𝕲𝖚𝖎𝖉𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝕷𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙 *Complete*

Ch. 03 ⭐

Next Morning.

Following the morning drills, all the first-year cadets arrived at the mess hall and noticed Huda present, wearing his shameless smile. They chose to ignore him and took their respective seats. Naina had detected Captain Rajveer's presence long before entering the mess, so she consciously held her breath. Huda then called over the orderly and requested coffee for all the first-year cadets. Ali glared at him, preparing to retort, when Naina reminded him in a hushed voice, "Ali, you were never present in the store room during the ragging incident. If you say anything to him, it will reveal the truth, and the faculty might assume we were responsible for the seniors' ordeal."

Recognizing the logic in her words, Ali nodded and settled back into his seat, also noticing Captain Rajveer standing just a few feet away from their group.

"Naina is right. And if we're getting free coffee as compensation for what he did last night, I don't think it's a bad deal," Alekh chimed in with a smirk.

"Agreed," Yudi winked, a broad grin on his face.

"You're sending the correct message, Qaidi!" Pooja exclaimed, grinning.

"Pooja, you shouldn't call Aalekh that. Just as we don't refer to you as the 'hockey player' simply because you used to play the sport, you shouldn't label him as a 'Qaidi' [Prisoner] just because he was one. We are all cadets here and deserve the same respect. If you wish to give him a nickname, choose something else, but not 'Qaidi,' alright?" Naina firmly addressed Pooja.

Aalekh stared at Naina, his mouth agape. While he didn't mind Pooja using that nickname since it reflected his truth, the respect Naina displayed toward him melted his heart—a facet he didn't even realize existed within him.

"I'm sorry, Aalekh. Naina is right. I shouldn't address you like that. Don't worry, I'll find a suitable nickname for you," Pooja promised, offering an apologetic smile.

"So, that means you still won't call him by his actual name?" Yudi asked incredulously, causing the others to burst into laughter.

"Come on, guys! Are you still mad at me?" Huda interjected, interrupting their conversation.

"Why would we be angry with you, Huda? Did you do something to make us angry?" Naina inquired.

"Yeah, Huda, did you do something?" Yudi added, smirking.

Huda was perplexed. It was true that when he and the senior cadets woke up early that morning, they discovered themselves bound by ropes in the store room, with no first-year cadets present. However, they all clearly remembered bringing the first-year cadets there the previous night. They couldn't comprehend what had transpired. Moreover, since their actions had violated the rules, they couldn't report the incident to the authorities. Huda was hoping to gather some information from his fellow batchmates.

"Good morning, everyone!" Rajveer had been observing the group closely ever since they entered the mess. He noticed a few first-year cadets glaring at Huda, and Ali seemed poised to speak up, but before he could, Campbell intervened, shifting the atmosphere. The group began taunting Huda with veiled words, withholding any information about the events that had unfolded.

"Good morning, sir," they greeted in unison.

Rajveer took note of Naina's tensed posture as he approached. "How was your first day?" he asked her.

"It was a good day, sir," the cadets responded in a formal manner.

"I'm glad to hear that. I'll see you all in my class then," Rajveer said with a smile.

"We're looking forward to it, sir," Ali replied, with the others nodding in agreement.

Just then, an orderly approached and announced, "Cadet Campbell, you have a call!"