Nomads

Chapter 6

"Oi! Luca!"

Said boy rolled his eyes at the way Naomi said his name and jogged over from his spot as referee. "What's up?"

"Stop cheating. I know you don't want my team to win."

"Hey. Tell your players to stop kicking the ball out of bounds and they'll stop getting flagged."

Naomi rolled her eyes and gestured to her team. "Luca, They're all 5 and 6 year olds. Loosen up. Let them live a little."

He shook his head, the corner of his mouth turning up into a smirk. "First of all, my name is Luke. Second, you were the one who said that your team would be the best. I'm only treating them as such."

She huffed and shoved him gently. "First of all, Luca, I will call you however I darn well please. Luca suits you better, therefore I will call you Luca. Second, fine then. I'll prove to you that they're the best team Athens has ever-"

Iosif blew his whistle, calling her little soccer team to the makeshift field in the middle of the square. It was their turn.

Naomi turned to her little team. "Alright, team. Let's go out there and win this thing!" She raised her arms and hollered so that those who didn't speak English would understand; it was time to get serious and win.

She then swiveled around and breezed past Luke. "See you on the field, ref."

His lips twitched upward, watching her lead the team of little ones for a moment before he jogged back to his spot.

Luke watched intently as Iosif made some gestures to the group and held up the ball before dropping it with a blow of his whistle. He couldn't wait to see how this game would turn out.

***

"Will you quit pouting? I told you my team would be the champions. It's your fault for not believing me."

Luke rolled his eyes in response, leaning back on the couch and taking a look around. "I'm not pouting."

Naomi merely huffed in response, plopping unceremoniously onto the couch next to him. She followed his gaze, taking in the unkempt mess that was the youth cafe.

There were several couches with the pillows strewn about and untidy. A foosball table sat in the corner, and just beside it was the small counter with a mini fridge and a sink behind it. Luke's gaze wandered along the walls, taking in the chalk art and inspirational quotes scribbled onto the blackboard-like walls.

"I still can't get over how cool this place is."

Naomi grinned at his words. "It's alright."

He glanced at her, a ghost of a smile on his lips. "I've been coming here every day I can for the past three weeks and I still feel like I can't keep up with you guys."

She shrugged. "You're doing great, honestly. I'm a little surprised that you keep coming back."

He shook his head. "I can't see myself anywhere else but here," he mumbled.

"We really appreciate you coming to help. It makes things so much easier on Uncle." She grinned at him again. "He really likes you. You've really impressed him with your tenacity. These kids... they're something else, aren't they?"

"They're unlike anything I've ever dealt with. Granted, I've never willingly hung around little kids before."

"Oh? You poor thing. How else does one spend their time?" She drawled.

He rolled his eyes, fighting back a smile. "Doing nothing substantial, really."

"I bet. There's nothing like this. I love what we do here. I never want to leave."