The Card on the Wrong Desk

Benji comes to class early. The room is empty. He has a small card in his hand.

Benji datang ke kelas lebih awal. Ruangan itu kosong. Ia memegang sebuah kartu kecil.

He wants to give it to Jaya. He is too shy to say it with words. He does not write his name on the card.

Ia ingin memberikannya kepada Jaya. Ia terlalu malu untuk mengatakannya dengan kata-kata. Ia tidak menulis namanya di kartu itu.

The card has a small drawing of a sun. Under it are four words. "You make Mondays better."

Kartu itu bergambar matahari kecil. Di bawahnya ada empat kata. "Kamu membuat hari Senin lebih baik."

Benji walks to the desk by the window. He puts the card on it. His heart beats fast. He sits down.

Benji berjalan ke meja di dekat jendela. Ia meletakkan kartu itu di atasnya. Jantungnya berdebar kencang. Ia duduk.

Then the students come in. A tall boy sits at that desk. Benji's face goes cold. Jaya's desk is the one by the door. He made a mistake.

Lalu para murid masuk. Seorang anak laki-laki jangkung duduk di meja itu. Wajah Benji terasa dingin. Meja Jaya adalah yang di dekat pintu. Ia telah membuat kesalahan.

The tall boy picks up the card. He reads it. He looks around the room with big eyes.

Anak laki-laki jangkung itu mengambil kartu itu. Ia membacanya. Ia memandang berkeliling ruangan dengan mata terbelalak.

Benji knows he must tell the truth. After class, he walks to the boy. "That card is not for you," he says quietly. "I am sorry. I used the wrong desk."

Benji tahu ia harus berkata jujur. Setelah pelajaran, ia berjalan menghampiri anak itu. "Kartu itu bukan untukmu," katanya pelan. "Maaf. Aku salah meja."

The boy laughs, but not in a mean way. He gives the card back. "It is a nice card," he says. "Good luck."

Anak laki-laki itu tertawa, tetapi bukan dengan cara mengejek. Ia mengembalikan kartu itu. "Kartunya bagus," katanya. "Semoga berhasil."

At lunch, Benji takes a new card from his bag. He draws the same sun. He writes the same words. This time he writes his name.

Saat makan siang, Benji mengambil kartu baru dari tasnya. Ia menggambar matahari yang sama. Ia menulis kata-kata yang sama. Kali ini ia menulis namanya.

After school, he walks to the desk by the door. He puts the card in Jaya's hand. She reads it twice. Then she smiles at him.

Sepulang sekolah, ia berjalan ke meja di dekat pintu. Ia menaruh kartu itu di tangan Jaya. Jaya membacanya dua kali. Lalu ia tersenyum kepadanya.