Page 92 of The Mentor
I found the children in one of the hotel’s banquet rooms. They were in the middle of a math lesson that stopped abruptly when I walked in.
Raven stormed toward me and wrapped her arms around my waist. “Are you okay, Archer?”
I tousled her hair. “Yes, I feel much calmer now.”
Finn came over. “Can I have a minute outside?”
I nodded and walked out the door I had just stepped through.
“Look, man, I’m sorry I touched her like that. Obviously, she means a lot to you.” Finn reached out his hand as a sign of peace. “It will never happen again.”
“It better not,” I said and took it.
When we returned to the room, I stopped cold. “What are you doing?” I asked and frowned.
“We made a love circle for you and Finn,” Raven said with a big smile. “You both did something you knew you shouldn’t, and we’re going to help you remember that you’re much better than that.”
My tongue played with my cheek, pushing at it hard while my foot tapped in a steady show of resistance.
“What the hell is a love circle?” Finn asked behind me.
“A system developed by women to emasculate men,” I mumbled.
“Come on, what are you waiting for?” Nicki called out to the others.
Finn patted my shoulder. “Let’s go, champ, you know what they say: try anything once, and if you like it, do it again.”
I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to like being the center of a love circle but at least I didn’t have to do it alone.
Finn placed himself in the middle of the circle and smilingly clapped his hands together. “Come on, people, hit me with your best love.”
I joined him, and standing back to back we watched the children, Kya, Shelly, Varna, and Cindy close the circle around us.
“Are you sure you don’t want to join us?” Kya asked six of the Nboys who stood leaning against the wall.
“Nah, we’re good,” Hunter said.
Solomon snickered. “Don’t worry, we’re sending all our love from over here.”
The love fest only lasted for about three minutes.
First came the singing; I was surprised to see that the Nboys who participated in the circle knew the song. Apparently, there had been a lot more love circles than I was aware of.
Take my love and fill your heart.
That’s all you need for a fresh start.
No need to fight, no need to scare.
You are loved and we all care.
Then came the part where the kids made funny faces. I made a particularly good one in return, and of course Finn was in his element, being a jokester by nature. I could hear his laughter behind me, and then the circle became smaller and we were instructed to spin around and look everyone in the eye. My heart almost skipped a beat when I locked eyes with Kya, but maybe this whole love circus was getting to her soft side, because there was no anger in her eyes.
As the finishing touch, Finn and I were squeezed in a group hug, which would’ve been suffocating, if not for the fact that we were taller than the women and kids.
“Don’t you just feel good now?” Raven asked with childish excitement.
“I feel amazing,” Finn said and picked her up. “The only thing that could top that love circle would be a girl planting a kiss right here.” He pointed to his cheek.
