Chapter 35:
The weeks passed quickly as the cadets became busier and busier. Raj tried to help them with their studies and training whenever possible, remembering how difficult his own academy days had been.
Finally only a few weeks remained until graduation and the final rounds of tests and drills had begun. The cadets were to complete all of their practical drills first and afterwards would sit for their written exams.
So far all of the six cadets had done excellently. They had completed their drills on hand to hand combat, shooting, and mock search and destroy and rescue drills. Now all that remained was Major Nair's speed and agility drill, which would require them to complete an obstacle course in the shortest amount of time possible.
Raj had promised to be there to watch the final drill to ensure that Major Nair didn't mark any of the students unjustly, especially the girls. He was determined that Naina should become best cadet at the end of the year and he didn't want her to miss out just because one of her professors hated girls. Huda had already started accepting bets for who the best cadet would be, and Naina was one of the favourites among the candidates.
The drill started off well enough, Ali, Pooja and Yudi all completed the drill in good time, Yudi only falling once. Eventually it was Naina's turn and she approached the start line, feeling confident about her performance. She knew that Raj was watching her and it gave her extra encouragement to do well.
As soon as Major Nair blew his whistle, Naina started running, when she reached the first obstacle she dropped down and crawled through the mud, ensuring that she didn't touch the barbed wire above her. The next obstacle involved climbing up a wall with the help of hand holds, and then abseiling down the other side with a rope. Naina also passed this successfully, only losing her grip on the wall for one moment.
It was only when she was about to complete the last obstacle that something went wrong. It was quite a high beam that she had to cross and Naina had successfully gotten across it and was about to jump down when the sound of a gun shot rung out. She had forgotten that the first year cadets had their rifle drill today, and the sound startled Naina. She had already begun getting ready to jump and she lost her balance, landing the wrong way on her left ankle. Naina collapsed to the ground in pain clutching it, knowing that at the very least she had sprained it.
Raj's first instinct was to run and help her, but he managed to stop himself. He knew that interfering in the drill would just ruin Naina's chances of receiving favourable points. Clenching his fists, he stood still, waiting to see how it would turn out.
"Oh what a shame, Cadet Singh," Major Nair said mockingly, approaching her, "It looks like you won't be able to complete the drill now, and your dreams of becoming the best cadet will be ruined."
Hearing Major Nair's taunt, Naina steeled herself against the pain. She wasn't going to let him win, no matter what happened or how much it hurt, she would complete this drill. Slowly getting up, she managed to stand, putting most of the pressure on her right foot instead.
Going as fast as she could despite the stabbing pain in her left ankle and foot, Naina managed to limp to the finish line, throwing a victorious look in Major Nair's direction once she reached it. She knew she had no chances of winning this drill, but at least she had managed to complete it.
Naina could see the worried faces of her friends, but nodded in their direction to show that she was okay.
"Alright, go and stand with the rest of your batchmates, Cadet Singh." Major Nair told her. "Cadet Huda, you're next!"
Coming over quickly, Raj interrupted him. "Major Nair I disagree, I think that Cadet Singh should go to the infirmary right away. We don't know how serious her injury is."
"Oh what a surprise, Major Rajveer." Major Nair told him sarcastically, "Once again you've come to interfere on behalf of your Cadet Singh."
"Major, you know that we have a duty of care to the cadets." Raj responded calmly, refusing to get angry at the way Major Nair was speaking. "Cadet Singh still has the rest of her exams to complete, and it's important that she be in good health to do so."
"Fine, Major Rajveer." Nair told him, sounding fed up. "Take your cadet and go, and stop disrupting my drill."
"Thank you, Major Nair. I will take my cadet." Raj told him, and quickly crossed over to Naina.
"Cadet Singh, lean on me." He told her, placing Naina's left arm over his shoulder and supporting her around the waist with his right arm. Raj waited until they were out of eyesight of Major Nair before he stopped. He couldn't stand seeing Naina in so much pain, as she winced with every step she took.
"Naina, put your arms around my neck, and I'll carry you." He told her.
"Raj, do you really think that's a good idea?" she asked him, "What if somebody sees?"
"So what!" he retorted, "I've got a good enough excuse to be carrying you, and it's not like it's the first time I've done it. Besides, if you walk anymore on that foot, you're likely to injure it worse."
Deciding that it was best to obey him, Naina placed both her arms around his neck and Raj easily lifted her up, supporting her securely in his arms.
"So now I know what I missed out on last time," Naina told him with a smile, "It's a pity I was unconscious then or I might have fallen for you a lot quicker."
Raj smiles down at her affectionately, it feels good to have her in his arms and he could definitely get used to it. "Right, let's get you to Dr Shalini." He tells her, and carries her as quickly as possible there.
Luckily since both the first and second year cadets are completing their end of year drills, only a few orderlies see them.
When they reach Dr Shalini's door, Raj instructs Naina to knock and she lets go of his neck to do so. Within a matter of seconds, Dr Shalini opens the door and stares at them with a look on her face that clearly says, 'What the heck is going on?'
"Uh, Major?"
"Dr Shalini, could you please step aside?" Raj asks her, getting slightly tired after having carried Naina all this way. Shalini does so, and Raj steps inside, carrying Naina to the infirmary bed and placing her upon it.
"Naina injured her ankle during Major Nair's drill." Raj explains, and Shalini looks quite relieved. "What?" Raj asks her, "What did you think had happened?"
"Honestly I was afraid that maybe you had decided to elope and had come for my blessing."
Despite her pain, Naina laughs at this, but Raj just gives Dr Shalini a look that clearly says 'Please do not start again!'
Dr Shalini examines Naina's ankle, feeling where it has become swollen.
"It's just a sprain," she tells her, "So we'll strap it and you'll have to stay off the foot for a few days. I'll give you some crutches to help you get around until it's better."
"Thank god it happened in the last drill." Naina says, "If I'd injured myself earlier it would've been disastrous."
"Well don't worry, Naina, you'll definitely be back on your feet by the time of the graduation ball." Shalini told her, "So don't be worried that you won't be able to dance."
Naina sighed, "I'd forgotten all about the ball with all of the tension of exams." She told Shalini.
"Well it's best that you concentrate on your exams first anyway." Shalini told her, "Afterwards, you can begin planning what to wear."
Quickly she strapped up Naina's ankle, and gave her a balm to rub on it along with some tablets to take in case the pain was too much. As soon as she was done, Raj moved forward, ready to pick Naina up again.
"Sir, I can uh, use the crutches." Naina told him, a little embarrassed in front of Shalini.
Shalini tried not to smile, thinking it was funny that Naina was calling Raj 'Sir' in front of her.
Ignoring Naina's protests, Raj picked her up, and then turned back to Shalini. "I'll come and pick up her crutches in a minute." Raj told her.
"No problem," Shalini replied, "I'll come with you to drop Cadet Singh to her room and carry the crutches." She tried not to laugh at the disappointed look on Raj's face, as he had obviously been looking forward to some time alone with Naina.
Shalini accompanied them up the stairs, knowing that if she was with them, there was bound to be less talk about why Raj had been carrying Naina to her room. As soon as they had arrived, she leaned the crutches against the wall and watched as Raj gently placed Naina down on the bed, arranging some pillows behind her and placing one of Pooja's cushions underneath her foot. Satisfied that Naina would be comfortable, Shalini turned and left the room, closing the door behind her to give them some privacy.
Raj sat on the end of Naina's bed, smiling at her. It was the first time that they had been alone in days and he was relieved that Shalini had left.
"I was really worried about you when I saw you fall," he told her, "It was difficult for me to not go and try to help you."
"I'm glad you didn't," Naina tells him with a smile, "I needed to finish the drill by myself. In the end I'll at least get some marks for it."
Getting up, Raj came forward and sat on the edge of the bed, right in front of Naina, leaning forward he kissed her gently on the cheek. "That's what I love about you Naina," he told her, "Your bravery," another kiss, "Your determination," Another kiss, this time closer to her jaw, "Your fighting spirit," this time even closer to her mouth. "Your…"
As he leaned in, about to kiss her again, the door burst open. "Naina, are you…." Pooja entered the room quickly, obviously worried about her friend. Stopping dead in her tracks, she realised that she had obviously interrupted something by the embarrassed look on both their faces. "I'm so sorry, Sir!!" Pooja said, "I didn't know you were here or I wouldn't have come in!" She was absolutely mortified about disturbing them. "I'll just go and…"
"No it's alright, Cadet Ghai." Raj told her, thinking that today really wasn't his lucky day. "I just brought Naina to her room, I'll go now…" Reluctantly, he got up from the bed and leaning forward placed an innocent kiss on her forehead. "I'll come back and check on you later," Raj promised, "Make sure you don't try to walk too much." Then with a last longing look back at Naina, he left the room.
Slapping herself on her forehead at her own stupidity, Pooja apologised. "I'm so sorry, Naina, I didn't mean to disturb the two of you like that! I know that you and your Shahrukh get so little private talk time together."
"It's okay, Pooja." Naina told her, "I know you didn't mean it. Besides, I should probably be studying for the exams anyway. You know I want to win the best cadet award, and Raj really wants it too, I don't want to disappoint him."
"I know you can do it, Naina." Pooja told her confidently, "I've already laid my bet with the Jat."
Naina laughs at this, "Well hopefully you'll be winning the money and not losing it!" she tells Pooja.
"You just rest now," Pooja tells her, "I'll go and get you whatever books you want so that you can start studying."
Pooja and Naina settled down to study then, knowing that they didn't have any time to waste. The exams were starting after a week, and they had a lot to cover before then.
**
Having settled at his desk to do some work, Raj was disturbed by a knock at the door. "Come in!" he called out, and was surprised to see Alekh step into the room. All he hoped is that the young man wasn't there to threaten him or express any disapproval. Of all of Naina's friends, Raj knew that Alekh was the one whose approval he needed the most.
"How is Naina now, Sir?" Alekh asked Raj, shutting the door as he came in.
"She's just sprained her ankle," Raj told him, "Dr Shalini strapped it, and Naina will have to take it easy for a few days. She'll be in her room if you want to see her."
"Actually Sir, I was thinking that now would be a good time to have a chat with you." Alekh told him, immediately making Raj more nervous. Raj couldn't believe how nervous he felt, after all, he was Alekh's superior officer, so why did he feel like he should be proving himself?
"And what did you want to talk about, Alekh?" he asks him, although he knows perfectly well what Alekh will want to say.
"About you and Naina."
"What is it that you want to say?" Raj asks him uncomfortably, hoping that this conversation isn't going to turn bad.
"Sir, I want to be honest with you." Alekh tells him, "Naina is happy with you, she's happier with you than she ever was in the past. I know that you love her a lot and that you don't want to hurt her in any way."
Raj nods, "You're right, Alekh." He tells him.
"But if I have any family in this world then it's only Naina," Alekh tells him very simply, "So I'm very protective of her. Sir, you should never let her be unhappy, because if you ever hurt her then I'll forget that you're an officer."
Raj stared at Alekh in disbelief, not quite able to believe that one of his cadets was threatening him. Finally he was able to speak again, "Alekh I promise you, that I will never ever hurt Naina. What I'd like to know, is do I have your approval?"
"You're the best choice for Naina." Alekh tells him. "I'm happy that you two are together." Then he suddenly turns and leaves, closing the door after him.
Raj sits there without moving for a few minutes. One more hurdle has been overcome, he now officially has Alekh's approval. If only winning over Naina's parents was that easy. He knows he's going to see them at the graduation ceremony, and he's praying that they'll have changed their minds about him before then. Otherwise his and Naina's hopes are gone, and they'll be waiting even longer to bring their relationship into the open.
Raj wonders how many years it will take for them to accept him.
However many it is, he's prepared to wait.
Naina is worth it.
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