大象传媒

By Amelia Johnson

15-year-old Joe looked up at the crooked sign above the house: "The Pure Shore Retirement Home". He sighed. He hated work experience week. Joe hated everything and everyone. "It looks so old and shabby," he thought, "Just like its residents..."

The door mysteriously creaked open by itself. Joe walked inside and into a lounge. An empty wheelchair whizzed across the room. Joe rubbed his eyes. When he opened them, a man was in the wheelchair, fast asleep. Weird. He must have imagined it.

Out of nowhere, a lady appeared. "You must be Joe! Welcome to the Super... I mean, Pure Shore Retirement Home. I'm Dorothy," she said, kissing him. Joe cringed.
One man's head was buried in his newspaper, an angry expression on his face.
"Ignore Bob," whispered Dorothy, "he's a grumpy old man".
"Stop!" snapped the man. "The lad doesn't want to be hassled by a load of old people!"
Joe smiled. He couldn't help liking Bob.
"Would you take Bob fishing?" asked Dorothy.
"Where?" replied Joe.
"The Amazon river!" barked Bob. "Where do you think, lad? The sea over the road of course!"

Twenty minutes later, Bob and Joe were sitting on the edge of the pier. Joe heard footsteps behind them, and a group of boys from school approached. "Taking your grandad out because you haven't got any friends?" laughed Jack Brown. Joe froze and felt his face flush. Bob placed a hand on Joe's shoulder and whispered, "tell them where to go, lad. You can do this." Suddenly Joe felt strong. He stood up and glared at Jack. "Get lost!" he shouted, surprised by the confident tone of his voice. All of a sudden, Jack catapulted into the water with a splash! Terrified, he hauled himself out of the water and ran away crying, dripping water. His friends stood open-mouthed, before turning and running away too. Bob and Joe collapsed with laughter. Joe wasn't sure what just happened, but he liked it!
Months passed, and Joe visited Bob every day. Bob was happy to hear how the bullies had backed off, that Joe was doing better at school and making new friends, and strangely, that he could do magical things, like make things move without touching them!

One evening, Joe overheard the residents talking. "The boy deserves to know, Bob..."someone said.

The next time Joe visited, Dorothy opened the door and threw her arms around him, sobbing, and handed Joe a letter. Blinking through the tears, he read:

"Dear Joe,
You might have realised that this is no ordinary retirement home: "Pure Shore" is an anagram of "Super Hero". We are retired super heroes. I have been looking for someone to pass my powers on to as I have no family. You were different from the others. You showed kindness and patience. You have been a super hero to me. The powers are yours now. When a super hero has passed on their powers, they must pass on. Wishing you a "super" future, lad.
Love, Bob."