Uzi lay in her bunk, sobbing and holding her stomach. It growled incessantly at her, demanding the food she knew she couldn’t have. It had all started the night before, when she missed dinner do to heavy training. She hoped to make up for the missed meal at breakfast, but was horrified to find that she was unable to get anything other than a cup of nearly brackish water. “Sending all the supplies up to the front lines, should have been here to get your MRE stocks last night before we shipped them out.” Was what she was told by the cafeteria worker. She tried to tell them that she missed dinner and was not aware of this, but they did not care to listen to her.
Uzi would have to go without.
They rest of the day had been hell, running drills and exercises on an empty stomach. She had collapsed on her cot in her dorm exhausted, stomach empty and growling for something to eat. She had tried to maybe sleep off the hunger, hoping to salve it.
And that’s when the pangs started.
Her stomach tightened and ached, urging her to find something. Uzi had tried the better part of three hours to ignore it, but then it became unbearable. It hurt worse than any muscle cramp she had experienced. She lay there with her arms wrapped around her belly, hoping that somehow the sensation would go away. She knew it was hopeless though, wishful thinking  wouldn’t fill an empty stomach. She sniffled gently, eyes filling with the start of tears. She knew she wasn’t the best the commander had, nor the most skilled, but she felt she was worth something. Maybe a single MRE, or bag of skittles, even a piece of hardtack? She finally got up out of the bed and went to her trunk, rummaging through it in hopes of finding some hidden snack she had stashed before. Even if it was a little something, she hoped it would hold of the aching until tomorrow. She fished through the trunk, going through the dozens of inedible keepsakes she had. There was nothing in here she could eat, and she felt as if she would have to go wait out the rest of the night without anything.
And then she saw it.
Wrapped in clear plastic and bright pink on a paper stick. Uzi grabbed the lollipop with a shaky hand. She sat on her bed and looked at the small piece of candy. The commander had given it to her when a shipment of the things had come through by mistake. She kept it as a cherished keepsake, as a token of the appreciation she felt for the commander. She had swore off eating it then as to always remember the kindness she thought he had.
But...that’s was then...
She wasn’t starving then, her stomach wasn’t cramping with pangs out of emptiness.
“Maybe I can just...have a single bite?” She wondered to herself. “Just a nibble...a little part of it to sooth me...that wouldn’t be so bad...right?”. She hated that she was considering ruining her most prized keepsake. Deep down, she knew that even breaking the seal would ruin it and she would have to throw it away.
But she was so hungry...
She needed something in her...
With a single tear and a sniffle, she grabbed at the plastic and began to try to remove it. Uzi felt nauseous, a feeling birthed by the mixture of hunger and disappointment she felt in herself.
A loud knocking interrupted her opening the package. Uzi set down the still wrapped lollipop on her bed. The knocking sounded again, louder and more insistent.
“Uzi, it’s the commander. Open up.” A proper and demanding voice said. Uzi wipes her face and walked over to the door, opening it.
“Yes commander?” She asked hesitantly, knowing that such a late visit was never good.
“I need to talk to you in my office ASAP. please, follow me.”
Uzi swallowed hard as the commander turned and walked down the hall. She followed behind him, an encroaching sense of dread creeping upon her. As Uzi entered his office she sat at the chair in front of his desk, looking down at her feet in shame.
“Now, Uzi, it has come to my attention that you fell behind during drills tonight when usually you are leading, why is that?” She shifted around nervously in her chair, trying to not meet the commanders piercing gaze.
“I felt exhausted sir, it was my own fault.” She said back to him. The commander nodded.
“Very well...you leave me no choice.” The commander said as he reached under his desk. Fear rose in Uzis heart. This was it. she would be discharged from the military. All because she had not eaten and was starving. She would be tossed into the streets, starving and penniless. She fought to hold back her tears, screwing her eyes shut tight.
The discharge papers hit the desk with a slap, followed by the clink of the cup that went with them.
Wait, a cup?
Uzi opened her eyes, seeing a brown paper bag and cup sitting on the commanders desk.
“That is for you. Open it, please.”. Uzi hesitantly opened the  bag, finding a paper wrapped cheeseburger and packet of fries in it. Her heart raced, and her pulse only quickened as she found that the cup was filled to the brim with chocolate malt.
“Please eat, It came to my attention from the cafeteria staff tonight that you did not receive any meals the other night ago or MRE supplements before we shipped out our supplies. Take this as a token of condolences for this whole situation.” Uzi fought back tears again, but this time it was tears of joy.
“Thank you commander.” She said happily and bit into the cheeseburger, relishing the flavor.
“Until we get the problem with the MREs solved, I will be sharing with you from my own supply. I need all of my troopers sharp as a tack.” Uzi nodded happily, saying her thanks to him through a full mouth. She ate her meal quickly, feeling it fill her waiting stomach. She left the commanders office filled with high spirits, and a filled stomach. When she laid herself back down in her bed, she slept soundly, knowing that the commander cared for her just as much now as he did all that time ago.