“This will be your bedroom, Steven. As you can see, you have all the facilities that are in the common room downstairs, except for the pool table, so you have the choice of using them on your own up here or as a group downstairs. There is a menu on your desk should you feel hungry later on, but room service finishes at ten o’clock. All rooms are identical and I think you’ll find everything you need for your stay. If you could meet in the hallway downstairs in thirty minutes I’ll show you through to dinner.”
David and Mark were shown their rooms and Wells left them to take in their temporary surroundings. David put his overnight bag on the bed and walked slowly around the room, touching the equipment but not attempting to use any of it. He thought of his bedroom at home, with its ancient games console and a 14-inch portable TV to play it on, and the mattress on the floor.
The telephone next to the bed interrupted his thoughts, and when he answered it Wells asked him to join the others downstairs. The clock on the wall told him that he had been alone in the room for forty minutes.
David left the room and as an afterthought he returned and shut the door. In the hallway, Wells and the two boys were waiting for him.
“Sorry,” he offered, “I was just...”
“No matter. Come, let’s eat.” Wells led them into a room opposite the common room. A long table which could comfortably seat eight was laid with a lace tablecloth, an assortment of condiments and four place settings at one end. Wells took his place at the head of the table and turned on the 50-inch widescreen television which dominated the far wall.
“I hope you like The Simpsons.” Wells said. “It’s my favorite.” He rang a small bell and almost immediately a matronly woman appeared carrying a large tray. She placed it on the table and set four individual trays in front of them: cheeseburgers; hotdogs, chips and cottage pie. She took their drink order before returning to the kitchen.
They ate in silence, only interrupted by the serving of their various soft drinks and the arrival of the dessert trolley.
When the meal was over, Wells excused himself and told the boys he would be back in thirty minutes. “Is this what your mate told you about?” Mark asked Steven.
“They didn’t have half this stuff where he went. Have you seen all the stuff in the room? Mine’s full of stuff.”
“Have you got a thesaurus?” David asked, winking at Mark.
“No,” Steven replied, “but I got Resident Evil II and Vice City for the X-box, and loads of other stuff.”
“What he means,” Mark explained, “is that you keep saying ‘stuff’ all the time. It’s getting on my nerves, too.”
“Yeah? Well you can get stuffe...get bent.”
Ignoring Steven, who had gone into another huff, Mark asked: “What are you here for, Dave?”
“Criminal damage and assault. Me and my mum got moved onto a new estate where all the kids had mobiles, Wiis, DVDs and TVs in their bedroom, you name it, they had it. When they found out I had sod all they kept taking the piss. There was one kid called Callum who was a real shit. One day I had enough and bunked off school and went to his house. I found some paint in his shed and broke in, then spread the paint everywhere. I covered everything in his bedroom, ruined the lot. When they caught me for that, I found out he was insured and got everything replaced, brand new as well. After that I just beat them up when I saw them and they soon stopped taking the piss. What about you?”
“All sorts. Mostly nicking and vandalism. There’s nothing to do where I live so we have to make our own fun. I never hurt anyone and they were all insured, probably...”
“You wanna know what I’m here for?” Steven asked.
“To annoy us?” David guessed.
“To ruin our weekend?” Mark added.
Steven brushed their jibes aside. “I’m serious. I got 97 offences but they can’t do nothing ‘cos I’m only eleven. But then I’m doing this house and the old bird comes back early from the shops. I tried to leg it but she grabs hold of me shirt, and I swing out and catch her on the head and she goes down like a sack of spuds. They got me ‘cos I did about ten houses in that street and then when I put me hands up they tell me she went into a coma.”
“I was right,” Mark said, “you’ve just ruined my weekend.”
“Steven, give me your address before we leave. We can hang out and do stuff.” David said.
“Great!” Steven beamed. “I’ll give it to you later. I’m off to my room to see what stuff I can nick.” When he was gone, Mark looked incredulously at David. “Are you really going to hang around with that knob?”
“Don’t be daft. I used to live in the same street as that woman he put in a coma. She was really sweet, always giving us sweets and that. When me mum told me about it being in the paper I was really hurt. Now I know who did it I can get her some payback.”
“Good man. Give me a call and I’ll be glad to help out.”
The boys went across the hallway to the common room and had a game of pool, watched by Wells on a monitor in a side room. He turned to his assistant, Elias Sinden. “I think these two show some potential, but young Steven shows no remorse at all. I think he’ll need the full treatment. I’ll give them all the bog standard “you’re not bad kids” and point them in the way of some job opportunities but I think it will be lost on him. Besides, I think the older boys might be smarter than they’ve let on so far. How old are they?”
“David is 15, Mark is 14.” Elias said.
“We know Mark likes go-karts so we’ll set him up at the track on weekends. David’s case file doesn’t show any hobbies but we’ll have a chat and try to find something for him. As for Steven...what’s the weather forecast for tomorrow?”
“Bright early on, some cloud later but no rain forecast.” Elias confirmed.
“Excellent. If you can make sure the arrangements are ready for Steven’s treatment tomorrow morning, I’ll have a chat with these two. Give Steven a call and ask him to join us in the common room.”
Wells left the room and joined the boys at the pool table. “Guys, can I have a word?”
They all took seats in the corner of the room and Wells opened a folder. “I bet you’ve both spoken to counselors and social workers and a lot of other people telling you what you’ve done wrong and what you have to do in the future, eh?” The boys look at each other and nod in unison. Steven arrived and took a seat next to the other boys.
“Do you know who paid for all this?” Wells asked them.
“The government?” was David’s guess.
“No, I did. We have government support but all funding comes from private companies. I am the director of the Wells group and while we spend over £30 million a year on this project, although our main contribution is the jobs we provide to the likes of you three boys.”
“You must be loaded,” Steven said.
Wells confirmed it with a smile. “Yes, I guess I am, but believe it or not, I was in your shoes thirty years ago. Always in trouble with the police, and always getting caught!! I was given a helping hand and I’ve never looked back. I was put on a computer course which led to a good job and lots of money and responsibility. Now I’m offering you the same chance I had. You don’t have to accept it, but let me tell you what I have in mind and you can decide for yourselves later.
“Mark, I can offer you a place at your local go-kart track as a trainee mechanic. I know you spend a lot of time...” he glanced at the folder “and money there, so I’m offering you the chance to work there at weekends, learn the trade for a fair wage and have free use of the track each evening. They’ll show you how to build your own kart, supply all the parts and when it’s built you’ll try out for their kart team, travelling all over the country for competitions.”
Marks face lit up for a moment, but then a frown appeared. “What’s the catch?”