Another Beginning

The years went by faster than they ever had. Riley had never enjoyed growing up as much as he was, with a future that wasn't predetermined at birth. He loved his new life with his new family and would do anything to protect it; from his "first words" to the now intelligible conversations he could have with his family, he embarrassed his new life, forgetting at times that this was his second time living.

One day, Riley overheard Ellie and William discussing enrolling him in an elementary school. At first, Riley was intimidated by the idea of going to school, all he remembers of education were the one-on-one lessons he got in the House of the Emperor about politics and running an empire. In the end, he didn't have a choice as Ellie and William tried to calm the seemingly concerned Riley.  Through the months leading up to the start of Riley's new journey through schooling, his parents were able to console him enough to the point where he wasn't dreading having to go to school. 

On his first day of Kindergarten, he woke to the rising sun glaring through his window from his bed that has since replaced his crib.  After getting dressed, Riley headed downstairs to the smell of bacon and eggs on the stovetop, accompanied by bread in the toaster. Sitting down to eat, Ellie gave him an extra warm smile to start his milestone day.
 "You ready for your first day of school, hun?" Ellie asked him as he took a bite of a piece of bacon, to which he replied;
 " I think so, mom. It still doesn't feel like I need to go... it feels kinda weird." 
 "Don't worry Riley, I'm sure you'll make lots of friends, and if there's anything you're still worried about, you can talk to your dad on the ride to school." Just as Ellie finished talking, William entered the kitchen as if on cue, and continued to reassure him; 
"Your mom's right buddy, you'll be fine and you can ask me anything at all."  As Riley finished his meal, he leapt from his chair, went to grab his backpack, and wait by the door. Following shortly behind him, William embraced his wife as he would be off to work for the day after dropping Riley off at school. 

The car ride to school was for the most part silent; with the radio playing in the background, Riley spent most of the ride staring out the window of the car, watching the scenery pass by. Throughout his childhood so far, he could tell that his mind had regressed a bit as he had to live through infancy for a second time. Earlier, he told his mother that it felt weird having to go to school. He concluded that Ellie thought he was just nervous about going to school for the first time, but the truth was if he never died, he'd be in his mid-twenties now. He knew he couldn't tell his parents the true source of his anxiety, they knew him since he was born as their child, the only ones who might actually believe him if he told them. Riley didn't want to put that burden on his parents after all they'd done for him, even if he was their child. William didn't mind the silence, while he was a well-tempered man, he wouldn't let his son leave for his first day of school without saying a word. 
 "Hey. I know you aren't too jazzed about going to school and all, but at least try to enjoy yourself. K, bud?" Riley felt sorry that his parents were worried about him when they had no reason to be. After a small pause to collect his thoughts, he forced an energetic reply, his true emotions slightly betraying his tone. 
 "I'll be fine dad, see you later!" He says, jumping out of the car, and running toward the school; putting on an eager display hoping to soothe his father's anxiety for his son. 

After seeing Riley safely enter the building, he left the school to drive himself to work. Even with his office being on the other side of town, it barely took him more than fifteen minutes to drive due to the scarce traffic that comes with living in a small town.  William parked the car and entered the building just as any other business day, greeting co-workers and making his way to sit down at his desk. It was only a few minutes after he sat down before the phone on his desk rang. Picking up the phone, William was surprised to someone from the school calling him;
"Hello, Mr. Bremner? This is Rosanne calling from Nothern Elementary. Your son was caught in an altercation, would you be able to come meet us as soon as possible?" William was stunned, it had barely been more than twenty minutes since he'd dropped Riley off at school, and he'd already gotten in trouble. Regaining his composure, he responds;
 "I'm sorry, I'm about to head into a meeting. Would it be okay if my wife takes my place?" 
 "That shouldn't be a problem, Mr. Bremner, just have her come in as soon as she can." Responds Rosanne, her voice stagnant, almost as if she doesn't care about her job. 
 "Okay, thanks Rosanne. I'll let her know. Take care." William says before hanging up. William texts Ellie, walking to his meeting: 
 "Honey, Riley did something. The school called and they need one of us to head over ASAP. I'm heading into a meeting right now, so can you please check on him?" William's text was met with an almost immediate response.
 "Oh my Goodness! What happened?! I know he wasn't excited, but really?! Already?!" 
 "Honey, all they said was that he was caught in an altercation. My meeting starts in less than a minute, please go check what happened. I love you, but I got to go. Talk later." After sending his final text, William muted his phone and tucked it away in his jacket pocket. 

Back on the other side of town, Ellie ran out of their house, climbed into the family's second car, and sped off towards Riley's school. Arriving at Northern Elementary, Ellie walks hurriedly to the office, barging in, asking "What happened?"  Before looking around. When she finally scanned the room, she saw the principal, Ms. Jane, a girl sitting beside Riley, and another boy sitting on the other side of the room. The boy had a hand on his cheek, covering a fresh bruise.  Both of the other kids' parents were already there and the kids had tears running down their faces, but when Ellie looked at Riley, his face was entirely void of any emotion. She didn't have any time to process his expression before the principal spoke up. 
 "Now that you're all here, let's go over what happened. Mary, we'll start with your story, then Mike, we'll hear yours." 

The little girl stood up and began to talk, trying not to cry as everyone listened. 
 "Well... I was sitting in class, and he," she points at the other boy, Mike "came up to me and started making fun of me." A tear escaped her left eye as she finished. Ms. Jane continued after Mary;
 "Mike, is this true?" At the mention of his name, Mike jerks his head up to barge in with his response, dodging the blame.
 "But he came up and punched my face, it hurts!" All gazes in the room shifted to Riley, but he had nothing to say; his expression did not change. His face was still as cold as the Arctic. Seeing that Riley wouldn't offer any response, Ms. Jane chimed in once more. 
 "So what I'm hearing what happened was: Mike came up to Mary, and started making fun of her. Then, Riley came up to Mike and hit him in the face. Does that sound about right?" Both Mary and Mike nod their head, Mike a little slower in doing so. Ms. Jane continues;
 "Since there is no room for violence or bullying in this school, I'm going to have to suspend Both Mike and Riley for one day. Since the school day just started, that day will be today. I expect better attitudes from you boys tomorrow. And as it's their first day of school, I'll refrain from putting this on their records." 

Ellie apologized to the principal and the other parents before grabbing the still-silent Riley by the shoulder and taking him home for the day. On the car ride home, Ellie spoke to her son.
 "Look sweetie, I'm happy you stood up for that girl, but you can't go around punching people. That's not okay." After a minute of silence, Riley finally spoke up.
 "He was being mean... it just happened. The next thing I saw was Mike crying on the ground." That was the most truthful statement he'd said all day. His past military training made him act subconsciously. A young boy would be no match for him.
 "I understand, make sure to tell your father what happened when he gets home. I don't think you deserve a punishment, but you need to know that kind behavior is not acceptable." Ellie replied. When they got home, Riley went to his room to calm down from the incident, waiting for the end of the day for his father to return and report to him what happened on his first day of school.