Snippets of Madam Sirr (S1)

Chapter 18

KS and Aryan stumbled to the floor, their hearts heavy. They all knew of Babita Ji's punishments. They knew that tomorrow they would be at their mercy.

Aryan composed himself first and looked at KS.

"Aarey yaar....you didn't think of waking me before you went?" he asked, a look of annoyance on his face.

"Sorry Aryan. I was lost in my thoughts."

"Haan I knew" he said and turned his head from him.

"Aarey Aryan I'm sorry" KS said running after him and holding him tightly by his hands.

He stared at her a while before relaxing his death stare.

"Karu...talk with me next time will you? I'm here for you."

She nodded as they both enveloped into a hug melting away the tensions of the day and the fears of the future.

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A soft shade of pastel orange cracked at the sky as KS and Aryan walked to the training grounds, their boots thumping on the grass. They were silent sharing deep gazes, their hearts churning at the punishment that awaited them.

They saluted Babita madam and stood at attention. The air was thick with a tensed silence as both cadets awaited their instructions. The silence broke with the clap of a whistle, the beating in their hearts gnawing with each passing second.

The session passed by in a blur of excruciating drills broken only by the sound of the whistle. KS's body screamed in pain with each step she took, her body feeling as a dead weight. She struggled to focus, her legs straining with the pressure but she composed herself and kept going. She knew that there was no excuses and no failure in the training sessions of Babita Ji.

Another whistle pierced her ears as they shifted to another drill. KS's chest hammered, her breath wheezing out of her as she struggled. Her muscles gave way beneath her adamantly refusing to move. Her arms and legs felt dead as lead as she coursed through, her determination powering through her exhaustion.

Finally, after an eternity of suicide drills, the last whistle blew. KS and Aryan collapsed to the ground, hugging the grass beneath them. KS's vision faded. Her breath was ragged as she gasped for air. She wormed through the dirt, each muscle paining with an unbearable intensity. KS felt as if she had been grinded in a meat processor that her whole body had been squashed alive.

She gritted through her teeth wiping the dirt and sweat on her face as she pulled herself to her feet. Her body protested with each step she took. She stood at attention near her mentor, her arms swaggering under the strain. She looked ahead and steeled her eyes, nodding even through the intensity burning her alive.

"Remember, you both have a last chance. Make the best of it." She said as she glanced at both the cadets, her eyes nodding a subtle lock of appreciation as her cadets pushed through the pain, their resolves deepening.

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Within a week, both KS and Aryan had retaken the physical test and emerged as the leading cadets. KS fell to the ground, her knees brushing the dirt painfully. She hugged herself and closed her eyes as her eyes traveled to her home, to the vision of her Anu bhaiya. She saw him standing next to her.

"Thank you Anu..." she whispered as her eyelids drooped heavily with tears.

She quickly stood up hearing the steps of her mentor.

"KS, you did well. I'm proud of you."

KS practically jumped in happiness barely managing to compose herself. She nodded at Babita Ji, the tears stinging her eyes.