Kalpalata Lotus - Kavetham

Chapter 6

Kaveh was distracted when he was at work. He kept bumping into shelves and dropping seed packets. He sneezed and knocked over a plant. The pot shattered upon impact. Shards went everywhere. Dirt spilled all over the place.

Layla jolted awake. She rubbed her eyes and looked at the broken pot. She then looked at him. "You okay?"

"I'm just-" he sighed. "I'm out of it today. Just lost in thought."

She nodded and leaned her hand on her hand again. Her eyes slowly shut. Kaveh sighed for a third time. He got out the broom and started sweeping up the spilled dirt. He picked up one of the shards to start throwing them away.

"Gah!"

He dropped the shard. Blood started to drip from a gash on his hand. Layla immediately woke up again. Her eyes widened.

"I'll go get the first aid."

Kaveh waited as Layla left to go get bandages. Once she did, he watched silently as she started to clean up the wound. He winced.

"Sorry, sorry," she apologized as she touched the cut. "It might sting a bit."

"A bit my ass," Kaveh grumbled.

He winced again. He did his best to stay still as Layla wrapped the gauze around his hand. Kaveh couldn't help but notice the dark bags under Layla's eyes. Was she getting enough sleep? Well, it does make sense since she is sleeping at work all the time-

"All better," she said, looking up at him. Her voice shook Kaveh out of his thoughts.

"Thank you."

She nodded in response. A soft yawn escaped her lips. "Let me handle the cleaning."

Kaveh nodded and sat down nearby. He got lost in his own thoughts. The day repeated over and over in his mind. Alhaitham came over to tutor him, that embarrassing incident, Layla bandaging his hand. The last hour went by without him even realzing it. When he got back to the dorm later, he immediately passed out on the bed.

The next day at class, he couldn't even look at Alhaitham. Yesterday's incident kept replaying in his head. It was too embarrassing for him. He wanted to curl up in a corner and die. Eventually, he did look over at the man. As if he knew, he turned his head and looked right back at him. Kaveh immediately looked away again.

Who does he think he's looking at, Kaveh thought to himself. Gosh, he is annoying.

The bell soon rang, and he immediately got up. He quickly shoved his papers in his backpack. His injured hand grabbed a book, but it pressed too hard on his wound. Kaveh flinched and dropped the book with a thud. As he was about to grab the book, someone already did it for him.

"You dropped this," Alhaitham said blatantly. He handed Kaveh the book.

Kaveh grumbled. He took the book and shoved it in his bag.

"You're injured."

Kaveh didn't respond to him again. He slung his backpack over his shoulder and began to walk around him. Alhaitham grabbed Kaveh's wrist and looked at the gauze that was wrapped around his hand. His cold eyes fell onto Kaveh's red, crimson ones.

"How did it happen?" Alhaitham's voice was cold and stoic as usual. It didn't sound like he cared, but was rather asking out of curiosity. Then again, he always sounded like that.

"I dropped a plant when working," Kaveh replied. He yanked his wrist from Alhaitham's grasp. "The pot cut my hand."

A sigh escaped his classmate's lips as he heard Kaveh's explanation. "Clumsy as usual."

Kaveh's eyebrows furrowed. "Hey! I didn't ask for your opinion."

"I was just stating a fact," he said while crossing his arms.

He scoffed and walked away. Before he left, he heard Alhaitham's comment call out to him.

"Be more careful now."

***

Kaveh groaned and laid on his bed. He was exhausted. Arguing with Alhaitham always took energy out of him. Why was he so damn annoying? Why did he keep bothering him? Kaveh groaned again and put his hands over his face. His cheeks turned red from the moments he spent with the man. The incident, the way Alhaitham grabbed his wrist, and all the arguing the two have done.

A knock on his door made Kaveh look up. "Go away, Alhaitham!"

"Why would Alhaitham be here?" Cyno's voice spoke behind the door.

"Oh, sorry," Kaveh apologized. "Come in."

Cyno opened the door and walked in. He saw Kaveh laying on his bed, looking like he wanted to die. He sat down on his bed right next to Kaveh. "Rough day?"

"Yeah," Kaveh groaned.

"You look upset." Cyno's voice was monotone as usual, but it showed a hint of concern. "Want to talk about it?"

"It's just," he started. "Alhaitham! I can't stop thinking about him!"

Cyno raised an eyebrow.

"Not like that!" His cheeks went red immediately. "He's- He just keeps bothering me!"

"Sounds like you're feeling a lot of things right now," his roommate stated.

"I am," he whined. "I'm so tired."

Cyno chuckled at Kaveh's small pout. He put a comforting hand on his arm. "Get some sleep."

With that, he got up and left, leaving Kaveh alone. The room got dark quickly. The moon slowly rose up and shined through his blinds. Stars started to twinkle here and there. It was quiet. Kaveh looked up at the ceiling and fell asleep.