Nomads

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Thank you again for you help."

Luke's cheeks turned slightly red as he shrugged, scratching the back of his head. "It was nothing. Don't mention it." He gave the girl standing before him a small, tight smile.

Whether she saw right through it or not, she didn't acknowledge it.

"No, really, it's amazing. Uncle was really having a tough time putting that thing together before you came along." She looked away from him and toward the shelf, brushing her fingertips against it.

"What um, is the shelf for exactly?" He found himself wanting to hear her speaking again.

"Uncle didn't tell you? That goof. He wanted to build a shelf for people to put food and things on it to give to the homeless. We've been trying to come up with a way to give stuff to the homeless but it was hard to make a designated space for it. But with this shelf, now it'll be easier for everyone to give and receive."

He glanced between her and the shelf, feeling stupid for being so surprised. Of course they would do something nice like that. They were in the square the other day being loud and crazy for the sake of a 'joyful atmosphere.' Whatever that means.

"Oh. That's.. that's really cool." He finally said.

She shrugged and nodded, mumbling a thanks. "It was all Uncle's idea. He's not much of a realizer of ideas; he's normally the one that comes up with them. But hey. You showed up, out of nowhere, and you really made it happen. So thanks again. We really were struggling before you came along."

He hummed softly in response, glancing down at his phone. "It's getting pretty late. I ought to get back..."

"Oh yeah. You said you're staying with your grandparents, right? Don't want them to worry. Athens isn't too dangerous, but it's still a city. And you know how all the crime TV shows take place in a big city." She laughed. "I'm rambling. Sorry. You have to get home. You'll be fine by yourself, right? Do you need money to take a bus or taxi? My uncle could accompany you if you're not sure where to go."

He shook his head, his frown deepening. "I know where I'm going."

She winced slightly at the tone of his voice. It made him feel rotten to cause that smile to falter. She seemed to spring right back, however. "Oh. Sorry. Rambled again. Well, um.. you know where we are now, in case you'd like to come by again. We don't always build stuff. We do other things, things that are more fun. And we would love for you to join us. Hope you get home safe." With a dazzling smile and a wave, she turned toward the door of the youth cafe.

"Wait!"

Her messy hair whipped around her face as she swiveled back around to face him. They both stared at each other, equally shocked that he'd had something else to say.

"I- um.. what even is this place?"

She grinned again, stepping off the doorway and back onto the sidewalk in front of him. The joyful glint in her eyes was beginning to make the poor boy feel a little breathless. "This is a youth cafe aimed toward the young people here in Kypseli. Mostly the refugees. It's run by this ministry called Lifeline, who are mostly just a bunch of Greek people who love Jesus and love kids. And since a lot of the refugees have like never even heard the name Jesus before, it's pretty awesome and super different from the way things are in America. That's where you're from, right? You look pretty Greek but you have an American accent."

His features darkened, and immediately she knew she'd said something wrong. "Yeah... Would've rather grown up here though."

Her smile turned nostalgic and somewhat somber as she Gently leaned back against the windows of the cafe. "Me too. Not a big fan of the US, if I'm being honest."