Naina walked out of Pooja's room, and had walked a little way, when she realised, she did not know the way to her room, as she hadn't seen it yet, as the orderly had only returned to give her the keys, but had failed to provide directions, thing her friend would direct her.

The base was quiet, as it was quite late. She stood there, thinking she might as well go back to Pooja's room, to ask for directions, when she saw him at the turn in the corridor ahead, walking towards her.

Her heart skipped a beat, as she nervously looked around for an escape, as for some reason, she did not feel ready to meet him yet.
It was however, too late.

He hadn't seen her yet, as he was busy in folding up his sleeves, and thus, was almost before her, before he looked up, to see her standing there.

Both gulped seeing each other, stood still for a while, then walked towards one another, taking slow steps.

Naina had no idea why she was feeling embarrassed and uncomfortable in his presence, for the first time.
Maybe it was because she was dreading he might say or do something to prove that he did not care about her in the same way he did, earlier, when he was her mentor.
Even if it was so, Naina couldn't stand knowing that as a certainty, and thus, was unwilling to let go of her memories of him, even though she knew they were shadows not substantial things.

"Lt Singh...aap is wakt bahar kya kar rahi hai?"

His voice jerked her back from her thoughts, and she looked at him.

No greetings, no pleasantries, she noticed.
So at least he was not being fake formal. That was something.

Naina : Wo...Sir..Actually main...abhi kuch der pehle hi yaha pohchi, aur Pooja ke saath thi tab se...
Mera samaan orderly le gaya tha, aur...aur mujhe...mera kamra kaha hai....nahi pata.. she finished lamely, embarrassed.

Raj : Oh.

Naina : Wo...main Pooja ko puch ne jaa hi rahi thi....
Saying this, she started to take a step, when he stopped her.

Raj : Um..stop!

Naina, who was hoping for the conversation to be lengthened somehow, stopped immediately.

Raj : I...mean...Lt Ghai ko...mat disturb karo.
Keys hai tumhare paas?
She handed him the keys, he checked the number on them.

Raj : Mai dikha deta hu, chalo mere saath.

He started walking, then seeing Naina hadn't moved, stopped.

Raj : Lt Singh?

Naina : Huh...ha..chaliye...

They walked in silence, Raj walkimg slightly ahead.
Naina remembered her academy days.
She would have asked him a hundred questions by now, and he would have answered them with a smile, casually.
Now, she couldn't think of a word to say, even to break the deafening silence between them.

Often, she looked up, to see him walking ahead, her heart crying out to him to stop and talk to her.
He, however, looked determinedly ahead, looking back only to check if she was keeping up.

Finally, they arrived at her room.

Naina : Thnks Sir.

Raj gave a slight smile.
You're welcome.
He stopped, for a second, then added :
Um...Goodnight.

Naina : Goodnight.

Raj : Report at 08:00 hours sharp, tomorrow, at the mess.

Naina : Yes sir.

He turned to leave.

Naina : Um...sir..sir..

Raj : Yes, Lt Singh?
Kuch aur bhi puchna chahti ho?

Naina, who did not actually have anything to ask, herself did not know why she called out to him.

She fumbled for words.

He, however, understood. Hadn't he seen her do this a million times before?

This time, however, he maintained the formal tone.
Raj : Nothing? To..main jaun?

Naina nodded slowly, feeling slightly embarrassed.

Raj turned and left.

She stood there looking at his retreating figure, until he turned a corner, and was out of sight.

Then she sighed and opened her door.
It had been a long day.