even glance at her.Moon kept as much distance as possible between them, almost leaning to one side.She took out her notebook and let out a silent breath.A few minutes later, Shubhra Sir entered and began the class.

Two long hours passed quickly.

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By the time the class ended, the sky outside had already turned dark blue. It was nearly seven in the evening.Students began leaving one by one. Moon stepped outside and immediately froze. Her heart dropped.

In her hurry earlier, she had parked her bicycle carelessly.Now her bicycle had fallen.And because of that, the entire row of bicycles behind it had collapsed like dominoes.Moon gulped.

“Oh no…”

Several students were already complaining.“Who parked like this?”

“Look what happened!”

Everyone started lifting the fallen bicycles.Moon’s cycle was lying right on top of the pile.

And directly underneath it...Souradeep’s bicycle.

Moon slowly looked toward him. His expression was dark. Very dark. Moon mentally slapped herself.

“Of course, it had to be his cycle. Just perfect, Moon. Your bad luck is unbelievable today.”

She hurried forward to lift her bicycle. But things only got worse.The handle of Souradeep’s bicycle had gotten tangled badly with the carrier of her bicycle. Moon pulled. Nothing moved. She tried again. Still stuck.

Her frustration slowly grew. “And he’s just standing there watching…” she muttered under her breath. After several failed attempts, irritation finally got the better of her.

She turned toward him and said, “You’re just standing there watching… can’t you help a little?”

The moment the words left her mouth, the entire group around them suddenly went silent.Everyone turned to look at her.Moon blinked in confusion.“Did I say something wrong?”

Then suddenly...

“Ooooooooh!”

The group burst into loud teasing noises.Moon stared at them, completely confused.Soumalya dramatically placed a hand over his mouth and said loudly,“Did you hear that? She said you ! Souradeep, go help her!”

More laughter followed.Moon’s face turned red with embarrassment. Meanwhile, Souradeep’s expression grew colder. He walked toward her with long, angry steps.

Moon’s heart skipped a beat.She instinctively shut her eyes.

“Oh God… he’s going to slap me…”

But instead...

He grabbed his bicycle handle and pulled it out of the tangle with one sharp movement. Then he lifted his bicycle upright.His jaw was clenched.

Through gritted teeth he said,“How long are you going to keep calling me you like this?”

Moon froze. Before she could say anything, Souradeep had already turned and walked away.

His long strides carried him quickly down the road. Moon stood there silently. Her eyes followed him until he disappeared.A dull ache slowly formed inside her chest.

After a moment, Chayan came forward and lifted her bicycle.

“He doesn’t understand you,” Chayan said gently.

“Come on, I’ll walk you home.”

Moon quickly wiped the tears forming in her eyes with the back of her hand.Her voice trembled slightly.“I’ll go alone.”Chayan looked at her cycle carefully.“Your carrier is bent badly. Come, let’s get it fixed at Shakti Da’s shop before you go home.”Moon nodded silently.

They began walking their bicycles down the dimly lit road.Streetlights flickered on one by one.Moon remained quiet the entire time.

But what she didn’t know....

At the end of the road, hidden in the shadows beside a closed tea stall, someone stood silently, half concealed by the dim yellow streetlight that flickered above. The evening air was cool, and the distant sound of bicycles and passing rickshaws echoed faintly through the quiet lane. From that shadowed corner, a pair of sharp eyes followed Moon and Chayan as they slowly walked their bicycles down the road, talking softly.

Souradeep hadn’t left.

He had walked away earlier in anger, his steps fast and heavy, but something had made him stop before reaching the main road. Maybe it was the strange tightness in his chest, or the irritation that refused to fade. Without really thinking, he had turned back and stopped near the closed tea stall, standing there in silence.Now he watched them.

Moon was walking beside Chayan, her head slightly lowered, one hand holding the bent carrier of her bicycle. Chayan was saying something, probably trying to cheer her up. Moon nodded once or twice, but she didn’t smile.

Souradeep’s grip slowly tightened around the handle of his own bicycle.A strange feeling twisted inside him.He didn’t like the way Chayan was walking beside her.He didn’t like the way Moon looked so comfortable talking to him.And most of all, he didn’t like the fact that he was still standing here watching.His jaw clenched.

“Why do I even care?” he muttered under his breath.

But his eyes still didn’t move away from them.Moon and Chayan stopped for a moment near the small repair shop ahead. The dim light from the shop fell across Moon’s face, and for a brief second Souradeep could clearly see her expression.

Her eyes looked slightly red.As if she had been crying.Something inside Souradeep shifted.The anger that had been burning inside him suddenly felt… different.He looked away for a moment, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

“Unbelievable,” he whispered to himself.

Yet when he looked back again, his gaze instinctively searched for her.

And in that quiet evening, standing alone in the shadows, Souradeep slowly realized something he had never admitted before.The strange, uncomfortable feeling in his chest had a name. Jealousy.