Girl in a Hoodie: Where the Future Lies

Chapter 61

James's POV:

"Hey, Dad," Riley says to Terry once we meet him downstairs. She gives him a light kiss on the cheek when she walks around him but still rocked Ellie up and down as she held her on her hip. Her dad was sat on a stall at the dining table, as usual, but was reading a newspaper.

"Hey, Riles," he says to her. "I just heated the kettle for you. And there's some bacon on a plate on the counter." She smiles at him and then takes some cutlery out of the drawer. I take a seat opposite Terry on the table at the same time as he puts the paper down to drink some of his tea and possibly start a proper conversation with me. "You're not going to work today?" he asks. 

"No, I'm off all week."

"Oh, that's good then." Riley turns a little to look at us and smiles at me before going back to making her tea. "You've got a good job, you know. When do you get an actual place at the services?" he asks me. 

"Oh, well I'm supposed to be getting assessed sometime next week for my Bachelor's degree and then from that, I'll be studying more at the services rather than at home and will be going into completing my Master's before I take examination. Then, in around four to six months time, I should be earning licensure for me to start working in a school permanently," I explain.

"Oh, okay. So how long do you suspect that'll take?"

"Well, I've been working at the company for the past four months, so maybe another eight or ten? Something around that," I chuckle.

"Good, and how much will you be earning then?"

"Um, right now I'm currently earning £170 a month, so by the time I get a permanent job, it should boost up to at least a yearly salary of £30,000."

"Good, and what about you, Ri?"

"Huh?" she asks, looking up. I chuckle a little as she begins to walk towards us and puts a mug of coffee out in front of me as well as she lays a hand softly on my shoulder. "You want toast, right?" she asks me quietly.

"Yeah, thanks."

"Okay. What were you asking, Dad?" she questions him. He rolls his eyes and sighs at her obliviousness which makes me laugh. "What? You were talking to James, for once, and not me. I was too busy with Ellie to be listening to your conversation," she defends herself and wipes some dribble off of Ellie's bottom lip, using her thumb.

"I was asking what your salary is now and if you become a professional teacher, what will it be then?"

"Oh, well, I'm getting £185 a month now, from student finances. But after I pass my Master's degree in about eight months from now, I should be earning £2,250 monthly. So, at the moment, James and I earn about £350 each month altogether, but get money added from his family as well, and from the council," she explains before turning to walk over to get the bread out of the toaster when it pops up. 

However, just as she walks past Terry, he puts his arms out for her. At first, she looked confused, but when he gestures by wriggling his fingers back and forth, she smiles and brushes her hair back for her to pass Ellie into his arms. He places her small body on his lap and rubs her back.

"Careful. She usually cries when anyone, but Ri, holds her," I say jokingly. Riley rolls her eyes at me but we both smile when Ellie doesn't start crying.

"No, she seems fine. She must like cuddles from her old man," Terry jokes. I laugh a little before he goes back to the topic of our jobs. "But anyway, what I was trying to find out is that you two are okay financially, yeah?"

"Yeah, we're managing," I say to Riley's agreement. "Ri's also working a few hours at the club on the high street to help a friend of ours, but we'll be keeping most of the tips," I add.