Angel Wings

Chapter 6

For the most part, they ate in silence.

The chips were hot and crispy and were complimented well with the tang of the sauce. They burned the inside of Izzy's mouth several times to which she attempted to amend with the Pepsi.

Her drink opened with a fizz and she gulped it down quickly to avoid it spilling out. Each little bubble danced on her tongue and she felt quick relief from the burning pain.

"That's nice." She mumbled after swallowing.

To her surprise, Tyler laughed.

They began to talk about university as their chips ran out and they had to savour the last few remaining morsels. Izzy told him about her languages classes and he told her about his business sessions and the few Spanish classes he had dotted inbetween.

"Languages are great for business." He told her.

She smiled and replied with "Languages are great for everything. Not that I'm biased or anything."

"You do French, right? I know you're with Will is all."

"Oui. French."

"What made you pick it?" Tyler asked, one of his eyebrows raising with curiosity.

"I'm a nerd. The fairytales and folklore surrounding France are incredibly rich and some of the most well known in the world. I've always wanted to be able to read them in their original language." She picked up a chip and dipped it in the sauce atop another chip. "It's good for job prospects too – teaching and all that. And I think I like teaching."

Izzy popped the chip into her mouth and looked expectantly at Tyler to see his reaction.

"You like working with kids?" He asked.

"It's not the worst thing ever but I'd rather work with adults. I feel like they are more responsible when they're there by choice and you don't need to correct their behaviour like with children."

"I could never work with kids." Tyler muttered. "I like them but they'd be too much to handle. When I was younger I took care of some of my cousins and that was enough for me. There are only so many nappies one can change."

"What do you want to do?" Izzy inquired.

He seemed to contemplate this for a second and tapped his fingers on the table.

"Is it bad that I don't know?"

"Not at all."

"I'd quite like to do an apprenticeship or something, I just don't know what for specifically. Numbers aren't really my strong point, I like other bits like HR more."

"You could be a manager." Izzy suggested. "Where do your parents work, are they able to help you with anything?"

Tyler sighed. "I'm on my own." He pushed the cone aside so he could lean his arm on the table. His eyes turned dark and for the first time Izzy noticed the grey under his eyes. Tiredness.

"Oh." She didn't know how to respond.

"My parents don't spend a lot of time at the house; they're too busy elsewhere. And when they are home it's either constant arguing or silence – I don't know which one's worse."

Izzy frowned at him, "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Don't be." He half smiled, while still looking down at his arm. "Lots of people have it worse. And my mum, she did everything for me."

"Hm?"

"Not everyone is willing to move away from everything they know just for the chance of a better future." Tyler stopped tapping his fingers and looked up at Izzy.