The Chocolate Boy (Book One)

Chapter 5 : Nut Cracker?

Chapter 5 : Nut Cracker?

I wanted to wake up. I knew I had been sleeping as soon as I started seeing images of my father and his hands closing in on my throat. It was another one of my torturous nightmares.

But the worst part is when my subconscious mind is disrupted by the conscious one in a weak attempt to wake up. That's when the struggle starts.

I thrashed around on the bed. At least I thought I did when actually I wasn't even stirring a bit. I tried to shout but they sounded like muffled whimpers. Again, those sounds were all in my head. I'd have looked like a dead log had there been anybody else to see me at such times.

Breathless, suffocated, anxious. That's how I feel everytime this happens.

At last I managed to open my eyelids. Immediately I sat up on my bed in a hot and sweaty mess with my heartbeat rates going up as if I'd just been running in the upcoming Rio Olympics. The nauseous feeling subsided a bit as I threw open the windows in my room and prepared to spend another sleepless night.

***

"Tuhin, I'm sorry about yesterday," Ishan said as I slid into my seat.

"Yeah, it's okay."

An awkward silence stretched between us.

My head was throbbing painfully after getting no sleep last night. I rested it on my right arm propped up on the table and made a weak attempt to rub away the pain with my left.

"I want to talk about yesterday."

"No thanks. I don't want to listen," I had to bite back my tongue to stop myself from making any more rude comments.

"Feeling sick?"

"Isn't that fairly understandable?" I snapped.

"Want to go to the infirmary?" he asked keeping a hand on my shoulder. I tensed at once.

"It'll be great if you'll just shut up and leave me alone," I looked pointedly at his hand.

Control. Why can't I control my phobia for a fucking second?

He followed my gaze and moved his hand as if he'd got an electric shock.

"I'm sorry. I'll just be on my way," he looked ashamed and hurried away.

My tiredness got better of me in the fourth period as I watched the Economics teacher walk in. The next thing I knew was Ishan shaking me gently, asking me to wake up.

"What are you doing here? Don't you have Chemistry?"

"My God!" Ishan had an amused look on his face. "Don't tell me you slept through Deepak Sir's class?"

"Dammit! I did," I felt the corners of my lips curl up. "And yeah before you ask it, I feel better now," I said as his mouth opened again threateningly.

"You are such a quiet guy," he said with some creases on the forehead.

"Silence is music to my ears."

"Sure."

"Tell me about it."

"What? "

"About yesterday. Tell me about yesterday. I can listen now."

Ishan looked at me in the same way Tuhina looks at me when I catch her doing something Ma wouldn't like to know.

"Okay, but I'm warning you, this is going to be awkward."

I nodded, waiting for him to proceed.

"So you wanted to know why nobody sits beside me."

"Mm-hm."