Our WAY to War: REBOOTED

Chapter 1: Nice To Meet You...Private

L a t e   M a y 

Catherine's Pov.

I tell myself that it must be my nerves.  They must be the reason I can't feel the coolness 
of the summer breeze on my skin and why I cannot seem to grasp anything without it slipping through my fingers. I haven't been able to shake them since we have arrived at the basecamp a little over a week ago. Unfortunately, I don't have the time to calm them as I'm rushing to the recently announced 'orientation meeting'.  Whatever that means.  Not only is this our first meeting but it's also the first time that we're meeting the higher-ups.  Those of course being the officers. If I recall correctly we might get to meet the general... I'm not looking forward to that.
At all.  Even so, I do believe that could be the least of my worries. 
Soon enough my train of thought gets interrupted with a smack to a pole- "Owe!"
I hear a snarky snicker and abruptly turn around.
"Excuse me?" It comes through sassier than I had meant.
"You might wanna excuse yourself, lady" A rough-looking man comments. 
I eye him up and down before rolling them back into my skull.
"You think that's a way to treat a lady?"   "Never but I think it might be how I'm going to treat you" an unfamiliar accent laces his voice, "What's a woman like you doing in the Army anyway?" 
 "What's an idiot like you doing talking to a woman anyway?" I jab at him, briefly and immaturely sticking my tongue out at him.  The last thing my nerves need is this man getting on them.
I bite my tongue as I fight the urge to comment again only to give in to a bitter scoff.
"Bitter. That's how I take my tea. Cheers, Catherine." He half-heartedly pats me on the back as he walks past me. I'm left half-wondering if he was being sincere about the tea and if so, I believe it's quite fitting. Men. I huff and then quiet myself as I walk inside the building and set myself down in a chair. Steel.  Fitting for the military. I adjust myself a bit and then look around the room. Everything looks so bland here but then again I knew once I arrived here that fun would be scarce in supply. I watch different faces line the room as everyone finds a chair, scanning to hopefully find one that's recognizable. 
However, that hope was soon demolished when another stranger approaches and sits in the chair closest to my person. "This seat taken?" 
I give no response to the question. 
Out of the corner of my eye, I watch the man stand there awkwardly before flashing a smile and sitting down anyway. He's wearing more casual clothes... Strange.
I let out a sigh in acknowledgment as everyone in the room settles down.
I watch casually and only half-listen to the announcements as nothing seems to pique my interest. Like-mindedly the stranger next to me seems to be bored as well as he fiddles around in his own seat restlessly.  Every few seconds I glance over, out of sheer curiosity, of course, only to see him in brand new seating positions every time. I let out the smallest snicker being careful to keep my voice low before going quiet once again. I let this go on for a few minutes before deciding that maybe, Maybe I should say something to him.  I begin to open my mouth to speak when surprise-surprise- I'm interrupted.  This time with music.  
I shift my gaze to the center of the room. I sense a shift in energy with the melody and as It mellows down, the atmosphere seems to tense up.
A shadow is cast upon the ground.  There's a footstep.
Then another...and another. They grow louder and louder with each one.
They sound slow and heavy in a way that reminds me of some kind of horror movie.
The melody that I loved so much a few seconds ago seems to match the rhythm of his shoes and now reminds me of a melancholy theme.  Within less than a blink of an eye,  a man is standing before us all. His gaze is so intimidating that I assume in my head that he'd play the role of the menace.  My eyes scan down his face before resting on the series of badges and medallions on his chest.  I move on to his shoulder pads to see an array of stars. Four.  Interesting.
As I struggle to remember what exactly that meant,  I notice everyone around me start to stand up.  Naturally, I stand up too and copy them when they move their hands into a saluting position.
Standing as straight as I can, I hold this position for a while along with everyone else. 
The longer we stand here, the easier fear seems to be able to creep into the back of my mind.
There's something off about the man's disposition that just, gives me the creeps.  
I finally break my gaze away from him once we're allowed to sit down.
"Oh, dude, don't worry about him." The man next to me speaks up, "That's just Gerard. He's always scary." 
"You're on a first-name basis with The General?" I raise an eyebrow at him before letting out a scoff in disbelief.  I'd sooner believe that pigs could fly. The General is supposed to be almost untouchable. They're supposed to strike fear into you every time they speak and make you listen. Imagine a man like him all 'buddy buddy' with this guy...I don't think so.
I glance over to see him hung upside down in his chair. He can't even listen to basic instructions.
"I mean, I guess you could call it that." I shake my head at this, "You can't possibly be serious." 
"Why not?" "Because he's him and you're you."  A bit harsher than I wanted it to sound. 
"What's that supposed to mean? Haven't you heard not to judge a book by its cover? Look I'll even prove it to you" I watch as he sits up properly before fiddling in his pockets. 
I cross my arms while I wait as It seems to be taking him quite a while.
"Are you sure you-" I begin before I'm interrupted. He shuffles a bit as he pulls a wallet out before removing a card and handing it to me. It seems to be a type of identification card.
I scan over it to make sure before stopping at the words, 'Sergeant Major of the Army.
I burst out laughing at this before rolling my eyes at him.
"You think you're cute, huh?" I scoff.  "No, but it sounds like you do-"
I interrupt him this time, "This is so fake! You could just make one of these! Have you ever been to Chuck-E-Cheese?" I giggle and then push the card back into his hands. I typically try to maintain my composure but this- this is rich.  Comedy gold, honestly.
I close my eyes in a deep chuckle before gazing up to see him less than unimpressed.
"What can't laugh at your own joke, Frank?" I say, recalling the I.D. 
"I'm not joking." He repeats this a few times as I catch my breath. 
It takes me a minute to realize how serious he's acting.
'Look, Frank, I get it. I do, okay? It was funny but do you know how much I would appreciate it if you'd stop lying to me?" 
I can sense him getting more frustrated as he rubs his temple, however, I'm still not buying his gimmick.
"Okay, I'll humor you or whatever if you just tell me the truth! I don't take kindly to liars and with the day I've had- I don't need another asshole today." I tell him, "I'm giving you my pity and I would like the same." 
I watch his eyes in silence for a few seconds, blinking at me in what seems to be disbelief.
He takes a deep breath and then speaks up, "That's it. Look." He commands as he stands up before gesturing for everyone else to get up as well.  I look around in terror as everyone except me stands up and directs their attention to him. One by one they all raise their hands to salute this man. Almost everyone in the room has risen.
My eyes widen quickly as I feel a sudden lump in my throat. Oh...
I watch as a smirk grows on his face.
"Sergeant Major of the Army Frank Iero, Nice to meet you...Private" He winks before sitting back down next to me.
I immediately shield my face in embarrassment and sink into my seat.
I try my best to turn away from him as far as I can as he snickers himself. 
I watch him through the corner of my eye before burying my red face into my hat.
"I tried to tell ya.." He reminds me as he props up, "When you're done sulking, which by all means take your time on, by the way, you can start telling me about that asshole who ruined your day- And, apparently, shoved a stick up your ass" He laughs and then looks at me sincerely,

"One last thing, Are you always this uptight?"