Reiner was 9 years old when he discovered that he was not like the others.
He lived his whole life sheltered, home-schooled by his single mom in a quiet inner-city suburb. He had never known anything else, having grown up on the scriptures and the idea that his mom was the most important person he would ever know. He never really wondered why he didn't have a dad if the scriptures clearly stated that no woman should get pregnant out of wedlock, because his mom loved him so clearly and he was too young. He was happy, too young to understand that there was something missing in his life.
Things changed when he was 9 years old. The bills piled up and his mom didn't have enough time to homeschool Reiner after taking another job, so she had to send him to public school for 4th grade. Reiner had played with neighbors' children and the children of his mom's friends in his religious commune. He didn't know many other kids in his town or how to make new friends when his mom didn't introduce him to them.
When the first day of school finally arrived, he could hardly part with his mom. There were many other students, none of whom he recognized from the church. The teachers helped him find his way to the playground and explained some basics to him and a teacher stayed around to help him find his way to his first period.
He didn't like it. Everyone was so loud and he couldn't do what he wanted when he wanted or ask to slow down, so he quickly got lost. At recess, he was already overwhelmed. All the other children had already created their own groups of friends and none of them tried to talk to him. How was he supposed to make friends if none of them spoke to him?
He slumped against a wall until he sat down, overlooking the playground and feeling more and more alone seeing all the other children. The tears flowed before he could stop them and he hid his face behind his hands. He felt so pathetic.
"Hey you," a voice so soft and calm called at him. It belonged to another boy, although it was deeper than Reiner's voice.
Reiner didn't want his face to be seen covered in snot from crying so he quickly wiped his sleeve over his eyes hurriedly. It was going to be his first impression, maybe his only chance to make a friend. He couldn't look pathetic!
"Hello? Um...Did you hear me?" the boy said. He sounded patient but this might not last if Reiner didn't answer him. Oh no, was he blowing that already?
Reiner panicked lifted his eyes. Before him stood a tall and lanky boy of his own age. Bertholdt had short brown hair and a prominent nose that flattered his forest green eyes. He had his head cocked to the side, patiently waiting for Reiner to say something in return.
"Hum... Hi?"
"Why are you crying?" asked the lanky boy, "did someone hurt you?"
Reiner shook his head. "No... Nobody hurt me. I fell," he lied.
"Oh. Okay," the brunet still stood there without saying more and Reiner didn't know what to do. He felt so strange seeing this boy standing in front of him, awkwardly one hand on his elbow. There was something about him that made Reiner trust him.
"What's your name?" the brunet asked.
"Reiner. Reiner Braun. What's yours?"
"I'm Bertholdt Hoover. Nice to meet you," Bertholdt smiled warmly, a look that suited him well. Reiner was sure he'd heard that name somewhere before, "are you new here?"
Reiner nodded. "I've been homeschooled my whole life."
"Oh, okay, so have you made any friends yet?"
Reiner shook his head.
"Come on, Reiner, stand up," Bertholdt extended his hand and leaned in to grab Reiner's, "I can introduce you to mine."
Reiner couldn't believe it. He just made his first friend at school, and so easily too. This boy saw someone crying on the playground floor and decided to befriend him. He must be a guardian angel in disguise.
Reiner smiled at him, "Okay!" and took his hand again. He felt a shock and the two boys backed away for a second, blinking at each other.
"Oops, static electricity!" Bertholdt laughed, giving Reiner chicken skin, "come on!" he said before grabbing Reiner's hand again and pulling him to his feet. By the hand, the brunet led Reiner across the playground. Reiner wasn't paying much attention to where they were going. He felt tears welling up in his eyes again, but why? Was he so happy to have made a new friend? It was so familiar, so much like he'd held that hand a thousand times before, in good times and bad. He felt dizzy.
They approached another group of children looking at them a little strange to see their friend dragging a stranger behind him so eagerly. They stopped in front of the group and the brunet smiled at Reiner. A smile that told him: don't worry, you'll be fine.
Reiner looked around the group. Two girls and four boys. The girls were talking to each other. They were both short, one blonde and the other a ravenette, and only the ravenette looked at Reiner when he entered the circle. Two of the boys looked alike, with identical hair combed back and coated in gel, one with brown hair and the other with blond hair. They must be brothers, Reiner thought. One boy looked very much like Reiner but was younger, maybe 2nd or 3rd grade. The last boy, a blond, was sitting on a bench and not paying much attention to anyone. Reiner wasn't sure if he would be part of the group. He sat farther away from the others and looked more like an 8th grader than a 4th grader.
"Who is this?" asked the blond brother. He scowled at Reiner and Reiner retreated behind his new friend.
"This is Reiner. He's my new friend, today is his first day at school."
Bertholdt moved aside to show him off. The two girls stopped talking to look at him and the heat from being in the spotlights seemed too hot for a moment. His palms became sweaty and he realized he was still holding Bertholdt's, so he let go.
"Hum... Hello, I'm Reiner..." Reiner squeaked.
The brunet brother perked up, "Hello Reiner, I'm Marcel and the grump butt here is my baby brother Porco," Porco glared at Marcel.
"I'm Pieck Finger, nice to meet you," the ravenette girl politely introduced herself with a mellow smile.
"My name is Colt!" said the youngest boy. He looked very nice.
"Annie," the blonde girl didn't say more.
"Nice to meet you all," Reiner said as his mom told him to when he met new children. Bertholdt looked at him with an inviting smile. He could hardly believe that this guardian angel had given him so many friends on the first day.
"Wait," the oldest boy finally said something, "how do we know you're cool enough to join this group?"
"I, hum...I'm pretty cool?" Reiner stammered, tapping his fingers together.
Before he could say anything else, Bertholdt chimed in, "But he's cool enough! He just arrived at a new school with no friends! This is something very brave, I think," he shouted.
The boy laughed, "I'm just joking with you, kid. You're cool. Welcome to Saint Magath's. My name is Zeke."
Reiner blushed. He nodded, silently mumbling a thanks.
The rest of the day, Reiner trailed behind the new group of friends, often picked up by Bertholdt to make sure he didn't straggle anywhere. Bertholdt, Porco and Annie were all in his class group, he just didn't recognize them because he was too stressed during his first class session. Marcel and Pieck were in a different class group and Zeke was older than them, Zeke in 8th grade. And Colt was in 3rd grade.
There was something about Bertholdt he couldn't shake off. He knew the brunet. It had to be, but he tried to think of when they might have met and couldn't remember. He looked at the hand that sparked when they touched. That was no ordinary spark. He'd seen it before, but where? This level of familiarity was too high for the other to simply have forgotten about Reiner, they must have known and trusted each other for years. He knew Bertholdt's name before he introduced himself to Reiner. He wanted to hold Bertholdt's hand again. He would trust Bertholdt with his life and he didn't even know him.
Reiner thought of that soft hand that sparked against his own, those forest green eyes that were always happy to see him and a voice he remembered was much deeper.
And he remembered the blades that had cut Bertholdt's hand off, the disappointment that he lost himself further and that last word that begged Reiner to be there for him. He couldn't save him and spent the rest of his life regretting it.
Not again. This was another life.
Reiner was 9 years old when he discovered that he was not like the others and this time he was going to use it to do the right thing and be happy. Together.