One - Reena’s Brother My twin brother, Leonard, sat down next to me in front of the computer. “So, what do you need typed out?” He asked. My classes’ end-of-year project was to create a presentation about how it felt to be “different”, no matter what kind of “different” it was. Leonard, or Leo, as I call him, was going to type out the words for me (because, well… blindness). I was also thinking of adding an image of Braille writing along with the corresponding letters, so I kind of just spilled out ideas to Leo, hoping I wasn’t overwhelming him too much. Out of the blue, I heard mom exclaim, “Floyd, come quick!” I grabbed my cane and walked over to her room— where her voice seemed to be coming from. “Do you remember Adrian?” Mom asked. “Turner?” She added. I could’ve sworn I knew someone with the surname Turner, but it definitely wasn’t Adrian. “I know a Turner, but not Adrian,” I replied. “I used to babysit him when you were both really young.” Mom continued. Suddenly, I remembered where “Turner” came from. “Do you know if he has a sister named Reena?” There’s a Reena Turner in the Synergy Classroom, with me and all the other “special” folks. She has Asperger’s, but she’s determined and strong willed. Reena’s also got a mild speech impediment, but there’s something really pleasant about being around her. Most of the class agrees that she’s hilariously adorable, so I can’t say it’s just me. “I only know he has an older sister named Paige. As for Reena, what year is she in?” Mom inquired. “Freshman.” I responded. “So what were you going to tell me?” Mom told me about an end-of-the-year backyard party that Adrian happened to be hosting. She also asked me how I knew a freshman student. “Oh, Reena’s one of the Synergies. The one with Asperger’s?” I was pretty sure Mom had no idea I knew her that well, but she should’ve known all the names of the students in my class by now. After all, the Synergy kids stayed in the same class for the entirety of high school. Mom still isn’t sure whether Adrian and Reena are siblings, but I told her I’d go to the party just in case I would be able to see Reena. I really don’t have a crush on her, or anyone, for that matter, so the two of us are just good friends… kind of. I also knew for a fact that she’d probably stay in her room during the party, since I know she hates loud noises with a passion. Last time we had a fire drill, the Synergy class was being watched by hundreds of eyes, since Reena had been screaming her throat out the entire time we were trying to leave the building. Naturally, I knew that would happen, since, well, Asperger’s, but we were all pretty worked up nonetheless. Mom knows about that story too. “Is this the kid who died internally during the fire drill?” “Yeah.” I replied. “Don’t you think she’d probably stay away from the crowd?” Mom asked. “Yeah, but if she knows I’m there, she’d probably look. She’s no extrovert, but her friendships are well-cherished.” Mom nodded. “So you’re going?” She was just making sure, I guess. “Mm-hmm.”
