Chapter 9 - The Mentorship
As the workshop gained stability, Arthur noticed several local teenagers loitering by the loading dock after school. Among them was Leo, a sixteen-year-old with bruised knuckles and a defensive scowl, living in the foster care facility two blocks away.
Instead of chasing them off, Arthur opened the side door.
"You know how to use a square?" Arthur asked Leo one afternoon, holding out an L-shaped ruler.
Leo glared suspiciously. "No."
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"Then pick up that sandpaper and start on that maple board. Even strokes, with the grain, not across it."
Over the coming weeks, the workshop evolved from a personal sanctuary into an informal academy. Arthur taught patience through joinery. He explained that wood warped under pressure if not properly dried, just like people hardened if they were never given room to breathe. Leo stopped getting into street fights; his hands, once curled into fists, learned the delicate patience required to cut a clean dovetail joint.
