Chapter Ten: Amelia's New Job

Amelia and Derrick walked side by side down a busy street that was chock full of shops and bustling with people. Derrick smiled at Amelia warmly, "See anywhere you would like to go?" he asked, Amelia looked around before spotting a pet shop at the end of the street, "Can we go in the pet shop?" she asked anxiously. Derrick nodded, "Yeah, of course, I know you love animals" he stated cheerfully as the duo walked towards the pet shop. Once inside the pet shop, Amelia felt overwhelmed by joy, she had always gotten excited around cute little animals and just happened to be surrounded by them.

Amelia walked over to a cage with hamsters inside, her eyes were locked on the cages there were four small clear cages, and each of them had a tiny grey hamster inside with a wheel, food, and water for them. Amelia watched as the hamsters sat nibbling on their food and running on their wheels. Derrick looked at Amelia supportively, "You think the hamsters are cute, don't you?" he asked softly, Amelia nodded her head, "Yes of course I do, look at how cute and fuzzy they are, I want just to stroke them, fun fact hamsters can learn their name if you talk to them enough" she stuttered, slurring her words excitedly as she scanned the other cages and saw a bunch of mice in a couple of cages. Amelia walked over to the three cages and watched the six mice, two in each cage running around like crazy, "They're cute as well, fun fact there are thirty known species of mice and they can tell the temperature by their whiskers" stated Amelia excitedly.

Amelia looked to see some more cages but with fluffy bunny rabbits, "Oh my gosh, they're adorable" she stuttered as she ran over to the cages and watched the five different rabbits bounce around, there was one brown rabbit, one white rabbit, one black rabbit, one grey rabbit and one white rabbit with black spots. "Aw they're all so fluffy and fuzzy, did you know that rabbits are social animals and love living in groups?" she stated excitedly. Derrick chuckled to himself, "That sort of sounds like you to be lol" he joked, Amelia shook her head, "I love hanging out with people, but I struggle with socializing, bunnies have it so easy they just hop around and they're all friends, you don't get that with humans, humans are quite selfish and normally out for themselves" stuttered Amelia slurring her words as she spoke.

Derrick looked at Amelia with a warm smile, Derrick was silent, "I would love to work somewhere like this, I love animals and I would love to spend time helping sell them pets and help the animals find their new forever homes" stated Amelia excitedly. A little girl approached the cages with her mum, the girl pointed at a tiny grey hamster, "I want that one" she whispered. Amelia looked at the little girl and smiled, "Oh you're buying a pet too, did you know hamsters can't see some colours like red but have an amazing sense of smell? Or that they can learn their own names? What do you plan on naming your hamster?" said Amelia excitedly. the little girl looked at Amelia and smiled cheerfully, "You know a lot about hamsters, you should work here, I plan to call my hamster Henry if it's a boy or Harriet if it's a girl" stated the little girl cheerfully.

Amelia smiled cheerfully, "That is really cool, I bet you'll be a great owner" she said as she grabbed Derrick's hand and walked away from the animal cages. an employee stopped Amelia as she was walking, the employee was a short ginger girl wearing a green uniform, "You seem to know a lot about animals, do you want me to talk to my manager and see if we can get you a trial, who knows you may get the job" stated the employee. Amelia nodded her head, "Yes, I would like that very much, I want to help all the cute little animals find their forever homes, I would appreciate your help" stated Amelia moving her hands as she spoke. The employee nodded her head, "It's not a problem, it's going to be great to have another friendly face around here, especially if you can convince kids to make their parents buy pets" joked the employee cheerfully.

Amelia shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know what you mean I haven't made any kid buy a pet" she stuttered as she slurred her words. The employee shook her head and pointed over to the till behind Amelia, "You might want to check that again" she said as Amelia turned around to see the little girl she had spoken to standing at the till, "I want the little grey hamster please, did you know hamsters are smart and can learn the names you give them?" said the little girl to the employee behind the till. Amelia turned back to face the employee she had been speaking to, "That little girl is going to be a great pet owner, I hope she gives the hamster everything they need to stay playful" she stated calmly. The employee nodded her head and smiled, "I'm going to get my manager, he'll probably like your style and the way you know how to sell to kids" she stated as she walked back down the aisle of the shop.

Amelia turned to Derrick anxiously, "Did I just find a new job?" she asked anxiously, Derrick nodded his head and smiled at Amelia warmly, "Yeah I think you did, but we'll have to wait and see what the manager of this store says" he stated calmly. Amelia nodded, "I just hope the manager isn't like my old one who used to belittle me every time I made a mistake" stuttered Amelia as she slurred her words and bowed her head in embarrassment. "Well I'm sure this new manager could be so much better" stated Derrick as a tall slim blond man wearing a pet store uniform walked towards him and Amelia, the man was accompanied by the employee which Amelia had spoken to. Amelia froze in place she was very anxious and didn't know what to do, the man smiled at her calmly, "I heard you just helped us find a hamster their forever home, that's good, are you currently employed?" asked the man calmly.

Amelia shook her head, "No, I am not, I was fired a little while ago due to my disability, as long as my disability isn't an issue then I would be very interested in getting the training and getting the job to help connect children with the pets who they will love and care for" stated Amelia calmly. The store owner looked at Amelia with a raised eyebrow, "You have a disability?" he asked skeptically, Amelia bowed her head, "Yes I will tell you if you dismiss your employee, I would prefer as few people knew about my condition as possible" she stuttered anxiously. The store owner nodded his head, "Yes, of course, Lisa, you ca n go on break" he stated softly, the employee nodded her head and walked away. "I have Autism Spectrum Disorder, my last manager fired me because he thought I was too hard to work with because of my condition"  stated Amelia calmly. The store owner looked at Amelia and nodded his head, "I see, well we operate on a non-discrimination ideology, disability, sexual orientation, race, religion, and all other minority groups are welcome here as customers and as colleagues, if you leave your contact details with me then we can arrange for you to come in for a trial and a full interview" stated the store owner cheerfully.

Amelia nodded her head and handed the store manager a business card, "I have some of these in case people ask me for my details" joked Amelia. The store owner nodded, "Well Amelia we will be in touch, hopefully, we can bring you into the team" he stated as he walked away. Amelia felt a warm sense of pride as she grabbed Derrick's hand, "Come on Rick, let's go home" she stuttered excitedly, Derrick followed Amelia he hadn't said much but he was proud of Amelia. "Hey Ani" said Derrick calmly, Amelia turned to face Derrick cheerfully, "I love you and I'm proud of you basically getting a new job" he stated. Amelia smiled at Derrick warmly, "Thank you I love you too" she stated as she hugged Derrick tightly.