"Well, Mr. Norman. What say you show me a little of what you got? If Liona is singing your praises, then there might just be room for a late addition." Uncle Artemis suggested while she smiled at Erik.
"Uh, um, really? But I really can't play all that well! I'm not sure if I would be suited for such a thing." Erik seemed like he was trying to find an excuse not to show her uncle his skill, which made Liona worry that she had again been too pushy.
"Well, how about you let me decide if you have the talent our school team needs or not? If you still feel like you aren't good enough after showing me your moves, then I will respect that." Liona knew her uncle was actually trying to encourage Erik in his own way.
"Okay, Mr. Edevane." After Erik agreed, Uncle Art had one of the senior girls on the team pass them a ball.
When her uncle kicked the ball, she knew that Erik was ready to intercept it from his body language. As soon as the ball came his way, he gave it a really solid scissor kick, successfully catching her uncle off guard. One of the girls was playing goalie, so they tried their best to prevent the ball from making it in, but were ultimately unsuccessful. The ball landed in the net behind her, while her uncle grinned.
"I'd say you have a spot on the team, if you want it, Erik!" Liona laughed with so much glee, seeing her uncle bested in his favorite sport.
"Yes, I would have to agree, Mr. Norman. You have a fine kick, and our school could use a talented player like you. You have a spot if you want it." Liona knew her Uncle Art would agree with her. Erik's skills were top-notch, after all.
"Um, what does the equipment cost? And do I need any special permissions to play? How often would I need to stay after school? How long does practice run?" Erik seemed nervous and a little excited to her.
Liona listened as her uncle listed off the answers to Erik's questions, but she soon saw his face fall, and any excitement he had was soon lost as a crestfallen look overcame him.
"In that case, I won't be able to join the team. It will interfere with my job. I have to leave for work right after school gets out. I also have my sisters that require me to look after them when I don't work, Mr. Edevane. I'm sorry."
Liona didn't think about Erik's jobs, when she encouraged Erik to try out for her uncle's soccer team. She felt bad now, that she didn't consider it.
"It's alright. Although, if you want it in the future, there'll be a spot for you. Do consider it if you have the time at some point."
"That's okay, Mr. Edevane. I'm a senior, so there really isn't a point in keeping a spot open for me this late in the year. Besides, isn't boys soccer already over with, for the season?" Erik asked.
"Actually, Boys and Girls soccer are reversed at this school. Girls Soccer is just ending for the season, while the Boys Soccer starts right after spring break." Uncle Art explained.
"Oh. Even still, I can't afford to pay the equipment fees and as I said before, I have responsibilities that I can't get out of." Erik sounded sad and a little bitter.
"Hmm. Well, we do have scholarships for sports, but since you have prior obligations, I will respect that." Uncle Art said before turning to her, "Anyway, are you heading out now, Liona? Say hello to your mom and dad for me. I'll see you for your birthday dinner next week with the boys. I believe that your Uncle Atreus will be there with his girls as well, but last I heard, he and the missus were still in DC for the rest of the week."
"Oh, does that mean my Grandpas are Looking after Cassi and Cass?" Liona asked, since her uncle Atreus traveled a lot for work.
"Indeed, and I was almost convinced to let them look after the boys, but your uncle said two at a time was already a burden and I shouldn't add to it." Uncle Art chuckled. "He grew up with just as many siblings as Trey and me, so he gets a little touchy about overwhelming your grandpa." He continued to chuckle.
"Didn't Grandpa Kai also make Grandpa Darr look after Dad and his siblings too?" Liona asked her uncle.
"Indeed. Mom and Uncle Kai are both experts at handling a house full of kids."
"Then, I guess my birthday will be no big deal for them if they end up coming early when my friends and classmates are all at the house!" Liona giggled.
"Uh. Liona? I kinda need to get going…" Erik reminded her.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I got so absorbed, I totally forgot!" Liona exclaimed before turning to her uncle. "Sorry Uncle, I gotta go! See you later!"
"Bye kiddo, don't stay out too late, or I'll be forced to tell your dad that you were out with a boy all night!" He teased.
"Good one, Uncle! Dad knows I wouldn't do that, and Mom would skin me alive if I did!" She laughed heartily as she motioned for Erik to follow her to her car.
"You seem to have a big family…" Erik half mumbled, but Liona caught it.
"Oh, you have no idea! My family is huge! But I love every one of them, and they'll all be coming for my birthday this year! I am so excited; I can't wait to see them all again." Liona said as they reached her car.
"You don't see all your family all the time?" Erik asked.
"Oh! Ha-ha-ha! Goddess no! My family is so huge, and we're kinda scattered all over the world. There are times I only see my whole family every few years when I go on a trip with my parents or with my grandparents. Take my twin aunts, for example. They both found their mates overseas on a trip to Ireland and decided to settle down there. My youngest uncle settled down in Germany after he found his mate on his graduation trip many years ago. And that's only my dad's side of the family."
"My Mom's side of the family mainly stayed here in the US, but my Uncle Trey travels for work a lot, so he splits his time between Washington, D.C. and here. Sometimes he's down in Florida, or even Texas! He's got a really important job that he loves, so he's highly respected in his field. Both of my aunts on my mom's and dad's side of the family went into education, so they both teach, so they also stayed in the US. That's not even mentioning my bazillion cousins!" Liona laughed as her car unlocked.
She looked over at Erik and saw his eyes wide, either in shock or awe, she wasn't sure which.
"That's a lot of family. You seem close to them the way you speak about them." Erik said as he got into the passenger side at her insistence.
"Yeah. As I said. I love all of them. Just because I don't see them all that often, doesn't mean that I don't love them. They all have their own lives, and I am here still trying to figure out mine…" Liona half joked as she programmed the destination into the nav unit in her car.
"You don't know what you want to do after you graduate? I figured you would have some lofty dream or something…" Erik had this habit of mumbling under his breath.
"Not really, no. I'm sorta the black sheep of my family. I don't know what I want, and I'm nowhere near good at anything, so here I am frustrating the career counselor at my school and probably disappointing my parents with my grades…" Liona admitted with a heavy sigh as her car navigated out of the parking lot and into the flow of traffic.
"Really? Are your parents super strict?"
"No. Just the opposite! They are so lenient that it makes me feel all that much worse for not being able to live up to their low expectations. I'm about one grade point away from flunking, and my parents are pretty desperate for me to just get the minimum passing grade. That's all they're asking of me, and I feel like I'm just going to let them down because I'm probably going to fail all my finals and then my birthday party, which is riding on my grades, will be canceled…" Liona found herself just dumping her worry on Erik. He was so easy to talk to, she forgot that they were still getting to know each other.
"Is it hard for you to study?"
"Not really hard, but I just don't understand how everyone gets to the solution like they do. Then when I do get to the solution, it's not like it makes sense to anyone, so it's then marked down as wrong. When it comes to taking tests, I just sort of panic and freeze up, so that doesn't help either. I'm basically a failure in a smart family, thus the black sheep." Liona explained.