Chapter Three - Brown Tail Boy

“Cooper’s a Kindie!” Laurie chimed. Alex similarly gave a nod of approval.

“So what are you? Six?” Charlie asked unprompted, appraising me from head to foot with searching brown eyes.

“Huh?”

“Are you six? Like just finished Kindergarten?”

“Alex is six!” Laurie added.

“That’s why my tail’s blue.” Alex agreed, indicating the blue fabric hanging from his bucket hat. “Brown for five, blue for six and white for seven!”

“Right.” Charlie persisted, still staring right at me. “How old are you? Six?”

I sputtered out a few hesitant incomprehensible mutterings but soon trailed off into silence.

“It’s alright if you're shy.” Charlie reassured, putting a sympathetic hand over my own. I cringed. It was clear I wasn’t going to simply explain my way out of this group of kids. They didn’t seem to have the best listening skills. How would they ever understand that I was really ten?

I stood up. I had to talk to Taylor and straighten everything out before these kids got any more invested in me being their new best buddy! Almost at once however the three of them stood up beside me.“I want to talk to Taylor.” I told them as I padded cautiously away, unsettled that they seemed to be following me.

As I walked toward Taylor the three of them trailed behind with bright grins. Taylor saw the incoming beaver scouts and smiled at us. “I see you have your very first badge, Coop!” He praised, poking the brown and green patch pinned to the vest.

I looked at the other lodge, the four other kids staring at me from behind Taylor. Zach was even looking at me. I had become the center of attention once again. “Uh… I… Yeah…” I stammered out, trying to think of a reason why I needed to talk to him alone. I just needed a few moments with no one else around. Was that even possible with him looking after all these kids?

Taylor interrupted my faltering speech, addressing everyone. “Let’s bring the Colony together and go through some skits!” He said. The kids got up and formed another circle around Taylor. Zach took a place on the left beside Laurie, and I sat on his right, while Charlie sat dutifully to my right with Alex sitting next to him.

The Bobcat lodge got up and started into a skit about a pilot and parachutes. It was kinda funny, but I suppressed an annoyed scowl. The meeting was almost half over and I still hadn’t been able to explain the situation to Taylor! At least the Beavers seemed to enjoy the skit. It was obviously something they had seen before since they knew all the cues. Sighing in resignation, I leaned back on the palm of my hands. I supposed I would just have to wait until after the meeting to explain everything to Taylor. Then everything would be cleared up and I could at least get in the right scouting group for next week.

Once the skit finished I clapped with the other Beavers. Taylor then looked at Charlie. “Can the Kindies perform their skit now?” Charlie, Alex and Laurie all shot up leaving me sitting alone. The three of them performed a simple script describing a battle they just won. It was actually pretty entertaining and kind of made me think it might be fun to try - though the thought of actually doing so prompted a queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. I clapped for them as they took a bow and sat back down beside me. I felt oddly comforted by their presence, allowing myself to laugh along with them as the Bobcats put on another short skit about an invisible bench.

“Why don’t we include Coop in the next one?” Taylor suggested.

“Let's do ‘I gotta go wee!” Laurie shouted out, bouncing up and down excitedly where he sat.

Taylor gave a chuckle. “Zach, Charlie - can you show him?’” The two of them looked at each other, Charlie nodding obediently and Zach giving a petulant pre-adolescent roll of his eyes. “I’ll give you a few minutes.”

“Gotta go wee?” I repeated, making an anxious face.

“It’s easy.” Charlie assured me. “You just gotta tap me on the shoulder and ask to ‘go wee’ - like you have to go to the toilet.” he paused, cracking a thoughtful half-smile as he registered my uneasy expression. “Err…or go potty. Do you say toilet or potty?”

“Toilet.” I hissed, resenting the implication.

“Right. Like you pretend you gotta go to the toilet. When Zach says you can go, you have to jump up and run around the room saying ‘Weeeee!”

I let out a heavy sigh, already feeling mortified. “What does everyone else do?” I asked, seeing that Laurie and Alex had already laid down flat beside each other on the floor.

“It’s like we’re camping.” Zach growled, reluctantly taking his own place laying next to Alex. “They pass along the message to the scout leader, and back down the line.”

“Got it?” Charlie asked, going to lay next to Laurie.

“I think so…”

“Great. Maybe do a little dance when you ask as well! It’s more realistic that way.”

I gulped, laying down beside Charlie as the Bobcats hushed up and watched us intently, waiting for the skit to begin.

“You start.” Charlie whispered.

“Uhm…” I hummed stupidly, sitting awkwardly up on the carpet and tapping Charlie on the shoulder as I delivered the line in a shaky quiet voice “I gotta go wee…” I paired the request with a vague wiggle of my hips, squeezing lightly on my crotch.

Charlie sat up at once, “Cooper’s gotta go wee!” he repeated, tapping on Laurie’s shoulder.

“Cooper’s gotta go wee!” the little boy sang, prodding Alex in the side.

“Cooper’s gotta go wee!”

Zach made a gruff animalistic huff of displeasure, masterfully imitating a grizzled hard-nosed scout master “He’ll have to hold it.”

Alex turned back to Laurie, sending the message repeating down the line to Charlie. “You’ll have to hold it!” he reported, grinning from ear to ear. “Now ask again.” he added in a low voice.

“Err…I really gotta go wee!” I chirped, jumping up and down on the carpet a little.

Once again, the message was relayed up the line, Zach repeating back his irksome husky command to hold it. “One more time!” Charlie whispered encouragingly,

“I really really really gotta go wee!” I repeated, hamming up my potty dance as I writhed and wriggled my bottom against the floor.

“Alright, go then!” Zach boomed when the message finally reached him.

There was an awkward silence, both the Kindies and the Bobcats all looking directly at me as the joke reached its climax. Realizing I’d missed my cue, I got to my knees, but froze up before I could get any further. What was I doing? Was I really going to run around the room making a silly noise like a misbehaving toddler? Why had I even taken it this far? It wasn’t like anyone was making me!

“Cooper!” Charlie said, louder this time, prodding me in the side. “That’s you!”

I let out a startled whimper, only able to stubbornly shake my head as I knelt petrified in place.

“What’s the joke?” one of the Bobcats, a brown tail, sneered - a hint of precocious preschool-style cruelty in his voice.

“He went wee in his pants!” another Bobcat added, sending his lodge into peels of restless giggles. The Kindies all clambered to their knees, narrowing their brows furiously at the mocking faces of the kids in the other lodge.

“Settle down!” Taylor instructed with a weary wave of his hand. He offered me a concerned frown “Do you wanna finish the skit, Coop?”

“I…um…”

“Don’t you get it?” the leader asked sympathetically, “Want me to explain?”

“Come on Cooper!” Charlie encouraged. “It’s easy, just like I said.”

“Yeah, you can do it!” Laurie echoed, offering me a big grin.

I gulped, the mounting pressure getting too much to resist. At this point, it was almost more embarrassing not to do it. I jumped to my feet, running a short circle around the kneeling Kindies and waving my hands in the air. “Weeeeeee!”

Taylor chuckled, patting me on the hat as I completed my circuit. “Good job, Coop.” he praised “Let’s all give our brave new Kit a big hand!” The whole colony broke into applause, though I noticed that some of the Bobcats were still muttering and giggling conspiratorially to each other. “What a little star!” Taylor praised. “I almost thought you really were about to burst your banks!”

“Thanks…” I muttered, though the compliment was hardly welcome.

“You don’t actually need to go potty, do you Coop?”

My cheeks ruddied an even hotter shade of red “No…”

The leader grinned, patting me on the back “Just checking, bud.”

Taylor gave everyone some time to discuss amongst ourselves, I was relieved at least that the hour was almost over and I would be done with hopefully my last Beaver meeting.

“So what should Cooper’s Beaver Name be?” Alex asked the group.

I panicked for a moment. “That’s okay.” I murmured. “I don’t really need one.”

“We all have one!” Charlie reassured me. “I’m Hawkeye, Alex is Ringtail and Laurie is Tic Tac.”

“They’re all from the book!” Laurie piped.

“Friends of the forest.” Alex added.

“Exactly!” Charlie confirmed, I still had no idea what they were talking about or what this ‘Friends of the Forest’ book was. It hardly sounded like classic literature.

“I think he’s going to be Bubbles.” Alex suggested.

“Bubbles?” I repeated, that was hardly a name at all.

Laurie thought for a moment. “What about Sunshine?”

He couldn’t be serious, Sunshine was somehow worse than Bubbles. “Sunshi-” I tried to protest but was interrupted.

“Either way there will be a vote for it, the colony decides.” Charlie explained

“That’s a good idea, Charlie.” Taylor praised and patted his head. “We should do that before wrapping up.”

Before I could protest Taylor had already clapped to get everyone’s attention. “I think it’s time our kit got his very own name.” He got Zach to distribute strips of paper. “Put down a friend of the forest who you think is most like our new friend!”

I still had no idea who these friends of the forest were and why they were so important. The three beavers around me thought for a moment before handing in the papers to Zach who tallied them up. He called over Charlie and whispered something in his ear.

“Well Hawkeye, what’s our friend's Beaver Name?” Taylor asked, everyone looked at me intensely waiting for the answer.

“Rainbow!” Charlie shouted to the group. I could hear a couple snorts from the other lodge. My mouth hung open, I was speechless.

“What do you think, Coop, do you want to be Rainbow?” Taylor asked softly.

I tried to think of a protest. Rainbow must have been for a girl Beaver. Why would people vote for it for me? I shook my head no, not being able to articulate my disgust.

Taylor nodded to Zach who in turn whispered a second time into Charlie’s ear. “The second choice was Sunshine!” Charlie piped, looking for approval.

Sunshine was still a girl's name, there was no way I was going to allow it. “Those names are for girls! I'm a boy.” I complained. “Isn’t there a name like Hawkeye or Ringtail, something more… boyish?”

This caused an unexpected fit of giggles through the group. “Hey! I’m a girl!” Alex shouted at me and slapped my arm.

I just squeaked “You are?”. This caused a loud ruckus, with kids full on laughing. Alex and I started growing red in the face. Why did I say that?

Taylor clapped again trying to get everyone’s attention. “Let’s see what the next suggestion is.”

I tried to pay attention, but I couldn’t help but steal a couple of glances at Alex. He - she, the muckiest, grungiest, most rough and tumble kid in the colony, was a girl? She still had a leaf stuck in her hair!

For a third time Zach whispered to Charlie who this time could anticipate my reaction. “The name is Bubbles.” He spoke carefully, looking worried.

I tried to pull my hat down over my face. I somehow knew Alex was the one who wrote that one down. “Coop, buddy? What about Bubbles?”

“I don’t like that one either.” I grumbled trying not to make another stupid comment.

Zach tried to whisper to Charlie again, but he was loud enough for everyone to hear “Maybe we should call him Rascal, since he’s being such a brat.”

“Isn’t that your Beaver name?” Charlie asked him.

“I told you, I’m not a Beaver!” Zach hissed.

“Zach!” Taylor scolded him, somehow Taylor using his real name felt like a serious accusation. “I think I remember a little Rascal getting quite upset over some mint chocolate chip ice cream.” Taylor reminded him. “Remember? You threw quite the fit!”

Zach puffed his cheeks and looked away from the colony, clearly trying to put that behind him. The white tailed beavers all giggled at Taylor’s comment. “That was years ago…and I wasn’t that bad!” He contested. Even Charlie tried to hold back a laugh.

“You were bawling your eyes out.” the black haired boy commented wryly.

“Shuddup…” Zach groaned, though I thought I saw just the hint of a smile tugging up the corners of his lips.

Taylor considered for a moment as the room calmed down. “Well Cooper, I think Rascal is the only other suggestion from Keeo, how about that?”

Rascal? It was pretty silly, but it didn’t sound nearly as bad as Bubbles, Sunshine or Rainbow. “Uh, Okay.” I said shyly. I guess I had a Beaver name now - and a pretty embarrassing one at that.

I looked at Alex who was glaring at me. “Sorry about saying Ringtail is a boy's name.” I apologized.

She took a deep breath and finally shrugged. “I forgive you.” That was easy.

“Alright everyone.” Taylor called, his booming baritone breaking through the idle chatter that had begun to bubble up again amongst the Beavers. “Riverbanks!” The kids all jumped to their feet, the two lodges forming parallel lines - just as they had when I had first arrived. I knew what to do this time, linking hands with Alex on my right and Laurie on my left. “Build the dam!” Taylor called, the lines forming one contiguous circle again “And…lodge.” the leader concluded.

The Beavers all slowly began to sink to the floor, crossing their legs and making a continuous shushing noise with their fingers held against their lips. “Shh, shh, shh.” Eventually the noise faded out, the kids instead beginning to whisper in intense hushed voices “Sleeping, sleeping, sleeping...”

“Great job.” Taylor praised, still standing in the center of the circle. He turned his eyes on me, gesturing for me to get to my feet as he produced a brown tail, a small slide woggle, and a neckerchief decorated in all different shades of blue from out of his pocket. “I think it’s time our little Kit became a full Beaver!” he declared.

I fidgeted uneasily, somehow feeling I was at a momentous juncture. It was only a stupid ceremony - it didn’t mean anything really - but if I really went through with it then I’d officially be a Beaver Scout; the silliest, littlest, youngest scouts of them all. If I was going to tell them I was ten, then now would be my last chance. But how could I? I’d spent the whole session with them! We’d sown a badge, performed a whole stupid skit together, they’d even given me a name! I eyed the brown tail, remembering its meaning. That only made things worse. Did Taylor think I was only five? No, that wasn’t possible. I was just as big as Charlie - and he was seven!

“Come on up, Coop.” Taylor instructed, breaking me out of my thoughts. “Or should I say Rascal?” As if on autopilot, I uncrossed my legs and stumbled clumsily into the center of the circle. It wasn’t like I had any other choice! “Now, make the Beaver salute.” he instructed “Do you remember how?”

“Yeah…” I nodded, holding together my thumb, pinkie, and ring finger and folding over my middle and index. “It’s like beaver teeth.” I recalled.

“That’s right, buddy.” Taylor laughed. “Okay, repeat after me for the Beaver Law. A Beaver has fun…”

“A Beaver has fun.” I repeated in a shaky voice.

“Works hard….”

“Works hard.”

“And helps family and friends…”

“And helps family and friends.”

“Great job, bud. Now for the Beaver promise. I promise to love God…”

“I promise to love God…”

“And help take care of the world.”

“And help take care of the world.” I concluded, my voice cracking just a little in fright. There it was. I had done it.

“And with that, we’ve got our latest Beaver!” Taylor enthused, waving a hand in the air to prompt the other kids to start clapping as he unfolded the neckerchief and tied it securely around my neck. He tugged it neatly through the woggle, before gently taking me by the shoulders and giving me an avuncular wink “Proud of you, bud.” he praised over the cacophonous clapping. The Kindies especially were really going at it, Alex, Laurie and Charlie sitting up on their knees, yelping and cheering as they waved their hands back and forth.

“Err…thanks.” I squeaked.

He reached behind me, pushing down hard to clip the tail onto a little button on the back of my hat. I felt the fabric flop down atop the tangled thicket of hair clinging to my nape. “There. A proper big-kid brown-tail!”

“Great.” I sighed, trying not to sound too sarcastic.

He took my left hand, shaking it enthusiastically with grown-up business-like authority “Left hand shake for peace.” he explained. At that moment, the applause finally dying down, there were a series of taps against the classroom door. I looked across, seeing my Dad cautiously making his way into the room. “Oh, Mr Young!” Taylor greeted with a smile. “You’re just in time. Little Cooper here just became a full member of the colony!”

My Dad stepped into the room as the kids dispersed with their own parents collecting them. “Oh, that’s great.” He looked around at the kids, seeming rather bewildered. “The scouts are all on the younger side.”

“Not too young for Cooper here.” Taylor told him. “Or should I say Rascal.”

“Rascal?” Dad inquired.

“It’s my Beaver name.” I explained.

“Oh, that’s fitting.” Dad teased.

“How’s the Coopster with reading?” Taylor asked while collecting some documents.

“Reading? Dad asked incredulously.

“You know.” Taylor lowered his tone to a whisper, but not low enough that I couldn’t hear. “Can he read by himself?” He produced a printed stack of paper that was stapled together, the front of it was a black and white beaver and was titled ‘Friends of the Forest’. So this was the infamous book all the Beavers seemed to be obsessed with. “Don’t worry if he can't, it makes a great bedtime story.”

“Bedtime story?” I asked, I hadn't been read a bedtime story in years.

“Whoa.” Dad raised his hands. “I think there is some kind of mistake here.” Dad took a look at me in my brown vest and bucket hat. “Just how old do you think my son is?”

Taylor puckered his lips at my Dad’s comment, almost like he had just sucked on a lemon. He chuckled for a moment. “If I’m being honest, I don’t think I asked.” He smiled down apologetically. “I assumed he was five, that’s why we gave him a brown tail.”

“F-f-five?” I stammered. Confirming my worst fears. How could he possibly think I was five? I was ten!

Dad instinctively brought me closer to his side and then finally explained the situation after all this time. “Cooper is actually ten, I think he may be in the wrong program.”

“Oh.” Was all Taylor could say, he even thought about it for a moment. “So he should be a Cub Scout then?” He asked.

“Yes.” I hissed, finally he understood.

Taylor frowned at me and my father. “Well that’s a bit of an issue. Beavers is the only program with an open spot.” He paused for a moment. “I’m sorry, he seemed so enthusiastic about starting that I just assumed he was a newbie. That and his cool Beaver shirt!”

I shuddered, instinctively placing a hand over my zipped up vest. I’d forgotten about that. “So I can’t join scouts?” I asked, disappointed. In all the moves my parents put me through I had always been able to join the local scout group once I got there.

Taylor looked between us. “Tell you what, it’s obvious scouting means a lot to Coop, and I wouldn’t want to deprive him of some weekly fun. He’s still welcome to the Beavers - even if technically he’s too old.”

I was floored by his request! He really wanted me, a ten year old, to join the youngest scout group?

Dad looked skeptical. “Is that allowed?”

“No one has to know. He’s only little, after all.”

“Well…” Dad let out a deep sigh. “If he doesn’t, then what?”

“He could join scouts next January when the new program opens up.” Taylor informed us.

“Next y-year?” I quivered, that was so far away, and I had been in scouts since forever! I looked to Dad for support, surely he could solve this.

Dad looked at me with an unsure expression. “What do you say? Join Beavers or wait until next year?”

I started breathing quickly, this wasn’t fair at all! I just wanted to be a scout, like always. I had been in so many scout groups and redone so many badges. Suddenly my vision blurred and I wiped my eyes with the blue sleeve. How could I be crying at a moment like this? I was just making myself look more and more like a baby!

“Hey, buddy. Don’t worry, Beavers are a lot of fun and you made some new friends today.” Taylor tried to explain.

“I want to be a scout.” I sniveled, sounding like a baby who lost his toy.

“So you are going to join the colony then?” Taylor tried to confirm.

I couldn’t bring myself to say the words, but I wanted to be in scouts and this was my only option. Why did my parents have to move to this tiny town with its itty bitty scout program? I nodded my head, feeling the brown tail russell through my hair almost as if it was sealing my fate as a Beaver, the youngest of all of them.

Taylor patted my head and handed my Dad a small stack of paper. “Just have him look through this when he gets home.” He knelt down so that we were eye level. “I guess I’ll see you next week, huh Rascal?”

“Y-yeah, I guess.” I murmured to him.

My Dad shrugged his shoulders. “Sure, as long as he’s happy, I guess Cooper can be a Beaver scout this year.” He finally took my hand and we went to leave the classroom together. I sniffed back the last of my tears, seeing Laurie waving at me from across the room - entirely oblivious to my feelings. I gave a single nod of acknowledgment, burying my snot stained face in my dad’s shirt.

“Oh, and Rascal?” Taylor called after me. I turned back uneasily, trying to look attentive. “Good night! And busy building tomorrow.”

“Good night, Taylor!” Some of the remaining kids called back, slapping their hands behind their back in the traditional Beaver greeting.

“‘Night Taylor…” I mumbled, just barely loud enough for him to hear. He smiled, clapping his hands behind his back in farewell. Summoning the courage to unstick myself from my dad’s side, I did the same - finally managing a smile.