Page 54 of The Warrior
Some of the girls were fast runners and didn’t hold back. I was especially impressed with a girl called Raven. With her tongue between her teeth, she took on boys twice her size, colliding with them to get the ball. Every time there was physical contact my eyes flew to the men watching. I was sure the boys would be in trouble for touching her, but nothing happened.
If any male had been that rough with me as a child, they wouldn’t be around to tell it.
Mila was cheering for Magni and the others, and it occurred to me that she jumped with excitement every time someone made a goal.
“Which side are you cheering for?” I asked.
“Both sides.”
“But you have to pick one side.”
Mila tilted her head. “Just because you like one team doesn’t mean you have to dislike the other. I love to see how happy they get when they score.”
I shook my head and smiled. “Mila, you just like everybody, don’t you?”
She moved closer and whispered, “No.”
That had me curious, since she seemed like the sweetest person in the world. “Who don’t you like?”
Mila spoke low enough for only me to hear. “Nicki’s mom. She did bad things to Nicki and that’s why Nicki doesn’t see her mom anymore.”
“Who’s Nicki?”
“She’s the girl who just made a goal.”
“Oh, the one who made it in the wrong end?”
Mila nodded. “It was a great goal, though.”
“Yeah, except her opponents got the point.”
She shrugged. “I don’t care much for the points and I don’t care for Nicki’s mom either. She was mean and I don’t like people who hurt others.”
“I feel the same way.”
Mila turned all her attention on me. “Then why do you hurt Magni?”
Her words slammed me in my chest. “What do you mean?”
“You make him cry on the inside.”
“That’s not a thing.”
“Yes, it is. The boys here don’t cry on the outside, they cry on the inside. You can see it when you look into their eyes. They are hurting.”
“Magni is noboy.”
Mila gave me a puzzled expression, so I added. “I mean, he’s not a very emotional man. He would never cry and he’s horrible at expressing his feelings.”
“That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have them.”
Blinking my eyes, I took in her words. Of course, Magni had feelings; I just didn’t know the depth of them since he didn’t talk to me about how he felt.
I watched him play soccer with the kids for a while. The players were keeping warm by running around, but after freezing for half an hour, I headed back to the school building.
Almost there, the sound of heavy footsteps made me look over my shoulder to see Magni run to me.
“Where are you going?” he asked with cheeks red from the cold.
