"Amalieeee!!!! Eviii!!!"
"Heinrich!!!!!!!"
I ran up to them and the three of us joined in a big group hug. Amalie started to cry.
"W-where were you, idiot! You scared me." She lightly punched me on the shoulder as she was crying.
"I'm sorry Amalie, I had to go somewhere, but I'm back now. Back for good."
"We were so worried Heinrich! We went to your house, and you weren't there. Your parents seemed so worried too, but they wouldn't tell us where you were!"
"It's alright guys, I got mixed up with someone bad, but it's all over now, don't worry about it, seriously."
"Are you sure Heinrich?" Evi quietly said.
"Yeah, I'm sure. Let's all go play!"
"Yeah let's go!"
The three of us ran off to the playground and spent all day together.
After that, I didn't see A anymore. I continued on with my life as a five year old boy. It was actually pretty nice, being able to just live as a kid again, worry free. I spent my days at home with my family, hanging out with Amalie and Evi, and listening to the radio. It felt like this time barely lasted though, because soon enough my sixth birthday rolled around, and it was time to begin school.
"Alright Heinrich, is your backpack all packed?" My mother asked. She was very excited about me starting school today.
"Yep!"
"Well then, let's get going, shall we?"
"Let's go!"
My mother walked me to school, to be honest, I was very nervous. I didn't know what the other kids would be like, or if I would even get to be in the same class as Amalie or Evi. I was hoping for at least one of them.
"So Heinrich, you won't get into any trouble today will you?"
"Nope"
"Promise?"
"I promise!"
"Alright good. We're here now, so just walk through those doors and introduce yourself to the teacher okay? Be good! I'll see you later!"
Here we are, the first day of elementary school. Man, for some reason, I'm just as nervous as I was the first time I did this. It's just a bunch of kids, I'll be fine I'm sure.
I entered the building and was directed by a teacher to help me find my classroom. I walked, nervously, down the hallway until I found my room. Room 24. I really don't understand what I'm nervous about, it's kindergarten. I can handle this, I'll be fine.
I opened the door to find every single desk except for one filled with students. All the eyes in the classroom locked on me as I walked in. The teacher walked up to me with an excited look.
"Hello! Welcome to class! My name is Mrs. Stein, what's your name?"
"Hi, my name is Heinrich Himmler."
"Well, welcome to kindergarten Heinrich, you can sit at that empty desk over there, and we'll get started with class!"
"Okay, thank you."
"So polite!"
I walked away and sat down on my desk. I was so overwhelmed walking in, I didn't get to take a look at any of my classmates. I then felt a tap on my shoulder from behind. I turned around to find Amalie sitting behind me! I did get lucky after all.
"Amalie! We're in the same class!"
"I know isn't it exciting! I just wished Evi could've been here too..."
"Yeah that sucks, but maybe we can see her at lunch or recess!"
"Yeah maybe!"
The teacher then had everyone introduce themselves. It was pretty procedural, but a few people in particular stood out to me.
"Hello, my name is Friedrich Alpers, I'm 6 years old and I'm really fascinated with war history"
Maybe I can actually make a real friend here! I have Amalie and Evi, but it'll be nice to meet another boy. I'll probably have to find a library and educate myself on German war history pre World War 2, since that's what I know most about, but we could actually become friends! One other person in my class really caught my attention.
"Hi, my name is Karl Hanke, and I wanna be an engineer when I'm older!"
Something about him made it seem like we could be friends. I'll definitely try to talk to both of them during lunch or recess. We did some alphabet learning and all the basic kindergarten stuff. Sitting through eighteen years of school again might be more difficult than I thought. Unfortunately, I don't think there's anyway I can get around it. I guess i'll just try to make the best of it, it could be fun.
Recess came around and I ended up spending all of it with Amalie and Evi. We sat on the playground and talked about our classes. It turned out Evi wasn't too sad about not being in our class, since she had already befriended two girls in her class. I worried she might've cried or been really upset that she wasn't with Amalie and I, but it worked out I guess. I saw both Friedrich and Karl playing together. It seems they're already friends, which might make it easier to befriend them. I couldn't find a moment to slip away from Amalie and Evi, so I missed my chance today.
The rest of the school day passed by pretty normally. There wasn't a ton going on since it was only the first day. I ate lunch with Amalie, did introductory activities during class, and had spent time with her and Evi during recess. I left school and found my mother waiting for me outside, she was very excited to hear all about my day. I told her all about it on our way home.
It was later that night when it had hit me. Friedrich Alpers. Karl Hanke. I had finally realized why these two names stuck out to me so much. It wasn't their personalities or anything that caught my attention, it was the names. Friedrich Alpers and Karl Hanke, I had read these names before, and I finally realized why.
These were two future SS Officers.
These two innocent kindergarten children were future SS officers who commit horrendous crimes. But, this was an opportunity. I can become their friend, and make sure they don't turn out bad. I can even try to get them in on my operation! The three of us could bring down the SS and the Nazi regime together! And so, I eagerly awaited tomorrow's school day, when I would introduce myself to them.