A Shelf We Share

Arman and I share a room, but we use it in different ways. I do my homework at the desk near the window. Arman usually sits on the floor and builds things with his toy blocks. We each have a drawer for our own things. We also share a shelf above the desk. I keep my schoolbooks at one end, and Arman puts his toys at the other. The middle is usually empty in the morning. By evening, it often holds a ruler, a small car, a charging cable, and at least one thing that neither of us remembers putting there.

Before dinner, we check the shelf and put things back where they belong. I carry my books to the desk, and Arman takes his toys to the boxes in the living room. The cable is harder to deal with. We both use it, so each of us often thinks the other person knows where it is. Sometimes I look for it while Arman looks for it in another room. When that happens, we usually find it near the wall socket, right beside the desk.

Now we keep a small basket in the middle of the shelf. The cable goes there after we use it. We divide the rest of the shelf between us, and each of us decides what to keep on our own side. Arman still keeps a red car with three wheels. He sometimes puts it in the basket next to the cable. When I ask him why, he says the driver needs a safe place to park.