Spencer glanced around the room, thinking it best to start where they were. ‘Arts and crafts badge.’
The boys visibly relaxed, making Spencer realize he had his work cut out for him when it came to taking them outside their comfort zones.
Ryan pointed at the easels. ‘Can we paint? I love painting.’
It was a good start, so Spencer agreed and watched as the boys went about their business quietly. It was nice seeing them at peace, even more so feeling his own serenity. He was pleasedhe had made the decision to finally do something else with his life. It took his sister getting knocked off her bicycle a couple of years back and ending up in a wheelchair to change his mindset. His poor excuse for a life couldn’t continue down mundane roads. He couldn’t keep blaming his childhood for his misery.
‘I’m going to draw a picture for my aunt,’ said Leo. ‘She’s always at our house. Mum says she needs cheering up.’
‘Why is she sad?’ asked Jax.
Leo raised a pencil to his sheet of plain white paper. ‘I don’t know. I heard them say something about her husband, a secretary, and a cliché, but I don’t know what that means.’ He glanced up at Spencer. ‘Mum said you lived with your aunt.’
Just the thought of Rebecca made Spencer smile. What a godsend she had been in his life. ‘That’s right. When I was your age.’
Ryan frowned. ‘Why did you live with your aunt?’
‘His parents were sent to prison,’ said Jax, shading in the tail of an aeroplane.
Spencer wasn’t that surprised. Most knew his backstory, as it was big news at the time. Still, he didn’t think it appropriate for grown-ups to fill the lads with such old stories or any part of his story.
‘What’s it like in prison?’ asked Leo.
‘Don’t know. I’ve never been,’ replied Spencer, pondering over how to change the subject. It was obvious the boys would be curious about him, but some things weren’t meant for small ears. ‘So, how are we all getting on?’ he asked joyfully, raising his tone a notch too high.
Ryan gestured at his outline of a nearby flower arrangement. ‘Mine’s okay.’
It was more than okay. Impressive to say the least. Spencer encouraged him to continue, then sent a quick text to his friend Alice to ask her to remind her grandmother to make a start onthose Sunshine badges, seeing how Luna rarely used a phone, let alone read text messages.
It was February, and Spencer and the boys had a busy year ahead. After being bullied at school, Leo needed to be able to trust more kids than just Jax and Ryan, Jax had to start talking to people outside his circle, and Ryan had dropped out of swimming competitions because he had started to freeze with nerves at the start of each race, so he wanted a break from the pool.
‘When do we get our badge, Captain Spencer?’ asked Leo.
‘End of the week.’ He was sure Luna would get her friends on the case if she couldn’t manage a whole heap of badges in a short time. ‘And just call me Spencer.’
‘I think we could have a mermaid one,’ said Leo, pushing his silver round glasses up his button nose. ‘You said we could help choose badge ideas.’
Spencer nodded. ‘Yep.’
Jax didn’t look best pleased. ‘You want us to go looking for mermaids?’
Leo shook his head. ‘No. It can be our magical badge.’
Jax still looked confused. ‘What are we going to do that’s magical?’
‘My mum said it would be magical if I went back to school.’
‘So what does that mean for me?’ asked Jax.
Leo offered a warm smile. ‘You can get yours when you buy some sweets.’
Jax broke the tip of his pencil on the easel, he’d pressed it that hard. ‘You want me to shop?’
Leo turned to Spencer. ‘That’s why we’re here, isn’t it? My mum said Jax has to talk to people.’ He looked back at his friend. ‘It’s easy, Jax. You just go to the counter and speak.’
‘It’s easy to go to school, Leo, but you’re home-schooled, so why don’t you just walk through the school gates like the rest of us have to?’ Jax huffed, flopping back into his chair.
‘It’s all right, Jax,’ said Ryan softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. ‘My coach says it’s mind over matter.’
