Third Person's POV

Naina looked at her watch, closing her eyes in despair as she saw the time.

It was 11 pm, one hour post the lights out in the academy.

She felt the despair because it is KMA'S rule that no cadet is allowed to walk out of their room after the lights out. If someone is caught roaming, they will be punished.

'But I am so hungry.' Naina caressed her stomach as it growled due to hunger.

Being a foody, she could not eat that horrible dinner at the mess. She tried, she really did, but could not swallow more than few spoonfuls.

When Subedar Amrit Suri, a kind, older man in charge of the academy kitchen and mess, had announced that he had made rice pudding to welcome the new batch of cadets, Naina had almost jumped in joy because she loved the dish.

But when she tasted it, she could not put more than two spoonfuls in her mouth. Even the other dishes tasted so horrible that she had lost appetite and had not been able to eat anything then.

And now she is so hungry that she cannot help but imagine pizza, burger, french fries, and different varieties of chaat. If only she could eat all of them and also gazar halwa for dessert.

She looked at Pooja, her roommate, who was blissfully asleep in her bed.

When she had first entered the room, she had not known what to expect.

During the enrollment, she was told that Cadet Pooja Ghai would be her roommate, and she had hoped to get a good roommate because she did not want to go through with the lengthy procedure of changing rooms.

When she had entered the room, she had found an over-energetic girl with a kind face and a warm personality.

Pooja had given her a bright smile and had started chatting non-stop.

When she was thinking about all this, her stomach growled again, reminding her to get some food.

Not having any other choice than to satisfy her hunger, Naina slowly sneaked out of her room and walked towards the academy kitchen.

She hoped to find some fruit to eat there.

Reaching the mess, she started to search for the light switch because it was too dark.

While she was searching, she collided with someone and almost fell down, but a warm hand snaked around her waist to break her fall.

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Rajveer was walking out of his room to go to the Brigadier Chandok's office. He had decided to go there to look through cadets' and faculty members' files.

As his mission was secret, he could not ask for those files directly from the Brigadier. Because that would have raised questions and he did not have the liberty to answer them.

He was about to cross the mess and turn to go to the Brigadier's office when he collided with someone.

He quickly grabbed the person's waist to prevent that person's fall and immediately knew it was a girl.

Once he straightened her and moved back, he took out his phone and turned on the flashlight.

He frowned when he saw that the person was none other than Cadet Naina Singh.

"Cadet Naina Singh, can you please tell me what you are doing out of your room after the lights out?" He asked her.

His suspicions on this cadet are rising. From the time he has set his eyes on her, he has felt something different about her. He feels like she is hiding something. As if she is in the academy with some ulterior motive.

"Sir, I am hungry. I could not eat that horrible mess food properly and now I am so hungry that I cannot think of anything other than the food. So, I was going to the kitchen to see if I can find something to eat," Naina replied and Rajveer's frown deepened.

"So, you sneaked out of your room after the lights out, just to see if you can get something to eat? Did you not know this is against KMA's rules, Cadet?" Rajveer asked her sternly although he was amused too.

Yes, he still has his suspicions on her, but he cannot deny that this girl has certain charm. She is so unlike any cadet or any girl he has met till date.

"I know I am breaking the rules, Sir, but how will I explain that to my stomach? I am so hungry. You know how much I like to eat. If only I could get some pizza, burger, french fries, chaat, biryani, butter....," Naina was dreaming about the food when she was cut short by Rajveer.

"Enough, Cadet. You return to your room now. You should be thankful that I am not giving you any detention," Rajveer told her, trying very hard not to smile at her.

He has not met any girl who loves to eat and even dreams about food. The girls with whom he has gone to the dates always wrinkled their noses in name of food and only ever ate salad to maintain their figure. And here this girl was dreaming about food.

"But, Sir, I really am hungry. I will not be able to sleep," Naina pouted and Rajveer sighed.

He is still unable to figure out this girl. He does not know if she is doing all this purposely to make herself look innocent or if she really is like this. So, he decided know her further in order to get to any conclusion about her.

"Even if you go to the kitchen now, you will not find anything because Subedar Suri keeps all the cupboards and fridges locked. I know this because I was also a cadet at KMA once," Rajveer said and Naina got alert at once.

'If he was also a cadet here, he might know about Naveen. But how to get the information about Naveen from him without revealing my identity?' She thought.

"If you want you can come to my quarter. I have Maggi in my kitchen. You can cook and eat that," Rajveer offered, thinking this would be a perfect opportunity to informally inquire about her and determine if she is the spy.

Naina considered the offer and decided to take it. She will be able to eat and may even find a way to ask him about Naveen.

"Really, Sir? It would be great. I love Maggi and I am hungry. But first, can you please tell me your name, Sir? I mean, I know you are a faculty member here, but I don't know your name yet," Naina asked hesitantly.

"I am Captain Rajveer Singh Shekhawat. Your communication and strategy teacher." Saying that, he looked around for a while, making sure no one has seen them or listened to their conversation.

"Ok, Cadet. Follow me to my quarter, but please be quiet. If anyone found out you were in my quarter after the lights out, we will be in big trouble," Rajveer warned Naina and walked towards his quarter with her following him.

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After Naina entered his quarter, Rajveer closed and locked the door.

Then, taking her to the kitchen, he took out a few packets of Maggi.

"Please help yourself, Cadet. If you want to add vegetables, they are in the fridge," he told her.

"Umm Sir, it's ok. Let us leave Maggi. If you have some fruit, please give me that," Naina said, hiding her disappointment.

She really wants to eat hot and delicious maggi but she does not know anything about cooking.

And how can she ask her teacher to prepare it for her?

He has been generous enough to let her come to his kitchen and eat, but she is not sure if he would remain generous if she asked him to also cook for her.

"Why Cadet Singh? You just said earlier that you like Maggi. So, what happened now?" Rajveer was confused.

'First, she says she is hungry. Second, she dreams about those heavy, oily foods. And now, she suddenly wants to eat fruit. She really is strange,' Rajveer thought, looking at Naina.

"Umm Sir, I love Maggi, but I don't know how to cook. And no matter how cheeky and forward I am, I cannot ask my teacher to prepare food for me.

"So, fruits will be best. I would be really grateful if you could give me some," Naina told him and Rajveer felt a sudden pinch in his heart.

He finally decided that this girl was adorable. She has certain innocence around her which is uncommon to see these days.

He is rarely wrong in his observations about a person and he really hopes that he is right about her too.

He knows she is hiding something, but he hopes it is something else and not her being a spy.

"Hmm, hearing you talk about all that food has made me hungry too. So, I guess I will make maggi for both of us then," Rajveer said, and hearing him, a dazzling smile curved Naina's lips.

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Rajveer walked out of the kitchen with two bowls of Maggi in his hands.

He handed one to Naina who was sitting on the couch in his living room.

Taking the bowl from his hand, Naina gave Rajveer a grateful smile. "Thank you for this, Sir. You are officially my favourite teacher from this moment onward."

Rajveer smiled back at her, and sitting on the couch in front of her, he watched as she ate.

She was eating with gusto which means that she was indeed hungry, and she was telling the truth about being in the mess to search for the food.

"So where are you from, Cadet Singh?" he asked her, trying to sound casual but noticed that she suddenly straightened her posture and was on alert.

"I am from Mumbai, Sir. Typical Mumbai girl. Loves to eat and does not know how to cook," she lied, faking a smile at him.

Naina hated lying and here she needs to lie about everything related to her background. She cannot let anyone know her reality.

Rajveer caught her lie but decided to let it go. He cannot confront her without proper proof.

But now he is almost sure that she is not a spy because spies are trained to lie. It would not be this easy to catch their lie.

Still, he needs to be 100% sure because it is a matter of the country's security, which is very important to him.

So, he will not let even the slightest of doubt pass by him.

"Sir, you said that you too graduated from KMA. When did you graduate?" Naina asked Rajveer.

She wanted to know if he will tell her something about Naveen.

When he had told her his name earlier, she had immediately recognized him to be Naveen's best friend.

Her brother always talked about Rajveer Singh Shekhawat whenever he came home during his holidays.

She wondered if Captain Rajveer still considers her brother as his friend or if he also believes him to be a traitor as everyone else.

"I graduated 10 years back, Cadet. I have lots of fond memories attached to this academy," Rajveer smiled, remembering all the happy moments he had in this academy with his best friend, Naveen.

All the mischiefs they used to do and all the punishments and detentions they would get. It was so much fun back then.

"Wow. That is a long time back. Are you still in touch with your batch mates?" Naina asked him.

Rajveer stiffened at that question. The only person who he was in touch after the graduation was Naveen and why not? After all, he was his best friend.

But when Naveen was declared traitor and shot dead 4 years back, he had been left all alone without him.

"No, Cadet Singh. I am not in touch with anyone. I was not that close with any of my batch mate," he replied stiffly and Naina was hurt hearing his reply.

'So, he also believes Naveen was a traitor,' she thought, dejectedly.

"It is very late, Sir. I think I should go," Naina said suddenly, and when Rajveer nodded, she stood up from the couch and walked out of the quarter.