1 A Morning at Ashok Chakra Hostel, Babatpur

The morning sun peeked through the gaps in the curtain towards a short, athletic woman who had a slight brownish complexion with the sun kissing her skin. She wore a tight-fitted olive-green gym t-shirt which honed her muscles.

"Viren!" Her voice, sharp and clear, was louder than the sound of chatting coming from downstairs as she tied her hair in a ponytail. "Will you get up or not?"

"Five more minutes, please," a muffled groan came from the bed, under the blanket was Viren, her husband.

"No!" Anju's voice tightened. "It's already 9:14! We're fourteen minutes late for roll call." She waited for Viren to reply, but he didn't.

"Tell me! How does it feel to be the warden of a hostel that produces police officers for the country and still be so lazy and irresponsible?" she continued, frustrated as she stood in front of the bed.

Viren, the warden of The Ashok Chakra Hostel (only for the boys, of course), finally got up and sat upright as he yawned while stretching his arms above his head.

"To be honest, Anju," he drawled, a hint of amusement in his voice, "it feels terrible, but I think I can live with it… if you let me sleep for a few more minutes."

"Just go and get ready," Anju said as she yanked the blanket off the bed and drew the curtains completely off the window, allowing the sunlight to come in.

"Why are you being so uptight?" Viren said in annoyance as he covered his eyes from the light. "I bet the kids are still fast asleep. They're lazier than me."

But then Anju opened the windows as well to let in the loud noise coming from downstairs as Viren adjusted his eyesight.

Viren sighed, hearing the students' voices. "These brats will be the death of me one day," he muttered, dragging himself out of bed.

Anju gave him a stern look. "Don't say such things in the morning," she stated.

Viren, splashing water on his face in the bathroom, muttered under his breath, "Yeah, yeah, I know."

He emerged, brushing his hair with a pocket comb. "So, are you coming down or are we going to miss the morning chaos entirely?"

"Let's go before they start their own boxing tournament," Anju said, still frustrated about Viren not taking a proper shower.

The Ashok Chakra hostel was a project initiated by the Government of India. It only gives admissions to the children of police officers and army soldiers, and also to those poor orphan kids who decide to serve the country by becoming a police officer or an army soldier.

.....

On the ground floor of the boys hostel.

In the hallway, a line of 107 boys, who were supposed to be in one singular line, were grouped around their friends, telling stories about their vacation trips and making fun of each other.

This hallway had many doors, but the particular one was the door to the canteen, as this was the time for these kids to have their morning breakfast and go for training.

Jai, the head boy of the academy, stood at a distance, looking into the canteen towards his girlfriend, Sarah. They both exchanged eye contact and a smile, an unspoken word of 'love'.

Seriously, I hate these teenagers (-_-)

"Ugh, would you two stop that? You're making me feel nauseous first thing in the morning!" Maya, Sarah's best friend, interrupted with an annoyed look on her face.

"You should try it sometime, Maya," Sarah said, turning her head to the right. "Dating isn't so bad."

"Ohh! Please," Maya countered, rolling her eyes. "I'd rather not pretend to have feelings I don't have."

Sarah ignored her comments and turned her head back, focusing on her dear boyfriend.

But instead of her boyfriend, standing there was none other than Anju, the warden of the girls' hostel.

A mischievous grin spread across Anju's face as she waved at Sarah mockingly.

Including Sarah, all the other girls in the canteen who were smiling and giggling were now on their best behavior.

(Dating was not allowed in the academy, but Anju and Viren tolerated it as long as the couples didn't break any other rules.)

Near the stairs, Viren was overseeing Jai's punishment for not disciplining the boys but flirting with his girl.

The poor head boy was now doing squats while holding his ears, his face turning red with sweat.

Kabir, a bulky student, chuckled at Jai's red face. "I told you not to flirt with your girl," he mocked Jai. "But when have you ever listened to me?"

"At least I haven't been rejected by the same girl three times in a row!" Jai retorted to Kabir's taunt while squatting.

Everyone burst out in laughter, and even Viren lowered his head and covered his mouth with his hand to hide his amusement.

After a few more reps, Viren sent Jai back to the line, and Anju also managed to send the girls to get breakfast from the buffet.

...

After the girls had their breakfast, it was now the boys' turn. Young boys lined up near the buffet, holding a plate in their hands and chatting about random things.

Out of all of them, Anju's eyes were locked on two individuals, Kiaan and his sister Jerry, who were standing together in a corner whispering.

"Kiaan! I know you missed your sister," Anju called out, "But shouldn't you be focused on filling your plate first?" she continued, taunting him.

Anju usually taunted people, which always upset the boys and girls, but Viren told them that "She only taunts you guys because she cares about you, but she will never admit it."

Anju then looked at Viren, who was ready to dig into his food. "Uhh.. uhh," she said, pulling Viren's plate, "Shower before you eat, or no food for you today."

Viren sighed as he got up, putting both hands on the table, and muttered "Yes ma'am."

As he went towards the exit, he stopped and turned around with a large smile on his face, which soon turned into a frown and an angry look.

"Kids! How could you all forget that today is Ma'am's birthday?" Viren yelled before leaving the room, suppressing his urge to laugh as he knew what was coming next.

Despite it not being her birthday, the chorus of off-key birthday wishes from the boys was heard.

Anju's amusement vanished. "Silence! You kids and your memory like a goldfish," she exclaimed. "It's not my birthday today." She then thought, "Seriously, I wish I could court-martial them all for this!"

Anju then looked at Kiaan and Jerry, who were still whispering in the corner. "Would you two please focus on eating?" Anju was annoyed, and it was clear in her voice.

Kiaan quickly apologized, not wanting to be the center of attention any longer. "Let's talk later, okay?" he said to his sister, who was now wiping her tears off her face.

Anju sighed. "Really, Jerry? Missing your parents already?" she taunted. "You could've asked them to join us on the cruise if you miss them so much."

"If they did, you would be dead," Kiaan thought to himself as he grabbed a plate and filled it with food.

....

The breakfast ended in no time as Viren came back and announced the day's training. "Get dressed," he boomed, "orange T-shirts and blue tracks, the ones with the stripes! Meet me on the ground by ten sharp. Any latecomers run ten laps of the entire school, no excuses!"

The students rushed in fear to their dorms, dreading the possibility of receiving extra punishment.