Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride

FPOV

I shifted in the plastic chair in anticipation. The general never summons me and when he does, it's usually to tell me about what a great man he was and to question where he went wrong with me.

You see, the general is my father, but I never referred to him as anything other than 'the general' because he was far from earning the title of 'father'. When he is not overseas, he is the head at the Florida Behavioral Correction Camp or simply put, a boot camp. The camp takes on thousands of kids around the world and is known to be the best.

Growing up with the general was difficult and my mother passed when I was five. I practically grew up in a boot camp. I was up at six for exercise and lessons, taught by the general. Then it was chores around the house until lights out at eleven.

The general was tough, but that only made me tougher. I have mastered an emotionless mask that was impenetrable, even by the old man himself.

Now here I am, eighteen and still worrying what the general could possible want with me now. I looked down at my usual cargo pants and black t-shirt. I checked to make sure nothing was wrinkled or out of place because God knows that I will never hear the end of it if there was so much as a fuzz on my shirt.

"Private Amersham, General Amersham will see you now," Ms. Thompson informed me.

I looked up to see the general's secretary standing by the open door, waiting for me. She was wearing her tan skirt that went passed her knees and her tan jacket to match. Her face was always wrinkled in distaste, which didn't surprise me, considering that she was still single at the age of thirty.

I stood up from my chair and stood stick straight. I walked past Ms. Thompson and into the general's office. He was sitting in his chair behind the desk, working on paper work. I stood tall with my feet together and saluted him like I had every morning of my life. "General, sir," I said loud enough for him to hear.

"At ease, private," He responded, not looking up from his papers. I drop my hand and spread my legs, which to me wasn't 'at ease' at all, but who am I to correct him. "Take a seat," he nodded to the chair, still not looking up from his papers.

Another thing about the general, he never referred to me by my name. I use to be cadet, but now I'm private. I am only just a rank to him. Always have been and always will be.

I did as I was told and sat straight up in the chair to my right. I sat patiently until he was finished with whatever paper work he was doing.

I looked around his office to pass the time. It, like every room in our house, was in pristine order. Everything had been dusted, every book was alphabetized, and all his papers were stacked neatly upon his desk. The wall behind his desk was loitered with metals of his many accomplishments and pictures of him and other important politicians.

"How long have you been away?" he asked, breaking the silence.

He was referring to the camp I had attended in preparation for the army reserved. Personally, I kicked ass, but I have been doing the same drills since I was twelve.

"Three months, sir," I responded, but this time not so loud.

"What was your take on the camp?"

"Exceptional," was all I could say.

The general nodded, "Lieutenant Charles told me you breezed through the training and shattered records."

I nodded in conformation. I felt some hope boil up in me; maybe he was going to praise me for my hard work.

My hopes were shattered when he said, "There's dirt on your shoe."

I look down and sure enough, there was a small streak of dried mud at the tip of my black combat boot. How he was able to spot it without looking up, I will never know. I looked back up to see the general looking at me. The same dark eyes that I had inherited looked right back at me.

"Today, we are gaining a new attendant. Says she's been to thirteen different discipline camps and none have been successful," he informed me in a very business manner. Looking at this scene, you wouldn't have guessed that this was a conversation between a father and son.

She? Wow, this girl must be hardcore. Probably a spoiled brat too because boot camps aren't cheap.

"I would assign her to a group, but she has a history of breaking young women's noses and kicking young men in," he uncomfortably cleared his throat, "the lower region."

I choked back a chuckle at his discomfort. He looked at me disapprovingly before continuing. "I am assigning her to you. You are to teach her to be disciplined and respectful. I expect you to be able to handle one girl by yourself,"

"Yes, sir," I said with a confident nod.

"She's waiting outside for you. Get her settled and start training today." The general said, leaning back into his chair. "Dismissed,"

Without a second thought, I stood from my chair and stiffly walked to the door. I had my hand on the doorknob when I heard the general's voice from behind me.

"And private," he said as I turned around, "don't disappoint me," he said before turning back to the paper work in front of him.

Once again, I nodded and opened the door with a turn of the knob. I closed the door and let out the breath I didn't know I was holding. I realized, as much as I wish I could deny it, that I cared a lot of what the general thought of me.

I started to walk down the hall with a new sense of determination in my step. He was giving me a chance to prove myself and I will not fail.

I opened the double doors with my head held high. The light streamed into the dreary hall, illuminating the grey walls. I stepped down the stone steps and looked around to find my new cadet.

I just realized that I forgot to ask what the girl's name was. I debated going back in there to ask, but thought better of it.

I scanned the large grassy area in front of me. There were many different groups training and doing team activities. Some were running and others on the obstacle course.

Then I spotted her off to the right. She was sitting, with her long legs crossed, on her black suitcase across the drop off lane that was in front of the building. I'm guessing when the car dropped her off, she just sat down. She was wearing ripped jean shorts and a plain purple tank top. Her arms were crossed, but I could tell that she had a very athletic body. Her dirty blonde hair hung loosely on her shoulders as she continued to look around the camp.

I started to walk toward her and it wasn't till I was a few yards away from her that I saw how breathtaking she was. She locked eyes with me and looked me up and down.

"Come on, Sunshine. Let's get this over with. I've got plans this weekend back in Arizona," she called to me, standing up.

Sunshine? "Private Amersham," I introduced myself while extending my hand to her.

She kept her arms crossed and just looked at my hand, "Max," she simply replied.

I retracted my hand and returned it to my side, "This way to the dorms," I said as I took off toward the girl dorms, "there you will unpack. You might want to cancel your plans for this weekend because you'll be here for a while," I said over my shoulder.

I looked back to see Max jogging to catch up to me, suitcase in hand. I stopped to wait for her to catch up. Once she was by my side again, I took off towards the dorms.

She let out an irritated huff, but kept up this time. "So how old are you? My past drill sergeants have been, well, older."

"Eighteen," I answered shortly.

"What?" I turned around to see Max had stopped walking and was staring at me with wide eyes. "I'm seventeen."

"Your point?" I asked in a bored voice.

"My point is," she stressed, "that's one year older than me! I don't take orders from anyone, much less someone who is one year older than me!" she said, exasperated.

I shrugged and kept on walking. As you can tell I'm a man of very few words.

Max huffed again and picked her bags up. "You know, a gentleman usually carries the lady's bags," she voiced from behind me.

"And ladies usually don't find themselves at a behavioral correction camp," I countered.

She didn't say anything after that. We reached the girl dorms and I escorted her to her room. I held up her keys to her dorm room in front of her face. She snatched them roughly from my hand with a very annoyed look on her face.

I turned to leave when I felt Max tug on my arm to stop me. I turned to look at her questioningly.

"What do I call you?" she asked, releasing my arm.

"Private Amersham," I said in a duh voice. Didn't I tell her my name already?

She looked up thoughtfully and tried out my name. "You have a first name?"

"Yes," I replied vaguely.

"Are you gonna tell me, stickers?" she asked me as if she was talking to a five year old.

"Nope and what's with the nicknames?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

She shrugged and placed her key in the lock, "Just till I find a more suitable nickname."

I was about to retaliate when I came face to face with her door. "Meet me out front when you have changed into your training gear," I said through the door.

"Can't wait," she shouted, sarcastically.

Shaking my head, I made my way down the hall to the exit. I sighed when I had walked through door. This Max doesn't seem to bad. I'll just breeze through this like I breezed through my training.

There's not much to really say, but REVIEW! Tell me if you think the story line is interesting or if it has been done way too many times before. This is my second fanfic so be brutal if you have to.

Peace out!