House of Love

7. Youth Centre

Extremely nervous, Louis made his way inside the building of the youth centre and looked around in search of the place where he was supposed to meet with the two founders of this place. The youth centre was a big building with a big open space full of seating options by the walls, ping pong and football tables and many snack machines. About six other doors led into more rooms Louis couldn't identify yet but he could see through the huge glass backdoor into the nice-looking backyard where some kids were playing football.

"Hi, you must be Louis. I'm Violetta Clarke" a red-headed woman came walking towards him with a brunette woman by her side.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you. I'm Nicole Collins" the brunette woman introduced herself friendly.

"Hi, It's a pleasure to meet both of you. Thank you for having me" Louis felt his hands getting sweaty.

"We're glad that you're here, Louis. You don't have to be nervous. We normally don't bite" Violetta winked jokingly at him.

"We should move this to the office for a bit of silence, don't you think?" Nicole tried to bite back a grin and Louis couldn't blame her.

"After you, Love".

In awe, Louis followed them to the office and took a seat by the big desk right in front of them. His nerves were washing over him again and his knee started bouncing uncontrollably. With all his willpower, he tried not to fiddle with his fingers like he normally would because he didn't want them to notice his nervousness.

"So, Louis. Tell us a bit about yourself and how you picture your work here" Violetta looked expectantly at him.

"Well," Louis cleared his throat. "I'm nineteen and live in the house of love since the end of January. I just recently finished my first uni semester. Oh, um ... I study English, Literature and Music. I've always loved music. I started playing the piano when I was five and never stopped. Well, right now I don't have one on my own but I can use the piano at uni, which is really nice of them. They support me in my passion and I would love to do the same. The thought of teaching young kids to play the piano just warms my heart".

"What if one day the kid you're teaching doesn't want to anymore or makes a big scene out of nowhere or is mean to you?" Nicole hooked with a neutral expression on her face.

"In any of these situations, I think talking is the best solution. It's important to ask and find out what the issue is. It's important to listen, no matter what it is. I think with a bit of understanding and empathy there is nothing that can't be solved" Louis presented his way of handling complicated situations to them confidently.

"You're definitely right with that. If people would listen more the world could be a better place" Nicole agreed with him softly.

"I see why Maria thought you could fit in with us. It's because you do. You seem to have a special social vain and an overall great understanding of how to handle kids and deal with them in the best way. If you really wanna work here the job is yours" Violetta started to smile more with every second.

"Really?" Louis couldn't believe it. He had expected this to be a lot harder and them to be a lot stricter. He had no idea why.

"Really, Louis. I think the kids will love you. Some have been bugging us for months to teach them the piano but none of us can play. They will worship you" Nicole smiled along with Violetta.

"Wow, thank you. This really means a lot to me. I can't thank you enough" Louis breathed out in pure disbelief.

"Come on, let's take a look around and talk more details".

Violetta and Nicole showed him every single room in the building like the art room and the already existing music room. The room solely reserved for homework and even one with dozens of video games. They had a karaoke machine and plenty of sports stuff for every interest possible. The only thing missing were animals. But Violetta told him that their dog came along with them quite often. That put a smile on his face, also that Violetta and Nicole seemed to be pretty close to have a dog together. He didn't wanna assume anything but they might be dating.